One of the challenges of traveling with a slide-in truck camper is figuring out where to put everything that doesn’t belong inside the camper. Tools, camp chairs, hoses, recovery gear, and all the other odds and ends that make life on the road easier have to go somewhere. On a full-size truck there may be a few extra places to stash things, but on a midsize pickup like my Toyota Tacoma, every square inch counts.
Once my Phoenix Stealthy Mini pop-up camper is loaded into the bed of my 2013 Toyota Tacoma, there’s little usable bed space left for anything else. That makes finding additional storage a challenge, especially on a midsize truck where every inch counts. The obvious alternatives all come with compromises: a roof box adds height, hitch-mounted storage adds length and can interfere with rear access, and stashing more gear inside the camper takes away valuable living space.
That’s why STAPLL’s storage solution caught my eye. Instead of making the truck taller, longer, or more cluttered, the company’s Fender Rack system takes advantage of an area most of us probably never think about—the space along the outside of the truck bed, below the bed rail and above the rear fender. It’s a surprisingly useful location that otherwise goes largely unused.
After three months of use, I now have two very different setups, one on each side of the Tacoma. On the driver side, I carry a 5-gallon RotoPaX container that serves as my gray-water tank. On the passenger side, I use STAPLL’s Fender Case Kit hardware with a Pelican Vault V770 Long Case for tools and camping gear.
Together, the two setups solve very different problems while making use of space that would otherwise contribute nothing to the truck’s camping utility. Better yet, they’ve done it without interfering with the Stealthy Mini or changing the basic footprint of my truck camper rig.
The STAPLL Fender Rack System
STAPLL offers several Fender Racks, including the 6×13-inch rack I use for the RotoPaX and the smaller 6×7-inch racks used with its Fender Case Kit. The 6×13 is rated for 50 pounds, weighs 7.5 pounds, and protrudes as little as 1.75 inches into the bed. That low-profile design is particularly useful with a slide-in camper, where space between the camper body and bedside can be limited.
Installation of the STAPLL hardware was extremely simple. The instructions were clear, and the installation videos available online made the process easy to follow. The racks use the Tacoma’s factory bed-rail channel, so I didn’t have to drill into the truck. STAPLL also includes paint-protection material and rubber vibration stabilizers where the system contacts the bedside.
After three months of driving with both setups installed, I’ve experienced no rattling, movement, scratching, or rubbing. The RotoPaX sits roughly 2 inches away from the Stealthy Mini, while the Pelican case has about 1-inch of clearance. Neither has contacted the camper during normal driving.
Driver Side: A 5-Gallon Gray-Water Solution
On the driver side of the Tacoma, I installed STAPLL’s 6×13 Fender Rack with a matching 5-gallon RotoPaX Camp Jug and RotoPaX DLX Pack Mount.
The DLX mount was exceptionally easy to install. It fit the 6×13 rack perfectly and required no drilling, fabrication, or modification. I simply positioned the mount on the MOLLE panel, secured it with the supplied hardware, and attached the RotoPaX. The 5-gallon jug measures about 13.25 inches wide, 18 inches tall, and 6.5 inches deep, making good use of the area above the Tacoma’s rear fender without becoming excessively bulky.
I chose this setup because I needed a better way to deal with gray water from the Stealthy Mini. Before installing it, sink water could puddle around the camper or run across the campsite when I used the gray-water connection. Besides being messy, it meant I had to pay attention to where the water was going every time we used the sink.
The STAPLL/RotoPaX setup completely eliminated that problem.
I connected the camper’s gray-water outlet to the RotoPaX using a three-foot Atlantic 5/8-inch heavy-duty garden hose and an Eden 20051 adjustable 180-degree and 360-degree metal swivel connector. The swivel is particularly useful with such a short hose because I can route it cleanly without forcing a sharp bend or kink. Once connected, gray water flows directly into the five-gallon container instead of onto the campsite.
In actual use, this has become one of my favorite parts of the setup. I no longer have to deal with puddling beneath the camper or runoff traveling across the campsite. When the container needs to be emptied, I simply remove it from the DLX mount and take it to an appropriate disposal location.
There is one practical weight consideration. STAPLL rates the 6×13 Fender Rack for 50 pounds, and 5 gallons of water alone weighs about 41.7 pounds. With the jug and mounting hardware added, a completely full container puts the setup close to the rack’s published capacity. That’s worth keeping in mind rather than assuming the jug should always be filled completely.
Even with that limitation, the arrangement gives me useful gray-water capacity in a space that otherwise wouldn’t be doing much of anything.
Passenger Side: A Custom Pelican Gear Locker
On the passenger side, I use STAPLL’s 56L Fender Case Kit hardware, but not the case that normally comes with it. STAPLL’s standard 56L case measures about 52.8 inches long, 15.75 inches wide, and 5.67 inches deep. My short-bed Tacoma is a relatively small truck, and the available space beneath the sides of the Stealthy Mini is limited.
Instead, I paired the hardware with a Pelican Vault V770 Long Case.
The V770 is roughly 51.5 inches long, 13.2 inches wide, and 6.7 inches deep. The narrower width was especially important because it provided a better fit in the space available on the Tacoma. With the foam removed, Pelican lists the case at 13.6 pounds.
