First build and foray into overlanding

I've been an avid hiker in the PNW for years. Starting to get to the point where I'm just not pumped to do 100 mile hikes anymore. I wanted a way to be able to get way out in the woods without having to hike all the miles. So I purchased a 21 Tacoma TRD and began my build.

After reading a ton here and watching a crap load of YouTube vids I decided on making my first mod a gear swap. I drove a few hours for Oak Harbor, WA to Cashmere, WA to have Nitro gear outfit me with 5.29s.

Next up was a lift. I nerded out on electronically controlled suspension vids. So I went with ICON's CDEV 2.5 kit. I setup the RXT leafs for max lift and load. I set the preload on the front to provide a 3" lift.

Then I ordered tires and wheels from trailbuilt.com. I went with Mickey Baja Boss ATs sized at 315R17. I decided to run those on the Method MR701s with a -12 offset. While I awaited these I had a locale fabricator install a DRT cab mount relocation kit. I did end up doing some minor inner fender trimming and heat gun work. I'm still rocking the original liners with some minor mods. I'll likely go with C4s kit in the future.

For the bed, I installed a Bestop SuperTop 2, Uptop Overland Truss rack, and a Roofnest Falcon Pro.

Next up is an SSO front bumper. I'm about 7 weeks into my wait for that.

Before I do any technical routes I'll need to make the leap on under armor. Full skids and sliders. I'm still on the fence on who to go with and if I should go alum or steel. CBI, C4, and Caliraised are what I'm looking at. Might end up having a Frankenstein as I take a little from each.

Going to hit up the WA BDR in a couple sections for the first few trips out. Then I'm taking it down to desert in Nevada to explore the Great Basin.

Shout out to this forum as it would've taken me years to get the build right without it.

 

This forum is a great way to find stuff you never heard of and don’t need but suddenly can’t live without, as you’ve experienced already.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome! Nice build.

 

Nice looking truck. I have come to hate the word overlanding. I think I am becoming a cranky old man before my time.
I just wish people said, I’m going camping, or an a weekend trip, short vacation, hitting the woods for a few days, checking out a state park, driving some back roads, heading out to the lake for a few days, meeting some friends in a national forest to wheel for a day. But, overlanding……..UGGHHHH.

 

I’m sure people said the same thing about backpacking when that became a word.

 

nice setup! I went with the same wheel tire combo and a cab mount relocate. Any rubbing on yours?

 

I have some slight rubbing still at full turn bumping up into entries. I need to trim the front fender more to get rid of that, but am going to await my SSO Slimeline Full Plate bumper. I have not had a chance to go adventure yet. I suspect that I'll need to trim the fenders to clear under full compression. For that the C4 kit will be my route if needed. I'll be testing the clearance out locally before I head out.

 

I bet the bumper will look great, and make some room to move the wheels forward a bit. Stock upper control arms? I found a sweet spot with minimal rubbing on the lower control arm (when wheeling) with the SPC UCA. The fenders don't rub even when wheeling on a 2.5" lift. Looking forward to the build updates!

 

Oh, one more thing, what suspension did you go with?