Overland Camping for beginners

Looking for advice from experienced people on what tools, equipment and truck mods are needed for light/ easy off roading and Truck Top tenting. I hope to hit the road summer 2020. Please feel free to include brands of equipment you like. TIA


My truck with mods I’ve done since I got it last month;
2020 crewmax SR5
Level kit,
33” pro comp A/T tires
20 LRG rims
N fab rails
Converted to led lights
Husky liners
Bed rug
Tonneau cover
Chrome delete
Black out emblems
Tinted windows

 

I'm in the same boat. Prepping my 2020 for cross country trek. Pulling a diy offroad mini camper trailer.

 

All you need is enough tread on your tires and gas money. Americans have been doing cross country camping trips for decades without any fancy gadgets, gps nav, or amenities.

 

Anytime I went overland camping I had a cooler and a blanket in my truck.

I wouldn't do anything without removing the chrome first.
The blackout emblems should help though

 

One thing you’ll find is you don’t need nearly as much stuff as you think or people will try to convince you that you NEED

I’ve been all over the country and it really depends on the terrain and kind of trip you’ll be taking.

for light off roading, I’d just have a toolset (I built my own, sockets, wrenchs, etc) and some kind of communication device for when cell service doesn’t exist (I use garmin inreach), a shovel, tire plug kit, and a way to air up / down.

On occasion I’ll also carry maxtrax.

 

Check out the CA guys. They have amazing setups and trips

@Vizsla @Pinay @joonbug etc

 

do you have pics of your off road mini camper?

 

I wasn’t at last year’s Turkey run, I was this year. Last year one had 5 flats and one had their RTT fly off and do cartwheels.
This year my flat was in the first hour and I had a piece of firewood hit my back window shattering it, spider cracks all over and took it out, temp replaced by plastic trash bag to keep dust out. Then @roypark had a little excursion over a sand dune in which he hung on a ledge and two Tundras pulled him out.
Come join us!!

 

Seriously if you’re doing “light” offroading, enough spares to get you out of a jam, the tools to do it, some parts that could be changed out on the trail perhaps, food, fuel and water in case you get stuck and if running an RTT make sure you lock tite the nuts to the bolts that secure the tent to the attachments to your rack.
Oh and lock tite the nuts to your bolts that attach your bed rack to the bed rails! I lost one S-nut and bolt on our last run, Chad from @KB Voodoo was great enough to send me a replacement.

A lot of times you just need to get out there and see what happens and what you will need, initially close enough to home or with others in case you need help to get back to civilization.

 

Good luck! Finished my first and second overland experience this summer on the NMDBR. Another thing I might add to the list is skid plates. I was glad they were on the truck a time or two. I went with the RCI models.

 

You can do cross country camping with a 2wd and stock wheels aired down if you’ve got any practice driving off-pavement, but you didn’t say whether you have 4x4- it certainly helps in some cases and adds capability for more route and weather option. A shovel, shade/ shelter, toilet paper, a fire starter, and a lot of potable water if you’ll go anywhere remote are basics.

Other than that, the only thing on the equipment list you posted that “needs” replacing is those 20” wheels. If you try anything more than fire roads, especially aired down, expect to get flats. If you’re serious about overlanding, but not sure yet how serious, replace them with 17” wheels in something with a +25 offset. That way, if you decide to upgrade your tires or suspension later, those wheels will go the distance.

You should familiarize yourself with other trucks’ build threads on this site. That will help you get an idea of what others do that you think you’ll want to do, then see the equipment each carries.

 

Wait. How are we this far in to answering and no one has made sure you know the FIRST RULE:

 

Food , water , shelter, tools, beer, spare magazines, shovel , and Friends( if you have them)

 

But where's the fun in that?

 

I have to have a kitchen setup.

 

This is probably the most important thing to carry but she really doesn’t make it clear.

Get a jack and make sure it works. The little factory oem jack is a POS. It was gone from my truck the first week I had it. I carry 3 jacks; a 6T bottle jack, a 3T light weight floor jack and a hi-lift. Each serves different purposes.

 

Yes! To add, get a proper jack if your trick is lifted!! I have a Pro Eagle jack that has skids so it won’t sink in sandy ground and an adapter for higher clearance trucks. Not cheap by any means but better than a hi lift, which you need to be careful of using as it may not be secure lifting a truck on the trail!

 

OEM jack and a solid block of wood

 

I really wish it can be as simple as that!!! Lift or no lift? On sand or gravel or paved road? How much of a load are you carrying? Food, fuel, fluids, spares, wood could get you well over 8k lbs! Will that OEM jack and block of wood hold?

 

I will find out one day and let you know

 

My current overlanding set up

 

I don’t see a shovel?

 

Overlanding is a very personal experience. No one can really tell you what you need to bring. When I was 21 I didnt even need a tent to go camping, just a hammock. But my wife and I arent 20 anymore, and we ain't rough'n it anymore.

Once you get past the basic requirements:

Full size spare
Tire repair kit
Air source (to air up and down, air up flats)
Shovel
Basic tools
Warmth
Food/water
Fuel

Everything after that is just a luxury, if that's the right word, to make life easier. For my wife and I, making life easier and more comfortable makes camping more fun and we get out more.

You find out what you want on rig by going out. Before I started my rig build we just used a ground tent and sleeping bags with moutainhouse. Next thing you know I'm sleeping on a queen size pillow top RTT and cooking the perfect med rare steaks on my Tembo Tusk skottle and practicing astral photography.

Welcome to Overlanding. Check out Overlandbound.com

 

Just curious, how many times have you used your OEM jack to change your tire?

how many times have you used it to facilitate getting unstuck?

 

Sound advice even for pavement queens.

 

Zero. Knock on wood, I have not gotten a flat tire in a loooooong time

 

I used to run split rims and could break a wheel down, pull the inner tube, patch it, reassemble the wheel and air it up in about 20 minutes. This was using my hi- lift jack to break the bead loose and a hydraulic bottle jack under the axle.

those OEM jacks are pretty lame and very limited. I’ve used em plenty on my 1/2t Chevy work trucks (nearly identical to the Toyota model) and I can tell you, they barely work well on flat asphalt if you’re lucky. Please try it and then decide if it’s an area worth a little upgrade.

 

For a portable air pump, I got a

$81 Viair 88P - 00088 Tire Inflator Portable On/Offroad Air Compressor for Car, Truck, SUV & RV | 12V Heavy Duty Pump 120 PSI, Alligator Clip, Twist Chuck

Viair 88P from Amazon.
Solidly built unit that works great.

Food, fuel, fluids ( for me, not the truck), air mattress, sleeping bag, road warrior carbine, pistol(s), plenty of magazines, binoculars, maybe the wife.

 

Back in my day we used our fingernails you weak handed sissy. All while using the other hand to shoot.