Truck Mods for New Camper Trailer?

In May my wife and I will be taking delivery of a new off grid camper. The brand is Xpedition. I’ll be towing it with a 2018 Tacoma 4WD Off-Road. I have not done any mods to my truck. The trailer has about a 350lb. tongue weight. A friend recommended I get new quality shocks and struts and MAYBE do a small lift. Any recommendations? Experiences?

The other mod I’m considering doing is a adding a fuel cell to my truck to bring its range when towing the trailer up to at least what I get now. I’ve heard fuel system mods can cause some issues with sensors/fuel system computer. So I was thinking of just adding a fuel cell that I could flip a switch and fill my fuel tank from the fuel cell rather than completely integrating it with the fuel system. Any recommendations or experienced advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

What model Xpedition?

How much dry weight? Gear you plan to add? Water, propane, batteries? Lots of missing info.

2017 TRD OR here, no lift, stock tires, wheels, shocks, only added Sumo Springs. I tow a Jayco 195RB SLX7 fully loaded close to 4000 lbs. No issues taking it on desert trails out in Joshua Tree for dry camping, truck handles it just fine.

Fuel cell idea is interesting but may not be practical due to weight considerations. Remember our payload isn't that much!

 

Get a good quality load leveling/weight distribution hitch added between the truck and trailer and get it set up right.

If it is set up correctly, you won't need much for additional spring rate or lift in the rear to safely tow supporting your 350# tongue weight.

Without a LL/WDH you will definitely squat the rear, as the Off road has really soft rear springs.

With the LL/WDH set up correctly, you won't squat at all, and possibly even be able to raise the rear with it about a half inch or so.

Your towing experience will be way better controlled and the ride will be much smoother without the bucking that can happen without this system.

I would suggest getting 500# load bars so you have ample room to play with.

 

Thanks for the information.

Xpedition Voyager BackCountry.
https://xpeditiontrailers.com/

I do not know the weight of added items since we have not taken deliver yet.

• Gross Weight Rating : 3500lbs

• Base Trailer Dry Weight: 2300lbs

How much does a LL/WDH restrict the articulation when your towing on uneven rocky roads/trails?

 

Congrats on the trailer! That looks like a SICK rig. I am picking up my Vorsheer XOC from B&B RV in Denver next week and will let you know how everything goes. The Vorsheer XOC is a similar design and weight to the rig you purchased and I don't plan to use a weight distribution hitch. I think you'll just hear people say that by default. The point of these overland rigs is to go places where you need a fully articulating hitch. I'm headed up into the mountains near Salida, CO and I'll let you know how the trailer feels and how the articulating hitch behaves on the drive back via freeway. I'm not going to tell you what you need, I'll just tell you what I decided to go with and why...

• Scangauge 2 with Trans 1 (fluid returning from the cooler) and Trans 2 (fluid leaving the torq converter at its hottest) programmed from their website and Water and Oil temps displayed. I did this so I can monitor trans temps. The A/T Oil light comes on in the 260 - 300 deg F range and by that time the AT Fluid is done.
• $256 Hellwig 980 Leaf Helper Spring
  Hellwig 980 helper springs - after my roof top tent off road experience (stock TRD sport suspension, tires and rims) I decided to get an inexpensive helper spring to level out my rig and so I wouldn't be hitting the bump stops as much. I'm very happy with the upgrade and the truck's manners both loaded and unloaded. Beware, if you go with a stiffer spring pack you may not like how your Taco behaves unloaded.
• Redarc Tow Pro Elite - this is a must (a brake controller - not the Redarc although I like mine). I like the redarc because it is Aussie made and Aussie tested (they know trailers and off roading) and the install looks factory with no clunky, radar detector looking brake controller mounted where my knee will hit it all the time. I have a post over here with my install pictures. With the correct harness and the correct switch from RedArc is is plug and play into the TRD wiring.

^^ These are what I consider the must haves along with the no brainer stuff like hitch pins, roadside assistance through your insurance company or auto club, etc. I am waiting to see how the Taco performs in the heat to see if I need to install an aftermarket cooler and fan pack (leaning toward a Setrab 900 Series with fan pack). I am assuming yours is an A/T? If so you're going to want to drive in S mode and ECT power when towing. You will notice that ECT PWR mode will hold the shift points longer and, I believe, it changes the tune although I haven't spent much time researching that. I know for a fact the shift points change as I have been driving in S4 around town, S6 on the highway and in ECT PWR mode to get a feel for how the Taco behaves in the different modes. If you go with a scangauag (or other monitoring device) I HIGHLY recommend you get what you need now and get some good baseline numbers unloaded so you understand what is a baseline number and then compare it to your towing numbers.

Oh - one other thing I am going to get:

• A compact fire extinguisher to keep with me in the cab until I figure out a handy, secure, mounting spot.

It will restrict all of your movement which is why you will never see one on a trail rig. Literally ZERO trailers (serious off road trailers like yours and mine with Timbren suspensions) run weight distribution setups because a rough road is the quickest way to rip the tabs off of a weight distribution hitch. Plus we need the articulation.

 

Wow, that's a nice rig!

Agree with @mic_sierra, a WDH hitch will limit articulation if you are actually going off the beaten path.

I'm running a Fastway E2 WDH with torsion bars. When I go out to the desert the dirt roads are washed out and choppy, there is a lot of flex and occasional metallic banging noises from the hitch while going through the deep ruts and whoop de doos. Bent the hell out of one of the torsion bar mounts, but nothing a good beating with a sledge didn't fix.

At your dry/fully loaded weight the Taco is fine, it will pull that all day. Scan gauge or equivalent is a good idea to monitor your transmission Temps. MIne is mounted over the rear view mirror. So far I've seen 245° temps occasionally when pulling up long hills, and that's using S3 and ECT. I'll be getting a transmission flush at 30k miles.

Tekonsha P3 brake controller and MESO trim panel for the drivers side cubby worked for me, but that Redarc does look nice.

Looks like you're going to have fun! Did you get the lithium batteries option?

EDIT: Don't use S6 while towing . S5 max, and even then watch your transmission temperatures.

 

@medivka as promised here is an update. No issues pulling my XOC from Denver to Salida in high winds using the Max Coupler articulating hitch. I 70 to Colorado 470 to US 285 and speeds ranging from 55 to 70 and altitudes up to 10k feet. Wind was gusting to 30 Mph and I had my fair share of big rigs hauling past me at 75+ Zero issues with an articulating hitch. Would definitely recommend keeping the stock setup and seeing how it performs before thinking about changing the hitch on your OR Trailer.

• Highest temps I saw on the trip was 225 deg on TP2 and that was in S3 or S4 on the passes (but ambient temps were 20 degrees)
• I averaged 190 degs on both TP1 and TP2 in the mountains and on the freeway with ~2100 lbs dry
• Would HIGHLY recommend a temp gauge that shows TP1 and TP2 so you can monitor the health of your trans underway