Building an Overlander.... don’t kill me

I agree, but shit can go really bad really fast out in the wilderness. If your kid gets bit by a rattler or has a bad allergic reaction you didn’t know about, you’re going to need a plan and quick. Mental preparedness is more important than toys and luxuries that at some point aren’t necessary from my experience. If your wife / gf / bf is coming along, having another well informed person is helpful if you’re the person in trouble.

 

Let me tell you this... when my trd sport was dead stock, I took it on an 18 mile atv trail in Shenandoah, VA. I had no business being on that trail, matter of fact no one did unless you had a side by side or a dirt bike. But my stock truck made it with no damages besides my stock nerf bars and some scratches.. unless you are doing some absolutely outrages things that you would need long travel for.. save you money and drive it and upgrade as needed. I added a 2.5 inch lift and put my rotiforms with 285s on it just for sanity and clearance. If I had your budget I would still have like 13k left.......

 

1st-Jugs filled with water - At least 2x5gal (Scepter is good )

2nd-Traction pads and a full length normal shovel because snatch straps and winches don’t work well when there’s nothing but sand, and you won’t always have another vehicle there to help

3rd-Air compressor for airing back up after you air down for pleasure or escape

4th-good shoes on the family because you might need to walk out for help

5th-bikes on a solid hitch-mounted bike rack because bikes are rad and you might need to bike out for help

6th-your existing camping gear setup loaded in so you can do a shakedown of what bins, tents, etc. need supplementals

7th-the knowledge that many off-road trails that are fun for one are horrible for passengers and hated by children. Not all people like being waggled around inside the cab as you clear obstacles and drop your wheels over small rocks

Do all this first. Post pics and details and your experiences, then the wise sages of high pressure and other delights will help thee further.

 

I'd put recovery higher on the list

 

Keep the truck light and nimble so you get better range. Save the money wasted on mods for more time off work and more fuel to get places.

Tires are important. Recovery gear is important. The rest is dependent on the situation and is ultimately, mostly fashion. Sometimes having a bloated heavy rig with a bunch of bro-jazz bolted to it will stop you in your tracks, or bog you down.

I concur with the others here. Get to know the vehicle, and what your personal preferences are before changing anything.

 

Really great advice. So today I ordered a small compressor. Next payday traction pads and a shovel (any recommendations) and a good first aid kit. I’ve been giving some thought to what we miss while tent camping in our van and two things that pop up is a fridge and power. So those will be on the list. Perhaps a jackery 500 and a fridge but damn domestic is expensive af. I’ve also been reading about pizza cutters and I like the way the look and get to keep my stock rims so I may go that way but first lots of camping with the family to get a feel for just what we need. Thanks for all the help.

 

Look at this fridge. I have had one for 2yrs now with no complaints. I actually want the dual zone now

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/csi-fridge-freezer-mega-thread.560526/

I built a "cradle" for around $30ish

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...bs-concretelander.578187/page-9#post-21120967

 

He sounds like he's trying to give off an Aussie accent. The only Canadians I can compare him to are the ones from Letterkenny...…..and he sounds nothing like them

 

You're going to spend $15,000 for stuff you don't need. Get one size larger A/T tires of really good quality. Get a Coleman gasoline stove. Watch the YouTube video series "The Road Chose Me" and see what you can do with a very minimalist setup. The fancy thing he had was a water tanking and filtration system because he was going all around Africa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRRmptAA9dk

 

Hi,

Without knowing anything about your background, it is next to impossible to respond to your question(s). So much of what you "should" do depends on you experience level as relates to what it is you want to do.

From your list above, you want to win the "I have the coolest truck on the road" award. But that is really a huge over simplification given the lack of info I have about you.

Once we have a clue about your knowledge level we can get on with it and ask what it is you really want to do. Based on what you have posted so far I really have no clue about his either; refer to the owning a "cool looking truck" award.

So, given you background and experiences you need to sit down and really think about what it is you want to do.

Going camping does not require the investment in aftermarket upgrades to you vehicle that going rock crawling does.

Driving forest service roads does not require the investment in aftermarket upgrades to you vehicle that going rock crawling does.

Going off road, beyond forest service roads on occasion does not require the investment in aftermarket upgrades to you vehicle that going rock crawling does.

The point here is that doing what you propose above, upgrades to you vehicle that going rock crawling requires, is not the place to start when you have not thought through what it is you really are going to be doing. And yes, this does imply that your objective is not building the coolest looking truck that crawls the mall.

So, what to do?

Several others have pointed out that you need to think about what it is you want to do and then actually use the truck to do this. This way you can learn about the truck and how it handles the task at hand. You will waste money if you go out and start doing upgrades and purchasing equipment when you do not know what it is that you want to do.

