RoninWanderer
Definitely lost.... ?
Overview
I’m an Industrial Designer in the outdoor and travel market with a wife and a two-year old son. We love being outdoors and love to travel.
Our previous vehicle was a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, a 2-door JK with long arms and long-travel. That machine was built for crawling technical trails and I loved the rock gardens! Once our son was born, we decided that we wanted a vehicle which was more focused on our family overland trips. We have ambitious plans over the next few years that include long-stretches of backcountry throughout the Americas. The Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road was an easy choice for our needs; it’s reliable, comfortable and capable. We shopped the 3rd Gen’s and, as awesome as they are, we decided to go with a clean, low-mileage 2nd Gen instead. Mechanically, there was little difference to me and the reliability of the 2nd gen has been proven. The money we saved by our purchase is getting put towards, in my opinion, much better use later in our build!
Requirements
We selected a 2010 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road dual-cab, short-bed in magnetic metallic gray. It came completely stock with a color-matched Snugtop on the bed. It had around 110,000 miles, which was about as low as I could find. Overall, it was exactly what I was shopping for!
The Shop
Having a great shop is critical to any build, unless you have awesome mechanic skills, a lot of tools and useful friends. I do not have a lot of those skills and mostly useless friends ?. Mule Expedition Outfitters of Issaquah, WA was great with my Jeep and Toyota’s are their specialty from what I’ve seen. I highly recommend going there if you are in the area!
The Parts and Mods (list updated as I go)
I’m an Industrial Designer in the outdoor and travel market with a wife and a two-year old son. We love being outdoors and love to travel.
Our previous vehicle was a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, a 2-door JK with long arms and long-travel. That machine was built for crawling technical trails and I loved the rock gardens! Once our son was born, we decided that we wanted a vehicle which was more focused on our family overland trips. We have ambitious plans over the next few years that include long-stretches of backcountry throughout the Americas. The Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road was an easy choice for our needs; it’s reliable, comfortable and capable. We shopped the 3rd Gen’s and, as awesome as they are, we decided to go with a clean, low-mileage 2nd Gen instead. Mechanically, there was little difference to me and the reliability of the 2nd gen has been proven. The money we saved by our purchase is getting put towards, in my opinion, much better use later in our build!
Requirements
- Reliable - we didn’t want to touch anything mechanical unless it was necessary as I am no mechanic and we like big miles.
- Lightweight is essential in any travel, IMHO. Wherever possible, we are trying to cut back on weight and still keep to the intended build/purpose.
- Comfortable as a daily driver and grocery-getter and can camp our family of 3 for up to 2-weeks without resupply in the backcountry. We have plans to spend up to 6 months at a time in the truck, in the future.
- Capable on technical trails. I like the hard-lines and will often take a more difficult approach to test my skills and to push the truck’s capability. The 2-door Rubicon had set the bar very high.
- Has ample cargo room to carry gear, toys and a lot of backpacks (I design, make and, sell them).
We selected a 2010 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road dual-cab, short-bed in magnetic metallic gray. It came completely stock with a color-matched Snugtop on the bed. It had around 110,000 miles, which was about as low as I could find. Overall, it was exactly what I was shopping for!
- Dual Cab
- Short Bed
- 4.0 L naturally-aspirated engine
- Automatic transmission
- Factory rear locker
- Factory roof rack
The Shop
Having a great shop is critical to any build, unless you have awesome mechanic skills, a lot of tools and useful friends. I do not have a lot of those skills and mostly useless friends ?. Mule Expedition Outfitters of Issaquah, WA was great with my Jeep and Toyota’s are their specialty from what I’ve seen. I highly recommend going there if you are in the area!
