Where to start?

[Aoden0472]

Where did everyone start their builds? My wife and I just purchased our 2020 Tacoma TRD Off-road last week with the intent of Overland Camping with our children.
We are overwhelmed with were to start.There are some many great rigs out there all with different ideas of how things should be done We know we would like a bed rack system with a tent at some point. My wife wants a compact type kitchen. I personally want all the gear to be organized and easy to move in out of the truck. This is just a basic idea of what we are thinking. Most of all we want to go enjoy weekends with our kids, go on adventures, and make memories.
Any advice of a good starting point, or area to focus on is greatly appreciated. Thank You in Advance.

 

[Road]

Best thing you can do is start with the truck you have and go camping. Don't worry about the right gear until you have some camping with your wife and kids under your belt.

"At some point," like you wrote, is the best thing, as far as deciding on more expensive gear.

If you don't have a tent, just get a simple ground tent or one that fits the bed of your truck, like the very inexpensive Rightline Gear or similar. You'll be able to resell it easily if you decide to move to something like a rack and RTT.

Get a simple kitchen box that you can use now and when you move to another type of rack/tent, etc. I love my Beavertree Camp Kitchen and can keep everything I need all together, including my stove, sauté pans, dishes, and some serving plates. That's one thing you won't want to sell, though if you do, won't have any problem. I bought mine used, cheap, though they're harder than hen's teeth to find used. Folks that get one rarely ever part with it.

** THE POINT IS: Get out there with just the basic stuff for a night or two, here and there at local state parks and national forests.
- I would not plan a whole week or longer 'til you've had the family out for a couple shorter trips closer to home.
- You'll figure out pretty quickly what works or not for your style of adventure and outdoor fun.

The worst thing you can do is invest in a mess of stuff you see everyone else using and that looks cool, then find out it's not what you really want or like.

Due diligence in research and crawling around other folk's rigs and talking to actual end users in person will go a long way to getting the gear that will do what you want when you want.

Here's my camp kitchen box:



..
I can keep my pans and plates on top of the stove and still close the lid:


..

Holds a ton of stuff:




Good luck!

.

Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE

Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.

roaddude.com

 

[Anak]

Road is spot on.

Get out there and camp. You will then discover what YOU need.

Don't worry about what everyone else has. There is a percentage of those folks who are just into what looks cool, but they hardly do anything with their toys. The accessories do not equate with the experiences.

Go have fun. You will figure out your needs as you progress.

 

[RJ Howell]

Where did everyone start their builds? My wife and I just purchased our 2020 Tacoma TRD Off-road last week with the intent of Overland Camping with our children.
We are overwhelmed with were to start.There are some many great rigs out there all with different ideas of how things should be done We know we would like a bed rack system with a tent at some point. My wife wants a compact type kitchen. I personally want all the gear to be organized and easy to move in out of the truck. This is just a basic idea of what we are thinking. Most of all we want to go enjoy weekends with our kids, go on adventures, and make memories.
Any advice of a good starting point, or area to focus on is greatly appreciated. Thank You in Advance.

Hmm.. Florida.. First thought, gators and I'd want an RTT (get off the ground).. Just me..

Seriously, RTT's are really cool and have come a long way! No longer just some small thing over the bed of the truck. The beauty of that is it leaves the truck bed open for storage & slide outs (like the photos you saw from Road).

Bottom line, find a way to sleep your folks then find a way to feed your folks. Then get them out there and figure out the rest together!

 

[sean.reyes]

I'm going to advise against a bed rack (exposed frame on top of the bed to mount gear to). A bed camper shell is secure, weatherproof, and still offers roofmounted possibilities.

Moving gear in and out brings me to a Decked solution, or a similar drawer system that runs the length of the bed that has organizational drawer systems for organization, realy nice and inexpensive.

