Hello Everyone,
First off, I'd like to say thanks to this community and the countless ideas they have shared on this board. I was attracted to this board because of the natural progression from "off-roading" for off-roading's sake, and actually utilizing my vehicle see and enjoy sights otherwise unreachable. From the wealth of information I’ve found here, and a bit from the rest of the internet I’d like to share what how my buildup went and my main objectives.
This is a huge write up so do like I do, don’t read anything until an interesting picture comes up and you want to know more.
The Vehicle: 2004 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4
The Tacoma double cab I believe is one of the best vehicles to have for an excursion. For me, it has the perfect balance of off-road ability and carrying capacity. Jeeps are too small, and though off-road trailers are amazing, I would hate to have to pull one. The Tacoma double cab has ample room in the cab for items I don’t want dust on, or things I need to be secured. The bed is quite small, but for my application it works perfectly with room to spare.
Here she is in the obligatory fresh off the showroom picture
Off-Road Capability and Performance Modifications
Since everyone here has a pretty good understanding off the suspension modifications I’ll just list the ones I have on my truck:
-TRD supercharger with 7th injector and piggy-back ECU
-DR front coilovers with Camburg Upper Control Arms
-DR rear reservoir shocks with EVS bump-stops on the shaft
-Deaver 10 leaf pack
-4.5 Polyurethane bump-stops on custom mounts
-Demello rear hybrid bumper (wrinkle powder coated)
-Demello sliders (wrinkle powder coated)
-All-pro front bumper with skid (wrinkle powder coated)
-33” BFG ATs
-Hayden Transmission Cooler
-Tundra brake upgrade
Comparison of stock (top) rotor vs the Tundra’s (bottom). This is possibly the single best investment on the vehicle. About 250 dollars total.
I went with the older year 199mm Tundra calipers since I was unsure at the time if the bigger 231mm ones were going to fit. At the time I had tried it, no one had a real definitive answer of if the Tundra brakes would work at all with a 16 inch wheel so I did not want to take the chance with the larger caliper.
9000 lb T-Max recovery winch. A good picture of front IFS flex also… as good as it gets anways.
So with that, onto the expedition gear!
My objective in building an expedition vehicle was to go as far as I could, as long as I could… Simple enough. The limitation on going as far as I could would be the vehicle that carried me. Since the Tacoma is such a great off-roading vehicle, I knew I had that base covered. The long as I could is a much bigger challenge.
After a few days camping, I tend to get a little weary of setting up and breaking camp. So while the supplies don’t limit my trips, the comfort level does. For a while I was considering an RV, trailer, or one of these new “off-road” pop up trailers. With a trailer, it’s certain that I would have had to drop off my trailer somewhere and pick it up at the end of the trip or trail. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to buy something that would hold me back on the trail, or hinder my exploration experience. My only option was to build a expedition vehicle.
Shelf and Rack System
The goal of my rack system was to:
-Be able to mount a roof-top-tent as low as possible to keep weight down and to reduce wind resistance
-Compartmentalize the bed into usable,
-Be able to access the space below the tent
-Securely hold a water tank, propane tank, and secondary battery
-Have a large slide out table with affixed stove
-To have everything ready at a moments notice, and
-Not put any new holes into the bed
My first choice would have been to purchase a Can-Back to mount my tent, but since that’s not an option I started building my own solution.
I welded the frame up with some lightweight metal (light gauge to be more accurate) and used some slides left over at work.
The entire rack sits snug into the bed. The front of the rack frame holds my water tank snugly. To reduce abrasion the bottom and sides of the of the tank is carpeted, and the metal surfaces of the rack is also.
Rather then going with wood or metal, I consulted my local plastic shop and they recommended me some marine grade HDPE board. Same HDPE except with a UV coating and a texture on the surface. I went with 3/8’s inch because I was afraid it would not be sturdy. My goal was to hold approximately 25 pounds per side, they eventually held the weight of two grown men. I would recommend ¼ or possibly smaller. You can see the rear of the rack system is held down by a ratchet strap onto the stock bed hook.
Two vertical bars make a mounting point for my propane tank. Here is a standard tank, but ideally a 5lb tank should be there.
The rack has two mounts in the back which I use a bolt with a cotter pin to secure. This gives me the ability to lift the rack in order to access the area inside. The front of the rack is held in place by brackets which are held onto place by the stock bed hook holes. The front are nylon nuts which are held in place securely. The new editions are the hi-lift and shovel mounts on the side.
Until recently, I had to manually lift the upper portion of the rack then held it up with a metal stick. It didn’t work very well, and no one would dare put their hand into take anything out. The total weight at one side of the lifting rack was 85 lbs, and you had to hold it at a strange angle. To resolve the problem, I installed two 80 lb gas springs which I luckily found for a decent price. The entire top with rack, tent, shovel, and hi-lift jack is approximately 160-180 lbs. Once a single gas spring was installed, the rack held it self up. With both installed, it automatically lifts.
