"Trailander" Overlanding Trailer Tacoma Beds

Hey everyone I was headed to Overland Expo East 2019 [OEX] in Arrington, VA this weekend and saw lots of neat rigs. Some of the most unique were these Tacoma beds that had been converted into trailers.

I saw them on the highway headed down to the event and snapped a picture. Then at the event I saw their camp but didn't get the chance to catch up with them. Did anyone get the scoop on how they made them?

Thought I'd share the neat build and see what you all thought of them? Pretty solid in my opinion. Anyone else see anything cool or pics of your rigs?

 

Those look awesome, hopefully someone comes up with more info

 

you know people have been doing this with truck beds for 70 years or more at least, right?

https://www.google.com/search?q=old...ZzlAhU1NH0KHdPvAGIQ_AUIEigB&biw=1963&bih=1057

 

I’ve been trying to find a bed since 2017, people generally want $1,200+ for beds and those had body damage.

 

@TaKoToy

 

That is pretty sweet. I didnt see that one. I walked the camping section several times. I forgot to check out the "upgraded camping" section. Maybe it was there. I took about 30 pics of what I thought were the coolest rigs there. The are on my instagram Sos_Expo

 

heres the bed part.. just need to find bedsides.

https://newjersey.craigslist.org/pts/d/newark-16-toyta-tacoma-rear-bed/6983344743.html

 

And a frame and tongue and axle and wheels and tailgate and bumper, not much.

 

do you really need a tacoma frame though? @HolyHandGrenade makes trailer frames from scratch, like its no ones business. If you were decent at welding, id think that part might be kinda easy.. (i suck at welding, and I still dont think that project would be hard. And I am not certified, just bought a welder because I wanted to figure it out for myself..)

 

I saw his and BAMF is making one too, he’s releasing details soon

 

I saw them here but didn't talk to anybody

 

If you were going to build a trailer to tow behind your short bed Tacoma, why would you make the trailer out of a short bed too?

 

I saw that too. I like what he is doing there. And its modular I think..

 

Usually people that do that use trucks that are at the end of life, not parts that appear to be all new. I guess if you have money to burn though...

 

could probably pick up bedsides from someone that switched to glass.. and I posted a bed for $250. Those guys probably didnt get everything new. (and im not defending them)

but yea, I get it. Matching trailers are cool

 

https://vermont.craigslist.org/pts/d/wilmington-tacoma-6-foot-bed-toyota/6985600940.html


or piece it together
https://vermont.craigslist.org/pts/d/saint-johnsbury-bedside-2018-tacoma/6968919186.html

https://vermont.craigslist.org/pts/d/montgomery-2019-toyota-tacoma-tailgate/6989183423.html

 

Yea I’m very curious as to what was going on! There were two matching trailers one tan and one MGM, with matching TRD pro rims. Super cool builds!

How much is he selling custom frames for? And do they accept a Taco bed or is it a fully custom overlanding trailer?

Also I didn’t see any axels under them not sure how they did that. So it’s not completely a taco bed just chopped off.

Haha I’m not sure, maybe that’s all they could find on Craigslist? Maybe the long bed would look a little bit more proportional. I wonder if a long bed trailer with a long bed truck would look weird?

 

The problem with using a Tacoma bed, is that the axle ends up too far forward. You want a 60/40 placement on the frame.

Its going to be tough to get enough tongue weight on it to keep from swaying at speed IMO.

if I were going to build a trailer out of a short bed Tacoma Bed, I would build the frame longer than the bed, set the axle in the appropriate location, then build a
platform with the extra space at the front for more storage or whatever.

That would be the correct way to build it anyway.

 

The nice thing about using a Tacoma bed, is you can use all of the accessories that you would normally use on your truck. Bed covers, racks, etc.

I seriously considered building my first trailer this way. As was mentioned above, the hardest part is finding a deal on a nice bed.

 

https://timbren.com/axle-less/