2015 Taco Rooftop tent? (1 Viewer)

[clemson55]

I have a 2015 Taco and have been thinking about a rooftop tent for camping. I haven't really found a rack I like the look of that the tent can be mounted to. I also don't really want to lose a couple mpg. I was wondering if anyone has mounted one of the bed of their truck? If so do you have any pictures of how it was mounted and the finished look? Thanks

 

[Volunteer]

Friend of mine had his on his roof but he's building an adventure trailer to move it on. I never planned to put mine on the roof and will build a trailer as well. Don't like the added weight when exploring (top heavy), wind drag on the HWY and taking it off and on when not using it.

 

[clemson55]

I don't have a bed cap, nor do I want one. I'm thinking of mounting it to the actual bed sides somehow. I found these racks from front runner (link below) that mount in the bed rails, but I wonder about the weight capacity of those bed rails. The tent plus 2 people is going to be 500lbs or more I would think.

http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/toyota-tacoma-regular-cab-2dr-2001-2014-bed-rack.html

 

[Volunteer]

Gotcha, I see what you mean. I think the mounting points to the factory rail system makes for a clean bolt on install but I see where you're coming from I would question the weight rating as well. That the frontrunner roof racks on the 2015 above. They have some real quality products in looking at his. I would call them to see what they say about the bed rails. I've also see several guys with those pack racks from All Pro that looks like they're really stout.

All-Pro Expedition Series Pack Rack

 

[FLATU8ER]

Why not build a slide in unit. As in a base that would fill in the bed, and be loaded with drawers & storage, etc. And then attach the RTT to the top of the storage unit. (Same level as the top of the bed rails) It would accommodate the weight issues, provide storage, provide a stable mounting platform, AND would be removable when not in use.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

I'm a big fan of the Front Runner racks(if you have a 4dr taco). We recently did a Front Runner rack and ARB tent(among other things) on a Taco.

Here's a shot prior to a lot of the other work we did.

Here are some shots of the completed truck.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

...all packed up.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

I don't have a bed cap, nor do I want one. I'm thinking of mounting it to the actual bed sides somehow. I found these racks from front runner (link below) that mount in the bed rails, but I wonder about the weight capacity of those bed rails. The tent plus 2 people is going to be 500lbs or more I would think.

http://www.frontrunneroutfitters.com/toyota-tacoma-regular-cab-2dr-2001-2014-bed-rack.html

If you are wanting to go with the bed bars, one of the guys in a northern Virginia club(Mid Atlantic Overland Society) is selling some used Relentless Fab ones. He is not on MUD, but I can PM you his info if you're interested.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

This is his setup:

 

[Volunteer]

...all packed up.

That came out nice, looks ready to go.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

That came out nice, looks ready to go.

Thanks! I wouldn't want to pack it up every morning during a multi-day wheeling event, but it makes one heck of a basecamp.

 

[Volunteer]

Thanks! I wouldn't want to pack it up every morning during a multi-day wheeling event, but it makes one heck of a basecamp.

Agree, thats the reason I didn't go that direction and why he's changing his setup to include the trailer. I want to setup base camp and do some exploring without all the extra weight. To each and his own they both work just a preference. Another inconvenience is if its your daily driver you have take it off and on for every trip. Mine is my daily driver but if i get back late from a trip I have other vehicles I can jump in and worry about it later he don't. I picked up this 2013 last November helping a nephew out of jam. I'm building it to up do some overlanding in.

 

[lowtideride]

I have an ARB RRT Mounted over my soft top. I tig welded some aluminum supports underneath the soft topper. I also didn't really want a rack on my truck. I originally bought one but decided against it seemed too clunky for the somewhat sleek looking truck.

 

[m1ashooter]

(Reviving this old thread) Did you ever find a solution for mounting your tent? I bought two bars from allpro off road through puretacoma.com. They mounted to my factory rails and the tent sits about level with my cab.

 

[crikeymike]

A buddy of mine did rails on the bed of his older Toyota. It was super simple. Buy 2 x Thule cross bars to fit the width of the bed, they're like $50-70 from memory. Then they were drilled and bolted down through the bed rails (that truck was real steel hahaha). RTT came with cross bars to cross the Thule bars, and he was done.

You need about an inch of clearance just so you can access the zipper for the cover.

 

[crikeymike]

Another photo, just in case anyone is looking for another idea.

The bedrack is from TMT in Venezuela.

Bedracks keep everything at a good height in my opinion, so the MPG loss I think would only be from extra weight, not from wind resistance.

 

[Borrego Bar]

This style bed rack offers excellent ability to mount accessories, access the bed and cary a RTT or cargo rack. Photos are of one I made for a Gen 1 Tundra. Currently building one for a 2017 Tacoma, using 1.75 diameter tube, 1/8 wall steel. Angle iron sits on top of bed rails and the hardware grabs bed rail mounting system. I have a welding shop but its not too tough of a DIY project for a home welder.

 

[Borrego Bar]

2017 Tacoma Camper Bed Rack in progress