chequamegon
Observer
Hello everyone -
I am new here, and joining because I just purchased a new Tacoma, and will be doing a build out over the next 6 months. I have been a lurker of Expedition Forums when my wife and I purchased a used 2004 Disco II about two years ago, with intent to make it an overland vehicle. After sinking way too much money into it just to keep it running (head gaskets, electrical demons), we spent two years chasing our dreams and making no progress because we had to spend all the fun money just keeping it running.
So I tore off the band aid, and got rid of the Disco, and picked up a 2013 Tacoma DCLB. I will be on here quite a bit, asking lots of noob questions, so please be patient with me. We have a trip planned in July to drive from Minnesota, across northern Alberta and BC out to Haida Gwaii, and then back down and through a bit of the western US.
I work in product development for a mountain bike company, so the purpose of the rig will be mostly as a support, access and camping vehicle for mountain biking trips. White Rim will probably be the most extreme terrain it will ever see, as anything harder than that, I prefer two wheels.
Here is the plan to complete by June:
ARB front bumper, painted white, with grill and light guards - order in January
CBI Offroad rear bumper with swingout, two receivers, one for trailer, one for bike rack - order in January
FRP Flippac - already found a slightly used one, driving to AR in Jan to pick it up
Garmin GPS with off-road trail maps - already have
WeatherTech laser-designed molded mats - already ordered
Thule T2 4 bike - already have
Firestone Winterforce tires on stock alloys for winter (Minnesota can be hard in winter) - already ordered
Gray TRD Trail Ed 16" alloys from FJ with BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A 235/85-16 - probably in April as money allows and snow melts
Birch Cabinets and pull-outs in bed with hardwood floor - wait till its warm so I can work outside
onboard Air compressor - not sure what kind or when, there was a great thread on here about hiding it in the bed pockets
And lots of assorted camping widgets for the Flippac - already have all the stuff like stoves, tables, snowpeak goodies, camp chairs.
And then, long term -
Icon Vehicle Dynamics adjustable shocks for stock ride height
Bolt-on rock sliders - any suggestions? I don't want them visually apparent, so none that wrap up the sides, I don't drive that hard
LED light pods for the ARB bumper, enough to send out about 10,000 lumens
LED backup light
dual deep-cycle battery conversion with solar controller and panel with full 12v lighting in Flippac
Flip-down table and box for the rear bumper swingout
And the blank canvas:
I am new here, and joining because I just purchased a new Tacoma, and will be doing a build out over the next 6 months. I have been a lurker of Expedition Forums when my wife and I purchased a used 2004 Disco II about two years ago, with intent to make it an overland vehicle. After sinking way too much money into it just to keep it running (head gaskets, electrical demons), we spent two years chasing our dreams and making no progress because we had to spend all the fun money just keeping it running.
So I tore off the band aid, and got rid of the Disco, and picked up a 2013 Tacoma DCLB. I will be on here quite a bit, asking lots of noob questions, so please be patient with me. We have a trip planned in July to drive from Minnesota, across northern Alberta and BC out to Haida Gwaii, and then back down and through a bit of the western US.
I work in product development for a mountain bike company, so the purpose of the rig will be mostly as a support, access and camping vehicle for mountain biking trips. White Rim will probably be the most extreme terrain it will ever see, as anything harder than that, I prefer two wheels.
Here is the plan to complete by June:
ARB front bumper, painted white, with grill and light guards - order in January
CBI Offroad rear bumper with swingout, two receivers, one for trailer, one for bike rack - order in January
FRP Flippac - already found a slightly used one, driving to AR in Jan to pick it up
Garmin GPS with off-road trail maps - already have
WeatherTech laser-designed molded mats - already ordered
Thule T2 4 bike - already have
Firestone Winterforce tires on stock alloys for winter (Minnesota can be hard in winter) - already ordered
Gray TRD Trail Ed 16" alloys from FJ with BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A 235/85-16 - probably in April as money allows and snow melts
Birch Cabinets and pull-outs in bed with hardwood floor - wait till its warm so I can work outside
onboard Air compressor - not sure what kind or when, there was a great thread on here about hiding it in the bed pockets
And lots of assorted camping widgets for the Flippac - already have all the stuff like stoves, tables, snowpeak goodies, camp chairs.
And then, long term -
Icon Vehicle Dynamics adjustable shocks for stock ride height
Bolt-on rock sliders - any suggestions? I don't want them visually apparent, so none that wrap up the sides, I don't drive that hard
LED light pods for the ARB bumper, enough to send out about 10,000 lumens
LED backup light
dual deep-cycle battery conversion with solar controller and panel with full 12v lighting in Flippac
Flip-down table and box for the rear bumper swingout
And the blank canvas:
