TUNDRA for overlanding????

I'm in the process of building my 2007 TUNDRA into an overlanding rig.. have any of you taking your tundra overlanding and what did you think about it?

 

I drive my truck over land every day.

 

I have taken all types of vehicles on road trips, trucks can be good for road trips, but the best vehicle we currently have for trips is our minivan. IMO there are a lot of companies profiting off of selling “overlanding”.

 

They make great camping vehicles and you don't need any mods to go camping.

 

You can go crazy for Rubicon style overlanding or more than normal which is dirt roads, trails fire roads and long forgotten paths. I have taken my 04 in some gnarly stuff. It's long wheelbase but was fine for everything i wanted to do, minus the desert pin striping. The Tundra platform has a lot of room and options. I have a tent on my 2017 with decked system and tons of camping fishing gear to get me where I need to go. I have been a lot gentler with this baby. If you haven't already check out
www.Xoverland.com for their crazy Tundra build.
Also
https://expeditionportal.com

and probably the best local groups and info is found here.
https://www.overlandbound.com

 

Thank you so much for your reply. You gave me some great information.. couple questions about your truck, do you have a stock suspension set-up?... I'm thinking about going with a 4 inch lift and 33 inch tires on my truck. Also on your truck, did you put on lockers?.. I actually think they only make them for the rear of the tundra but that's something I'm wanting to do also.

 

Just a leveling kit. I haven’t taken my 2017 on anything significant. But my 04 was just a leveling kit as well. Some local made slider/steps. I did not have lockers. I had a locking diff on my Tacoma and never needed it. Not that you won’t . Just
For most of my camping forays alone I never got too deep. I did more exploring for camping/hiking/fishing rather than running hardcore 4x stuff.

 

You’d probably get a lot more value from info from the Bastrds on this forum regarding more gnarly 4x setups with Tundras they have some Really modded builds for over landing. I think they do regular runs and meetups
As well.

 

Thanks again man.

 

For sure.


Just FYI, I sleep in the RTT and have all my fishing and camping gear in the decked system. When my kids and wife go with me, I have a TRI-fold (2) sleeping pads from costco that I lay in width wise and the boys sleep in the camper shell. It gets pretty tight with camping, coolers and mountain bikes. But if it's just me and the wife or me and the kids it's pretty easy.

 

Don’t do any kind of spacer lift. If you do, you’ll eventually break your shocks if you get serious over landing, especially at higher speeds. Do a proper coilover and leafs lift. The goal isn’t to make the truck higher (because the height of the diff off the ground is still your lowest and limiting clearance point), but to increase the “droop” that allows the truck to keep tires connected to the ground over obstacles, maintaining traction.

You may be way ahead on this but, as you haven’t said what you know already, this is meant as a PSA so you avoid spending money on looks over function.

 

The tundra is great. Only thing I’ve done is put on some better tires (falken at3w), installed a set of slee sliders and swapped the rear leafs to accommodate the weight of my camper (AT Habitat). You don’t need to go crazy, these trucks are super capable in stock form with a good set of tires.

 

1) That AT habitat is badass.
2) What Leafs did you need up running? I added-a-Leaf (OME or something from TOytec can't remember) on my last truck and it didn't seem to help as much as I thought it would.
3) I think I actually like your License plate better than mine.

 

I love it. Super quick and simple to setup and pack down. Plus tons of room

icon RXT option 2. It put the truck right back where it was and you don’t even notice the added weight

 

Picture of our first overland adventure in the Mojave. Never been to the Mojave and didn’t have a clue where to go. Just found a flat spot and setup for the night. We went with a James baroud tent. Literally takes me less than 2 minutes to pop it up and tear down, also has a 4 inch memory foam mattress and fan. Just the wife and my two little schnauzers so it’s big enough for us. Very comfortable. Pricey, but worth it. Also, the more you go the more you’ll find out you don’t need as much crap as you think.

Edit. oops. Sorry for posting my truck. Just saw the 2nd gen part. Lol.

 

Agreed. I had a trailer for a bit and realized I mostly just filled up the space with stuff because I had the space. I’ve cut back on stuff significantly and pretty much only have stuff that gets used now.

it’s real easy to get caught up in the gear game and buy a bunch of crap you’ll never need or use.

