gofastdan
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #1
I got my Lone Peak camper installed in Wenatchee, Wa this past Friday. It's a long story but I was order #127. I placed my order in November of '22 during the initial presale event. At the time I had a '16 GMC Canyon but in Feb placed a deposit on my TRD OR LB. Basically I was waiting on Lone Peak to ramp up production and then LP was waiting for me to get my truck and then they had to develop a solution for the bed design of the new Tacoma.
I'm the first delivery on the new Tacoma but I know they have a couple of other orders. They've been pretty slow about ramping up production so if you ordered one today you're probably looking at Nov (at least) before it is ready. Regardless, I'm very happy with them and feel like they're making a quality product.
There are two quirks with the new Tacoma which any manufacturer is going to have to solve for.
The first is the front bulkhead and the overhang built into the roofline. Combined they make an interesting puzzle but the solution is actually pretty simple. LP simply added a flange to the existing camper. There's actually a bit more to it than that but that's the basic solution. I watched one of the videos an influencer made of GFC's pre-prod build and there's one shot of the flange they designed and it's similar to LP's solution but clearly looks like a pre-prod fix, like they took a piece of aluminum and beat on it with a hammer. I would hope that the prototype look has been resolved for anyone buying it now but I can say that even though I'm the first LP unit, it's fully production ready. I do have a concern about weather sealing since the bulkhead kind of comes to a point where the side rail and back rail come together and it was difficult for the LP installer to get the weather stripping fully under the camper edge. I'll be testing it with a hose in the next day or so and have LP's commitment to redo it if it leaks.
The second issue is the tailgate design. I have no idea why Toyota put a lip on the tailgate but it's something everyone who puts a shell of any kind on the truck is going to have to deal with. I had told Kecia at LP about the lip but somehow the information didn't make it to the design team and they missed it when they were measuring a borrowed truck from the local dealer. Basically, if the shell rear door is closed and you close the tailgate then there is no way to open the shell door because it hits the lip on the tailgate. This doesn't seem like a big deal until you lock yourself inside the bed and can't get out. The premium package with it's power tailgate may be a solution but I don't have that. Really the best solution (and the solution that Super Pacific already has in production) is to replace the plastic cap with a cap that does away with the lip. LP is going to work on that but in the meantime we just raised the wiper seal on the door so that it misses the lip. That means there's a 1/2 inch gap between the tailgate and the camper door so it's not really a solution but at least it's a short term workaround.
Here are a bunch of photos from this weekend. I went directly from having the camper installed to the NW Overland Rally in Plain, Wa so I've spent two nights so far in the camper. In fact I've slept in it every night I've had it so far!
Feel free to ask any questions or request specific pictures. The bottom line though is that I'm very happy with the finished product and am looking forward to building it out from the current empty shell that it is. In fact, this afternoon when I got home I installed a 270 batwing awning that I purchased during a black Friday sale last year so I'll throw in photo of that as well.
I'm the first delivery on the new Tacoma but I know they have a couple of other orders. They've been pretty slow about ramping up production so if you ordered one today you're probably looking at Nov (at least) before it is ready. Regardless, I'm very happy with them and feel like they're making a quality product.
There are two quirks with the new Tacoma which any manufacturer is going to have to solve for.
The first is the front bulkhead and the overhang built into the roofline. Combined they make an interesting puzzle but the solution is actually pretty simple. LP simply added a flange to the existing camper. There's actually a bit more to it than that but that's the basic solution. I watched one of the videos an influencer made of GFC's pre-prod build and there's one shot of the flange they designed and it's similar to LP's solution but clearly looks like a pre-prod fix, like they took a piece of aluminum and beat on it with a hammer. I would hope that the prototype look has been resolved for anyone buying it now but I can say that even though I'm the first LP unit, it's fully production ready. I do have a concern about weather sealing since the bulkhead kind of comes to a point where the side rail and back rail come together and it was difficult for the LP installer to get the weather stripping fully under the camper edge. I'll be testing it with a hose in the next day or so and have LP's commitment to redo it if it leaks.
The second issue is the tailgate design. I have no idea why Toyota put a lip on the tailgate but it's something everyone who puts a shell of any kind on the truck is going to have to deal with. I had told Kecia at LP about the lip but somehow the information didn't make it to the design team and they missed it when they were measuring a borrowed truck from the local dealer. Basically, if the shell rear door is closed and you close the tailgate then there is no way to open the shell door because it hits the lip on the tailgate. This doesn't seem like a big deal until you lock yourself inside the bed and can't get out. The premium package with it's power tailgate may be a solution but I don't have that. Really the best solution (and the solution that Super Pacific already has in production) is to replace the plastic cap with a cap that does away with the lip. LP is going to work on that but in the meantime we just raised the wiper seal on the door so that it misses the lip. That means there's a 1/2 inch gap between the tailgate and the camper door so it's not really a solution but at least it's a short term workaround.
Here are a bunch of photos from this weekend. I went directly from having the camper installed to the NW Overland Rally in Plain, Wa so I've spent two nights so far in the camper. In fact I've slept in it every night I've had it so far!
Feel free to ask any questions or request specific pictures. The bottom line though is that I'm very happy with the finished product and am looking forward to building it out from the current empty shell that it is. In fact, this afternoon when I got home I installed a 270 batwing awning that I purchased during a black Friday sale last year so I'll throw in photo of that as well.
Sponsored
