Transforming the Tundra to CONKSO

Our Toyota Tundra has undergone so many transformations in the last four years.  We have had many adventures in this Tundra transformed to CONKSO.

This is the Tundra in its original form.  

We needed the 4x4 to take us off-road so traditional campers weren't a consideration.

We were able to carry everything we needed, including surfboards, food, water, clothes and a place to sleep.
Previously we carried that huge cooler for food and beer, constantly having to purchase ice every other day.

We loved our Tundra but it was a lot of work packing and unpacking daily because we
had to store some of our things on top of our sleeping quarters.

This gives you a good perspective on where we slept.  John created a bed with a piece of plywood and a foam mattress.
It was a cozy place to sleep, even on a cold night but it was tough not being able to sit up.  We had to shimmy in and out.

The birth of CONKSO.
The Callen Camper changed our life!

John and I got so excited with the potential for this new camper that
we obsessed with learning about what we could do to it.
One of our first and best discoveries was the ARB refrigerator.  John hooked it up to an additional large car battery that was charged by a solar panel-- no more floating food or having to do ice runs!  

The Callen camper had shelves and such that the original owner installed but we gutted it and made it our own.
John installed a plywood that sat on top of the entire bed like before with a full-sized memory foam that sat on top.  John made it foldable with hinges so that it would be easier to reach down under it to grab the stuff we had stored.  He also included the instant hot water heater and 30-gallon tank that was in the Tundra.  We were also able to store both of our 8'-9' paddle boards inside to keep them safe and were still able to sleep with them hanging from the roof.        

The best part was that the camper was tall enough to stand in.  And most people are amazed when I tell them that John, myself and Dakotah slept comfortably side-by-side (literally) on the bed each winter
during our 3-week adventures in Baja.

Other transformations include the aluminum rack that we were able to sit on top of to watch the sunset or sunrise.  We installed a roll-out canopy shade on the passenger side and the rear side for those hot days in Baja.  The ladder was made and installed by John and his friend.

The last addition to CONKSO was the James Baroud pop-up bed.  We always wanted one but didn't want to pay MSRP.  As luck would have it, we found an amazing deal on Craigslist.  

This is how it looks on the inside.  It sleeps two people comfortably.  Plus, you wake up to amazing views.

So as life goes, things change... and we move on.  CONKSO was retired to John's dad because we found a 4x4 camper that we had to get!

Stay tuned for the Adventures of ELMUCHO.

Missing CONKSO

I knew that John, Dakotah and my first road trip together through Baja would test our compatibility as a family.  It required daily interactions with primarily each other over three-weeks of driving and remote camping.  We're either gonna get along or not.  There would be no technology available to dig our noses into and we had to rely on each other to work as a team if things were going to go well.

Our roles came easy for us.  John is mainly responsible for the vehicle and the driving.  Dakotah helps out with the meals and cleaning.  I am responsible for packing all our necessities, including food, toiletries, bedding, clothes, toys and supplies.  My obsessive-compulsive behavior has led me to be an organization freak, with the ability to maximize the use of space. 

On our long trips we would read books, hang out at the beach swimming, fishing or simply hanging out at camp.  I shouldn’t be surprised that John and Dakotah got along amazingly well.  What I enjoyed most was our daily rituals of spending some time together around the bonfire before we crammed into the back of the Callen camper, lying side-by-side on the tundra bed talking about everything and anything.

We affectionately named our truck CONKSO, a silly name that John and I randomly conjured up one afternoon.  We have traveled five years with CONKSO.  It has been transformed from year to year as we learned through each trip what we needed and didn’t need and found innovative ways to live out of a truck comfortably.  We eventually created a home on wheels that we could literally live out of for weeks.  We were so proud of what CONKSO has become.  But as it is, John and I are always snooping around at the newest and latest in camping, which has led us to a new endeavor-- to create ELMUCHO (which you’ll hear more about soon).  It was tough to part ways with CONKSO.  It was like having a family member move away.  We have had so many good memories with CONKSO.  We’ll especially miss the sounds of laughter from those who read the license plate for the first time—the same reaction we had we when we came up with the name!