RARE 4x4 Toyota Sunrader DIY Build - Wood Stove, Full Kitchen, Upgraded Engine, & Custom Suspension!

You want to go inside now? Yeah, let's check it out. All right. I love this interior. Head on in. All right, here we go. Follow Lily. What's up Lily? It's her home. Oh yeah, this is so cool in here, man. You did such a nice job. Thank you. Yeah, so it was completely gutted. Like I say, just nothing but fiberglass. And, you know, I spent probably every day for probably about three hours just sitting in here with a, you got it, with just a camping trailer, a camping chair. Yeah. Just sitting here just thinking how it was going to work and how I was going to do it. And that really helped coming up with the final rendition of what I wanted to do. I think that's a great idea to like be in it. To spend the time with it and do it. And I took it camping a few times with just literally just some like sawhorses and stuff to see. Like originally I was going to put the stove and the sink together like almost all coaches are already done. And I just didn't like that. I realized I just want my sink separate from my stove because they're just really two separate areas. Yeah. And you'd be fighting against them. So that worked out pretty nice. I think that's a good idea. And to have them in two separate, two separate, completely separate spots. Yeah, completely separate. Because I'll see people that have it like right next to each other. I mean, okay, so where's the space that you're going to work with the food and stuff. Exactly. You need to have like a little bit of counter space next to it. Exactly. This is really nice. And this is kind of new. I just, I picked this up, I was going to do out of wood and they have these on Amazon. I mean, this is such a great rig to once you dial it in, it really comes out. Nice. Yeah. This is incredible. What's, um, so you, so you're out now, I don't know. Let me start over with that. So you're now out on the, on the road full time and you, you don't have a house or anything. You sold it all right. Yeah. I didn't, I didn't actually have a house I rented and kind of, uh, the economy made the decision for me. I knew eventually I was going to, but I had a small company and it really went down during COVID. And so I didn't want to sell at that point. So I was kind of trying to hope that it would come back up, but my landlord decided to sell and I was running my business out of the house. Oh yeah. The way that rents have changed right now and how high everything is, I couldn't justify doing it again. Yeah. Um, so I was like, you know what, now's the time to sell. It's built, it's ready to go. There's still a few, you know, things I still need to do to it as I go down the road, but it's, it's ready at least to go live in and hit the road. So I said, yeah, time to go. It's kind of interesting how those circumstances, not just in those directions, you know, but I think you made the right choice because what I found living out here, it's just so, it's so refreshing to wake up in these environments every day. Yeah. And it's like, I don't know, I go into the city and I just feel that pressure, you know, and you out here, you don't, you don't feel it. So that's why I think I'm addicted to this lifestyle. I'll always do it to some degree. I'll always be out on the road. Right. So I have no choice now. I mean, I, you know, I don't know what your situation is completely, but I have no choice now. This is it. You know, I'm, I'm at the age now where that's like, you know, I, you can't go back. It's like, I used to live in California and I knew when I lived, left California, I would never be able to go back because I'd never be able to reafford it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's kind of one of those things. That's, that's how this was. It was like, yeah, I'm, I'm burning that bridge. So once it's full time, it's full time. So let's make it work one way or another. That's it. That was my philosophy too. When I got rid of everything, I had no backup plan. My backup plan was just to stay out and just, and I was like, well, I'll just stay out and I'll wait for things to hit. And it did, you know, and I was able to buy that land and stuff like that. But, but, uh, but even with that, I want to be on the road. So it's just a place for Sierra and I to kind of land everyone's home. And that's nice to have. And I have enough friends with land and I've even met more out here while we were out here at Expo. I've met another couple of people that had land that said, absolutely come anytime you need it. Yeah. And that community of that community of what the overland is, is so amazing and it's so comforting because it's like, that is a fear. You know, what happens if I'm out there and I break