FJ Cruiser / Tacoma

[Commander Zarkon]

I've pretty much decided on the FJC first, but would love to see everyone's opinion.

I have a 2008 FJC with about 220,000 miles. Manual. 4x4. A-Trac. Rear Locker. OME Heavy Supspenion. Cooper Tires.
Zero issues except a tranny vibration at about 20 mph. Seems resolved after I drained some of the black ATF and replaced with fresh.

Also got a 2020 Tacoma TRD Off-Road. Double Cab. Short Bed. Manual. Bone Stock

So I'd like to make them both into expedition/overland vehicles.
The Tacoma will get an aluminum flatbed/tray and I will build the camper on top, which will be replaceable.

The FJC will get a clamshell RTT

Both will have upgraded suspension. FJC has OME, and Tacoma likely the same, not sure.
Both will also eventually get ARB Bull-bar, Winch, snorkel, lights, dual batteries, etc.


They both have their pros and cons I guess, but would like to know everyone's input to be sure there's nothing I missed.

 

[Commander Zarkon]

 

[freedomomelet]

Hey Zarkon, no one responded yet?? My input is biased cause TACOs so to try and keep this general and simple....GO USE BOTH VEHICLES! Take them on trips and see what works and what doesn't. Build the rig that fits the needs. HUGE list of stuff to rattle off here when I can't really determine if you'll use it or not. Pack a bag, first aid, comms, and recovery gear and have fun.

My overall take, sell that FJ and use the funds to outfit your brand new taco how you want. But both are VERY capable vehicles even bone stock. Lucky to have em both...

Have fun

 

[Dusther210]

First I just want to say those are 2 serious cool rigs you have.
I have an Xterra and a Frontier. Both are capable machines...not as capable as yours though lol
Our primary adventure vehicle is the Frontier but if it gets broken we can still enjoy the xterra.
Looks like you’re into some serious adventure so having a back up rig might be a good idea.
Also an FJC and a flat bed taco are very different experiences.
If it were me, I would keep both

 

[Commander Zarkon]

Thank you for the replies!

Yeah, both very different vehicles, but love them both. My favorite is the FJC, but the Tacoma seems more practical for some things. I really don;t want to get rid of either of them.
We also have a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. We will be selling that one. Needs a radiator, water pump, and new gaskets on the oil pan, intake manifold, and timing chain cover. Trying to decide whether to have those issues fixed and then sell it, or sell it as is. Otherwise the Jeep is in very good condition. Not sure how much to sell it for, so I am doing some research. We can then use the money to upgrade the Taco and the FJC.

 

[Highplainsdrifter]

Thank you for the replies!

Yeah, both very different vehicles, but love them both. My favorite is the FJC, but the Tacoma seems more practical for some things. I really don;t want to get rid of either of them.
We also have a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara. We will be selling that one. Needs a radiator, water pump, and new gaskets on the oil pan, intake manifold, and timing chain cover. Trying to decide whether to have those issues fixed and then sell it, or sell it as is. Otherwise the Jeep is in very good condition. Not sure how much to sell it for, so I am doing some research. We can then use the money to upgrade the Taco and the FJC.

I love fj I have an 09 access cab 6 speed manual icon stage 4 with billet upper control arms and 33s 4x4 and a rear locker it gets me everywhere I wanna go some places I don’t

 

[Commander Zarkon]

I just noticed that I listed my FJC as "manual". That was a mistake. The FJC is Automatic. The Tacoma is manual.

 

[LostWoods]

IMO, the Tacoma is a terrible "expedition" platform the way you're looking to use it because it has a mediocre at best payload (the FJC is better by about 100# and the 4Runner by about 400#). You put the lightest tray and canopy (Norweld basic models) on it and with you in the driver seat, you've already burned up half truck's GVWR before you add any gear and any other protection. Yes, you can compensate for weight with suspension upgrades but nothing you can do in the US will change that door tag. It's not generally enforced in the US but if you ever plan on travelling to other countries, it could very well be an issue for you and either way, it's a liability in the wrong situation.

