Enthusiast II
What to build first?
- Thread starter Jaebronski
- Start date
World Traveler III
World Traveler III
Enthusiast II
That's a sick setup. Did you add new bumpers to get those recovery points installed? It's also gonna be a daily driver so I'm trying to find a good balance between overlanding and daily driving.
World Traveler III
World Traveler III
Enthusiast II
- 539
- First Name
- Tony
- Last Name
- Farson
- Member #
-
16295
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KJ7MSQ
Here’s my $.02. Take it or leave it. :) I am an old school off road guy who likes to camp. I am in the midst of outfitting my main overland rig (while doing a resto on my 68 FJ40). My Bronco is a bit older, but I think the basics still apply to any build. Make sure the vehicle is mechanically sound and reliable. You have a brand spankin new Toyota, so... CHECK!
Decide if stock form on your Taco is adequate for your offroad needs. Do you need a lift, better gearing (I think Tacos are bit sluggish and bigger gears help.. A LOT!)? Does your truck have a factory rear locker? I think they do. Do you need a locker up front? I don’t know how that works with IFS. I know they sell one for my IFS F150 though. Is your crawl ratio low enough or do you need to pay a visit to Marlin Crawler (careful!)?
Do you need a winch? If so, you’ll need a bumper. I strongly recommend sliders to protect your rockers!
Once the prowess and reliability stuff is sorted, then you can start outfitting for “overland”. I am not into that phase yet. No highfalutin RTT or automagic kitchen or toilet quite yet. ;)
Congrats on your rig and good luck with you build.
Decide if stock form on your Taco is adequate for your offroad needs. Do you need a lift, better gearing (I think Tacos are bit sluggish and bigger gears help.. A LOT!)? Does your truck have a factory rear locker? I think they do. Do you need a locker up front? I don’t know how that works with IFS. I know they sell one for my IFS F150 though. Is your crawl ratio low enough or do you need to pay a visit to Marlin Crawler (careful!)?
Do you need a winch? If so, you’ll need a bumper. I strongly recommend sliders to protect your rockers!
Once the prowess and reliability stuff is sorted, then you can start outfitting for “overland”. I am not into that phase yet. No highfalutin RTT or automagic kitchen or toilet quite yet. ;)
Congrats on your rig and good luck with you build.
The most important thing to do (besides updated maintenance) is just go camp. Bring your gear and head out to a trail. Bring a pad of paper and write down problems you face and upgrades to solve them. A lot of it comes down to quality of life out on the trail. A plain o Jane TRD will do just about anything if sticking to reasonable trails.
Good tires (with spare), rear locker, and some kind of recovery device is the bare minimum IMO, but is adequate for overlanding.
Good tires (with spare), rear locker, and some kind of recovery device is the bare minimum IMO, but is adequate for overlanding.
Influencer II
I think:
1. The underneath protection
2. Wheels and tires (most important ) what do you to do ? Heavy off road ? or you are willing turn around and go other way? Do you drive this car to work? If Yes than heavy off road tires forget about. Bad mpg, road noise, waste of tires.
3. Roof rack. it helps, not just for storage, in case you will flip your car, it will protect the roof from collapsing on your head.
4. Recovery accessories, just simple recovery rope and rear recovery points.
5. Camping accessories , tent , cooking, .....Are you willing sleep in car ? that's ok too. Dry food it's ok too. But you need lots water with you.
6. Self protection when travel alone. Lots nuts people walking around. Remember, gun will protect you but are you willing to shoot ? Maybe a big dog? it will aware you way before you see or hear anyone.
7. Emergency communication, at least about 100 bucks two way radio with SOS ! Must. And keep near you and secure. AID kit.
1. The underneath protection
2. Wheels and tires (most important ) what do you to do ? Heavy off road ? or you are willing turn around and go other way? Do you drive this car to work? If Yes than heavy off road tires forget about. Bad mpg, road noise, waste of tires.
3. Roof rack. it helps, not just for storage, in case you will flip your car, it will protect the roof from collapsing on your head.
4. Recovery accessories, just simple recovery rope and rear recovery points.
5. Camping accessories , tent , cooking, .....Are you willing sleep in car ? that's ok too. Dry food it's ok too. But you need lots water with you.
6. Self protection when travel alone. Lots nuts people walking around. Remember, gun will protect you but are you willing to shoot ? Maybe a big dog? it will aware you way before you see or hear anyone.
7. Emergency communication, at least about 100 bucks two way radio with SOS ! Must. And keep near you and secure. AID kit.
Member III
Mods needed are more dependent on what you're going to do and where you're going to travel.
I've seen people with fully decked-out Instagram ready rigs with every doodad and camping comfort you can imagine and every picture you see of them they are at a campground , then on the other hand I've seen people with bare bones minimum bare-bones minimum backpacking supplies in a bone stock rig that's it out in the most remote places you could possibly imagine.
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for exploring sometimes you just got to get out there and see what works and doesn't.
MOST IMPORTANT MOD!!!!!Let someone know where your heading AND how long you will be gone
basic recovery gear
first aid kit
food, water, shelter .
Don't go hog-wild your first couple times out planning of five thousand mile trip go somewhere close , an hour from home learn what works and doesn't work for you and go from there.
I've seen people with fully decked-out Instagram ready rigs with every doodad and camping comfort you can imagine and every picture you see of them they are at a campground , then on the other hand I've seen people with bare bones minimum bare-bones minimum backpacking supplies in a bone stock rig that's it out in the most remote places you could possibly imagine.
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for exploring sometimes you just got to get out there and see what works and doesn't.
MOST IMPORTANT MOD!!!!!Let someone know where your heading AND how long you will be gone
basic recovery gear
first aid kit
food, water, shelter .
Don't go hog-wild your first couple times out planning of five thousand mile trip go somewhere close , an hour from home learn what works and doesn't work for you and go from there.
Influencer II
Enthusiast II
Sounds like a solid plan! Thanks for your input, definitely looking into the sliders and winch before getting any overlanding gear. Definitely going to be a long process to get my rig where I want it [emoji23]
Enthusiast II
1. Definitely looking into skid plate
2. Yea I do drive it to work, didn't know tires would cause loud road noise (good to know!)
3. Still debating bout a rack
4. What's a good rear recovery kit?
7. Looking into emergency comms, been told to go with ham radios
World Traveler III
What your family needs to make it possible.. make it happen and see the world!!
Influencer II
I got Smittybilt recovery board - 130 bucks on some online store most case 150.
Also I got Rhino strap kit. You will need car jack, either high lift or bottom, like Powerbuilt brand. I know some used for JK with 4 inch lift. Also shovel, saw and axe.
Also I got Rhino strap kit. You will need car jack, either high lift or bottom, like Powerbuilt brand. I know some used for JK with 4 inch lift. Also shovel, saw and axe.
Enthusiast II
- 539
- First Name
- Tony
- Last Name
- Farson
- Member #
-
16295
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KJ7MSQ
Yep, no worries! It will take a while to get my kit where I want it too. Long time and expensive. One bolt at a time! :) I am planning on running a set of sliders from Whiteknuckle 4x4. They have reasonable prices and they are a small shop (from my hometown!). I like supporting small businesses when I can.
https://white-knuckleoffroad.com/toyota-tacoma/
