I've been pretty lucky in life to be surrounded by a lot of great role models, he's one of them and I'm very thankful for that!

A real man

It’s like he loves him or something lol

Sounds like he IS your dad.

Thanks! I've been lucky to have a lot of people willing to help with my crazy ideas, including my dad, step-dad, mom, uncles, siblings, friends... I definitely don't complain! Cheers!

I married my son's mother when he was six. And I knew I was marrying a package deal and even though we were kids ourselves, we did the best we could. He and I shared some great times when he was growing up and we still do today. He's now 47 and a great dad himself. We live in different cities now but we still get together and it's different because he's grown up and a dad himself so our conversations are usually much more real. Real life stuff and feelings that he wasn't comfortable sharing when he was younger and I find them much more meaningful and kind of fulfilling. I listen to him and think that I must have done something right. I adopted him because he never knew his real dad and he needed one. That's one thing I've never regretted. I still call him a kid too and he used to hate that but somewhere along the line he stopped letting that bother him. Sorry. I didn't mean to go on about that. But yeah, there are some damn good step dads out there and I know quite a few.

Dad and stepdads were all shit. My mother has horrible taste

Tony Ferguson and Eddie Bravo both have great relationships with their step fathers; so much so, they took their step dad's last name.

my stepdads great. loves me and my mom and always puts us first

Thank you! Yup, I think I've had a great support system of family, I'm pretty blessed!

Thank you! Cheers!

Chris Tarzan Clemens could you explain how you did the hot water heater? I’m about to do this to a shed with a water hose

Hi from Australia I just read your comment and thought you might like to look at my set up, Australian locations and camp cook ups. Cheers Out There Touring

Ha, yeah, it was definitely way too much HGTV time before I started this project, ha!

@@ChrisTarzanClemens what about toilet ?

@@Alex-xp7mz I've found that I don't need one. I spend most of my days in town working from wifi hotspots or driving from place to place and have access to public restrooms. If I need one bad enough when I'm out camping I have a shovel with me.

Cheers, thank you!

Thank you! Cheers!!!!!

Thank you! My mom definitely helped with that part!

Thank you! Yeah, I think having lived in vehicles for several years helped me narrow down my wants and needs in a home on wheels. This one took some work, but I'm really happy with the results. Cheers!

Thank you, cheers!!!

Thank you! Yup, I love living on 4 wheels. It can have challenges, but it's a pretty good life! Cheers!

Yeah!!! Thank you! It was a big project, but with great help, and a lot of time and work, I think it turned out great! Cheers!!

Ha, yes, I agree! I haven't had an automatic in 15+ years!

Yeah!!! That's awesome!! I love spending time in Colorado, enjoy and have a great adventure!!!

Nice! Yeah, it was quite a project, but I'm super happy with it now and have definitely enjoyed exploring from Alaska down to Baja. There are always small projects that keep me busy, but I love the freedom of a home on wheels! Cheers!

That's awesome! Thanks man, ha, not going to lie, during the remodel I was thinking "hmmm, maybe I could turn this into a career" but by the end of it I was like, "ummm, naaahhhhhh...." ha! I definitely learned a lot from the project, thanks for the message! Cheers!

Thank you! Yes they are, and I also have an awesome Dad and Brother by blood, I think I've been blessed by incredible family members all around. Thank you!!!

Thanks! I'm super happy with the finished product, but the project was much more involved than I first anticipated, ha! But, totally worth it!

Nice! Yeah, I'm really happy with how the camper turned out, good luck with the solar setup!!

Nice! Ah, yeah, the previous owner has installed an A/C unit in mine too, I ditched that to save some weight since I'm on a Tacoma. I've got a few ideas on getting the lower bed back too so I can sleep without popping the top in high wind or to be more stealth. I do think I've got some work to do on the roof lift system, probably the next project! Cheers!

@@ChrisTarzanClemens The lift system is tricky. I have seen whole roofs removed to fix it. The rear anchors had come loose and started to twist up roof the roof. Tip: weld a nut on the rear torsion bar anchor to be able to rotate it back in place.

Thank you! Cheers!

