Camping, Expedition, & Overlanding Gear Discussion pertaining to outfitting yourself with gear for the great outdoors

'88 pickup expedition/long distance travel rig

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Old Nov 5, 2016 | 02:21 PM
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henryj's Avatar
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From: washington state
'88 pickup expedition/long distance travel rig

near grand coulee, 272k miles here.
all put together
the day we made curtains
the bookshelf
the day i got it, 250k miles roughly.
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Old Nov 5, 2016 | 10:21 PM
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From: Anderson Missouri
Nice little setup you have and looks like you have a ton of fun in it. Welcome to Yotatech.
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Old Nov 5, 2016 | 11:41 PM
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You have an awesome truck!

I have always thought that the charcoal grey looks the best on these trucks (or maybe because my truck is the same color).

Did you build the sleeping platform?

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Old Nov 6, 2016 | 04:59 AM
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From: washington state
Yep, I built it at my folks place in Minnesota. Took a couple weeks but it came out pretty good i think. There's three large hatches, five for smaller storage areas around/over the wheel wells, plus the open storage just behind the tailgate.

With the three inches of super firm memory foam I ordered I think it's probably the most comfortable bed I have ever owned, even if its a little small to share with the girlfriend and puppy.

We started our trip just northwest of Seattle, went all across the northern states eventually to nova scotia, and now were in new orleans saving up for some new tires. Had to use the truck to haul some stuff here, so I pulled the bed frame out and I'm using it as the bed in our room at the house were staying at. I'll put up some pictures of it on its own later, if you wanna see how its constructed.

Thanks y'all
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Old Nov 6, 2016 | 11:18 PM
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Agree; Nice setup.
Curious about what those wooden things with the 1"x2" slats are inside your storage.
How about the rear suspension? Looks like it still have the infamous rear suspension sag.
Happy traveling!

Last edited by RAD4Runner; Nov 6, 2016 at 11:50 PM.
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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 10:14 AM
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I want to build a platform like that one of these days. You did a great job! Go ahead and post some more pictures!

It is hard to tell if the rear suspension sags from the pictures. The front fender and wheel well is higher than the rear so you can't just measure from the tire to the fender.

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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 12:44 PM
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Cool truck! I wisah you lots of fun with it!!!!
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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by RAD4Runner
Agree; Nice setup.
Curious about what those wooden things with the 1"x2" slats are inside your storage.
How about the rear suspension? Looks like it still have the infamous rear suspension sag.
Happy traveling!

Those are some compact camp chairs I built, not the most comfortable things in the world but they pack down nice and I have some ideas for improvements on the next set I make. I'll include some pictures of those as well, in the next few days sometime.

The suspension doesnt quite sag, though it is a little tired. The leaf springs still have a little bend in them, and I've got a few inches before the bump stop. Still does alright off road, thankfully
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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 02:28 PM
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Originally Posted by old87yota
I want to build a platform like that one of these days. You did a great job! Go ahead and post some more pictures!

It is hard to tell if the rear suspension sags from the pictures. The front fender and wheel well is higher than the rear so you can't just measure from the tire to the fender.


Do it! It took a bit of work but it wasnt so bad, and I managed to do it for just a few hundred dollars. I'll take the top of the platform off and post a picture of the inside for ya in the next few days. I can try to draw up a rough plan of what I built too if you'd like. After spending a few months living in the truck theres a few things I'm really glad I built the way I did, and a few things I wish id done differently.

I almost wonder if there'd be a market for somehing like this commercially, if I nailed down the design a bit more.
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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 05:29 PM
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Originally Posted by old87yota
......It is hard to tell if the rear suspension sags from the pictures. The front fender and wheel well is higher than the rear so you can't just measure from the tire to the fender.
Originally Posted by henryj
...The suspension doesnt quite sag, though it is a little tired. The leaf springs still have a little bend in them, and I've got a few inches before the bump stop. Still does alright off road, thankfully
Cool! I gather from other members that from edge of a 15-inch rim to lip of wheel-well, the front should have approx 2.5 inches more than the rear. That's what I got after my Zuk Mod. That was 4 years ago (I haven't measured mine recently). I'm curious what you guys have now
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Old Nov 7, 2016 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by RAD4Runner
Cool! I gather from other members that from edge of a 15-inch rim to lip of wheel-well, the front should have approx 2.5 inches more than the rear. That's what I got after my Zuk Mod. That was 4 years ago (I haven't measured mine recently). I'm curious what you guys have now
Well I lost my tape measure a few thousand miles ago but I'd guess it's about that, maybe a little bit more.

Mine used to belong to a lawn care company so I gotta guess most of the tired suspension is from that. For some reason they got a pretty slick new paint job just before selling it, so fair trade I suppose.
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Old Sep 28, 2017 | 06:18 AM
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I like your camper setup it looks amazing. My wife and I are full time dwellers in Canada we've seen a lot of truck conversions for camping but yours is one of the best I've seen
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Old Apr 3, 2019 | 06:46 PM
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Love the setup! Would really like an update on the adventure too!
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