Living out of my 1st Gen Tacoma to travel the US...

I bought a 1st gen Tacoma 4x4 last year for one hell of a price because I needed a new truck and simply got lucky. I had not really planned on doing anything other than using it as a daily driver but recently I have decided I am going to convert it into a rig that I can live out of and travel the US. It is something I have always wanted to do since reading Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck in high school and now that I have the ability to just get rid of everything I own pretty much and hit the road I figured I would do just that. So I having been doing some research and getting my rig ready to go cross country. I don't really have a plan or a destination other than probably seeing some brothers I have not seen since Iraq and exploring the vast wilderness we are lucky to have preserved here in the states. Starting to get things together and set up for the truck so I figured I would join the forums since I have been lurking here for a bit and I imagine yall's advice and ideas will be needed at some point on this adventure.

As far as my rig I am running a 1997 Tacoma 4x4 2.7L inline 4 cyl (rebuilt with 62,000
miles on it) 5 speed with the following mods-

3" suspension lift
Front Push bar
KC lights (They are basically fog lights right now, since they are old as dirt I can not find LED bulbs to make them worth a shit for actual trail illumination. Hopefully one day)
Full sound system (Custom box, Sub woofer, and upgraded speakers/head unit)
29" All terrains (Getting new tires in the next week or so so still debating on brand)
American Racing Outlaw 2 rims
K&N performance cold air intake

This was all the modification that came with the truck when I bought it so not sure on brands and the like for some things.

Items being added in the next month

Cobra 29 LCD CB
Softtopper Camper (https://www.softopper.com/softopper)
Full build out of the bed to turn into a livable space to include - Secure gear storage, Transitional configurations for base camp living as well as mobile/ "stealth" camping, minor insulation of the topper to help manage heat retention and loss, full bug netting/screen of the interior to allow for rolling the topper sides for ventilation and comfort in the back country, and once I figure out how I want to do a power set up a full lighting/ charging station suite. (This will be a bit since I want to have some road time before I decide on interior power usage/ set ups since it will be a bit of an investment, especially if I run solar)
Custom passenger side storage unit

Since I am only running the 4 banger power plant I am doing my best to keep everything as light as possible to not only keep the engine strain down (She already dislikes steepish inclines at highway speeds), but to also increase maximize my MPG as much as possible (In theory anyway)

I plan on heading out mid Apr at the latest and since this is cram time so to speak I wanted to go ahead and introduce myself on here and say hey. Because who knows what I might need to figure out with the truck in the coming months. LOL

Figured I would add a picture of the rig before I start doing the work on it in the next few days. Might add the end result as well if I remember.

Bomcat12B

 

Welcome aboard.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Nice! Welcome!

 

Welcome! That looks fun, good luck

 

God bless you man I am so jealous. That would be a dream to do something like that and it is so nice to see you doing it!! I am sure it will be amazing!

 

I’ve been thinking about doing this for the past couple of years. I’ve watched all the YouTube videos on overlanding full time... I have been slowly buying stuff to get ready to hit the road. Hopefully will be ready by next spring.

welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to the TW