Recommendations for a 'baja' build

Hi guys

New here, but not new to tacomas or other desert trucks.

I just recently moved down to Baja for work and want to build a 'desert' truck. I got a good deal on a 1st gen crew cab 4WD and thinking of driving it down here.
I would like to build it into something that will stand up to the abuse of aggressive desert driving and wanted some of your opinions.
My last truck was a 2wd Hardbody that I modded and had a lot of fun with it.

This time, I'm going with a 4WD and want to build something that I can play with in the desert down here. Ultimately, I would like to go with a long travel kit, but initially I would like to just beef up the suspension so that it doesn't leave me stranded. This truck will see very little in the way of daily driving, so I'm not too concerned with comfort, noises or rattles.

Where would you recommend me start with?
I see this is an ongoing project and in a couple of years it will probably be a fiberglass fendered desert baller, but I need to go step by step. Reliability is the first order of things, then farkleing will follow...

Any help is much appreciated and I am actively searching this, and many other forums for advice.

D

 

Thanks for that.

I should have been a little more descriptive in my question.

I am fully aware of all the benefits of an LT setup and my goal is going to be to get there eventually. I wanted to see if there was a way to do some of it now, and some later since I can't drop 7K into the truck right away.
So, I'm looking for an intermediate setup for now and even looking for some used stuff in the classifieds.

 

check out the Mid Travel BS thread. I know there are a few 6" c/o's for sale right now. but in all honesty everyone will tell you dont waste your money and just save for the LT so you can put more into it.

 

Im pretty much set on either Camburg or TC. Seems like the 2 best systems out there so far.

Thanks for the input guys.