The tRVck build: an overlanding rig with running water and electricity

The goal here was to build a hybrid between an overlanding truck with some of the comforts of an RV like running water, a hot shower, and solar-powered electricity to reduce the suck.

Starting with 2017 4x4 TRD OR 6spd MT V6 DCSB

Tried to keep costs low and weight down wherever possible.

Suspension

• Stock

Wheels / Tires

• Stock rims
• Toyo Open Country AT3 265/75R16 (link to review)

Exterior

• RCI engine, transmission, transfer case, fuel tank, A-arm skids
• US Off Road winch mount bumper
• Smittybilt X2O 10k Gen2 winch w/synthetic rope
• Cali Raised LED mid height overland bed rack
• Smittybilt Overlander Gen 2 Overlander roof top tent
• Hooke Road roof rack
• Nilight 42" 240W Spot Flood LED light bar

Solar Power

• 2x Renogy 100 Watt 12 volt monocrystalline solar panels, compact design
• 100Ah 12v SOK lithium iron phosphate battery
• Bestek 500 Watt inverter
• Renogy DC-DC MPPT 12 volt 30 amp solar charge controller

On-board Water

• $79 SHURFLO 4008-101-E65 3.0 Revolution Water Pump , Grey
  SHURFLO 4008-101-E65 3 GPM Revolution water pump
  
• Ironman 4x4 13 gallon wheel arch water tank

Starting with the plumbing...

At its heart is the 13 gallon wheel arch water tank held in place by a ratchet strap:

The outlet from that leads to a hole in the bed connecting to behind the scenes 1/2" tubing connected with these valved quick connect fittings:
That feeds the pump which I butchered the driver side cubby to make a home for:

That feeds to an outlet valve (another hole in the bed). The pump is wired to a switch powered by 12v house battery:

A rubber chair leg protector makes a perfect dust cap!
To get water I connect a flexible loc-line faucet, hit the switch and turn the spigot:

The quick connect means I can disconnect the drinking water faucet and connect a shower system to the water outlet. By feeding it water and propane gas I can get hot showers on demand.
Also had to fashion this one-way valve on the water tank cap to allow air in when the pump is operating to prevent the water tank from imploding:
Onto the electrical system:

I lucked out by buying the cheap Hooke road roof rack and somehow making it work seamlessly with the 2x 100W solar panels, just needed a few spacers:

The solar feeds back into the bed to the guts of the electrical system:
I know it's a mess, maybe I'll get around to making it neat, but unlikely.

Here's a seriously crude diagram showing how the electricals all hook up together (with sincere apologies to all the actual electricians out there):

Anyway, I flipped a tote box upside down, installed a couple computer cooling fans to help keep temps in check, added a battery monitor, hey presto!
A switch panel mounted on the passenger side bed controls the fans, and a couple of lights that came with the roof rack that I repurposed into bed and tail lights:


The solar charge controller allows solar power to charge both the car and house battery, but also lets the alternator supply up to 15 amps to the house battery, which together with up to 5 amps from the solar panels gives me a pretty good charging rate for the house battery.

For added practicality I installed a 500 watt inverter below the roof top tent:
I also built a wooden sliding bed for easier access to the propane and gas tanks:

And that's the tRVck in all its glory! Took her out to the desert recently to see how much would fall apart off road, and I'm glad to say it all held together. Hope you all found something interesting/useful here.

 

And it’s a stick. Well done.

 

You reminded me of an interior mod!

Manual transmission aluminum shifter knob

 

Where did you find this little one-way pressure release valve? I've been building my 12v water setup and ran into the vacuum issue on my setup as well. Did some google research and your thread popped up and we even have the same tank. Nice setup.

 

Thanks!

Here you go:

$5 AQUANEAT Aquarium Check Valve, One Way Non Return Valve for Aquarium Air Pump, Check Valve for 3/16" Airline Tubing, Fish Tank Accessories, 10pcs (Red)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086JRH4WS?ie=UTF8

Amazon made everything possible

Good luck with your build.

 

Thanks! I'll see what I can find at the local supply stores.. trying to finish this up for the weekend! And heard that! I've sourced almost all of my stuff from Amazon as well. I'm currently adding in an Accumulator after my pump and making some other little changes and improvements. So far its been fantastic though. This should be the last of it.

 

Wow, that is an awesome build out!

 

Thanks, it's actually held up pretty well in 1000's of miles on and off road.

One part that didn't do so well was the sliding drawer - it still works but the wood and bearings took a beating so I'm going to change it out. Still trying to figure out what exactly I'll replace it with.

Another note is the Niglight 5 switch panel is directly exposed to all the debris and crap that kicks up through the rear wheel well, so unsurprisingly two of the switches no longer work. Since I only need 3 switches I swapped them around but I figure it's only a matter of time before they all fail. It's fairly cheap to replace so I'm not worried but a better solution would be some sort of weather proofing behind the panel