Minimalist Overland: Stock 3rd Gen Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road

Tacoma Mods
Anytime Backup Camera: https://www.anytimebackupcamera.com
RCI Full Slid for Tacoma: https://rcimetalworks.com/product/05-19-tacoma-full-skid-package-deal-copy/
Getta Grip Transmission adaptor: https://www.gogettagrip.com
SnugTop GB Sport: https://www.snugtop.com/product/gbsport

Hi, I'm mike, I'm an adventurer and a dad and today i'm here to tell you don't need a "rig" with a "build thread" and it's own "instagram profile" to drive out to the middle of nowhere, cook some hot dogs, and watch the sunset.

To illustrate this point, I want to show you our 2017 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road and why I think a vehicle like this it a great minimalist vehicle for overlanding, off-road exploring and camping with your family.

Exterior
On the outside, the Toyota Tacoma is a good looking vehicle. The TRD Off-Road adds a few good styling elements like this grill which started it's life with a chrome look and has been updated with Rustoleum truck bed spray, and these black plastic fender flares. This vehicle has the paint matched rear bumper which indicates that it is equipped with the blind spot monitoring sensors. The vinyl TRD Off-Road vinyl decal rounds out the exterior trim level cues.

The topper is a SnugTop GB Sport with the sportsmen package which includes the roof rails and rack as well as a 500# dynamic load rating. While the paint matched shell matches the design of the truck perfectly and looks great, the low profile and limited rear opening isn't ideal. But it came with the truck.

This vehicle is also equipped with a towing package which includes a hitch rated for 6400 pounds and a 6 pin and 4 pin connector.

Interior

The interior of the 3rd gen Tacoma hasn't to my knowledge won any design or functionality awards. It does however look great and function adequately. It has all the things. The head unit is good, not great, but it pairs with a phone via bluetooth or wired connection and a phone is a far better infotainment source anyway. Apple Car Play would be nice, but isn't a deal breaker. It has the capability to change some of the functions of the vehicle as well as track maintenance.

The climate controls control the climate (only inside the truck) so count the bucket for Toyota on that one.

Comfort and Safety

For the last 20 years at least, all vehicles have had power windows and door locks. And for the most part, they have settled the reliability issues of the 1980's when grandpa use to yell at us for cycling the locks and windows constantly on the way home from church. This truck has more nice features than any vehicle I've owned. Heated Seats, sun roof, back up camera, Parking sensors and Blind Spot Monitoring.

I've added the Anytime Backup Camera with front facing camera. Being able to turn the back up camera, when in drive is helpful when hitching up to the trailer, and the front facing camera can somewhat make up for the poor visibility around the hood.

None of these things are particularly necessary for overlanding. Just small things that are sometimes nice to have. Ok most of the time. Ok all the time.

Suspension

The biggest complaints I have with the 3rd Gen Tacoma come with the suspension. While the TRD-Off Road has a slight upgrade in the suspension over the SR and Sport models, it isn't much.

This truck comes with Bilstein 4600 shocks that are pitifully small. While the ride is OK, it suffers on long sections of washboard and rocky bumps which is the bread and butter of overlanding. The front springs are perfectly fine, but the rear leaf springs, while they do have a robust looking overload leaf, are woefully inadequate for any kind of load. Still, many Tacoma owners don't find this to be a problem and you see a lot of leveling kits to make up for the modest stink-big rake of a stock Tacoma. So it clearly suits the majority of Tacoma buyers needs.

With the load of my topper and gear I found we were riding the bump stops quite frequently. I upgraded the stock bump stops to Timbren Active Off-Road Bump stops and added Icon Add-A-Leafs. This mostly solved the problem and while I still ride the bump stops when fully loaded with the trailer, the Timbrens have more travel and a softer overall feel when loaded.

Drive Train

Like steak a french fries, the drive train is the meat and potatoes of any overland build. The difference you get with real 4 Wheel Drive over the all wheel drive you see in many crossovers and SUVs is important, even if it isn't ALWAYS important.

Read More: ttps://allterrainfam.com

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