Tacoma and camping....

You can’t camp with a Tacoma. You can only hardcore overland.

Make a plan for food, 2 weeks is a long time. Will you grocery shop on the road, will you eat at restaurants, will you take all the food you need? Plan that first. Nothing worse than getting all of your gear organized and realizing you don’t have room for food and water.

 

All good things to think about. Lucky for me my wife is an OCD planner when it comes to that kind of stuff. Thats kind of why we im looking at what set ups everyone is using for saving space and such....

 

Mine too. Honestly I don’t care about RTTs, you don’t need a $1000 tent for one trip. A ground tent and a $20 memory foam mattress from target is all you need to sleep on, add a few blankets and pillows and you’ll be very comfortable. It also takes up no space. Plan out how far you want to drive each day (leaving yourself a good amount of daylight!!) and map out campsites along your route. Then set up camp when you get there. I would suggest an LED light bar for your bumper mouth, very inexpensive and very handy if you find yourself setting up camp after dark. If you want to put a shower bag on your truck somewhere to heat up water while you drive, that’s smart too. Or you can stop at campsites with showers or a hotel once in a while. Stinky people in a truck will build up. Really, id love to help you more and we as a community can help more, but we need to know your priorities for the trip so we can point you in the right direction

 

This my setup,, it's not for everyone, but works good for me.We did a 3 week trip to the Yukon in 2017 and a 16 day trip to Newfoundland in 2018. It changes your approach to travel when you are prepared,
We had to stop and shop for water and a few fresh vegetables about every three days,
There are a lot of great ideas on TW and elsewhere , you just have to figure out what's right for you
That the fun part,,,,

 

Have you had a weekend trip in your Taco yet? Just a thought. All these suggestions about throwing down huge chunks of hard earned money, I made sure I liked my truck. You might find you hate yours on long trips.

 

When you can drive all day and then pull up and camp anywhere you want and be able to set up a kitchen or a comfortable bed a few minutes, that is closer to glamping. That’s really why we like our RTT so much, and yours is the same idea- well organized and easy to set up. Very nice!

 

Good points- most of them. As I posted earlier a good RTT is available for much less than $1000. Ground tents are even less and are great for occasional use, but for a two-week road trip, they are really a chore. A solar shower is a great idea, too. Good quality headlamps make better lights for setting up camp than bright truck headlights or a lightbar, especially if in a campground later at night so you don’t piss other people off. I always turn off my vehicle lights in those places where others are and just use headlamps as soon as possible. They are also better in remote camping as you don’t loose your nightvision as much.

 

This is our setup that we have used to travel about 900 miles in 6 days 4 nights over two separate trips (through the Mojave Preserve along the Mojave Road.) We have two kids that are still in car seats. I cant imagine the luxury of having the rear of the cab for stuff. Our set up is simple and cheap. I am using a Tyger soft tonneau cover. It works to keep the dirt off our stuff and is a nice security measure when we end up in a city.

 

I didn’t think about the light bar in a campground. Good point. I prefer remote areas and I never use campgrounds so it never occurred to me

 

Just getting my truck bed tent ready for an outing. Shortbed truck but the tent attaches with the tailgate down adding the extra length needed for taller peeps.

 

Im that way too, but it gets super dark in a remote camp when you walk outside of the headlight beam! And Im usually walking around with a beer in my hand looking up at the stars in those situations, and go tripping over anything because I forgot to use my headlamp or flashlight!

 

The best part of camping in the remote areas! I like your style. I always bring a headlamp but save it. I have everything set up around my campfire for light and flashlights for wandering around. Headlamps are good for cooking or doing anything that requires both hands, so I save the headlamps for those things. I can normally set up my camp using my light bar for light in about 10 minutes, so then I have a tent with bedding and a fire going.

 

As much as I like camping, the idea of traveling AND camping doesn't sound like much fun. Maybe if 2-3 nights in each place, but driving, setting up camp, sleeping, breaking camp and driving again doesn't sound like much fun.

Sure, a RTT would make that somewhat more bearable, but I fucking hate RTTs and will never own one. Now, one of those pop up campers might be interesting. Something like https://www.goose-gear.com/products/at-overland-tacoma-habitat but pricey.

Hauling a trailer might be okay, but that also doesn't appeal to me.

If it was me, I'd just rent a class B RV and leave the Tacoma at home. Less set up, sleep anywhere, one not overly obnoxious vehicle, get to and park most places.

If you are set on taking the tacoma and camping then just get a tent, decent mattress and build in some time for set up and take down and maybe even plan a couple days in some places. Take your time and enjoy the journey.

 

Just getting my truck bed tent ready for an outing. Blow up air mattress to fit the back as well.
Quick Easy And Simple, Beats forking out 9K for a pop up.
Honestly i think less is more when it comes to the convenience of a weekend camping trip.
Tent and mattress take up only 2 sq ft of space, leaves tons of room for fishing poles, clothing, coolers food/water, other recreational gear, etc.

 

Ah, but if you are traveling offroad and on backroads, hiking and exploring around and such as you go, the trip is the fun part. Getting to camp to play house in the early evening is too much like kitchen chores at home. I dont even have a campfire when we do that. But then the type of camping where you are sharing a site with family and friends and the get together is the main point, then staying in one place with amazing dinners, sharing a campfire, etc., is definitely the way to go.

 

I don't camp in campgrounds. My idea of camping is to get away from people not spend more time near them, and I'm a poor slob and just have a ground tent.

My point was if you're going to spend two weeks on the road then drive-camp-drive doesn't sound like much fun. That's not exploring - that's traveling. Drive-camp-camp-camp-drive sure.

 

Just me and the kids remote lakes ( AKA big ponds to fish), deep mountains, some roads i take are kinda meant for side by sides but my Montana Taco Truck fits em pretty good, lol
At some point might get some permanent pin striping on the sides if i keep doing the side by side trails...... guess it would be a good opportunity for me if i did. I want to keep the color of my truck but ghost some DRAGON attributes into the paint scheme.

 

My first love of Toyota Trucks was when i was like 7 years old.
Marty talked to his BABE about getting a truck like this one and going up to the lake and throwing a couple sleeping bags in the back.

 

pic of someones attempt to recreate the back to the future 4X4, wrong tires it had goodyear radials on the one in the movie

 

@newguy915 Sounds like a great trip and a lot of exploring to do!

So a few things to keep in mind even if it’s not your cup of tea or if it drives your SO nuts like it does mine. Research, research, research, and start making plans off the tentive route you’re thinking about taking and the sites you might want to see. Of course plans change and you might deviate off course but it’s totally worth it to know what campgrounds, gas stations, services, and cities are along the way. Depending on what highway/freeway you’re on the further west you get from Indiana the further you’ll be between cities and small towns that have services.

I’m not sure what you’re level of experience is with camping and camping while on a cross country trip. They are two pretty different experiences. I would suggest in the next few months to start with a short camping trip to test out tent camping and then next time rent a small pull trailer to see what feels right.

If you’re planning on camping the whole way to Yosemite and then camp the way back I would suggest planning out very simple meals (my GF and I use freezdry backpacking meals) and a very minimal camp set up or stay at a couple hotels/AirBnbs along the way. Trust me it gets really old setting up camp and tearing it down everyday just to keep moving even if you think it’s minimalistic. You’ll find that there are things you don’t need and just end up taking space.

Also, for some a huge part of camping and traveling is having a pet companion. I’m not sure if you have a dog or not but some national parks are very strict about NO DOGS or similar domestic animals just something to keep in mind.

I really could keep writing for ever but if you want some info on how I plan and a look at some of my old pack lists I’d be happy to share with you just shoot me a pm.