On the other hand, perhaps you have lots of experience and you already have this info. I suspect that if you did you would not be here asking the question(s) that you have. It is all too easy to get sucked into the black hole of trying to win the "my truck is the bomb" award. All at great expense with nothing of value resulting because you will never use it as kitted out.

So, yes, slow down, use the truck for some time and find out if you are going to be hauling lumber and other such items which would mean that building an overloading vehicle would be difficult because you would not be happy with a hard to shell on the bed. To say nothing of a RTT (roof top tent), etc., etc. The way you use the vehicle will determine what you are going to do. A true overlander lives in their vehicle because they are full time travelers.

And full time travel is very different from going camping on the weekend; take it from someone who spent seven years on the road in Europe, North Africa, the middle east and Asia on motorcycles and three years in the US of A and Canada with a truck and travel trailer. Until you relly know what it is you are going to use your vehicle for you will waste money doing anything to it.

Regards,

Jim

 

Jim, Thanks For taking the time for such an in depth post. I would be lying if I said that wanting to have a “cool” truck hasn’t crossed my mind but honestly that’s not really what I’m trying to achieve here. I’m not looking to drop 12-15k to mall crawl. What I’m really looking for is more based around functionality for 3 things.
1. Camping/Overlanding- I’ve done a fair bit of camping in my day including a few 3-4 day hike ins but now that I’ve got a family that consists of my wife, a 6 year old girl and a 4 year old boy I think my life will be filled with more “glamping” then anything. We camp quite a bit at campgrounds. I want to build a rig that sill give them most of the creature comforts of this bit Have the ability to hit a trail or fire road pull off and set up camp. This is the main reason I started this post.

2. off-roading- I’d like to build a rig that is capable of hitting trails somewhere between the rubicon trail and a fire road. I don’t want to spend 10k on suspension but I do want to get a good 2” lift or so and some beefy tires I think armor is a good idea as well as living I. Arizona there are lots of good trails to crawl some rocks. My experience level here is pretty much non existent and would appreciate any help I. Regards to mod grade suspension and tires and most importantly recovery and safety ideas. I don’t know sh!t about F@Ck when it comes to traction pads hi lift jacks winches recovery straps, off road comma, Gaia etc. if anyone wants to take someone under their wing here there may be a 6 pack of elder pliny in it for ya.

3. bug out- I won’t type a nice here but I’d also like to have a truck (and supplies) where, given the current political climate, I can grab my family and bounce to an undisclosed location for a week if shit gets crazy. Again no experience here and would appreciate feedback.

So far I haven’t done anything to my truck. I’m taking the advice that’s given amd I’m gonna take some camping trips and see how it shakes out. I have purchased a couple of items that I felt were important.
Air compressor
Air down valves
Self contained battery jump start thing a ma bob

in my cart I have
Jackery 500
Traction pads

I’d like to purchase the following next (any feedback on which ones to get would be great)
Hi lift jack
Recovery strap
Shovel

Ok my novel is done.

Josh

 

I go "overlanding" in my TRDOR with sliders(protection) and bed bars(a little extra storage) without any problems. And it didn't cost me $15000!

 

If you are going to use the hi jack
Lift as an actual jack and not a recovery tool, I would highly recommend putting some slider and some type of steel bumper in the front. On a stock Tacoma u really only have the hitch as a lifting point. In all honesty they are great for emergency situations, but they are pretty impractical for a stock Tacoma.

 

More clearance can help but has limitations. You may want to start with armor as insurance against hitting anything.

 

Or get some of those

$52 Hi-Lift Jack LM-100 Lift-Mate

straps that you put through the rim.

 

All depends on what you want to do. Our trips are geared more towards family camping in remote areas rather than abunch of rock crawling. I put a little bit into a small lift and light armor and spent the majority on camping gear (shell, RTT, fridge, awning).

 

Congrats on the new truck! Overlanding is an amazing experience. I would suggest aggressive tires, lift for ground clearance, rock sliders, and underbody armor at the least.

I bought Bilsteins 5100s with 887 OME coils, Medium Duty Dakars without extra leaf, timbren bumpstops, and SPC UCA's for my suspension. Bought sliders for $500 from a local fab company and I've protected my truck with it a few times last week in MOAB, I would been happy with a diff diaper too, so that's coming next at some point for me. My truck would been damaged more if not for all those listed.

Also, I'm from Kansas City. Go Chiefs!

 

He sounds Australian because he is from Australia. He lives in Canada now (part of the Commonwealth, you know), but he didn't leave the accent at the border.

 

Ah, I didn't know he was an Aussie. The article said "Dan Grec of Whitehorse, Canada, recently took this 2011 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon...……" I assumed he was Canadian.

 

ueah suspension amd armor are definitely on the list. Oh and Raider Nation for Life.