This is the #1 reason I sold my TRDOR... 1150# doesn't go nearly as far as you'd believe and I 100% blame YouTube and Instagram people throwing a literal ton of armor, tents, and gear on a half-ton truck and acting like it's totally normal.

There's a reason the vehicles you commonly see with the tray/canopy setup are vehicles like the LC70, Hilux, and Aussie Ranger... all three of them have a greater than 1T payload rating with most configurations having over double the Tacoma.

 

[scott17818]

in all honesty the Tacoma can be built as a great platform... the wheelbase makes highway driving comfortable, and the goodies inside, traction aids make the truck VERY capable I own a 2016 TRD OR, and have done some tasteful mods to my truck to make it as capable as possible, while keeping weight down.. likely I am just over 5200lbs fully loaded. with sliders, skid plates, hybrid winch bumper, synthetic winch, RTT, and all my camping gear.. I do plan to add a second battery, 12v fridge, and a few mods that will add, and subtract some weight, or at least relocate it..

 

[Commander Zarkon]

I love fj I have an 09 access cab 6 speed manual icon stage 4 with billet upper control arms and 33s 4x4 and a rear locker it gets me everywhere I wanna go some places I don’t

My Tacoma is white as well. I want to black-out the hood. Not because of political correctness, but to keep the glare out of my eyes. Have done it to previous vehicles and it works great. Used textured flat black spray paint before, but am considering maybe a decal of piece of automotive wrap in flat black.

 

[LostWoods]

in all honesty the Tacoma can be built as a great platform... the wheelbase makes highway driving comfortable, and the goodies inside, traction aids make the truck VERY capable I own a 2016 TRD OR, and have done some tasteful mods to my truck to make it as capable as possible, while keeping weight down.. likely I am just over 5200lbs fully loaded. with sliders, skid plates, hybrid winch bumper, synthetic winch, RTT, and all my camping gear.. I do plan to add a second battery, 12v fridge, and a few mods that will add, and subtract some weight, or at least relocate it..

I think you'd be surprised if you add it all up. I can see you around 5200# if you're talking just the truck and gear but then you need to add yourself and any passengers. All off the top of my head, your bumper and winch add 130# (yeah, I snooped and had the same two on my list), your sliders with fill plates are 130-150#, your skids are 75-125# depending on brand/material, a tent/rack will be at least 150#, and you probably have an extra 100# in tires and wheels at a minimum. That's probably 650# added to a 4450# curb weight putting you at 5100# with just the installed equipment and not including things like a lift that I know you at least mentioned in your history.

I pained myself for months over the decision because I loved my Tacoma. It was a great truck with a couple shortcomings but the payload was one I couldn't get around for a multi-use truck (would have been fine with it as a daily). I toyed around on a spreadsheet through about a dozen iterations and found there was just no way I could make that work for who I wheel no matter how much aluminum and sacrifice I made. I mean even with what you have, my wife and I would put us at the GVWR (and for the record, that's my fault, not her).

Not trying to get down on anyone's choices but it's a choice any Tacoma owner in this hobby will have to make at some point. I just bring it up every time for awareness because all the damn YT and Instagram personalities have normalized the idiocy of things like being 1000# over payload with 400# above the roofline.

 

[LostWoods]

My Tacoma is white as well. I want to black-out the hood. Not because of political correctness, but to keep the glare out of my eyes. Have done it to previous vehicles and it works great. Used textured flat black spray paint before, but am considering maybe a decal of piece of automotive wrap in flat black.

Just did that to my Gladiator a couple weeks ago and it is amazing. The vinyl dissipates the light and makes even driving into the Phoenix sun bearable without sunglasses.

 

[Commander Zarkon]

IMO, the Tacoma is a terrible "expedition" platform the way you're looking to use it because it has a mediocre at best payload (the FJC is better by about 100# and the 4Runner by about 400#). You put the lightest tray and canopy (Norweld basic models) on it and with you in the driver seat, you've already burned up half truck's GVWR before you add any gear and any other protection. Yes, you can compensate for weight with suspension upgrades but nothing you can do in the US will change that door tag. It's not generally enforced in the US but if you ever plan on travelling to other countries, it could very well be an issue for you and either way, it's a liability in the wrong situation.