down or what happens if I'm out there and you know, I have to, I can't be on the road anymore because you know, something has changed where they're not letting you travel as much or something and you've got places to go. Or gas prices are $20 a gallon, you know, something like that. Absolutely. No, that that's, yeah, that's absolutely true. Yeah. And that, and that's where I think your philosophy of like staying in one spot, chilling out for as long as you can. Yeah. And then just then like, you know, five, seven days, whatever, whenever you run out of food and then you go to the next spot, that's, that's going to be a key to making this lifestyle work. I think so. I really think it is. And I've talked to a lot of people, you know, as I've been here at the expo and yeah, everybody kind of is on that same page right now is thinking that same way. Yeah. Just kind of slow roll instead of slow roll. Yeah. And the funny thing is, is when I, when I talk to them about that, it's like when I say, yeah, to really immerse yourself in that location, they all realize that they're not doing that. Yeah. That they're traveling so fast that they're really aren't getting able, being able to really enjoy the area that they're in as much as they could. That's why I'm looking forward to slowing down a little bit for that reason. It was really checking places out. Cause it's like, you know, you stop up in these cool little towns and there's, there's stories behind everything. Right. And it's really cool. You might learn some of those stories and meet some of those people. Yeah. Which would be cool. So one of the cool things about the expo is you, um, you know, there's, there's just neat things about your rig that you think are special. And this is one of those things. Um, the spice wall is, I really liked the color of these spices and that's kind of why I bought them. And then from that, what I ended up doing, because they're metal, I put a Walnut, um, piece in here, the same size as this, the bottom, and then insert a, uh, magnet. So these don't move. That's, I mean, they're, they're in there and I've had them down some good roads and they just don't go anywhere. I didn't notice that they're all different colors. That's cool. Yeah. That that's actually what I like. You can tell my rig, I love color. So when I saw it, I was like, Oh yeah, I've got to get those for spices. And, uh, literally I already have like five people asking me to build them. That's so awesome. Yeah. So maybe down the road, when I get into some, that's me, that's you, that is my grandparents truck and where we took all our travels. Wow. That's awesome. Yep. What a cool old truck. That's an old Bridgestone motorcycle. It was my grandpa's that we literally carried on the front. Oh, that's incredible. And it was heavy. That's a cool photo, man. Yeah. That was a lot of fun. So you've got, you've got truck camping in your blood. Oh yeah, definitely. Hey, hanging up with, uh, hanging out with Brian here, uh, at the Overland Expo. And, uh, we thought we'd, uh, do a quick little run around of the Sunraider. See how you guys like it. Um, it originally started out as a 1982 Toyota Sunraider. Most of them are two wheel drive. And I decided that I wanted to have a four wheel drive, something I can get into better locations further in the back country. Uh, got a little bit of extra fuel on the side that I use. And, uh, yeah, I don't necessarily have access to my, um, passenger, but my passenger is a 75 quart, uh, Dometic refrigerator. That's awesome, man. That big old fridge. Yeah. Because putting that inside the other part is we just take up so much space and, you know, you know how things go. It's like you use every available space you can, uh, to its most efficient, you know, level. Um, one of the things about the areas I like to go, uh, you know, narrow roads and stuff. I don't want to have a, an awning on the outside, um, because I'll rip it off from the fiberglass. So I run what's called L track and it's really efficient stuff. You can see right now I've got my, um, Overland pros, um, shower system hanging from it. And that all folds up and goes into my storage container in the back. And I also have an awning that I can use that I also run out on that. Sweet. That's a great idea. Yeah. And I also use it on the inside. So I use it in my kitchen area. So when I set up, I can set all my pots and pans and everything up where I'm going to be using everything. I can hang my jackets, hats, and you will see that later inside how I use it. It's really great stuff. Uh, actually there's a company called us cargo and that's probably the best place to get it from. You can get it either pre-drilled, pre-drilled with the holes, or you can get it without any holes drilled