Gen 1 overland/family camping roadtrip youtubers?

looking for any and all resources for where to start and how to build out a gen 1 Tacoma. Looking for things inside of the build threads in the forum. Most Everything I’m finding is focused on the 2nd and 3rd gen. Anyone know of any real knowledgeable and informative youtubers (or other platforms) that focus on a gen 1. Ideally for family camping and road trips but I’ll take anything I can find. Thanks!

 

My build might be useful. I'm not a youtuber so not much for trip stuff if that's all you're looking for but for 1st gen build ideas mine might give an idea or two. Seems that it's helped a few people in the past, so.....
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/box-rocket-2003-trd-doublecab.117265/

 

Did you find the 1st gen build forum here?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/1st-gen-builds-1995-2004.102/

Maybe a better place to look for YouTubers.

 

Are you new to offroading? New to camping? Both?

Just toss your camping gear in your truck and find a trail. That's all "overlanding" is, anyway.

As far as wanting to see 1st gens, it honestly doesn't matter. I get a lot of info from this Jeep youtube guy. The only thing that doesn't really directly apply is the style of lift he has. Tires, RTT's, fridges, shovels, winches, etc... are all non vehicle specific stuff.

Ideally, you should figure out the type of terrain you drive on, the number of people in your group (that are in your truck), your budget, experience level, etc... and go from there, rather than try to copy some youtubers. Lots of those people have sponsors, so unless you have a money tree out back, it's going to cost you serious coin to copy them...


I think it's best to start with more or less a minimal "kit". Would kinda suck to go out and spend several thousand dollars for some stuff you saw on youtube just to find out it doesn't really work for your needs or style, or that it ends up sitting on your truck, never used. I see a LOT of really shiny really expensive shovels on people's racks... No need for a $200 shovel if you don't really use it a lot...

 

I've built a couple 1st gens, but I'm a bit too ugly to be filming myself. However if you have any questions feel free to ask

 

I have a lot of experience camping and backpacking. All that stuff. Really trying to figure out what all can and should be changed on the vehicle. What are the best options to buy to accomplish our goals. I have driving a lot of trials but have not gone way out. Mainly just local back roads to get to trail heads.

Issue is I’m not a car guy. Don’t know squat about tires and wheels. Don’t know squat about lifts, bumpers, bed racks and roof racks. Trying to find info on all of that is daunting. I have been reading and looking through people’s builds but I still feel clueless. Was just hoping there were some gen one overlanders out there that could help me out these what are good and bad mods and such

 

The more you poke around these forums, the more you'll wish you got paid for the amount of time you spend on here learning. There's unlimited info/experiences/knowledge posted all around here.

Take your time to dig through some builds, see what you like & customize to your needs. There is no specific formula for a rad build, & everyone's rig is unique to their specific lifestyle. Welcome to the community!

We just ripped all around North America in my 1st gen with my wife + doggos for 1.5years living out of ours. We don't do youtube, but we do instagram, we're @yourlocalnomads

Cheers, looking forward to seeing your progress. Don't be afraid to shoot anyone a message if you like something they did, we're all stoked to share pics and how-to's!

 

So you've got the camping aspect down, that's perfect. "Overlanding" is literally just camping, but in a 4x4 (doesn't even have to be a 4x4, really).

I would recommend just tossing all your normal camping gear in your truck and finding some easy trails to drive on. Go out for a night or two. Wash, rinse, repeat. The more you do that, the more you'll discover certain things that you like/dislike about the gear you have, and how it works with your truck. Maybe all you have is a lightweight backpacking tent, but since you don't have to lug it around on your back, a bigger 4 season/4 person tent would be the lap of luxury for you.

Some people really go nuts with all the gear they have, and get every little widget and wizbang that's available and cost is (apparently) not an issue, not because they "need" it, but because they are gear junkies (nothing wrong with that). Other people like a more minimalist approach, where they avoid getting that fancy stuff unless they absolutely need it. Then there are people like me who are cheap bastards but still like "gear", I just have to be a lot more thoughtful about what gear I buy.


The only other gear you'd need to bring along is going to be tools/recovery/safety gear that you'd normally take on just about any 4x4 trail. Things like a tow strap (only useful if you have another vehicle), air compressor, spare tire, duct tape, wrenches/pliers, that type of stuff. You don't need to go all nuts with the spare parts and tools, just some basic stuff.

 

Everyone here is correct on the camping aspect of “overLanding”. The vehicle build comes into play with the types of trails you want to experience and how deep your pockets are. This site is notorious for helping drain bank accounts, lol. Head on over to the suspension thread and the 1st gen builds thread and take inspiration from the guys and gals that are doing it.
My wife and i have a lot of backpacking experience and when the little one joined our family, we had to change the way we headed out into the backcountry. We’ve ended up in love with our trips across the western and NW United States. The first couple couple of years, we had a family ground tent that had plenty of space for all of us. Then a few years back, we did the Southern Utah Traverse and got the RTT in preparation for single night, quick setups. Start off slow, then manage upgrades as your trails and needs change. Happy trails!