Quicksand Overland (or something)

As he* currently sits:



Things that currently deviate from when new:

ARB compressor under the hood
Leer 100XR canopy
Bed drawers/platform
Backseat USB
Custom dash switches

Future plans:

Comms.

*I've never gone for the whole naming a vehicle thing, but my five year old son insisted that the truck be called Hot Daniel. It's a he.

 

History:

I've been "overlanding" since before I'd ever known there was a name for it, I just called it camping. When you grow up in the west you want to go exploring, finding open trails on public land is as easy as throwing a dart at a map (I've actually done this!). It started with a '84 Vanagon, continued with a Subaru Justy, moved to a GL, then a '90 Civic Si, followed by a '85 pickup that failed to live up to it's reputation, a '74 Datsun 620, a '91 Accord, and then a '93 DX Pickup. That last one is where things really fell into place. I had more experience with stucks than I imagine most people here will ever experience in their lifetime before I got to the '93. I always operated on the principle that you go in until you get stuck, extract, and then go home. At first it was like I couldn't get stuck, then I started to find out what really getting stuck entails. Toss a little cooking and camping in the mix and that's a solid weekend. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. That '93 got me further along than anything prior. Slowly added to the truck over time, got a compressor and air lockers, mild rear lift to handle the extra weight of gear, some more involved extraction gear, a sweet Glastite canopy, sleep platform, etc. Loved that truck. In the 7 years I had it I put ~170k on it. Drove halfway across the country in it 5 times. Had to sell in '07 when my wife and I just couldn't afford a cross country move out of pocket, seemed like a good idea at the time. Bought a '04 Element that had a disastrously bad "4WD" system followed by a '13 Outback that had an equally bad oil consumption problem. Three thousand miles before the drivetrain warranty expired on the Suby I traded it in for this:



'16 Tacoma TRD Off Road, 6MT w/ P&T. I don't plan on getting rid of this one anytime soon. I won't repeat the same mistake of hastily selling the '93. Also, not as interested in getting stuck as I was when I was younger, but getting out there is still high on my list, and it stuck happens so be it.

 

Work done predating the start of this thread:

Installed an ARB compressor picked up in a recent group buy, built a mount out of scrap sheet and some booger welds.



Designed a little plate for switches to replace the pointless (to me) dash pocket that Toyota put to the left of the steering wheel. Mounted a Toyota style switch for the compressor and one for a backseat USB port:



Fits into the dash like so:



Thanks to my stupid OCD tendencies I'm not really digging the switches themselves due to how far the graphics deviate from the OEM style, but they're blocked by the wheel when driving, so I'll live with it for now.

Canopy showed up two weeks ago, but I was unable to pick it up until last Monday. It's a Leer 100XR with windoor on the left, standard slider on the right w/ petscreen, fixed front slider, carpet liner (free upgrade) and thule tracks. Color match is better than I expected. Leaks a little bit up front where it meets the bed, but I'm pretty certain I'll have no trouble chasing that down.



Bed drawer system on the super cheap. Built the box from some 5/8" prefinished maple I had laying around the shop. Put two 2" wide VHMW strips above each drawer the full length of the box so that when the drawer pivots down it will still glide easily. Cut a bunch of holes in the box to both lose weight and to give air a place to move through as drawers are opened and closed. Note, box is sitting upside down in this picture:



Drawers are made from 12mm (~1/2") baltic birch. Had to buy this material but since BB comes in 5'x5' sheets and the bed of the truck is 5' there's very little waste. The bottom of each drawer got the same 2" strips of VHMW to glide on and they work surprisingly well.



Box goes in truck. The box lines up perfectly with the top of the wheel wells and the small ledge that runs the length of the truck. Another piece of BB makes a solid platform all the way across the bed. That piece is cut into two in a zig zag joint (very difficult to see in the photo) so that the two halves can both be drilled to the box right down the center support. In spite of the short bed length there is enough room for an adult to sleep diagonally back there, great for solo runs.



Covered the top with felt and some black Formica for the drawer faces and the bed system is done.

 

If you can template that switch panel I'm sure you could sell them like hot cakes. I really like the bed drawer setup. Nice work!

 

Thanks for the compliment. Hot cakes might be a bit of a stretch, but my efforts will very likely hit a break even at some point:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ecause-the-thing-i-wanted-didnt-exist.415922/

 

You think that platform would support a dirt bike or two on top?

 

I think it would probably be just fine, but if I were building it again with that kind of weight in mind I'd up the sides of the box to 3/4" ply instead of 5/8" and the felted top to 5/8" or 3/4" instead of 1/2"

 

Last couple of additions before setting off on the big desert trip in two weeks.

Back seat power, because it's completely unreasonable to expect an adult to ride in the backseat for any extended period of time without a way to charge their devices:





and just dropped off today thanks in no small part to the recent ExPo group buy, my very own set of MaxTrax:



Like any other bit of recovery gear, would be nice to never need it but better for having it. Free time next week will all be about going through all of my gear and seeing that it all still works, then on to packing drawers tightly and off we go.

 

Can you tell/show me how you wired up the USB outlets? I really need to do this!

 

I didn't take any pictures of the process, but I can describe it.

Lead comes off the battery, goes through a 7.5 amp fuse, in the firewall to the switch in the dash (didn't do a relay, switch is rated to 20 amps), off the switch down to the sill and under the driver's and up into the center console. From there the lead hits both of the outlets and then the negative from the outlets are jumpered together and then grounded on the bare metal shield that goes over the inverter. Done.

This is the outlet I used.

 

Good job and sounds easy enough for me to do. I thought you may have tapped into the converter like I have seen 2nd gen guys do. Not sure where the converter is in our 3rd gen but I assume it's under the center console similar to the previous gen Tacoma. Thanks for sharing!

 

Yes, it's in the same location, but I went the route I did because I wanted it divorced from the ignition and switched separately.

 

I didn't think about that!

 

Subd. Do you think I should wait a year for a leer for them to work out the weather proofing kinks or is it a flaw in the truck design itself?

 

It's the truck. There's two massive holes at the front of the bed, under the rails on either side. They are easy to miss, and the installer did. There are plugs that come with the OEM tonneau that I may eventually pick up to fill those holes.

 

Cool, I have the oem trifold tonneau now. I love it, but I really want a cap!

 

Two weeks in the desert kicks off at 0600 on Friday. Very last bit of prep took place today. Since I know there's going to be a least two water crossings on my journey, maybe more, I did the old diff breather relocation mod.

Started with a new breather (PN

$7 90930-03136 Toyota Breather Plug - 90930-03136

90930-03136) and a union (PN

$7 90404-51319 Toyota Genuine Parts - Union (90404-51319)

90404-51319):



Union replaces existing breather and connects to rubber hose:



Hose runs along the bottom of the bed over to the drives side bed cubby:



And into the cubby to terminate with the new breather:



And that's it. If I get too deep for the new breather location, I've got bigger problems to worry about than a little water getting into the diff.

 

Excellent pictures. What do you use for hosing, and did you cut into the cubby? I've seen some folks doing it into the rear tail light so they don't have to cut, but I'm guessing it's harder to get access to.

Safe journeys.

 

Hose is a rubber 3/8" ID (I think) vacuum hose from the auto parts store. I did cut into the cubby, opened up one of the drain holes big enough to accept the hose and two more small holes to attach the zip tie that holds it fast. Since the whole cubby comes out with just 6 torx screws it made it really easy.

 

Heading out in 12 hours. Two weeks on the road, Death Valley, Mojave, Phoenix, Joshua Tree, PCH and home. Clothes. Still need to pack clothes.