so that you can, you know, use it for your system. That's awesome. That's a great idea. Yeah. It sets it up really nice. Um, one of the things I found out over, you know, building it, it took two years to build it, um, cause I wanted to build something that I could live in and be comfortable in. And I learned a lot of things. I learned that one of the things, even in a DIY, where you're trying to save money is, uh, you've got to put money into your suspension, uh, to dial it in. Right. Not especially a rig like this. Cause if not, you're going to, you're going to beat the rig to death. Yeah. And it's really going to hurt it over the long run. And you're not going to be able to, to last on the road for your travels, you know, for as long as you need to. So I had to con I tried different things, but I ended up originally calling Alcan Springs and they built me a custom set of springs for the weight of the vehicle and exactly what I wanted to do with it. And also while you're down there, you'll notice I used a Helwig, uh, rear sway bar from a 2500 heavy duty truck with a little bit of modification to fit my, uh, my frame rails and such. And that really dials it in, um, for the sway control. Um, I, I really have no issues with the big trucks. Sometimes they get upset cause you're going slower than them. And they kind of pull right into you, try to suck you in and scare you. And this thing doesn't, doesn't shake a bit when they do that. Same with the front. Um, I was running just a standard Bilstein shock and I found out on fire roads, um, it just was not handling it. So I called Accutune with a Fox and they built a custom valve set of six position, uh, shocks. Wow. For me. Dude, that's awesome. Yeah. Now it's like butter. It travels so nice when I get into those roads. That's, that's, that's key. Cause there's nothing worse than getting just like shooken apart. Yeah. When you get on a road and it happens. I went out to, uh, uh, I was on a fire road and, uh, the washboards were really set apart. So it was really just, I mean, five miles an hour, or you were just beating everything to death. And I was literally watching this thing just flex up and down like this. Oh, that's just nerve wracking. And I knew it was going to destroy it. So that's, that's kind of what did that. But yeah, I had to put a three, four in it because the original 22R after the conversion, 33 inch tires, uh, just was not, was not cutting it, you know? So I had to end up going to a little bit bigger motor. That's nice though, man. That way you're not struggling on hills and stuff. Yeah. I gets me about 13 miles per gallon, which isn't bad considering, you know, you're, you're moving your house around. Yeah. A lot more room than what I have. Right. Yeah. You know, and I only, I only get 14. Really? Well, I've got, I've got a lot of weight on mine. Yeah. I'm at, I'm just under, or just at 6,000 pounds total. I'm a little bit above that. I'm like a 6,500. Yeah. I was really careful. It was complete, you'll see inside, but it was completely gutted when I got it. Um, where did you get that fiberglass? I got it out of California. Okay. Um, they're really difficult to get ahold of. Uh, they're very rare, the 18 footers. And, uh, I was the second person in line and I thought it was gone because the first person was going to grab it. I contacted them directly when I found out there was somebody else. I found them on Facebook and said, if you don't want it, you let me know right away. Cause I've already been talking to the guy and I've got the money. I want it. And, uh, she called me back. She said she was flipping it and it was going to be too much work for what she needed to put into it to get her value out. I see. So she said, it's yours. Wow. You're probably like, yes. Yeah. I, I immediately drove down there sight unseen and purchased it. Wow. You'd never, never been in one. I knew it's what I wanted. You'd never been in. You're like, I got it. It's mine. This is great. So I had to learn to fiberglass. Um, that was one of the big things. These have wraparound windows up here that go all the way around. They're notorious for leaking for that. Um, even in the best condition, um, they're kind of classic. It's, it's what kind of makes the sunrider, the sunrider. So it's kind of a bummer to have to do that. But mine were just completely shot. Um, you can see on my Instagram, um, channel where originally what this thing looked like, I mean, I had duct tape holding the same together so I can get it home. So it was pretty nasty. So I taught myself to fiberglass did a nice job. Um, yeah, decent. You know, I w I watched a lot of YouTube, uh, specifically on, uh, people who worked on boats. So I could really learn to do it right because there's a lot of