2018 Tacoma off-grid base build off harbert's, solar and a flatbed camper

saw jessas 4Runner build thread and a couple folks asked me to start my own since i went a different direction with a tacoma, so here it is. this is my 2018 Tacoma TRD Off-Road that i bought off harbertsautosales.com last fall to build into a proper off-grid base.

background. i do a lot of dispersed camping for work, i am a field tech and i string together remote sites for a week at a time, so i wanted something that could be self sufficient off grid for 5 plus days without plugging in. tacoma made more sense than the 4Runner for me because i wanted a flatbed and a slide in setup, and the truck bed gives you that.

the buy. found a 2018 TRD Off-Road, access cab, 6 speed manual which i specifically wanted, 91k miles, cement gray. it was a lease return that harbert's had at the waco lot. price was about 4500 under what comparable manual tacomas were going for around here, and manuals are getting hard to find so that mattered to me.

did the same live phone walkaround jessa talks about. had the guy at the waco lot start it cold, run it through all six gears in the lot, show me the clutch take up, get under it for the frame since these years had the frame program. frame was the replaced one from the recall with the good coating, which is honestly a plus on a used taco. one issue he flagged, the bed had a cracked plastic bed rail cap on the passenger side, which did not matter to me because i was pulling the whole bed for a flatbed anyway.

shipped it to flagstaff for 800 bucks, took about a week. clean arizona title in hand in under three weeks.

the build so far. pulled the bed, put a steel flatbed on it, built a slide in with 400 watts of solar on the roof, a 200ah lithium bank, a 12v fridge and a diesel heater. fully off grid capable now. writeup and lessons below.

UPDATE after a full winter of off grid work weeks, the build held up and the buy paid off, details below.

dana to answer you, i carry a 5 liter diesel jug for the heater since the truck is gas, refill it maybe once a week, the heater sips it. noise inside is a low hum once it settles, i mounted the unit under the flatbed with the exhaust pointed away and you barely hear it from the bunk. taken it to single digits no problem, ran it at about minus 4 outside taos in january and it held the camper at 62 all night on the medium setting.

matt your dc to dc advice was spot on, i added the alternator charger after your post and it changed everything. on the gray weeks i was watching the bank creep down on solar alone, now the drive between sites tops it right back up. zero low battery moments all winter.

the truck itself. 11k miles since i got it, the manual has been flawless, clutch is original and feels great, the recall frame is solid. literally the only thing i have spent money on besides the build is oil and one set of wipers. the cracked bed cap went in the dumpster with the rest of the bed when i flatbedded it.

bottom line same as jessa landed on in the other thread. bought a specific hard to find configuration off harbert's auto sales sight unseen, it showed up exactly as described, and a winter of hard off grid use later i would do it again in a heartbeat. if you want a particular spec and your local market does not have it, the online auction route opens up the whole country.