The Y U No Go build

I figured my first post on the board will be my "build" (which is in progress). First off... wow, this forum has so much advice and information. I have spent the last couple of weeks soaking it all in. After much thought, I decided to go for a 17 Off Road, Double Cab, Long Bed (now that I am clued in, a DCLB). I spent the early years of my life around Tahoe/Truckee area, hitting the logging roads with my dad in a classic green FJ40 Land Cruiser. Got the itch to go and explore some of those amazing places, and new ones. The hook was set when I randomly stumbled across Overland Expo West this spring. One of the first vendors I walked up on was CBI and their beautifully machined Tacoma bumpers. Based on numbers at the show, it was pretty clear that the Tacoma was the truck platform of choice to build on. I spent a month in Africa later in the summer and noted that the Hilux is the truck of Africa. So, Tacoma it was. I am in the process of building the truck below (sorry, no pics yet) - and coming to grips with the 6-10 week lead times on everything. But, it will be ready for some serious exploration of the American southwest in 2018!

Exterior

• Grillcraft MX Black Mesh Grill
• Arb Snorkel (do I need it... probably not. It just looks so damn cool)

Power/Engine

• Nothing yet (little jealous of Raptor's 450hp)

Armor

• Southern Style Offroad Slimline Front Bumper w/hoop and 30" lightbar cutout
• Skids (not decided yet)
• CBI T3 High Clearance Rear Bumper (likely, but still exploring)
• White Knuckle Sliders w/kickout

Suspension

• Icon Stage 6 (front and rear)
• Dakar Leaf Pack

Wheels/Tires

• Method Roost 17 x 8.5
• BFG T/A KO2 (265/70/17 or 285/70/17)

Electrical/Battery

• Odyssey 34R-PC1500T (starter battery)
• ReLION RB75 Lithium Ion Group Size 24 (two of these for aux battery power - 150AH total)
• Redarc BCDC-1240 Battery Charger w/MPPT Solar Controller
• sPOD SE Source w/HD Control Panel
• Dual Voltage Gauge
• Off-Grid Engineering Battery Trays

Electronics

• OBDLink LX Bluetooth
• iPad Pro 9.5 (for navigation/Gaia, ODBLink app, GoPro, and in-car internet hotspot)
• Thinkware F800 Pro 2-Channel Dash Camera w/WIFI (for capturing moments - and for security when sitting around town)
• GoPro (mounted somewhere low/protected in front for a view that is visible on iphone - a project here)
• Mobile radio of some sort (reading about this has inspired me to want to get ham license)

Lighting

• Baja Design S8 30" (front bumper)
• Baja Design Squadron R Amber (in existing fog light location)
• Ditch Lights (? Likely something on CBI mounts)

Recovery

• Arb Twin Compressor
• Warn Winch w/synthetic line (model not determined yet)
• Bunch of misc stuff I have to track down

Interior

• Lock'er Down Console Safe
• Hondo Garage Un-Holey Dash Mount (one for phone and one for iPad)

Mods (discovered reading through TW)

• Backup Camera Switch (and will probably have to relocate it as well)
• Fog Light Switch
• Diff Breather Mod

Tent
This one is all up in the air (no pun intended). My options:

• * Habitat AT
• * Alu-Cab Khaya
• * GFC Platform
• * Some other RTT

Other Stuff to figure out

• Fridge or cooler
• Storage

I am a tech geek, so I can't help wanting to play around with all the electronic stuff. In particular, I am intrigued on how to keep this truck connected to the internet out in the middle of nowhere (why... refer to comment about tech geek). To that end, batteries and solar is a key component (and probably Iridium satellite phone - some learning to do here). Adventure Ready (here in Seattle) is putting a couple of lithium ion batteries in one of their shop trucks - so I said sign me up, I'll be a guinea pig too. The batteries are really expensive, but that appears to be the only downside against a whole list of benefits. They less than 1/2 the weight, have more AH, can be used to 95% discharge (so practically way more effective juice) and have much longer cycle life. This system can be charged by the truck, from solar, or from a regular outlet. I had to try it. In a separate post, I will document the details of the whole electrical system and how it performs. [I am also a musician and having a bunch of battery means disappearing into the bush for days with guitar amp, recording equipment, etc... an off-the-grid mobile recording studio]

NOTE: As a total newbie, I realize that assembling a truck decked out like this is probably a bit over the top. My only justification is that for the last year, I have been driving a POS 20y old/200k Dodge Caravan (given to me free)... so saving up car $$$ for this new rig. So until I get some offroad chops, I will be "that" guy with the rig that far overshadows experience. Looking forward to learning a few lessons in the real world.

I sure wish this thing was functional because I saw posting about a group headed down in a few weeks to watch Baja 1000. That looks spectacular - but guessing probably a really bad idea in a nearly stock truck and no clue what I am doing.. haha.

 

Go to Baja! A stock 4x4 Tacoma will go just about anywhere in Baja. Buy an air compressor and air down when needed and you'll have no trouble. Throw some max-trax in the mix and nothing will stop you

 

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