ADV TOY 2016 DCLB overland build

As it stands at present:

2016 TRD DCLB Sport with tech package

Suspension:
Front: Adjustable King 2.5 coil over with Total Chaos UCAs
Rear: Adjustable King 2.5 with Dakar HD, AAL and King hydrolic bump stops (T.C. mounting brackets). Sway bar removed.

285/75R17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on stock wheels

Spidertrex 1.25" spacers x 4

488 Nitro gears

ARB air compressor and lockers front and rear

RCI sliders and skid plates x 5

Pelfreybilt aluminum front bumper with Rhino shackles

Smittybilt X2O 10,000 - synthetic with standard hook (works great)

Prinsu CabRac

Flippac camper

Goose Gear drawer system and Camp Kitchen (fridge and stove box/slide) and spice rack

ARB 50qt fridge/freezer, deflator and inflator.

Partner Stove - 2 burner

Front Runner 14 gallon water tank/pump system and kitchen utinsel set

Blueridge Tacoma Attic gear storage

Back seat cover and seat back organizer.

Assorted recovery gear





The process... AKA my obsession:

I bought this 2016 DCLB Sport truck for a SAR support / daily driver. As I began off roading more and discovered overlanding, I began modifying it to better handle those demands. I was just gonna do a few basic things.....

 

The first version reflected the those initial goals. Leveling kit, AT tires (255/85/17) a grill guard, a ARE MX shell and homemade drawer system to store my gear in.

 

We quickly started adding creature comfort camping mods. Roof rack(s), a Foxwing awning with Tag-along tent. I tried several basic overlanding setups including a RRT. Ultimately they weren't the right fit for us and our two dogs. They were a little laborious and slow to setup and break down and left us with a less than ideal spot for the pooches.


I struggled over the suspension set up for quite some time and finally decided to nut up and go with the King / Chaos / Dakar combo. It was a turning point in my build. No more testing the waters, I dove in head first and would continue to do so by upgrading my home made drawer system to a (used) Goose Gear system.

 

Love your build! Been following your Insta page for a bit, but just followed the link here. It was cool to see the different stages of your build, and how it developed. But looks like this thread needs a few updates, I’m sure people would love to see how good your color matched Flip-pac looks! Really dig your current setup, extremely capable but not lacking any creature comforts. If i was to choose any other setup (besides my own ) , it would be yours!

 

It's been a minute...thought I'd update my build page a bit. After beefing up the suspension I decided to add some armor. I went with RCI all the way around, rock sliders and all five skid plates !!

Of course they didn't stay this pristine very long. LOL Since I planned on pushing the truck's limits, I so I ordered both front and rear bumpers as well.

Next I wanted to add some camping creature comforts... I got a Goose Gear Camp Kitchen when I bought the drawer system so added a Partner stove and a ARB fridge in it.



I even added a water system for dishes and showering.


We had tried the ground tent/awning combo and liked it, but set up and break down were pretty slow. Since we typically move everyday and often have long days on the trail, the time it takes to get going is important to us. So we decided to try a roof top tent.

It was faster and a bit easier, but still a bit still too much work to set up and challenging because of our dogs. I started searching for a system that would house us all AND make for a quick set up and break down. I liked the wedge campers, but wanted more room. A random comment on an InstaGram post lead me to a FlipPac. I had seen them on YouTube, but had never seen them for sale. When I got the chance to buy one, I took it and man, was I glad I did.

What a GREAT design ! Spacious, comfortable and FAST !! Flip it and GO !! It was the perfect addition to our camp system. I took it down to my local paint shop and got it color matched and we were all set !!

I couldn't have been happier with the FlipPac. It's a damn shame the company shut down. Apparently the owner passed away and his kids just didn't have a passion for it. It was by far the best solution I could imagine and it was perfect for us.

With the camper fully set, I decided to ad a dual battery system to keep the juice flowing and a compressor so that I could air it up easily.



Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the front bumper I had ordered from Pelfreybuilt was ready !!

I love the way they integrated the lines of the grill into their bumper and the approach angle it gave me is phenomenal. Unfortunately before they could produce the rear bumper, they had to fill bankruptcy.

We made good use of the armor I had put on the truck running challenging trails in CA, AZ and UT. The winch got us out of a few tough spots and I decided to up our game by adding lockers and regearing. It's a big expense, but since we do most of our "overcrawling" solo I felt it was reasonable and prudent. I went with 488's to go with the 34" tires we were running and ARB lockers front and rear !!


What a game change (and peace of mind) !! With this addition I felt invincible. It felt like the was nothing that could stop us.

The "last step" would be to add a high clearance rear bumper and swingout. Since Pelfrey (and my deposit) were gone, I had to start the search and torturous decision all over again. I spoke with nearly all the fabrocaters and just about everyone on IG trying to find the "perfect" set up and after long last I decided on the CBI dual swingout. I love the ease of opening, storage ability and the two table functionality.


It was a big commitment with lots of cost and cutting, but I have to say this thing is AWESOME. I allowed us to hang key items off the back thus no longer storing them inside the camper and moving them out when we set up. The clearance is amazing !! And I think it looks fantastic.

 

Thanks for the kind words and the reminder to update my build page. Rock on !