Upupdowndown's TRD Sport / Camper setup

Finally got to take my Tacoma for a proper road trip and wanted to share my "build" with the other Tacoma owners out there that love to camp and overland. I've done lots of weekend trips in the 2 years since I bought it, but I just got back from 3 weeks and 4400miles over much of the west coast of the U.S. visiting national parks and mountain biking.



I picked up this 08 TRD Sport last summer with a canopy (topper) already on it. I knew I wanted a canopy, but maybe not one this high! I soon realized why the tall canopy was the only way to go and learned to love it. First thing I did to the truck was upgrade to some SCS Stealth 6's with General Grabber AT2 265/70/17. I knew I wanted this tire size, and a 2" lift because I do a lot of road tripping and wanted to retain some driveability and gas mileage. Plus, I just like the look of a 2" lift better than 3. I ordered up the OME 884's and Nitrocharger shocks all around from Toytech. I also did the AAL in the rear, though wish I would have just ordered a full leaf pack because the rear leafs are feeling pretty played out at just under 70K on the ODO. I had to do some trimming on plastic and ditch the front flaps, but otherwise 2" lift with this tire combo is good to go. In addition to the BHLM (which took me a couple tries to get properly sealed for Washington State wetness!), I did the K&N air filter and wired up some Hella Black Magic 500's. They are mounted through the plastic bumper skin and are bolted to the bumper support below so they do not shake around a lot while driving. I just didn't like the looks of any light bars out there and am not ready to do a full bumper just yet.



Now came the fun part- The camper setup! This was planned around having to take out my sleeping platform often for transporting bikes and other toys. Eventually I went to a hitch mount bike rack because muddy bikes and sleeping gear just don't mix very well. The platform is built in 4 large pieces: 2 sides, and 2 removable accordian sections in the middle. This allows me to get at gear from above no matter where it might be under the platforms. I used MDF, pine boards (will be replaced soon) and large 2x12's ? for the main supports. I used bed texture on the lower bits and carpeted the rest with outdoor carpet from Home Depot. Some staples and hinges and I was all set! There's nothing I'd like to change from this setup. It comes out easy for cleanup after the dogs are in there, and is light enough for one person to set up etc..



I noticed pretty fast that I didn't like setting up my grill on the tailgate. Sometimes you need to get in to the canopy area when you're cooking, or the dogs want to jump up etc... it was a pain. In addition, on the inside, it would be nice to have places to clip lights, curtains, clotheslines etc... Being a rock climber, I decided to use stainless "bolts" used for clipping into while climbing bolted rock routes. Using 4 on each side and some rubber washers, I had attachment points on both the outside AND the inside! And they kinda look cool





I added some little plywood shelves attached with some cordlette and now my cooking station is on the side of the truck and a simple tarp awning finished things off. On the inside, curtains and clotheslines etc. finally have a place to go.



Below are some more photos and I'll try to add to this thread if I do any more modding. This truck was an absolute tank in the desert and I'd love to start doing more overland stuff and hopefully get better at driving off-road. In addition, I'm planning to get some sliders and couple other bits to get the truck into shape for some rougher terrain. On the inside, I use Gaia GPS on my ipad and added a iphone adapter/charger to the smaller cup holder in the center console.













I'm going to try to do a detailed trip report on my latest trip for anyone interested in following along. More Photos from my trip: #dustinyloop

 

I enjoyed reading this! Looks like you are really getting out there to have fun with your Tacoma!

If you are new to over landing / off roading, the best piece of advice is to buy recovery gear! If you are getting off the pavement and get stuck (which happens no matter how good a driver you are) you'll need to get yourself out!

Tow Strap
Off Road Jack (look up Inflatable X-Jack)
Air Compressor (so you can air down / back up)
Traction Pads (I've used thick rubber mats before, but I plan on buying something purpose built, don't get some of the cheap alternatives, they don't work – as I learned on an empty beach)

$130 Maxsa 20333 Heavy-Duty Escaper Buddy Traction Mats for Off-Road Mud, Sand, & Snow Vehicle Extraction and Recovery, Bendable, Unbreakable, Orange, 2 Pack

http://www.amazon.com/Innovations-20333-Escaper-Orange-Traction/dp/B00AV2HONS
Winch (when you have the right bumper, etc)

Check these out, it would be more sturdy than your lights mounted on your bumper, although you may get glare on your hood: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/famous-fabrication/237474-hood-hinge-light-brackets-leds.html

 

I would like to see a better pic of the tablet mount/base.

