Interesting Third Gen overlanding build that went through Europe and Africa

Hey all. The Car Care Nut dropped a video on an overlanding build that went through Europe and Africa. I thought it was interesting to get a perspective on what modifications were useful and not useful.





We have a couple of threads detailing Tacomas traveling around the world right now and it’s interesting to compare different approaches.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/driving-a-tacoma-around-the-world.585792/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/another-around-the-world-tacoma.746226/

 

Hey, DrRansom. Yes, this is my truck. Been to western Europe and Morocco in 2022. Headed to the Balkans (Serbia/Albania/Bulgaria) early 2024. AMD, the Car Care Nut is not familiar at all with overlanding modifications and components, so some of his explanations were not quite there.

Happy to answer questions.

 

I'm so glad you're on Tacomaworld! Your rig looks fantastic and the adventures it has been on sound interesting. Yes, I definitely have a couple of questions...

Question 1: Where have you taken this thing? I heard Europe and Africa in the video, but more detail would be great.

Question 2: What do you see as the inaccuracies in the video's commentary? I suspect the criticism of the suspension modifications, but what else?

 

Love the build, I appreciate the intentional thought that went into it.
I definitely prefer to keep things simple.

Funny enough, I just watched that video yesterday.

Out of curiosity, as someone who also has a manual trans 3rd gen, what do you reckon did the clutch it?
On your trips do you find yourself doing a lot of obstacles or stop and go type driving?
Any trouble with the front diff needle bearing?

 

Nice - A Proper Off road truck used for a proper off road use.

A great itinerary of trips too @PLavee

Congrats!

 

A great, well thought out build. No fluff! What brand/model/size tires?

 

Hi, MegaHurts,
The clutch was destroyed because of the very high-ratio reverse gear on our truck. I started and reversed twice on an uphill driveway, paved, in high, and I experienced something first time in my life - clutch pedal was fully released, the engine revving, clutch squealing and no motion. I thought the tire was spinning and I tried a second time (stupid me) to same results. A couple other times, reversing with a very light trailer did the same. Never a problem off-road, as I always drive in Low. Clutch worked after it cooled, but developed a slight shudder and would release at the very top of the pedal travel, indicating little friction material left.
No start/stop driving, most miles are highway, to get to the off-road places. Also, absolutely no issue with the front needle bearings.

My conclusions - install 2Lo mod, until then switch to Low to reverse uphill, and finally - try avoiding at all costs reverse uphill.

 

Tires are General Grabber AT/X, LT265/75-16 E-rated. They are about ½ worn now after many thousand off-road miles. My next tire will be the new BFG HD-KT, which in this same size only weighs 47lb (vs 52lb for my current tire).

 

Sorry for the delay in answering Doc,

1. I shipped the car by RoRo from GA to Belgium. Itinerary was (main sites): D-day sites in Normandy, then Portugal for about 10 days off-roading. front there ferry to Morocco, where I spent about 2 months, mostly in the south (beyond the Atlas mountains, east to west close to the Algerian border). This was the guy that led it (Peter Girling, the owner and guide, is taking a break from these tours for now), and then I stayed there more on my own: https://www.atlasoverland.com/tours/morocco/
In March I am shipping the car again for a similar trip in the Balkans: Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and Bulgaria. This is the outfit that leads this (and I will stay longer afterwards on my own): https://www.rustikatravel.com/
After the Balkans I intend to continue to Namibia and Botswana.

2. AMD does not like modified vehicles in general. The suspension mod was not only for lift, but to spring correctly for the weight, and to allow smoother (faster) travel over rough terrain, which is what the ARB BP51's do. He also did not describe correctly the water/shower system, but this is minor.. The fan he talked about is not to feed cold air into the canopy for the fridge, but to pressurize the canopy and prevent dust sucking through the tailgate. Finally, the item on the dash he talked about is not GPS, but ARB Linx, that controls all my electrical system/relays.

 

Do you have a blog or anything that tracks your travels that you care to share?

 

Unfortunately no - I am enjoying my (relatively early) retirement but I do not document it.

 

Completely understand…….enjoy your travels and retirement.

 

Yeah, I spent 4.5 years, 240,000KM traveling Europa and people ask if I had anything written up on my travels - just would have put me to work and I would not have enjoyed it.

I was interested in that large fuel tank until I saw the price. Will try to post a picture of a fuel tank I like.

 

Toycoma21, yes, the price is excessive. I installed one of these against the bed/cabin wall - my ARB drawers had a gap of almost 8", perfect for for this tank. I added an electrical fuel pump and filter (stainless steel lines with AN fittings), and I carried it when I need extra-extra fuel.

Universal 17 Gallon (65L) Top Feed Fuel Cell with Level Sender - Coated Aluminum Polished Race/Street Gas Tank

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Ga...=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

But in the future I intend to buy 2-3 GiantLoop bladders and tie them to the roof - to be transferred to the main as soon as I can. After use, you roll them up and store them inside. I am not a fan of Jerrycans, no where to put them without killing aerodynamics.

 

Thanks for the heads up about Giant Loop products. Great idea about the fuel bladders..

 

@PLavee

How do you like the ARB skid plates?

 

Your vehicle is a beauty man. Love how so many of your add ons are hidden and so well thought out. That heat exchange is fascinating. It's a shame to me that you dont have a thread documenting your journey with your Tacoma, (like this one https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/driving-a-tacoma-around-the-world.585792/) but I respect everyone has a different style! Safe travels eh!

 

Great looking truck, very clean build. Just saw the video and I would like to see a build list. Please

 

Thanks, my friend!

 

RYanDCLB, I like them overall: they are strong, held up well, and attach to each other and to the vehicle very well. But I have a few negatives:
- There is no oil drain access, or oil filter access. So to solve it, I installed a Fumoto drain valve, and drilled a hole below the valve, thus all I need to do is insert the drain hose, open the valve and done. You can access the rest (filter, as well as MT and Xfer case drain/fill plug without removing the plates. I use a silicon funnel and/or a "Formafilter" (on Amazon) to create a funnel that is more horizontal and shallow and thus works ok.
- They are steel, strong but heavy. On my next build I will strive of aluminum only, so I have a chance to stay close to GVWR
- Finally, the last skid plate has a funky protrusion downwards. I saw that on other skid plates too, worried me at the beginning (reduction in ground clearance), but for my use (I rarely drag the bottom on rocks, mostly short contact) it was no issue. Majority of ground contact has been with the front skidplate, so no issue.