This is the #1 reason I sold my TRDOR... 1150# doesn't go nearly as far as you'd believe and I 100% blame YouTube and Instagram people throwing a literal ton of armor, tents, and gear on a half-ton truck and acting like it's totally normal.

There's a reason the vehicles you commonly see with the tray/canopy setup are vehicles like the LC70, Hilux, and Aussie Ranger... all three of them have a greater than 1T payload rating with most configurations having over double the Tacoma.

I was vague about the "camper" on top. I won't be using one of those remade camper deals. Instead, my plan is to either modify an aluminum topper ute box or make my own, with a popup setup for sleeping. My focus is to keep everything as lightweight as possible, using aluminum and either ultra-lightweight plywood or foam core panels. I used to do all my "overlanding" in a Jeep TJ. That was a step above a motorcycle. So the FJC and the Tacoma are like palaces to me.

It seems that the flat bed is close to the weight of the OEM bed, which is made of steel.

 

[LostWoods]

I was vague about the "camper" on top. I won't be using one of those remade camper deals. Instead, my plan is to either modify an aluminum topper ute box or make my own, with a popup setup for sleeping. My focus is to keep everything as lightweight as possible, using aluminum and either ultra-lightweight plywood or foam core panels. I used to do all my "overlanding" in a Jeep TJ. That was a step above a motorcycle. So the FJC and the Tacoma are like palaces to me.

It seems that the flat bed is close to the weight of the OEM bed, which is made of steel.

OEM bed is thin, non-structural steel bedsides and the poly bed+structure... the weight is unfortunately not all that much but from what I was able to get out of Mainline, the very basic Norweld tray only adds a small amount of weight once you remove the bed and rear bumper (leaving the hitch). If you go with one of the higher trim trays with the drawer and/or rear boxes, you can be adding as much as 400# over stock just in the tray.

You could build a box on top of a flatbed yourself and probably get away with less weight than one of their canopies or if you build the whole thing yourself, a steel subframe, aluminum structure, and plywood bed surface is the lightest way I know to build a flatbed.

 

[Commander Zarkon]

OEM bed is thin, non-structural steel bedsides and the poly bed+structure... the weight is unfortunately not all that much but from what I was able to get out of Mainline, the very basic Norweld tray only adds a small amount of weight once you remove the bed and rear bumper (leaving the hitch). If you go with one of the higher trim trays with the drawer and/or rear boxes, you can be adding as much as 400# over stock just in the tray.

You could build a box on top of a flatbed yourself and probably get away with less weight than one of their canopies or if you build the whole thing yourself, a steel subframe, aluminum structure, and plywood bed surface is the lightest way I know to build a flatbed.

Been looking at these guys:
uteltd.com
They are less than half price and from what I've read they are well built.

I think I'll go with a premade flatbed and build the topper. The flatbed will hold the weight and I'd like to use it for other stuff, so I want to make sure it can handle things.
I've considered keeping the OEM bed because it allows a lower floor for getting and out, but the flatbed seems more versatile otherwise. And, I love the way those trays look!

Ute also makes a top section, but it's not meant to be removed, since it has no floor. I though about buying that as well, adding a floor, and modifying it. But for the price and the amount of work, it may be better to just build one from scratch. I did consider building the toper frame from steel angle and using aluminum and composite sheets fot the rest. Other option is aluminum angle and then use the aluminum brazing rods and also riveted gussets.

 

[Commander Zarkon]

About the payload... it seems to go heavy we would need a full size truck. I don't like full size trucks much for overlanding; they're too big for my taste. So I prefer the challenge of going light but still comfortable. If I could pick one vehicle it would be a Land-cruiser Troopy, but not too common here in the USA. I considered moving to Australia back in the 80s when I was in high school, but then their government decided to strip everyone of their right of self defense. It's a shame because Australia seems like such an amazing country with equally amazing people! Rest of the world too, for that matter; its just some oxygen thieves that make it hell for everyone else.
Anyway, sorry for that rant...