First off, I'd like to say thanks to this community and the countless ideas they have shared on this board. I was attracted to this board because of the natural progression from "off-roading" for off-roading's sake, and actually utilizing my vehicle see and enjoy sights otherwise unreachable. From the wealth of information I’ve found here, and a bit from the rest of the internet I’d like to share what how my buildup went and my main objectives.
This is a huge write up so do like I do, don’t read anything until an interesting picture comes up and you want to know more.
The Vehicle: 2004 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4
The Tacoma double cab I believe is one of the best vehicles to have for an excursion. For me, it has the perfect balance of off-road ability and carrying capacity. Jeeps are too small, and though off-road trailers are amazing, I would hate to have to pull one. The Tacoma double cab has ample room in the cab for items I don’t want dust on, or things I need to be secured. The bed is quite small, but for my application it works perfectly with room to spare.
Here she is in the obligatory fresh off the showroom picture
Off-Road Capability and Performance Modifications
Since everyone here has a pretty good understanding off the suspension modifications I’ll just list the ones I have on my truck:
-TRD supercharger with 7th injector and piggy-back ECU
-DR front coilovers with Camburg Upper Control Arms
-DR rear reservoir shocks with EVS bump-stops on the shaft
-Deaver 10 leaf pack
-4.5 Polyurethane bump-stops on custom mounts
-Demello rear hybrid bumper (wrinkle powder coated)
-Demello sliders (wrinkle powder coated)
-All-pro front bumper with skid (wrinkle powder coated)
-33” BFG ATs
-Hayden Transmission Cooler
-Tundra brake upgrade
Comparison of stock (top) rotor vs the Tundra’s (bottom). This is possibly the single best investment on the vehicle. About 250 dollars total.
I went with the older year 199mm Tundra calipers since I was unsure at the time if the bigger 231mm ones were going to fit. At the time I had tried it, no one had a real definitive answer of if the Tundra brakes would work at all with a 16 inch wheel so I did not want to take the chance with the larger caliper.
9000 lb T-Max recovery winch. A good picture of front IFS flex also… as good as it gets anways.
So with that, onto the expedition gear!
My objective in building an expedition vehicle was to go as far as I could, as long as I could… Simple enough. The limitation on going as far as I could would be the vehicle that carried me. Since the Tacoma is such a great off-roading vehicle, I knew I had that base covered. The long as I could is a much bigger challenge.
After a few days camping, I tend to get a little weary of setting up and breaking camp. So while the supplies don’t limit my trips, the comfort level does. For a while I was considering an RV, trailer, or one of these new “off-road” pop up trailers. With a trailer, it’s certain that I would have had to drop off my trailer somewhere and pick it up at the end of the trip or trail. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to buy something that would hold me back on the trail, or hinder my exploration experience. My only option was to build a expedition vehicle.
Shelf and Rack System
The goal of my rack system was to:
-Be able to mount a roof-top-tent as low as possible to keep weight down and to reduce wind resistance
-Compartmentalize the bed into usable,
-Be able to access the space below the tent
-Securely hold a water tank, propane tank, and secondary battery
-Have a large slide out table with affixed stove
-To have everything ready at a moments notice, and
-Not put any new holes into the bed
My first choice would have been to purchase a Can-Back to mount my tent, but since that’s not an option I started building my own solution.
I welded the frame up with some lightweight metal (light gauge to be more accurate) and used some slides left over at work.
The entire rack sits snug into the bed. The front of the rack frame holds my water tank snugly. To reduce abrasion the bottom and sides of the of the tank is carpeted, and the metal surfaces of the rack is also.
Rather then going with wood or metal, I consulted my local plastic shop and they recommended me some marine grade HDPE board. Same HDPE except with a UV coating and a texture on the surface. I went with 3/8’s inch because I was afraid it would not be sturdy. My goal was to hold approximately 25 pounds per side, they eventually held the weight of two grown men. I would recommend ¼ or possibly smaller. You can see the rear of the rack system is held down by a ratchet strap onto the stock bed hook.
Two vertical bars make a mounting point for my propane tank. Here is a standard tank, but ideally a 5lb tank should be there.
The rack has two mounts in the back which I use a bolt with a cotter pin to secure. This gives me the ability to lift the rack in order to access the area inside. The front of the rack is held in place by brackets which are held onto place by the stock bed hook holes. The front are nylon nuts which are held in place securely. The new editions are the hi-lift and shovel mounts on the side.
Until recently, I had to manually lift the upper portion of the rack then held it up with a metal stick. It didn’t work very well, and no one would dare put their hand into take anything out. The total weight at one side of the lifting rack was 85 lbs, and you had to hold it at a strange angle. To resolve the problem, I installed two 80 lb gas springs which I luckily found for a decent price. The entire top with rack, tent, shovel, and hi-lift jack is approximately 160-180 lbs. Once a single gas spring was installed, the rack held it self up. With both installed, it automatically lifts.
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