Another Around the World Tacoma

@MR E30
What a great writeup. Your comments on water and stove are making me look hard at how to replicate that. I always look forward to when you talk about your setup.

 

Thank you for the detailed response. Find in bold below my answers:

a) How many weekend trips per year? (If this is the majority, then a mid-size could be beneficial).

On average 2 weekend trips per month from March to October. No weekend trip in winter so far, but expecting 2-3 weekend trips during winter. That’s about 18 weekend trips total.

b) How many 1 week+ trips per year?

On average 2 1 week+ trips per year.

c) Do you already own either a mid-size or full-size? (This could steer you one way completely. For me I chose the Tacoma, partly, because I already owned it when the time came to build a world traveling vehicle.)

Had a deposit on the new Trailhunter. Can’t stomach 65K for a Tacoma, when a TRD off road premium Tundra is 59K. Currently considering any of the new mid size (Ranger Raptor, Tacoma TRD off road) and Full size (Tundra, F-150 Tremor).

d) Where are you from, i.e. how is the weather typically? (We reside currently in the southwestern US. That means it's mostly dry. It hardly rains, and if it does it is not constant hour after hour. It also doesn't get too cold. It does get too hot, but unless you have an AC unit in your setup there isn't much you can do about that.)

SW as well. Most trips are in UT, CO, WY. Once a year PNW or Canada, hopping for Baja as well.
Overall we mostly have good weather (because we plan trips around good weather…) which is why the RTT has worked well. With a baby and 2nd kid in the next 2Y, the RTT setup is not great however. We are also hopping for a rig that’s more “always ready” to make things convenient with kids. As of today we have to spend 2H to prepare the car for a road trip and install everything (fridge, battery, camping supplies). We want everything ready, and easy to setup at camp. We want to hold more gear (solar, awning, 20 gallons water tank, heating…) thus why we want a camper. In all honesty a small offroad trailer would be ideal but we don’t want to tow. We like to explore remote camp spots and not tow anything.

e) What are your priorities when it comes to things like level of comfort, expediency of setup/teardown, camping activities, etc. (I used a DCLB Tacoma, thankfully, as I was able to incorporate a lot into the camper. Using a DCSB would have been tough for my desires.)

Oops, I replied to this question in the previous one.

f) Are you and the family willing to 'tough it out' if the weather turns bad, or would you rather just pack up and head back home?

We will always plan a trip with good weather in mind. If it looks like rainy and stormy all week in CO, why not go to WY instead? That being said, especially for the 2 long trips we take each year, we have had bad weather events. When this happens, we will count on the camper to spend time inside.

g) What kind of person are you when it comes to modifications? Are you like me, with that inner desire to modify all sorts of things, or is it more simplistic, like some AT's and airbags (for weight) on an otherwise OEM vehicle? (If you don't have a crazy mod bug within you, a full size would definitely be more appealing.)

I am not handy. Thus why I wanted a Trailhunter. On a base Tundra or Tacoma or F-150, I will do at least wheels and tires and suspension, but not extensive mods.

h) Where are you trying to take this thing? (If it is just here in the US, then that's another point for a full-size, as our roadways are large enough to accommodate such a vehicle.)

95% Western US (UT, CO, WY, AZ, CA, WA, OR, AK…). 5% Canada / Baja.

i) Is this a dedicated adventuring vehicle? Or does it pull double duty as a DD or home maintenance truck? (A full-size may be more beneficial if this has to pull double duty.)

Great question. It will be our only vehicle and daily driver. We do not need a home maintenance truck, nor do we need a truck for truck duties. We work from home, so we don’t commute. Our use is typical of a daily driver minus work commute + adventure vehicle.

 

@tacowoverland
Hope you don't mind me adding in , your post is interesting and Michael is giving some incredible well thought info here.

You really sound like a more full size truck would work best, western US and kids.

I have the 21 Tacoma accesscab, long bed, OR. It has almost the max 4x4 payload Tacoma offers, 1100 lbs. That is not much at all, and is all eaten up fast by camper and any mods like a bumper or winch.