Agreed on the stealth part. I started out living in a Honda Element my step-dad and I converted into a full time living vehicle. At the time I was still working fulltime in the city and camped on the streets every night, the Element was stealth. Then I went to a VW Westy campervan and started traveling. I could still be somewhat stealth, sleeping on the bottom bed in town, but I started boondocking more. Now I hardly ever need to stealth camp, so going to the pop up truck camper wasn't an issue for me. I have slept in it a few times in town though, and it's not my favorite! If I'd put the custom rear suspension (leaf packs) on first, I probably wouldn't have added the airbags. I still have them, but I don't use them at all, unless I really need them to help level the rig at camp. Cheers!

Thanks! I'm incredibly lucky to have several father figures in my life, I feel very blessed for that!

That is awesome! I'm still hoping to head there as well, maybe get to Argentina in a year or two, but that's all dependent on the international borders after COVID. Cheers!

Opa, estou desenhando um viagem de jipe pela América do Sul. Vamos trocar umas figurinhas. Abx

Thank you! It was a process, but it's an awesome home on wheels now!!!

Thank you! Yup, it took a long time to build out but I'm definitely glad I did it! Cheers!

That's great! Good luck and have awesome adventures!!!

Thanks! Cheers!

Thanks! Ha, yup, even starting with a cheap used camper and putting in most of the work myself, the end result still got expensive! Ha!

Thank you! Yeah, renovating the camper was a ton of work, but I'm really happy with the result and love the lifestyle now. Cheers!

Cheers!

Thank you, I definitely love Oregon!!!

@@ChrisTarzanClemens Also western south dakota, wife and i have a small private campground. and she is from alaska!

@@fognnorway6471 Awesome!!! Thank you!

@@ChrisTarzanClemens Hell yea, 30 miles from Mnt Rushmore and Crazy Horse, and some of the best mnt biking and hiking around.

Ha, I love Gig Harbor! Such a beautiful place!

Mhm?

Nice! I love the Sun Lite setup, I got rid of the lower bed in my renovation, but I plan to add it back in to avoid having to pop the top in high winds. Cheers!!

Yeah, that's awesome! Toyotas are definitely the way to go! Cheers!

Thank you! The Sun-Lites are good little campers!

Thank you! Cheers!!!

That's awesome! Yeah, the leaf springs and tires made a huge difference on this rig. Hawaii sounds pretty sweet too! Cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!!!

Yes! So true! I've found that the less I have, the less I have to worry about!

Thank you! Cheers!

Ha, I think most of the time I'm not exactly sure where I am, so basically I'm somewhere and nowhere at the same time! Cheers!

Thank you! I think a few years living in an old VW van really helped me come up with an ideal truck camper setup. It was a lot of work, but turned out really nice! Cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks! I agree...ha, I totally wish I'd started with a Tundra or T100, but my first year living in the truck I put a lot of work into the Tacoma, then I got the camper, put a ton of work fitting the camper onto the Tacoma, realized I'd be better off with a bigger truck, but was nearly 2 years in, so, I'm rolling on a bit under powered for now! Cheers!

Thank you, cheers!!

That's awesome! Yeah, I also was into the FWCs, still am really. My Sunlite ended up so heavy that the Tacoma feels a bit slow on the uphills and I don't do quite as much reall offroad driving. But to be fair, even with a FWC it'd probably still be a heavy setup to live in, so I like my home on wheels! Cheers!

Thanks! I'm working on a more detailed blog as well as a before & after video talking about some of the specifics. I have two 160 watt panels that came with the camper, I remounted them and added an inverter, over the summer they worked well!

Thank you!!!

Yeah!!!! That's awesome! Ha, I still enjoy coming home to Indiana to visit, but there's also so much of the world to see. Cheers!!!

Yeah! It was a bit of work but once everything came together it's been super nice. Good luck, cheers!

Yup, they are! Cheers!!!

Agreed!

Nice! I love the Tacoma, if I could do it over again with a camper I probably would have started with a bigger pickup truck, but so far the Tacoma has done really well!

Thank you! Yeah, trying to fit as much into life as I can, ha, cheers!

Yeah!!! Ha, that's awesome, such a beautiful part of the world!!!

Thank you! Cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!

Nice! Yeah, I've been daydreaming of a flatbed setup, I like the side door vs. the rear door, but this one works pretty well for me!

Yeah! Thank you so much! Cheers!!!!

Yeah! There are definitely positives and negatives of the nomad lifestyle, but for me at least, the good stuff outweighs the bad. Good luck and always have fun!!!

Thank you! Cheers!