misinformation out there of people just kind of saying, Hey, this is how you do it. And they're just really don't know. Uh, but when you go to watch professionals, you get a really good idea of how it's, how it's done. Cool. And then you don't have issues later on down the road. Yeah. You know, same thing with these. Um, I wanted new compartments so that I could, um, you know, access things better, a little better insulated, better locks. Um, this again was a refrigerator inside, so I had to completely fill that one. And this one actually access is my wood for my wood stove inside. So yeah, that's kind of cool. I don't have to drag it in through the other side. That's nice. Yeah. It's amazing how that just bringing wood in and out of construction. Yeah. It's just real quick. Yeah. It's just like, where did all this stuff come from? Yeah. No matter what you do, it just seems, it just seems to work like that. And then, uh, yeah, that's pretty much, I mean, I, you know, I have a standard RV, a propane tank. I had to put that in there. It didn't come with that. I did a nice job. And then, uh, I've got, uh, Casey lights, the cyclone twos. I have six of these all the way around the rig. And they're kind of my, if a critter comes near the vehicle or either four legged or two legged and I'm sleeping, um, it's right by the bed. I hit that on and it'll light this whole thing up and at least let people know that, Hey, you might want to think twice. Right. Right. It's important to have that. Yeah. It helps hopefully. And this is of course where you can find me. This is Sunroamer Overland, both on YouTube and Instagram, uh, YouTube. I'm fairly new to, but I, now that I'm actually on the road full time as of a month ago, which I'm so excited about. Um, yeah, thanks. I appreciate that. And, uh, I'm going to be doing a lot more, uh, YouTube and a lot more of the adventures and the travel and really pushing this rig to see what it can do. And I hope you, you know, watch some of that. Yeah. I look forward to checking it out for sure. Yeah. So for my diesel heater, I don't like having the diesel inside. I know they say it's safe to do that, but I just took a Rotopax and, um, got a, um, a thing off of eBay really to run it all the way down and, uh, got a vent in here and just runs my diesel heater from great. Awesome. Having it on the outside. That's good. Yeah. And this is just all my extra storage. I had a motorcycle back here for a while. It just, um, it was either the motorcycle or storage and living in it. I was like, you know what? Pretty simple, pretty simple choice. Pretty simple choice. You got, you got happy. Yeah. I got slammed the other day. Yeah. He's got, he's got to hook me up with a sticker like that. Well, he put it in the right place, right? That's your poop shovel. I mean, if, if he wants to put his face there, that's okay with me. And I just picked this up recently. Um, you know, don't have the motorcycle. So I picked up this nice little fat bike also from happy by the way. And, um, yeah, just to be able to get around once I get camped. Cause I'm the type of person I don't want to be leaving every two or three days. I want to settle in for at least a week and really experience the location and see what's going on around me. That's a good idea. Kind of soak up into it a little bit. Yeah. Getting that guru. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Good deal, man. You didn't know a nice workout here. I see all the lights and everything that you've got. Oh yeah. It's, it's lit up pretty well. Um, you know, the backup lights and I've got cameras all the way around it. Um, and that's so that's actually just for driving. Um, I've got them all on toggles and a seven inch screen so that if I'm, you know, turning into this lane and I really want to see if anybody's out here, I can just turn that taught that camera on right there and it just lights up this whole area so I can make sure nobody's coming up on me real fast. That's awesome. Yeah. Cool, man. So where's the next stop for you after this? Uh, Colorado, right on me and happy trails. Um, you know, we're, we're heading up to Colorado to, uh, guys kind of hit Leadville and, uh, Montrose and some of that area up in there. And from there, I don't know, but you might see me at, uh, Overland Expo, um, Pacific Northwest. Oh, okay. I'm thinking about maybe going to that too. I'll have to see how much they've asked me to, to make that one too for the DIY. So I, I might be doing it. Cool, man. Yeah. I'd like to ask you like, oh man, with the crew. Exactly. Yeah. It's, it's kind of cool. It is really neat. Uh, I love this event. It's, it's been awesome. My second year, um, there's been people doing it a lot longer, but, uh, yeah, it's been awesome. Cool.