Homebuilt Pop-Up Turns Toyota Tacoma Into Overlander
Micah Weber’s 2001 Toyota Tacoma is a great example of just how far careful budgeting, planning, and knowhow can take you.
The overlanding craze means that if you want to turn your truck into the ultimate overlanding machine, there are no shortage of off-the-shelf parts available. And for those of you who are made of money? That’s great. But if you’re looking to build a rig on a budget? It really helps if you know how to turn a wrench or fabricate, and YouTuber Micah Weber’s 2001 Toyota Tacoma is a great example of just how far some careful budgeting, planning, and knowhow can take you.
While you don’t have to look hard to see aftermarket bits on this truck, it’s not things like the light bar, skid plates, or snorkel that are the star of the show here. Rather, the pièce de résistance is the killer camping section he installed where the bed used to be. And incredibly, this home away from home is the first project of this magnitude that Weber has ever attempted. The entire assembly was built at home in his garage, and from what I can tell, it’s as functional as it is cool looking.
As Weber told the folks at Expedition Portal, the project began out of a long simmering interest workhorse vehicles, and the Tacoma’s combination of affordability and reliability made it a natural choice for the build. And if you’re not particularly mechanically inclined, you might find this quote about his experience before he started on the truck encouraging:
I didn’t know how to weld, I had never used AutoCAD, and I had no experience with metal materials or composites,” Weber says. “Other than modifying my motorcycle, bicycle, and RC car, I’d never made parts for a vehicle prior to owning the truck. The only things I had made were a coffee table, bed frame, a closet organizer, and our kitchen table.
Of course, all the skills he picked up the way will pay dividends down the road, and I’m curious to see what else Weber has in the works. But if you’re looking to see how he transformed his Tacoma, his videos break the entire process down into little chunks. So head over to YouTube and check them out, and if you’ve got a build you’re working on? Hit me up and let me know about it. Because it’s always fun to show what the YotaTech membership is working on, and you might just help inspire a fellow enthusiast to start on their own project!
Photos: YouTube