I didn't regear yet, it is terrible driving with that weight in an automatic tacoma!! Constant gear hunting.

If I didn't have a new Tacoma already, I would have gone with a larger truck. Reading your info, I would steer you towards something with 1600 lbs payload, and larger, either a Tundra or an F150. I wouldn't get a 24 Tundra or Tacoma, new engine boooo, issues are popping up.

 

Appreciate all the feedback, including your thoughts on the Tune! Thank you!

 

Sure, here is what I have to share:

1) On average, we cook on the stove for two of our three meals each day. I also use the stove extensively in the morning to boil water for tea. Meals are normally warmed in a single pot/pan, and served in just two bowls with two utensils.
- We meal prep for a portion of a single day each week. By meal prep I mean we combine ingredients into containers that can then be spooned out into bowls. Meals only require warming, not full cooking, when it comes time to eat them.

2) Our stove of choice is the Eureka Ignite stove that we are currently using. It outmatches all other stoves I've experienced with its simmer control. It is really nice to be able to bring the heat down super low when warming or cooking things. We quickly learned that burned foods on pots and pans is wayyy harder to clean, especially with limited water. Being able to keep that flame low, easily, has been very convenient. It still cranks out heat too, you just have to spin the knob more. The stove runs on propane, which is our current form of energy that we use for cooking. When we are getting ready to depart to other places on the globe, we will likely have to rethink bringing propane, but I haven't fully flushed that out yet.

3) Alu-Cab table for sure. It is remarkable and very, very convenient. Yep, it lives under the overhang, and no joke, it is ready to be used in 8 seconds, from unlocking it to it being deployed on the ground. I really like it.

4) Ah yes, this one can be tricky. For us, we eat a lot of foods that aren't really messy. We work to avoid greasy foods that require hot water and soap to fully clean them. A lot of our meals, (oatmeal, chia seeds, and sliced almonds in the morning) don't make a mess, and the bowls are easily cleaned with just cool water and our fingertips. We do not use any disposable cookware, as that doesn't fit with our mindset towards the environment, and we also like to keep our garbage to an absolute minimum. If we can also keep it free of food stuffs/residue that is even better.

Usually in the evening I will warm up some water and do a proper cleaning of all of the cookware used throughout the day, but this doesn't occur everyday. What we ate and the weather play a role in how likely I am to do a real wash. Now, for instance, I do a proper wash each night, as it is very pleasant outside in the evening.

5) In the morning we always do oatmeal (both of us), hard boiled eggs (just me) and teas (just me). We both usually eat a piece of fruit, I'm simple with apples, she is more adventurous with many other things.

Lunch is usually a lentil and quinoa salad, with sliced vegetables and feta cheese. This doesn't need to be heated, which is nice and easy for the middle of the day. Lunch varies some, but has been our go-to for a while now. We also add in a bowl of random vegetables, with hummus, for a second lunch. In the afternoon I also make a banana, PB, protein powder smoothie for us to share.

Dinner is more varied, but lately it has been boiled potatoes with jalapenos, cheese, and sliced onions. Pasta makes a frequent appearance as well.

This is how our meal situation looks now, while we are working each week. During the workday I don't have the time to make different meals each day. And on the weekends we either want to relax or do something adventurous, so fancy food is not a priority there either.

When we stop working full-time our meals will likely change to being more individualized each day/meal.

We use a 9" (iirc) cast iron, an 8" nonstick, and (2) GSI Haulite pans for all of our cooking. To do dishes I will warm water in whatever container (except for the small nonstick) that is the dirtiest, and use that as our sink to clean everything else.

When it comes to water usage we have learned a few tricks as well. We have successfully been making 20 gallons of water last the two of us for 7 days in a row.

We downcycle our water, which takes some effort and prior planning, but it works wonders.

For example: In the AM I will boil water for tea and to warm up my hard boiled eggs. I will then use the water that I used to warm the hard boiled eggs and then dump it into the blender to shake up and clean out. When I steam all of the eggs once per week I use that water as the water for the dishes later in the day.