 

My wife and I just recently started camping and eventually want to do some light overlanding as well. Our set up is working out great so far. Like the others have said after you start to go you realize you need a lot less then what you originally thought! This forum has been great in helping us in our build, anything we can do to help another newbie, we are most certainly here!

 

Sorry for the sideways pic, I’m newer to posting too lol

 

Welcome! As far as overlanding that term can be interped in many ways. Due to the fact it has become somewhat glamorous and heavily marketed, much of it has strayed from what it was originally. My first question is what do you reall plan on doing with your truck? And what kind of places and for how long of time periods? It's easy to go way overboard for your true needs. As far as capability, I have a 2 inch lift front and 1 3/4 rear. Also have 275 70 18 AT's and white knuckle sliders. It can do a lot! I have a friend who instructs for the Military, overland expo etc. we tried to get it stuck in some obstacles at Overland Expo and it just wouldn't. Not to say you can't but 4 Lo with Atrac is very capable.

 

Are the roof top tents that much more convenient? I've never used one, usually either throw a tent on the ground or sleep in the back of the truck.

 

To me it depended on comfort level. I was way over sleeping on the ground with crappy pads. It's been an evolution as I've aged. bag on the dirt >Tent> tent with pad> bigger tent with cot> back to the truck> Back of the truck with a shell and memory foam mattress (my personal Favorite). Then finally tried the RTT. Super fast easy setup. I can leave the foam mattress, sleeping bags, pillows inside of it. Level the truck somewhat and it's a super fast setup and to bed. Anywhere your truck is, you have a tent setup. The cons are it's a pain in the ass sometimes with a ladder getting in and out. Bring a big gatorade bottle with you in the tent

 

If you don't have much experience off-road it may be best to stick with stock suspension, throw some good tires on your stock wheels, and add a few skid plates. The rabbit hole is endless and you might as well just have some fun before you start using lots of cash.

 

It depends on the tent. Hard shells are by far the best (Alu cab, James baroud, ikamper). The ones with vinyl covers and zippers are a huge pain in the ass.

for what you’ll spend on a RTT, rack / topper, etc you are better off putting your money towards something like a AT habitat (or summit, atlas), Vagabond drifter, 4WC project m

you’ll get way more functionality for a similar cost and weight.

 

Yup. People get caught up in all the things they “need” before they can go. Get a few basics and get out there. Then add things when you need them. With tires, inflator, maxtrax and shovel you can go a whole lotta places.

90% of people don’t need full armor, winches, lifts etc

 

Spot on. And unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket to buy whatever you want. Those four things can take you almost anywhere as long as you don’t try to do stupid things offroad. Be smart and get to know your truck on easy trails first. Then if you really enjoy being on trails and want to challenge yourself you can buy armor and winches. I’ve been on at least 20 trails now on the fun treks app in different states and I didn’t need any of the armor or a winch yet. The tires and deflating them have been the most useful for me. Also picking good lines. Having a good spotter helps a lot. My wife and I usually just hang out the window and go from there unless it looks really dicey then I’ll actually get out and check the path and line I’m going to take. Slow and steady has not gotten me stuck yet. I’ve been stuck once in Tahoe but that’s cause I was being stupid. The desert is great for going faster since it’s usually wide open and can see further ahead. Last but not least, you will get pinstripes on trails. Most of them will just buff out unless you like the look of being all striped out.

 

LOL my hunting buddy and I were doing that in Wyoming last year elk hunting. 4Lo in the Dodge, both windows down and we tight-roped through the rocks and trees.

I've driven a lot of dicey roads over the years without a winch. As I get older, the appeal to having one is increasing.

 

Yup. The other thing is some people with winches tend to get overly confident since they have an “easy” way out. Then they find out the cheap winch they haven’t touched in years isn’t working lol

 

Get a set of decent tires and thats all you need! The rest is just camp stuff

And beer... definitely beer

 

And a fridge to keep the beer cold

 

^^^^^^ This.

I bought a camper shell off CL, built a bed in the back (queen size 4" memory foam), added some cheap LED lighting, loaded a bunch of camping gear we already had and off we went.



The only upgrade we really had were BFG K02's.

I think the key is to just not get yourself into places/situations where you're not comfortable with your current setup. We have found plenty of places to get away without rock crawling for 5 miles to get to a spot.