Light duty overlanding

I recently bought my first tacoma. I will be daily driving it but I also will be using it as a hunting/camping rig. I live in arizona and am just looking for some guides. Nit trying to break the bank. I appreciate any suggestions.

 

I'm going to assume you've been camping before.

Here's a little secret: overlanding is just camping in your truck/car on some backroads/wilderness.

So just take that stuff you use for camping and toss it in the bed, then drive somewhere.

If you wanna get fancy, buy some of those rubbermade boxes to organize the gear. Maybe strap them down so they don't slide around.

Now we have all these instagram/youtube overlander channels that have $15-20k in gear attached to their $50k+ truck and that seems to be the "norm" now. You literally don't need any of it. A lot of it is helpful, or is a convenience, but all you need is a simple (and cheap) ground tent and all your normal camping gear. And, depending on your preferences and how you travel, some of those cool gizmos would actually be a hindrance for you.

I have a shelf with a few boxes of my camping gear that stays in my garage. I don't daily with all my gear attached unless perhaps I'm leaving straight from work or something. It takes 5-10 minutes to pack everything up, and I'm not carrying all that extra weight all the time. Plus, I don't have to worry about locking it all up, or the extra wear and tear it gets from being in the sun/rain every day.

The more you go on different trips, the more you 'll figure out what type of stuff you actually need or want. Don't assume you "need" a roof top tent. If you're the type that likes harder trails, or makes a base camp to hit local trails, an RTT is a waste of weight/money, IMO. If you do a lot of traveling and only stay ina place 1 night each, an RTT is much better, but is still just a luxury.

 

Overlanding is just car camping with extra steps

 

Dude people go camping and make it out into the wilderness in Honda Civics. Your stock truck is more than capable to take you anywhere you want to go camping and fishing. If you really want to upgrade something get a nice set of beefy all terrain tires. That's it, all you need. Save money for camping supplies and good outdoor gear rather than dumping thousands into your truck for no reason

 

Will agree with the above.

Our last “overland” trip was 6,500 miles over 12 States over the span of 30 days straight, all sleeping for free on BLM land and eating for cheap by cooking in a gas stove. Showered with Nalgenes. All in a $3,500 4Runner from 1999. Cost us less to overland (car camp / road trip) than it did to live the normal routine. Only cost up was gas.


You don’t need to modify your truck at all. Grab your camping gear and go explore the land nearest you. Fun fun.

 

Exactly. I've seen countless "what mods do I need to go overlanding" posts over the years. No mods necessary! Just drive!

And while I can appreciate that those instagram/youtube channels have gotten people interested in a really cool hobby, they also pretty quickly forget about the roots, and just turn into sponsored content and advertisements for cool/new equipment.

check out these sweet $65 annodized CNC mounts for my $400 traction boards, and my $300 shovel!

 

- Rick

 

Rick n Morty fan?

To the OP, all these guys covered what you need to know.

Get a quality shove, full size with D ring.

That's the only thing I treated myself to really...

 

How long are your trips going to be? Days, weeks, months, or years?

 

I learned more about driving off road by being a broke ass teenager testing the limits of a 1988 dodge/Mitsubishi Colt on bald street tirest and a 1990 Ford Tempo with some OK snow tires than I have from almost anything else I've driven. Having a stock 4wd Tacoma is plenty. People will have differing opinions on what your first major mod should be, and it does depend on planned usage. I almost always put a winch on first, because I am by myself almost all the time. But I still drive like I don't have one, because I don't want to tempt the fates. A good balanced sense of adventure and common sense is all you need.

 

Battery jumper, recovery ropes, air compressor, snacks, water. That's what I take with me.
I do recommend some type of side step or slider so those small pebble rocks bounce off that rather than your paint when driving fast through those washboard type roads. But that's optional. The only thing to do right now is try going on a trip first, over one day recommended to see what you need.

Personally, I found that I wanted the fog anytime mod. I like having my fog lights on all the time, because when I switch to high beam, I cant see anything close to the truck, so I had to keep flipping between the low beam and high beam. The mod is like a few bucks.

 

@Foster1 brings up a good point. Safety and recovery gear.

Before you work out what type of skottle, fridge, and 270 awning you should be buying, you need to think about what happens *when* shit hits the fan and you are in danger.

>1st Aid: You're driving a truck, so there's no need for that little one that fits in your pocket with a couple of bandaids. Get a real one. Something at least like this.
https://www.rei.com/product/113010/adventure-medical-kits-mountain-series-mountaineer-medical-kit
Also be sure you know how to use it. Take a first aid class (again, MINIMUM), or better yet a wilderness first aid or responder class. I have done several WFA courses over the years (honestly not that high of a training), but I can probably do more with a minimal kit than a novice could with a full trauma kit. WFA teaches you about being self sufficient (because you're in the wilderness, and have to fend for yourself!).

>Exit strategy: minimum is having someone who is NOT on your trip and knows where you are and when you should return. Going up from there are all sorts of communication devices, and we all know overlanders love to have 16 different devices on their dash.

>Vehicle recovery: This one is interesting because the easy answer is a winch, hi-lift, straps, D rings, etc... Those are good, but it just depends on what you do, where you go, and who you're with. If you always travel solo, a tow strap is useless. If you travel with a group, a winch isn't *as* necessary. But this also just falls back to your exit strategy. The weaker your recovery game is, the stronger your exit game should be.