Love the pics. Thanks for taking the time to post.

KO

 

I'll see if I have a photo, if not I'll post one on here. Basically tied in to the lower seat mount with a diy bracket to a post that uses goPro mounts on top.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. My next purchase will probably be weld on sliders and a good jack. Otherwise I always pack a tow strap, and the other usual safety gear(Duct Tape!). As for the driving lights, I'm happy with what I've got for now. I might go to an LED strip light in the future that would integrate with a metal bumper.

 

great start! subbed.

 

Looks awesome, but I'd watch out for paint damage from that grill being so close to the side of the truck.

 

Awesome build and trip! I like the platform and cooking station! I run into the same problem cooking on the tailgate so that's a nice easy alternative (I climb too.)

I'm interested in the ipad mount as well, I've been trying to mount my ipad for the same purposes. How do you like the gaia app?

 

Enjoyed your write up and photos, soooo makes me want to get out into the backcountry.

 

very nice rig! looks like you put a lot of thought into it. How do you like the Gaia GPS app? It looks very functional, if a bit pricey. Do you use downloaded maps with it?

 

Great camping pic's you would'nt want to camp like that around here in the summer the humidity would be bad.

 

I love the bolts never would have thought about using them like that

 

Here's a couple photos of the bracket I made. At over $100 on Amazon, it took me only about an hour and some random parts I already had to rig this up. It uses the go-pro mounting hardware so I can take it off easily and stow in the glovebox etc..



As for Gaia, I definitely liked it. I find that I do prefer to have a physical map on hand though. For most of the hwy travel I just used the google maps app on my iphone to get directions from town to town. The idea with Gaia is to download maps from all the backcountry areas that I go to in preparation for not having cell service or printed maps etc.. It might be cool to couple with a GPS reciever in the future for more in depth navigating. The problem is, I have a first gen iPad, so it is pretty sluggish.

 

I like it. simple and useful.

Thanks

 

I thought that would be a problem as well, but the metal conduction on that Primus grill is crazy! The surrounding areas don't change in temp at all while the cooktop gets super hot! I think there's a ceramic coating on the surround of the grill or something. I highly recommend this one, as my Coleman got so hot, the metal griddle melted on it and I had to take it back!

 

Thank you for the detail shots! I need to build the same thing, I use a 2nd gen ipad with this Dual Bluetooth receiver. Problem is I don't have wifi so I have to download my maps before I head out which normally doesn't happen. I'm using the motionX app which I'm not overly impressed with. I wish it included the maps, I haven't quite figured out how to download maps and import them into the program. I might try the Gaia app.

Dual XGPS150A
http://www.banyanpilotshop.net/10Ex...150-ipad-gps&gclid=COKK1JqVgb8CFQGtaQodP3EAAA

 

Sub'd
Like the tablet setup

 

I used the Avenza PDF maps app (pdf-maps.com) with an iphone on a recent off-road trip, but much of the time was spent in places with no cell service (let alone wi-fi) so it's still necessary to download the maps in advance. Some are free (like USGS quads) others you have to pay for but downloading them is pretty straightforward. I think the app was free (or at least way cheaper then gaia) and it did well to track our progress. You can even import tracks you created in google earth or other programs and have them display on the map. The only drawback is if your route covers multiple maps it doesn't seamlessly track across them (you have to manually pull up the next map and restart the track logging). Maybe gaia does better with that.

 

I can speak to Gaia Maps being really easy to download maps. You basically click and drag over an area (when you are connected to WiFi) and it will download the maps for you. It will require you to do this ahead of time, or drop in to a starbucks or whatever if you're on the road. Since the iPad is dedicated to this purpose now, I've downloaded most of Washington State ahead of time just in case I need to look something up. Another great feature is that you can plot out a route on google maps and then export a .KML file that you can then overlay on your Gaia Map. Very cool feature and was extremely helpful when in Southern Utah and off the beaten path. I think a GPS receiver would complete the trifecta so you can actually follow your progress on your map as you go. Very much worth the $20 in my mind.

 

How did you attach the DIY awning to your shell?