We try to use water at least twice, from cleanest to dirtiest, if that makes sense. Rarely do we only use water once (outside of direct consumption) before pouring it on some bushes or whatever. If we are near a water source I will be more liberal with the use of the water, but that doesn't happen often.

To make our water last a really long time, we use something similar to this:

$18 VIVOSUN 0.2 Gallon Handheld Garden Pump Sprayer, 27 oz Gallon Lawn & Garden Pressure Water Spray Bottle with Adjustable Brass Nozzle, for Plants and Other Cleaning Solutions (0.8L Green)

https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-0-2Gallon-Sprayer-Pressure-Sprayers/dp/B07QTHF9ZT?crid=3N9D8MJQCCQK3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.axMbaa6n-eA-JE-iQXwRxJKm38KCSkPqyrOeqafx_2gKQ8sZE5_3iQSUFxYelEGH_ZErJoNSNTG46gbXHom8ZrJvkheLQ5j-B-RcZrjpmfRrdDadyK4MnVQdm-UflwPC64GdTmMt9zFacRGLyRX-2ndlXlL7F0RcGVA7hzYSe09QNs1cqG33x_LsyAdhYCOoeaeWH4m_sqFvkiP4vsHBFjhyBMaSSLmMwJP0gq0WrAjfBBFLiPuIWI0Ne-41Z0ddGuaeM7J4Q7MaEWygbhUdOrNaOpgwQ1OPum6m7rBwyhQ.W_p7qL6EKFc7qL_cqhAsBEJzN4QoyaK5XCNy8cVGx1c&dib_tag=se&keywords=water+spritzer&qid=1716999932&sprefix=water+spritze%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-21-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY

The nozzle is adjustable, so you can have a fine mist to rinse dishes, or a more direct spray to clean out the corners of the silicone bags we use, etc. It makes cleaning toothbrushes, or anything else a lot easier and way more water conservation friendly.

We use this, along with another, smaller spray bottle with a water/soap mixture, to wash our hands throughout the day. They get clean, and you use just a tiny amount of water to get it done, relative to using a sink at home.

Thanks for your patience in this response, I was busy yesterday when I started typing the response.

- Mike

 

Dave is right, a full size sounds like the route you should take. Since you take trips that sound pretty far away, you don't have any brand loyalty, and you don't have the mod bug, snag something that has a high payload and gets higher gas mileage. The Ford Ecoboost in the F150 seems to do pretty well, though I have no direct experience, yet (a close friend did just buy one, so I will likely get to know the in's and out's of it in the near future).

 

Thanks for the feedback.
I think this is the route we will take.

I will continue to look at your adventures here!

 

@MR E30 great reply on food and water. Don't think I've ever read better. So glad you're willing to type and share your experience, I think I value your informed opinions more than anyone else's in the Overland space... and I watch 30 Overland youtube channels. If the apocalypse happens, I'm joining you for a survival convoy!

 

Thanks Dave. I follow several on YT as well, but if you wouldn't mind sharing your top 5 or so I would be appreciative. Always looking for others to learn from.

Here's a couple of updates:

Batteries:

Renogy has received my faulty battery, quite some time ago now, but it is still in the queue to be tested. They picked it up 15 days ago. The battery had to be packaged, and an RMA number needed to be written on the outside of the box. FedEx picked it up.

They send an email through their Service Center every two days, just to get me excited. Haha It is always the same email, simply saying thanks for the patience and the battery is still in the queue.

We will see where this goes.

My friend Will, the guy who helped us out with the Renogy battery a while ago, actually sold his Tacoma, and his new F150 can't use the Dakota Lithium 135A battery, so I will be purchasing it from him this weekend.

BlueSea makes an automatic transfer switch that I will use to tie this third lithium battery into our power setup. I'll do a more detailed install guide on this once all of the components arrive.

BMW G310GS:

We didn't end up waiting until the fall to purchase that 'Baby GS' that I talked about a little while ago.

