nvnv's Weekend camp/explorer + daily driver 2016 TRD OR

Update on how she looks today:



2016 TRD Off Road double cab with every option (I think). Currently sitting at just over 10k miles. I traded in my 2013 Lexus IS250, which I really liked, but found I'm not much of a car guy. I also sold my 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I really only drove in the winter. It was my first vehicle which treated me very well and was kind of hard to let go. But all good things must come to an end.

Day I bought it:


The first month I had it I took it to Yosemite where it got like 21mpg round trip which really surprised me seeing how mountainous the drive was. Got home from Yosemite and the next morning immediately left for a long weekend camping trip down to the Arnold, CA area where we camped at the end of Sourgrass trail. For a stock vehicle the trail was pretty difficult but after a lot of spotting I made it through unscathed. The only damage was smashing the stock tin foil skid plate.

Got home and found someone local on here selling a Relentless Fab aluminum front skid and steel mid/transfer case skid combo so I picked those up. I'm selling the steel mid/transfer case skid so I can get the aluminum mid skid. I'm trying to go as lightweight as possible to conserve fuel milage and ground clearance. My Jeep had an ARB front bumper and Warn winch, sliders, and at one time a full swing out rear bumper. It absolutely killed my gas mileage and made it slow and heavy.

Relentless Fab aluminum skid plate:


After that I just drove it the way it was for the summer. Used to camp, check out hot springs, explore the great state of Nevada. Found out how capable these trucks are stock.





One of my favorite things about Nevada ,and the West in general, is the amount of public lands that are open to explore. Nevada leads the pack with about 85% of the state being public land. Even living in one of the few big cities in the state you can always drive a few minutes out of town and be in wilderness. Many places like in these pictures you are 50 or 60 miles from the nearest town (with population of around 300) and have no cell signal. Most days you can drive down dirt roads and never see another person.






Not really a mod but I found out with how the body of these trucks curves in toward the bottom. It really gets beat up by mud/rocks/whatever getting kicked up from the tires. I bought some Weathertech mud flaps. I wish they weren't as rigid but they work. We'll see how long they last before getting ripped off.

 

Back in December I ordered a Relentless Fab Stingray Low Pro bumper. It finally came in a couple weeks ago so I threw it on that weekend. I put a Smittybilt X20 10k pound winch in it with synthetic rope. It also has a wireless controller which is really nice. I can still plug it in though if needed easily enough. The Relentless bumper has a lot of cut outs in the front to access the freespool lever and solenoid.

I ordered a cheapo 20" light bar off Amazon to put in it but it didn't fit (ordered it before I had the bumper and could measure the mounting tabs). The bumper is made for a Baja Designs bar but the mounting tabs are pretty generic. I'll have to find something else.

The quality of this bumper is incredible. Although I wished they made it in aluminum to save weight, it only comes in at around 70 lbs.

 

I've been wanting a roof top tent for a while now and finally ponied up and bought one. I was originally going to order a Tepui or CVT but after a lot of research I came across Tuff Stuff tents on Expedition Portal. I got their Scout model. They got really good reviews and the price on them was great, only $879 shipped. I have to say the customer service from Tuff Stuff was awesome. 10 minutes after clicking the buy button the guy from Tuff Stuff called me to getting shipping setup. Then the next day he called again to say it had shipped and when I should expect it. I ordered on a Monday night, it shipped on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the freight terminal called letting me know it was ready to pickup. Faster than Amazon!

http://tuffstuff4x4.com/products/tuff-stuff-scout-overland-rooftop-tent/

I got the tent and set it up in my garage. From just poking around and checking it out on the ground the quality looks really nice. I'll have to wait until I get it mounted and have a few nights in it. I have a 5 day trip to Death Valley planned at the end of March so that will be the real test.

 

Of course I needed a rack to mount the tent on. Since I have the factory tonneau cover and wanted to keep it on with the rack and tent mounted I wanted a rack that would work with the cover. I went with the KB Voodoo rack. Got it last week and mounted it up. It is super beefy. I love the wide rails and I love that I can twist a couple knobs and pop the rails off in a minute if I need to flip the cover back and use my bed.





I did make a slight modification to the tonneau cover. Since the brackets are so thick, they make it hard or nearly impossible to get that second click lockdown of the cover. Anyone with the factory cover knows what I'm talking about. Not really a fault of the rack, just the way it is. I added a couple washers the locking mechanism on each side and now it locks down silky smooth again.

 

Nice thread subd!

 

Even going into some pretty remote places in Nevada I've never really come close to running out of gas. This truck has pretty good range, especially on the highway. Sometimes you just don't want to pay for expensive gas in the middle of nowhere though. I ordered up four 20 liter NATO steel jerry cans. These aren't China knockoffs but made by a factory that actually makes cans for NATO countries. Anyone that has any suggestions on how to store these in the bed let me know. Right now the plan is to just strap them down, but I'd like a more eloquent solution.

I got them from Deutsche Optik, which oddly enough is a local company I found out. http://deutscheoptik.com/20-liter-jerry-can-single-can.html



I also have these sitting in my office waiting to go on. They are Bilstein 5100's for the 3rd gens. I plan to put them at the 3rd notch, which is about 1" of lift. That should put me right into TRD Pro territory which is what I'm going for. I may get a little less due to the bumper and winch.

 

I forgot about these nifty little things. Dual Quick Fist mounts from Relentless Fab. Nothing in them right now but when I go out I throw an axe and shovel in there.

 

Nice! Sub'd.

 

Got the roof top tent mounted and setup today. I'm leaving for Death Valley in a couple weeks for 5 days.

 

Replaced my winch hook with a Factor 55 Flatlink E. These things are pricey but worth it. They're safer when winching and they stow very nicely against the fair lead instead of having a hook and shackle flapping in the breeze. I definitely don't mind paying for a well thought out and quality Made in USA product like this.

 

Some pics from my trip to Death Valley:

Descending into Saline Valley via North Pass


The top of Lippincott Pass


Dante's Peak


Camp one night


Titus Canyon

 

That's awesome!

 

Leveled the front out with Bilstein 5100's set at the 3rd notch. Also slashed a tire while out camping so I ended up replacing all 4 with 265/75r16 BFG KO2's.

 

Some random camping pictures.

 

Dude that first hot spring was my favorite, such a bummer it's now closed. That bumper looks great! What'd you end up doing with the LED bar?

 

I know I was pissed when I heard they closed it. I got a cheapo light bar off Amazon but it's not long enough for the mounts on the bumper. I'll probably end up getting the Baja Designs that it's designed for, but I also want a Switch Pro so once I have an extra thousand laying around I'll get that done.

 

As ridiculous as some of those prices seem I think it'd be worth it in the long run with all the open highways around here. I just got a new job that'll have me traveling to the PNW every week so my priorities are going into lighting and a radar detector, which will end up being the same price as a wheel and tire combo or lift.

 

Love the direction of your build. Subb'd.

 

Not much progress on the build. I got the Relentless aluminum mid skid. I also have a Kenwood D710GA that I’m going to try to get installed this weekend. Just swapped the TRD grille for the SR5. Everyone is going with the Pro grille so I figured I be different.

 

Let me know how you like the Kenwood! Also just an FYI but Best Buy will price match Amazon on the spot. I saved like $300 on my old system and got it all on the spot which was super convenient.