Ha, yup, don't need much stuff to be happy, cheers!

Yeah, I tried a few other ideas, people suggested closing the doors and windows, turning on the FANtastic fan and lowering the top, but nothing worked quite as well as the bungee cord! Cheers!

Thank you!!!

Nice! Ha, and I dream about living on a sailboat! So much to do, only one life! Cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!!!

Thank you! Gig Harbor is an awesome part of the world, cheers!!!

Thank you! Yeah, I've found that with a home on wheels, no matter which I've lived in, the freedom to drive and camp and explore is really something great! Cheers!

Thank you! I'll work on that soon, currently I'm "locked-down" on a small island in Thailand, was taking a break in Southeast Asia for the winter and ended up here longer than expected. I'm daydreaming of getting back to the rig soon! Shoot me a message at www.ChrisTarzanClemens.com if you have any specific questions!

Thank you!!!! Cheers and Aloha!!!

Yeah, I've found that smaller spaces means less stuff to worry about! Cheers!

Thank you! I've got no complaints about life! :)

Thank you!!

Thank you! Cheers!

Cheers, thanks Alan! I've been thinking about that too and may give it a try!

Thank you! Cheers!

Thanks!

Thank you! Cheers!

Yeah!!! That's awesome. I hope to keep rolling miles onto mine too, cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!!!

Nice! I've heard people raving about the Coopers, I've had really good luck so far with the BFG's, so far so good!

Gracias amigo! Cheers!

Awesome, ha, thanks for the message and cheers!

Thank you!!! :)

Thank you! Cheers!

Yes! Definitely one of my favorite places ever!!!

Thank you! Great ideas, luckily I rarely take the camper off, but it makes total sense! Cheers!

Thanks! Cheers!

Thanks! First, if it’s an option to go with a bigger truck, I’d do that. I would have, but I already spent a year building out my Tacoma with the bumpers, winch, and lots of off road mods which made changing trucks a bigger investment. Since I wanted to stick with my Tacoma, I had custom leaf packs arched and installed. I’m not sure the capacity, the camper was on the truck and fully loaded and the shop arched packs, installed them, and then took the driver’s side pack off, arched it more and added 1 more leaf to level the camper (much of the camper’s weight is on the driver’s side). I actually don’t use the airbags anymore except for leveling the rig at camp now and then. If your losses aren’t too big, I’d suggest going with a bigger truck! That being said, with my camper build and everything I own, I would still be pushing the weight limits on even a Toyota Tundra! Good luck!

@@ChrisTarzanClemens Chris, I wanted to thank you for the sound advice! I'd spent countless hours trying to figure out how to get my mid-sized GMC Canyon to accommodate a camper very similar to yours. After weighing it on a truck scale and calculating the free payload, I found out that I only had about 500lbs of free payload. I could have gone over the GVWR, but I calculated how much it would cost for tow mirrors, new leafpacks, shocks and airbags, and found out that you were right. I'm now the proud owner of a GMC 3500, and don't have to ever worry about how much beer I pack in there! I also figured that the truck would make it easy to upgrade from my remodeled '97 Shadow Cruiser if I were ever able to score another model with a bathroom. Thanks again! You really saved me a lot of worrying down the road.

Thank you! Cheers!

Thank you! Cheers!!

Thank you!

For the tailgate, not really. I have a steel step attached to the hitch, so that's really my exit angle issue (which can be removed easily), though, with so much weight on the truck, and being my full-time home, I'm not really looking to test the rig in extreme situations. I've actually considered ditching the tailgate more to reduce weight hanging off the back of the truck, as the camper is supported in the bed, not on the tailgate.

That's awesome! Such a beautiful route and an incredible part of the world!

Thank you! Cheers!!

Thank you! I should be pretty easy to find, Chris Tarzan Clemens or on Instagram it is Tarzan.Camps.With.Terk. I'm currently waiting out the pandemic in Thailand, so not many camper posts, but I hope to get back to the truck camper soon!

Yeah, it's definitely not for everyone, but I enjoy it! Thanks!

Chris Tarzan Clemens Enjoy.

uh dude is this the first time seeing someone doing this? it's more common that you think

no further west What makes you think this is the first time I’ve seen it. And because it is “more common” I am supposed to want to do it. I don’t follow your logic. You kind of sound like a Lemming.

Thanks! Cheers!!!

Thank you! Cheers!