We had to drive to Phoenix one weekend for some important mail, to grab our bicycles, and to see my brother.

I found one, a 2018, and the deal was sealed. 1,952 miles and $4,000.

313cc and 34 hp at 9,500 rpm is simply nothing like the big one. It's small and slow but easy to ride and control.

Right after acquisition

BMW G310GS by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The first ride was a nice 2.5 hours and 100 miles with standstill traffic on the 17 north.

Hanging out under a bridge in the shade to cool down for a moment

BMW G310GS by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Little and big

BMW G310GS by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

BMW G310GS by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This is a 1st gen 310GS, so it can be tricky to get started in first without stalling. They rectified this in the 2nd gen with some ecu work, but the workaround for 1st gens is to swap the 16t front sprocket to 15t.

The swap was very easy.

G310GS Modifications by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Even though its the smallest adv bike BMW sells, it is still an adv bike, so it ended up being a bit taller than Stacy liked, so I lowered it 1.5 inches via a lowering link in the rear and sliding up the front forks in the front clamps.

G310GS Modifications by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

She can now flat foot it, and that has massively improved her confidence. She has been working diligently to master the throttle/clutch control. Super proud of her.

We only have 7 days left here in C-Ville (thankfully, it is getting hot AF here) before heading west and then north. So this bike will get stored away in the shed for the summer, and she can resume her practice when we return in the late fall/early winter.

Thanks for tagging along in the thread.

I promise one day we will be back to doing more adventurous things, but we are so close to being fully free that it is messing with us a little bit. It's like we are hunkering down and just pushing through, excited to almost be there.

 

Chiming in here. Yup, sold the Tacoma. Picked up a F150
@tacowoverland I started to have massive payload issues. To the point of even Deaver questioning my motives with new springs.
The F150 I picked up is a XLT SuperCrew so massive amounts of cab space. It has the 5.5 bed, That in itself is also wider than a short bed tacoma's bed is long. It has a payload of 1852lbs.
I had a GFC on my Tacoma and if you stick to just a GFC and minimal camp gear you can be ok. But add in fridge, 2 adults, a toddler and your expecting another. It will get cramped fast. I have 5 kids from 1.5yr to 16yrs for perspective. When you truck search every truck has its quirks and pluses and minuses. Do research any questions feel free. I've done to much reading latetly. @MR E30 knows I've been going down this hole for awhile now.

@Roadkill69 Ya, @MR E30 truck is pretty dialed. There was a bit of lessons learned from my truck implemented into the design of his truck....I feel. Also lots of random discussions on ideas of where what and how.
It's pretty slick. If you ever get to see it in person. Most are pretty amazed.

 

Appreciate the compliments Will. Putting it together definitely wasn't an overnight sort of thing like you mentioned, and I am grateful for all of the things we worked out together.

On Friday we did a practice run for our upcoming long ride to LA.

Spent a bit over 6 hours in the saddle of the R1250GSA.

Stacy rode her G310GS for 2.5 of the 6 hours. The other time she had hopped on the back of the big bike and let me do the driving. We left her bike in the parking lot of a scenic overlook while we continued on north. She did a great job of navigating the traffic of Sedona. The twisty portion of the 89A was also knocked out well.

Our destination for this long ride?

The always excellent Grand Canyon:

GC South Rim - Mathers Overlook by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

No big complaints after our highest mileage day on the bike. I practiced some 'GS Yoga' which is the art of stretching while riding along. One added perk of a bike of this design is the ability to stand up completely at speeds under ~50 mph. That helps a ton in avoiding fatigue and soreness.

We also did ~100 miles at freeway speed on Sunday. No noticeable difference in wind buffeting or noise between ~65 and ~90 mph. Slight decrease in mpg (2-3 it seems). So we will ride fast on the way out to LA for sure.

 

Enjoyed reading the updates, Mike. I can't believe how similar the 310GS looks to its big brother/sister. Both are gorgeous bikes. BMW builds some incredible machines, both mechanically & aesthetically. Excited to see more adventures on both of the bikes!

