Building out a 17 Taco, any Suggestions on Equipment?

[DosCaminos]

I am building out a stock 17 Taco TRD-offroad Crew Cab 6ft bed for a 6 month trip to South America. I am new to overloading and have done some research on what I may need. I would love to get the communities opinion.

Planned Build
Cap: Alu-cab
Awning: Alu-cab 270 Degree Swing Out
Roof Tent: ARB Soft Shell
Lighting: Grill Mounted LED Light Bar & Squadron Lights for all around Lighting
Battery: Dual Set Up
Wheels: Not Yet Selected
Tires: Likely K02's
Rock Sliders: CBI or Something Like that
Suspension: 2-3 inch Lift & Old Man Emu Leaf Springs
Storage: Truck Vault Sliders
Fridge: ARB 60L Fridge/Freezer Combo
Armor: Front Skid Plate & Differential Armor
Front Bumper: High Clearance ARB or the Like
Rear Bumper: High Clearance with Swing arm for Jerry Can storage & Spare Mount
Winch: 10 ton winch
Additional Modifications:

Onboard Generator​

Cab Mounted Roof Rack​

Jerry Cans & Water Storage System​

Any thoughts on the build? Was thinking we may need to rear gear the differential due to all the added weight. We will be filming a web production while down in SA and this will be one of our production work horses & homes.

 

[rino]

Nice list of parts, by SA will you be in South Africa with this truck?

Also 10,000 lb winch

 

[Cletus26]

This sounds like it could be pretty awesome

 

[DosCaminos]

Apologies, by SA I meant South America. We are starting in Cartagena, Columbia and finishing in Montevideo, Uruguay. The trip will take 6 months. This is the first truck of 2 for the expedition, the work horse and hopefully my excellent expedition vehicle after the journey. Still have yet to name the rig.

Ah yes! 10 tons is a bit much :chef:

 

[rruff]

Suspension: 2-3 inch Lift & Old Man Emu Leaf Springs

OME struts?

Bigger tires will give you the best clearance. KO2s are ok but I think you might want a heavier duty mud tire if you will be offroad a lot. When I think of South America I imagine jungles and mud.

I wouldn't change the gearing if it was my truck.

 

[Junior83]

I would definitely recommend a rehear. I have a 2017 DCSB Off Road and run an OME Medium rate lift with their leaf pack, with 285 BFG AT KO2's on FN wheels and cannot wait to regear, and that's without any additional weight! I don't even get up to 6th unless it's on a downhill and I'm not on the gas and I think you'll be needing that additional torque in the jungles down in SA.

 

[hilux30]

I would definitely recommend a rehear. I have a 2017 DCSB Off Road and run an OME Medium rate lift with their leaf pack, with 285 BFG AT KO2's on FN wheels and cannot wait to regear, and that's without any additional weight! I don't even get up to 6th unless it's on a downhill and I'm not on the gas and I think you'll be needing that additional torque in the jungles down in SA.

I have to agree with the regearing.. As the 4.0L with 285's (33"ish) was decent without regearing, the 3.5L I've been sampling feel much lighter in the torque department and swapping gears is important if adding weight, 4.10 or 4.56 ratios maybe with 33" tires....

 

[Scurvy]

You should check out SCS wheels, built for Tacoma's. The owner is helpful.

 

[washington taco]

With all that weight you WILL need a custom Deaver rear spring pack. The OME Dakars with the add a leaf WILL not cut it. I have the Same springs in a first gen and all the equipment you plan on and they will not last. I also added Timbren rear bumps and remote resi Bilsteins. Keep in mind your truck has a Toyota rated payload of 1100 lbs. Minus two adults and your now down to 800 lbs. Keep this in mind.

 

[DaVikes]

For a long trip like that, I imagine you will be carrying a lot of gear, and weight will be a factor. I just saw on Allpro's website that they are building a '17 Tacoma with the goal being to keep it as light as possible. So they are using aluminum tubular bumpers, skids and even sliders. The 3.5 doesn't have the low end torque that the 4.0 has, so focusing on weight makes sense. (And the 4.0 really isn't all that torquey.) My truck is somewhat heavy, and weighs about 5750 lbs, including me and my dog, which is about 300 over GVWR. And I don't even have skids. I'm geared 4.56 and running 34x10.5 KO2's. I can't imagine turning that tire ungeared. And I'm sure your truck will end up being heavier than mine.

A guy named Dan Grec is currently driving his jeep on same tires around Africa. Google The Road Chose Me. He would probably give you some input on how the tires are doing. RCI Metalworks in CO makes some nice aluminum skids etc. for the Tacoma. They also are building a '16, and have it geared at 4.88.

Also check out the Allpro expo rear springs. They are a viable option to the Dakars.

Have fun with the build.

 

[rruff]

With all that weight you WILL need a custom Deaver rear spring pack. The OME Dakars with the add a leaf WILL not cut it. I have the Same springs in a first gen and all the equipment you plan on and they will not last. I also added Timbren rear bumps and remote resi Bilsteins. Keep in mind your truck has a Toyota rated payload of 1100 lbs. Minus two adults and your now down to 800 lbs. Keep this in mind.

He might be better off with a Tundra, honestly. Costs very little more, not much wider (~5"), has a much larger engine (5.7l vs 3.5l), has sensible gearing with 4.3 ratio, and handles payload a lot better.