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What’s more popular than a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck these days? How about a 2001 Toyota Tacoma with a 1978 Toyota Chinook camper top added to it? This incredible Toyota camper is a perfect mashup between a perfectly sensible and reliable modern Toyota Tacoma and the funky ‘70s charm of the Toyota Chinook camper. This 2001 Toyota Tacoma is the perfect camper truck, and I can barely stand it. 

2001 Toyota Tacoma camper mashed up with a 1978 Toyota Chinook is the perfect camper truck
2001 Toyota Tacoma/Chinook camper | Down2Mob Overland

Feast your eyes on this perfect camper truck

This 2001 Toyota Tacoma camper truck may not look all that exciting from the outside, but under the surface, this is one of the coolest campers out there. 

According to The Drive, this Toyota camper goes by the name Doris. Doris is a perfect mashup of old meets new. This camper mashup was first discovered by the owner of Down2Mob Overland, Phil Kockerbeck. Kockerbeck is the same guy who built the incredible Jeep Gladiator camper we covered a few weeks ago. 

Phil Burdette and his family built and currently own this killer camper concoction a few years ago. Although the Chinook and the Tacoma are both Toyota products, the melding of the two trucks was no simple plug-and-play project. 

This Toyota camper is a masterpiece

After slapping these two trucks together, Burdette really went to town, building Doris out into a world-class camper. According to The Drive, he pushed the rear axle back eight inches and replaced the stock suspension with Australia’s finest, Old Man Emu heavy-duty springs and shocks. He even added an extra leaf spring to deal with the added camper weight. 

The front end of this badass camper truck build is adorned with a bushwackable ARB front bumper. The beating heart of Doris is the 3.4-liter V6 still paired with its five-speed manual transmission pulling the title of the perfect camper truck into view. 

If adding the Chinook shell wasn’t enough, the three years he spent building it really shows when you see the inside. As The Drive mentions, he added a keyless entry to the Chinook and sound dampening materials in the Tacoma cab. He even covered the whole thing with Monstaliner in a monochromatic shade of ecru.

The interior features high-end Polk speakers, custom window shades, a big sink, composite flooring made to get muddy and easily cleaned, and tons of storage. The water tank that supports the sink has a 30-gallon supply. 

The coup de grace is the beautiful red cedar panels that line the entire cabin. This takes the Chinook from a ’70s camper to a perfect camper truck. 

The perfect camper truck could be yours

Interior of the Toyota mashup camper
2001 Toyota Tacoma/Chinook camper | Down2Mob Overland

Although Burdette clearly put tons of love and effort into this Toyota Tacoma camper truck, he and the family are ready for something bigger. He is sending the Toyota camper truck downriver on Facebook Marketplace for $35,000. 

While that may seem cheap, the Toyota camper has 281,000 miles on it. That is a big number, but this is a Toyota after all. Even without a motor, this camper is a killer and thousands of dollars cheaper than the next best thing. 

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Staff Writer

Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.