 

[SkinnySurfer_Thad]

Like was said do some car/tent camping someplace local so you can get an idea of what your family needs plus if things go wrong you can head home easily. As for the gear don't go overboard at first, look at what stuff you have at home already you can use, like for me I would love a RTT for my Jeep but if money is an issue I have a backpacking tent I can use this summer for my trip. Just take you time, I know how you feel being overwhelmed I've been there. I hope all works out and Y'all have fun.

 

[Sparksalot]

You didn’t mention how old your kids were. Perhaps get them involved by building a chuck box kitchen for your wife to start outfitting your kit. The main thing is get out and do. The rest will come

 

[Aoden0472]

You didn’t mention how old your kids were. Perhaps get them involved by building a chuck box kitchen for your wife to start outfitting your kit. The main thing is get out and do. The rest will come

My children are 10, 6, and 4. We have been tent camping before and the kids really enjoyed it. I never thought about trying to build a chuck box. I am not much of carpenter but willing to give anything a try.

 

[Aoden0472]

Like was said do some car/tent camping someplace local so you can get an idea of what your family needs plus if things go wrong you can head home easily. As for the gear don't go overboard at first, look at what stuff you have at home already you can use, like for me I would love a RTT for my Jeep but if money is an issue I have a backpacking tent I can use this summer for my trip. Just take you time, I know how you feel being overwhelmed I've been there. I hope all works out and Y'all have fun.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one feeling overwhelmed. Thank you for the advice of taking it slow.

 

[Sparksalot]

My children are 10, 6, and 4. We have been tent camping before and the kids really enjoyed it. I never thought about trying to build a chuck box. I am not much of carpenter but willing to give anything a try.

If you search for chuck box plans you'll find a lot of them are related to scout group projects. Some are elaborate, but most are very simple to build with modest tools and skills.

 

[Aoden0472]

I'm going to advise against a bed rack (exposed frame on top of the bed to mount gear to). A bed camper shell is secure, weatherproof, and still offers roofmounted possibilities.

Moving gear in and out brings me to a Decked solution, or a similar drawer system that runs the length of the bed that has organizational drawer systems for organization, realy nice and inexpensive.

I have looked at the decked systems. My biggest concern with it is it blocks the AC outlet in the bed. It has been suggested to cut a hoe in the deck system and add a small pig tail to use.

 

[Billiebob]

Where did everyone start their builds? My wife and I just purchased our 2020 Tacoma TRD Off-road last week with the intent of Overland Camping with our children.
We are overwhelmed with were to start.There are some many great rigs out there all with different ideas of how things should be done We know we would like a bed rack system with a tent at some point. My wife wants a compact type kitchen. I personally want all the gear to be organized and easy to move in out of the truck. This is just a basic idea of what we are thinking. Most of all we want to go enjoy weekends with our kids, go on adventures, and make memories.
Any advice of a good starting point, or area to focus on is greatly appreciated. Thank You in Advance.

KISS

Keep It Simple

Just get out and do stuff. Look for guided tours in National Parks.
Bring books for the kids... everyone to read. Camping involves lots of quality idle time to disconnect and read. Exploit it. Disconnect, Educate

Go to garage sales for stuff, You'll be amazed how much cheap gear is out there, bought with good intent but rarely used.

Projects are for guys who do projects. Overlanding is about getting away from home and avoiding projects.

great for all ages, I read this in Grade 5

 

[Aoden0472]

Hmm.. Florida.. First thought, gators and I'd want an RTT (get off the ground).. Just me..

Seriously, RTT's are really cool and have come a long way! No longer just some small thing over the bed of the truck. The beauty of that is it leaves the truck bed open for storage & slide outs (like the photos you saw from Road).

Bottom line, find a way to sleep your folks then find a way to feed your folks. Then get them out there and figure out the rest together!

Thank You for the feedback.

 

[Billiebob]

I never thought about trying to build a chuck box. I am not much of carpenter but willing to give anything a try.

i cannot emphasize this enough.

