New Member... Need all advice for modding truck for camping with dog!

Hey everyone!

My name is Robby. I message you all from the great city of Las Vegas, Nevada, where I own and operate a small little Detroit-style pizza shop called Guerrilla Pizza inside of the Hard Hat Lounge. I'm born and raised from Southeast Michigan and have been a Las Vegas resident for 8 years now. I have a beautiful, and neurotic, 6 year old Australian Cattle Dog named Pamplemousse who loves the outdoors ALMOST as much as he loves his ball. Today is my 36th birthday, I love cooking and camping, and I'm incredibly excited to be a part of this community.

I bought a brand spanking new 2021 Tacoma from the Toyota dealership near me back in November of 2022 and up until now have just been using it as a commuter and a means to purchase and transport goods for my pizza shop. I live 3 minutes down the road from work, so it doesn't have many miles on it, but I'm here to change all of that and really enjoy my truck.

In about 12 days, I'll unfortunately be closing my business down for a few months in order for some required renovations to the bar we're in. I'll be traveling in my truck from Las Vegas to Michigan to take on a contracted consulting job, setting up a restaurant concept with some partners. I'm planning on modding my truck out and doing a full blown road trip up to Salt Lake City and over through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. All states and National Parks that I've never been to. I'm looking for all advice on what to buy, where to shop, and anything to help me get started on the right foot for all of my needs.

I have a small list of what I want to purchase for my truck so that I can really dive into its value and enjoy my trip to the fullest.

What I'm seeking advice for, in order of priority:
- Roof top tent (and advice on how my dog can get in there with me easiest)
- Roof racks
- Truck bed storage of camping gear
- Cover/Cap suggestions (pros/cons of each would be super helpful)
- Refrigeration for food
- Any other must-have accessories like lighting, power, food storage, cooking setups, etc. Anything I'm not thinking about that are non-negotiables would be soooo appreciated

I'm ideally trying to stay within a $5000 budget. I want to be able to camp comfortably with my dog. He's a bit of a nut if he doesnt sleep with me, so him being able to access the roof tent is a must. I'm also open to having a hard cap and doing some form of camping in the truck bed, my only concern is the heat building up inside in the middle of summer, and overheating myself and the dog in the process. Any advice on keeping the truck bed cooled would be excellent.

I'm a total noob to all vehicle mods as I've never really been a car accessory kind of guy, and this realm is so far from what I've ever been interested in, but the entire reason I got this Tacoma was to grow into something like this. I look forward to hearing all your suggestions, so please link away!

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Just throw one of those dog blankets over the rear seats. Then u can keep the window cracked

 

Hi, Robbie and welcome to TW!

 

doggy ladder to rtt
https://desertarmorshop.com/product/doggo-roof-top-tent-ladder-ramp/

you and i on the same boat.

i have the ironman4x4 nomad 1300 rtt, sso rack, rc molle panel on the truck bed to attach all my camping things.

 

Welcome to TW…

 

Welcome, my Pittie and I lived out of my Taco w/ a Leer truck cap traveling all over the west for 8 months. We did it very frugal, and minimal cuz I wanted to stay out for as long as possible, lol. There were some very hot nights for sure.
Now that I'm on my 2nd Taco build out since that journey... sadly my 2018 was totaled...I think the three most important mods for you (and most importantly the pooch) to begin with is a rear seat delete, buy a mid-sized solar power generator to run small stuff like a usb fan, and a small electric cooler. F*** some ice when you need long term food storage.

I think there's a rear seat delete thread on TW somewhere if you search for it. My DIY version though is basically just a 3'x5' 1/2" sheet of plywood bolted right into where the seat brackets went. It's stout, shaved some weight off the truck by removing the whole rear cab area, it lowered the jump in/out for the dog by about 8-10", he has double the floor space, it's flat, and it cost me less then $100. Easily one of my fav mods, and I haven't even finished it yet, haha. I still need to cut out & hinge my platform's swing doors for access to the rear underseat storage.
It also keeps me from ever being the driver of a group.....