The STAPLL racks themselves were easy to install. Mounting the case was the only part of the project that made me nervous.
Drilling holes into a new Pelican case requires a bit more commitment than bolting hardware to an existing mounting panel. Before making the first hole, I spent a lot of time measuring and double-checking the position of the case against the Tacoma.
I needed the case high enough that the bottom wouldn’t interfere with the wheel well, but low enough to maintain clearance from the Stealthy Mini. There isn’t a huge amount of room to work with on a Tacoma, so getting the placement right mattered.
Once I was satisfied with the measurements, I drilled the case and bolted it to the two 6×7 STAPLL racks.
The final position leaves about one inch between the Pelican and the camper. After three months of use, that clearance has proven sufficient, and the entire assembly has remained solid and quiet.
What Fits in the Pelican
The Pelican V770 has essentially become my exterior gear locker.
I use it to carry tools, ratchet straps, hiking gear, a hammock, camping chairs, a tablecloth, a lantern, a backpack, outdoor lights, dog food and water bowls, fly fans, cooking butane, and other miscellaneous campsite supplies.
Those are exactly the kinds of items I’d rather not have scattered throughout the Stealthy Mini. Some are dirty, some are awkwardly shaped, and many are things I want access to before I ever step inside the camper.
Keeping them outside frees up interior storage and makes campsite setup faster. If I need a chair, lantern, ratchet strap, tool, or piece of hiking gear, I simply open the Pelican and grab it.
The long, shallow shape of the V770 works particularly well for this. Instead of digging through a deep storage box, most of the gear is visible and easily accessible as soon as I open the case.
Tack Straps Make the Side-Opening Case Work
There is one obvious challenge with mounting a long case on its side: open the lid, and gravity wants to pull everything onto the ground.
STAPLL’s 30-inch Tack Strap flat bungee tie-down straps turned out to be a nearly perfect solution. I installed them inside the Pelican so they stretch across the stored gear. When I unlatch and open the case, the straps hold loose items in place rather than allowing them to spill out.
I also added a simple lid-support system using short lengths of chain and carabiners. The carabiners attach to the outer lock holes on the Pelican case and limit how far the lid can open.
Instead of hanging straight down, the lid stops in a horizontal position and essentially becomes a small shelf.
That has proven surprisingly useful at camp. I can temporarily set down tools, camping gear, or drinks, or even use the lid as a small cooking table with a butane stove.
Together, the Tack Straps and lid supports make the side-mounted orientation much more practical. I can mix soft goods, tools, straps, camping accessories, and other irregularly shaped items without putting everything into individual bags or containers. The Tack Straps keep the load against the inside of the case, while the supported lid provides a convenient work surface whenever the case is open.
Three Months In
After three months, what I like most about the STAPLL system is its ability to turn otherwise unused exterior space into useful storage without giving up the truck bed.
That matters even more on a midsize truck carrying a slide-in camper. My Tacoma doesn’t have the dimensions or payload margin of a heavy-duty pickup, so every storage solution involves a compromise. Roof storage adds height. Hitch-mounted storage adds length and can interfere with rear access. Putting more equipment inside the camper consumes valuable living space.
The Fender Racks keep equipment low, accessible, and close to the truck.
On the driver side, the RotoPaX gives me a clean gray-water solution that completely eliminated the puddling and runoff I dealt with before. On the passenger side, the Pelican V770 gives me a substantial exterior gear locker without interfering with the camper.
The biggest lesson from the project is that careful measurements matter, particularly on a Tacoma. The Pelican V770 wasn’t the case STAPLL originally paired with the Fender Case Kit, but its dimensions made it a better match for my specific truck and camper combination. The RotoPaX installation, on the other hand, required almost no adaptation and fit the 6×13 rack exceptionally well.
Neither setup has rattled, shifted, scratched the truck, or contacted the camper during my first three months of use. More importantly, both solve real problems I had before installing them. That’s ultimately what makes a truck camper modification worthwhile. The best upgrades aren’t necessarily the biggest, most expensive, or most complicated—they’re the ones that make life on the road easier every time you use them.
For truck camper owners constantly looking for one more place to carry gear, STAPLL’s Fender Racks offer an unusual and clever solution. They don’t create more payload or magically make a midsize truck larger. What they do is make better use of the space the truck already has, and on a compact truck camper rig, that can be almost as valuable as adding another storage compartment.
I particularly like that the system isn’t limited to one specific purpose. On one side of my Tacoma, I’ve turned previously unused space into a dedicated 5-gallon gray-water system. On the other, I’ve created a weather-resistant exterior gear locker that keeps tools, chairs, hiking equipment, and campsite supplies out of the camper yet within easy reach. Same basic mounting system, two completely different solutions.
That’s the beauty of the setup. Truck camping—especially with a midsize pickup—is often an exercise in making the most of limited space. Every pound matters, every inch matters, and the best modifications are often those that take advantage of something that was sitting there unused all along.
On my Tacoma and Stealthy Mini combination, the space above the rear fenders turned out to be exactly that. After three months on the truck, the STAPLL Fender Racks have gone from an interesting experiment to something I wouldn’t want to travel without.
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