Lone Peak Overland Camper Install - Review & Photos

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.

How much does the LP weigh?
How has it affected your MPG?

spenticus said:

How much does the LP weigh?
How has it affected your MPG?

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I was going to mention that and forgot. I wish I had easy access to a scale so I could be more scientific about weight but LP estimates the build to be ~375 lbs. Obviously adding options adds weight but that feels about right. The awning is another ~75 lbs so I'm pushing 450 and now I start building a drawer system and whatnot from there. I'm guessing when I am totally done building out the camper and am fully loaded I'll be around 900-1,000 lbs.

I should also mention that I have the Westcott Designs preload lift kit on and after installing that the rear was still ~1 1/2 inches higher than the back. As it sits right now with the camper and awning the front and back are almost identical. Once I start adding more weight I'm definitely going to be looking to beef up the rear suspension.

Fuel economy sucks~! I was only getting ~17.5mpg prior to the camper and coming back from Wenatchee to Seattle (which is overall a downhill trip) I was well under 17 mpg. I'm guessing on flat ground running 70+ mph I'll be lucky to get 16 mpg.

Thanks! LP had the option of gray or tan tent material and obviously I went with gray which imho looks perfect.

I've seen multiple videos now of GFC campers on the 4th gen as well as at least one other manufacturer and none of the videos show that they do anything to address the tailgate lip. As far as I'm aware Super Pacific is the only one who has a solution, and they charge $400 for it (includes both the tailgate cap and bulkhead flange). You can see it in this video starting at ~40 seconds in. It's only a matter of time before someone starts selling just the tailgate cap and they're going to make a killing in profits from it. I've been tempted to contact Super Pacific and see if they'll sell me just the tailgate cap but I'm going to wait for a few weeks and give LP some time to see what they can come up with.

gofastdan said:

I was going to mention that and forgot. I wish I had easy access to a scale so I could be more scientific about weight but LP estimates the build to be ~375 lbs. Obviously adding options adds weight but that feels about right. The awning is another ~75 lbs so I'm pushing 450 and now I start building a drawer system and whatnot from there. I'm guessing when I am totally done building out the camper and am fully loaded I'll be around 900-1,000 lbs.

I should also mention that I have the Westcott Designs preload lift kit on and after installing that the rear was still ~1 1/2 inches higher than the back. As it sits right now with the camper and awning the front and back are almost identical. Once I start adding more weight I'm definitely going to be looking to beef up the rear suspension.

Fuel economy sucks~! I was only getting ~17.5mpg prior to the camper and coming back from Wenatchee to Seattle (which is overall a downhill trip) I was well under 17 mpg. I'm guessing on flat ground running 70+ mph I'll be lucky to get 16 mpg.

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I also took my truck to westcott and got the preload lift kit and some bigger tires. I’m getting my Super Pacific in about a month. The LP looks nice too

That's correct. That would be where I'll feed hot air in from the diesel heater (which sits outside). There is also a flap on the tent portion that I can use as a return to the heater to recirculate the heated air if it gets really cold out. I'll take a couple more pictures of that and the inside of the diesel heater port the next time I have the tent up.

Looks awesome. I love how the silver always mirrors a blue sky. Are you going to be down for expo mountain west?

grizzlyoutlaw said:

Looks awesome. I love how the silver always mirrors a blue sky. Are you going to be down for expo mountain west?

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I was joking that I bought a camper to allow me to get out in the wilderness as far from humanity as possible and then the first two days were spent with five hundred of my closest friends. I was bored within hours. The NW rally is tiny compared to the other overland rallys but I don't feel a need to revisit the experience.

That said, I am planning a long trip later this fall and hope to hit Colorado on my way to pick up my 86 year old father in Phoenix and take him on a trip up into the mountains for some light hiking.

I would wait for someone to design one for the 4th Gen's body lines. This looks like it would fit great on a 3rd Gen truck.

Visa_Declined said:

I would wait for someone to design one for the 4th Gen's body lines. This looks like it would fit great on a 3rd Gen truck.

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I haven't seen any of these vendors make any of their products to follow contour lines for any specific vehicle. These are small companies filling a niche market. They design a single product and tweak the width and length to fit each vehicle but changing the angles would require entirely new jigs for each vehicle. No one in the market has the capacity to do that.

Also, I'm with univurshul in that I use the truck as my daily driver 80% of the time but, regardless of whether I'm road-tripping or just going to Lowes, I want as much space as possible. If the camper truly followed the lines of the Tacoma the sleeping area would be at least 6 or 8 inches narrower. It's already cozy for two. Any narrower and it would be an uncomfortable nights sleep.

The Lone peak looks great on the back of your truck! Thanks for pointing out the designs issues with these new Tacomas, you'd think that Toyota would know that a decent number of their customers are going to install truck caps/ campers. I'm a big fan of the Lone peak design and hopefully have one in my future. I like how much standing space there is with the bed down and the pop out rear section, it gives a lot more space to move around compared to other campers. I'm a much earlier riser than my spouse so being able to get down and make coffee without having to leave the camper or put up the bed is priority #1.

Any chance you know where the tapped the power for the 3rd brake light?