The Parts and Mods (list updated as I go)
- Suspension
- OME BP-51 Suspension System
- Hilux rear leaf packs for the extra weight
- Total Chaos UCA's
- Upgraded front bump stops
- Dobinson pins (greaseable)
- Body mount chopped
- Front fender trimmed
- Firestone Air Bags with Daystar Cradles
- In-Cab controller
- OME BP-51 Suspension System
- Driveline
- Nitro 4.88 gears
- ARB front air locker (rear is factory E-locker)
- ARB Differential Breather extension kits
- Wheels/Tires
- SCS F5 rims
- 16"x8"
- 3.5 BS
- Dark Bronze finish
- BFG KM3 tires (Summer)
- 34.5" height per BFG
- 315/75/R16
- 5 tires
- BFG KO2 tires (Winter)
- 295/75/R16
- 33.1" height per BFG
- Extra clearance to run chains/cables when needed
- SCS F5 rims
- Lighting
- Baja Designs S8 40" Combo led light bar with amber back lights
- Baja Designs Squadron Sport wide-cornering amber “fog” lamps (only used in extreme conditions and off-road)
- Rigid Industries SR-M SAE fog lamps (street-legal and used as full-time DRL's)
- IPF led headlight bulbs
- ARB Intensity 40 combo light-bar
- Rigid Dually D2 flood lights on CBI ditch light brackets
- Baja Designs S2 Sport scene/work lights
- Rigid Dually D2 diffused flood lights on the back of the camper
- Navigation
- Pioneer AVIC-720 Nex in-dash navigation unit with Carplay
- Upgraded audio speakers and amplifier
- Garmin Overlander GPS
- Garmin 66i GPS with InReach Satellite comms
- RAM mounts for devices
- Electrical
- Dual Odyssey 35 Extreme-series batteries
- Off-Grid Engineering dual-battery system (split apart)
- Voltmeter “switch” in dash
- Switch-Pros management system
- Expedition Essentials mount in sunglass compartment
- Armor
- CBI Offroad Fab Moab 2.0 front bumper
- Aluminum, black finish
- Full-hoop design with 3 hoops for protection
- CBI Offroad Fab Overland Skid set
- Aluminum, black finish
- CBI Offroad Fab Bushmaster 2.0 rear bumper
- Total Chaos LCA skids - steel
- Powder coated black for corrosion resistance
- White Knuckle sliders
- DOM bent
- Black powder coat
- Diamond plate for rear kickout
- Angled up for clearance
- CBI Offroad Fab Moab 2.0 front bumper
- Off-Road Accessories
- Safari Snorkel
- ARB Twin Air Compressor
- Slee Offroad bracket
- Recovery
- DMOS Delta aluminum shovel with mount
- Axe mounted to side camper
- Full recovery kit
- 4 pairs of MaxTrax secured to roof box with Alu-Cab holder
- Warn Xeon 10-S Winch with synthetic line
- Factor 55 Link
- Misc. Accessories
- Bushwhacker Fender Flares
- @HomerTaco “Raptor” style front grill with Oznium LED’s from TacomaWorld
- Wet Okole neoprene seat covers
- These are key! With a dog and a toddler who loves mud, the stock light gray seats got trashed immediately. These are custom fit to the Taco and have some extra goodies.
- Driver's seat air-bag lumbar support
- Driver's seat handgun pouch
- Passenger seat cell phone pouch
- Sunglasses pockets on both seats
- Rear pockets
- WeatherTech molded floor liners - priceless
- WeatherTech rain guards - PNW!
- TechDeck for RAM mounts
- Blueridge Overland Gear organization throughout
- Remote start and alarm system
- Communications
- Cobra 75WX CB radio with Firestick antenna
- InReach Satellite communicator
- Alu-Cab Khaya Prime camper with WoodBox 2.0 on All-Cab Load Bars
- 2 Wavian jerry cans for fuel
- National Luna Twin fridge/freezer
- Diesel Air heater
- Duoetto Water Heater
- Shower system
- Interior sink/two-burner stove
- Interior storage options
- Bug net on door
- Interior LED lighting
- 252w solar system on the roof
- Load Bars for Yakima accessories (bike/ski/boat)
- Water tank
- Internal Propane tank
- Full kitchen kit in exterior box
- Alu-Cab Shadow Awn 270 with full wall kit
- Folding table mounted under overhand
- Side table mounted in galley (bar-height)
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