I am not into rock crawling or crazy trails. I prefer "overlanding" where I may find challenges, but not insane ones. Still, I see the need to stay within certain limits.
I've thought of an off road military style trailer, but don't like the fact that certain places don't allow them. Still, there's something to be said about the extra cargo and range they offer. I would think that a military trailer that is relatively small would not hinder the performance of a vehicle much off road except for extreme situations. But again, I would much rather be able to do this stuff with just the truck.
The way I see it; if I did this in a little Jeep TJ, driving across the US multiple times, going off road, camping, etc. I believe I can do it in an FJC and Tacoma, with more gear, but still below going overweight. Now I just have to do it...

 

[Highplainsdrifter]

IMO, the Tacoma is a terrible "expedition" platform the way you're looking to use it because it has a mediocre at best payload (the FJC is better by about 100# and the 4Runner by about 400#). You put the lightest tray and canopy (Norweld basic models) on it and with you in the driver seat, you've already burned up half truck's GVWR before you add any gear and any other protection. Yes, you can compensate for weight with suspension upgrades but nothing you can do in the US will change that door tag. It's not generally enforced in the US but if you ever plan on travelling to other countries, it could very well be an issue for you and either way, it's a liability in the wrong situation.

This is the #1 reason I sold my TRDOR... 1150# doesn't go nearly as far as you'd believe and I 100% blame YouTube and Instagram people throwing a literal ton of armor, tents, and gear on a half-ton truck and acting like it's totally normal.

There's a reason the vehicles you commonly see with the tray/canopy setup are vehicles like the LC70, Hilux, and Aussie Ranger... all three of them have a greater than 1T payload rating with most configurations having over double the Tacoma.

I’m not sure what numbers you are looking at a 4Runner vs Tacoma payload is 80 pound difference on new ones and in the past the Tacoma beat it out by 100 pounds that doesn’t seem substantial to me

 

[LostWoods]

I’m not sure what numbers you are looking at a 4Runner vs Tacoma payload is 80 pound difference on new ones and in the past the Tacoma beat it out by 100 pounds that doesn’t seem substantial to me

TRDOR 4dr Tacoma is 1,155 lbs and a TRDOR (non-prem) 4Runner is 1,550 lbs per Toyota's website. Premium I think adds like 60 lbs to the curb weight so still not even close.

I'm guessing you just Google searched it which shows the bare bone 2wd capacities. As soon as you add 4wd to the Tacoma, the payload goes to shit. The Tacoma to my knowledge hasn't had a competitive payload against the 4Runner since the first gen Taco.

 

[Highplainsdrifter]

I’m not sure what numbers you are looking at a 4Runner vs Tacoma payload is 80 pound difference on new ones and in the past the Tacoma beat it out by 100 pounds that doesn’t seem substantial to me

TRDOR 4dr Tacoma is 1,155 lbs and a TRDOR 4Runner is 1,550 lbs per Toyota's website.

I'm guessing you just Google searched it which shows the bare bone 2wd capacities. As soon as you add 4wd to the Tacoma, the payload goes to shit.

I’m going off of my 2009 access cab trd off-road with a 6 speed I think it has more than a new gladiator

 

[Highplainsdrifter]

I’m not sure what numbers you are looking at a 4Runner vs Tacoma payload is 80 pound difference on new ones and in the past the Tacoma beat it out by 100 pounds that doesn’t seem substantial to me

TRDOR 4dr Tacoma is 1,155 lbs and a TRDOR 4Runner is 1,550 lbs per Toyota's website.

I'm guessing you just Google searched it which shows the bare bone 2wd capacities. As soon as you add 4wd to the Tacoma, the payload goes to shit.

I’m going off of my 2009 access cab trd off-road with a 6 speed I think it has more than a new gladiator

My truck is 1305 pounds