Your Taco should be fine, better than most down south.
Don't fall into the 4x4 bling stuff. Can't imagine a bad assy rock climbing machine being good to travel in.
In my youth part of the adventure was keeping my fingers crossed, my Volvo 245 was great, so were my VW's, packed like a hiker running all over Europe.
Stock reliability is key, IMO, lifting any vehicle more than a couple inches begins playing on the design of the vehicle.
You do not want flashy, that can cause problems in poor remote areas. Your license plate says a lot.
Good springs and shocks, I wouldn't carry spare suspension parts but rely on good equipment.
+1 on a dual battery, but to ensure reliability I'd keep my house battery on its own circuit, your starting battery is scared. Might consider solar or a small gen set for charging the house battery.
Tire repair kit....absolutely, spare tire.....absolutely, you're young, I used a good hand pump.
You don't need off road tire bling, like 32's, go with good tires close to or in stock sizes.
Add ons weigh something and can add up fast, but pound for pound, I'd suggest a skid plate for your oil pan and tranny.
Trans and oil cooler, is almost a must have, additional fuel filters in line can keep you going too.
Bigger is better applies to radiators, don't get some cheap OEM replacement, qualty hoses and a couple spares don't weigh much.
If you're even close to warranty maintenance scheduled items, like timing belt/chain, replace them before you go, about 200 miles before you go to ensure everything is in good order before you launch.
A couple driving/fog lights are good to have, don't over do it and something has to power your landing strip if you get carried away with light bling.
Since deer and other large critters roam all the way to southern horn, a grill guard mounted to the frame could be a good thing, just don't add bling steel....that's heavy.
I can't help but think that big steel bumpers are for poor drivers or for the intimidator, your truck has lots of storage space along the frame, don't be afraid to use it.
A winch can be cheaper than a tow truck, the drivers can be bandits.
Water and a good water purifier, might use the purifier for the water you get down there or take a lot of diarrhea pills and eat lots of p-nuts.
Everything you hang on your truck should be lockable, and locked, or welded on, especially wheels.
A camper cap with a modified lock might work well for you too.
Tools, you should be able to take off anything bolted to your truck, leave the torque wrench and air hammer at home.
If I were headed south I'd think about one of those translator gizzmos, you speak in to it and it replays in about 50 or 100 languages. I don't know, there might be an app for that too.
Happy travels and dreams.
Don't fall into the 4x4 bling stuff. Can't imagine a bad assy rock climbing machine being good to travel in.
In my youth part of the adventure was keeping my fingers crossed, my Volvo 245 was great, so were my VW's, packed like a hiker running all over Europe.
Stock reliability is key, IMO, lifting any vehicle more than a couple inches begins playing on the design of the vehicle.
You do not want flashy, that can cause problems in poor remote areas. Your license plate says a lot.
Good springs and shocks, I wouldn't carry spare suspension parts but rely on good equipment.
+1 on a dual battery, but to ensure reliability I'd keep my house battery on its own circuit, your starting battery is scared. Might consider solar or a small gen set for charging the house battery.
Tire repair kit....absolutely, spare tire.....absolutely, you're young, I used a good hand pump.
You don't need off road tire bling, like 32's, go with good tires close to or in stock sizes.
Add ons weigh something and can add up fast, but pound for pound, I'd suggest a skid plate for your oil pan and tranny.
Trans and oil cooler, is almost a must have, additional fuel filters in line can keep you going too.
Bigger is better applies to radiators, don't get some cheap OEM replacement, qualty hoses and a couple spares don't weigh much.
If you're even close to warranty maintenance scheduled items, like timing belt/chain, replace them before you go, about 200 miles before you go to ensure everything is in good order before you launch.
A couple driving/fog lights are good to have, don't over do it and something has to power your landing strip if you get carried away with light bling.
Since deer and other large critters roam all the way to southern horn, a grill guard mounted to the frame could be a good thing, just don't add bling steel....that's heavy.
I can't help but think that big steel bumpers are for poor drivers or for the intimidator, your truck has lots of storage space along the frame, don't be afraid to use it.
A winch can be cheaper than a tow truck, the drivers can be bandits.
Water and a good water purifier, might use the purifier for the water you get down there or take a lot of diarrhea pills and eat lots of p-nuts.
Everything you hang on your truck should be lockable, and locked, or welded on, especially wheels.
A camper cap with a modified lock might work well for you too.
Tools, you should be able to take off anything bolted to your truck, leave the torque wrench and air hammer at home.
If I were headed south I'd think about one of those translator gizzmos, you speak in to it and it replays in about 50 or 100 languages. I don't know, there might be an app for that too.
Happy travels and dreams.