Projects are for guys who do projects. Overlanding is about getting away from home and avoiding projects.

 

[J.W.]

Everyone above has said about everything I could think of. Only thing I would add is don’t forget to have fun! There is no finish line. Take your time and make sure you enjoy the process of outfitting. Let your kids help (where they can) and enjoy the time you all spend planning as well as camping. keep us posted!

 

[leeloo]

I would like to add one thing.. before buying anything expensive go to a dealer, or an expo, maybe a mate who has it and test it. If it is an RTT, take the whole family and climb in the bloody thing, pull the zippers, check the mattres.. etc. Don't get stuff becouse of the reviews or other people have it. What is good for me might not be good for you.

 

[Aoden0472]

I would like to add one thing.. before buying anything expensive go to a dealer, or an expo, maybe a mate who has it and test it. If it is an RTT, take the whole family and climb in the bloody thing, pull the zippers, check the mattres.. etc. Don't get stuff becouse of the reviews or other people have it. What is good for me might not be good for you.

Great idea. Will have to look to see if they have any expos like that here in FL.

 

[TerryD]

Everyone is spot on.

Just starting out? Get used gear second hand. Facebook is a great place to pick up second hand camping gear.

I really love the old Coleman fuel lanterns and stoves. You can get nice, runable pieces for $15-30 if you're patient. They parts are readily available and most of the time they'll run as-is with just a little oil on the pump cup.

Just get a cooler and toss your stuff in the bed of the truck and go camping! Get some paper maps and go find roads you've never been on before. That's mostly what it's about! Geocaching is a good outside activity that will take you places you've never seen and most of the time they are in areas that are scenic or interesting and it doesn't take much more than your phone to get you there.

Look into local parks and outdoor recreation areas. I'm lucky to live right in National Forest and have lots of these places available to me but there's probably some places close by you that you can check out. Even day trips are a good way to be outdoors.

I like a 10x10 pop-up canopy because it will work both with a vehicle AND in camp if you stay somewhere that the actual camp is separated from the vehicle. Ours is a Sportcraft and fits neatly on the roof rack of the Xterra or in our truck bed.

 

[Aoden0472]

Everyone is spot on.

Just starting out? Get used gear second hand. Facebook is a great place to pick up second hand camping gear.

I really love the old Coleman fuel lanterns and stoves. You can get nice, runable pieces for $15-30 if you're patient. They parts are readily available and most of the time they'll run as-is with just a little oil on the pump cup.

Just get a cooler and toss your stuff in the bed of the truck and go camping! Get some paper maps and go find roads you've never been on before. That's mostly what it's about! Geocaching is a good outside activity that will take you places you've never seen and most of the time they are in areas that are scenic or interesting and it doesn't take much more than your phone to get you there.

Look into local parks and outdoor recreation areas. I'm lucky to live right in National Forest and have lots of these places available to me but there's probably some places close by you that you can check out. Even day trips are a good way to be outdoors.

I like a 10x10 pop-up canopy because it will work both with a vehicle AND in camp if you stay somewhere that the actual camp is separated from the vehicle. Ours is a Sportcraft and fits neatly on the roof rack of the Xterra or in our truck bed.

Any pictures of the use of the 10x10 with your vehicle? Just curious in the set-up.

 

[TerryD]

Any pictures of the use of the 10x10 with your vehicle? Just curious in the set-up.

Well generally it'll be set up near the cooking/eating area instead of directly at the vehicle but you could pop it up over your tailgate if you used it for meal prep/eating or toss it up next to the vehicle if access to the vehicle under the shelter was needed. @BRIAN NABY had one he tied to his Jeep and set it up over the rear of it for access to things stored in the Jeep under the shelter. He's since moved on to a vehicle mounted canopy though.

We generally don't set ours up next to the vehicle or attached to the vehicle. But the option is there if desired. Ours get used on the beach for shelter as well as camping or even birthday parties around the house.