 

Why black for the camper? Think it would really be hot in tropical climate.

 

In the immortal words of Henry Ford, "Any color the customer wants, as long as it's black"...there are no other options.

 

Purely aesthetic tbh. The black just looks so much better in my eyes than the raw aluminum/silver.

 

Long ride out to LA and back was long. And hot. Very hot. So hot that we would pull in to every rest stop, find one of their outdoor spigots, and then use it to fully soak our bodies, and all of our gear.

Quickly hop on the bike to enjoy the cooling effects of evaporation for ~35 minutes, before we were completely dry.

Almost 100% of the bikes carrying capacity, and ludicrous speeds at times, led to pretty low MPG's.

~3.5 hours at temps of over 105 degrees, full sun to boot. Phew. Exhausting.

*Synopsis of daily ride, something the GSA keeps track of each day.

Longest ride by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

LA was nice. Went up and into the mountains, beaches, and all that jazz. Passed by three separate parks that I engineered things for too. Even got to touch one of my designs at a place that we stopped at near Big Bear Lake.

The Tacoma picked this up while in Phx.

Nailed by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

It was time to head north, far north, to northern UT for the summer.

That meant another two days of long rides.

With just me, and doing Tacoma speeds, the MPG is substantially better. The bike now needs its first service (apart from the initial one). GO AZ hooked me up with a bunch of free stuff to help apologize for the uncomfortable purchasing gauntlet we went through back in January, so the first two services worth of stuff has already been acquired. The 12,000 mile service is more involved.

Long GSA Ride to UT by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

The 89 up through central UT is just magnificent. Riding/driving along the Sevier River for hours was blissful.

Found a very enjoyable campsite near Hatch, UT.

After riding all day in 90+ degree heat the 62 degree, fast flowing, river water was just what I needed. Pulled out the camp chair and just sat in it for a while.

Tacoma - Stream in UT by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Tacoma - Low Left by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

This little fella was very curious, and got remarkably close to the two of us if we sat still for a while.

My only complaint is that I had my subpar 24-120mm f/4 lens on my camera, and didn't have the time to swap to the bazooka lens. The bokeh isn't as great, and the sharpness definitely does not compare.

Still, it was relaxing to lay down in the grass and watch him hop around.

Chipmunk by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Chipmunk and Tire by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Two bonus photos, from the eventful horse campsite along the AZT, that I found on the cameras memory card.

Carrion Eater by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Horses Under a Tree by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

In northern UT for the next couple of months. Stacy's old stomping grounds, so she and her brother have lots and lots to share. These small towns are so different from Phoenix. Free concerts and movies in their parks, fireworks on Saturday night, etc.

Nearby hike to a legitimate waterfall. Climbed around to the top of it and found two sets of rappeling anchors and fresh webbing. Time to haul up the harnesses, ropes, and wetsuits and rappel down this thing!

Adam’s Canyon Waterfall by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Oil change on the GSA today before a weekend of travel.

Thanks for reading.

 

@MR E30
Nice! Finally a report, I've been checking daily to see how you were handling this heat!
I've been looking at overnight short trips to get out of the heat for fun... don't want to drive all the way to Flagstaff, was looking around your area or Verde valley. Is any of that area cool at night, or do you have to get up to 7000ft and Flag? Thx!

 

This time of the year you need to head to 7,000 ft in order to be comfortable imo. Flag and the 260 east of the 17 are great options, though both are going to be very crowded unfortunately.

 

Thanks for sharing this I had been wondering how you guys were doing your food and water.what kind of oatmeal are you eating?
I was doing some research on a stove and came across a auzzie guy who traveled through different countries and stated that he had problems with propane compatibility in different countries, anyways he ended up just using a colman stove and ran regular gas though it. I'm not sure how much valitalty there is to it but some thing to keep in mind.
https://youtu.be/bi4opxsQmn0?si=tNj0etZgYpVSkViC

 

An aspect likely none of us think about, I didn't expect to watch the entire video but it was really informative. Thanks for sharing!