Prepping for a long than my usual trip.

[scott17818]

So I am prepping for a longer than usual trip about a week long in September of next year.. there are a few upgrades I am planning for my setup, and a few upgrades are already in the works to get my rig more comfortable for an extended trip

the base: 2016 Tacoma TRD OR DCSB:

Suspension: Dobinson MRA/MRR 700lb front springs and 111r rear leafpacks, archive garage u-bolt flip kit (has super bumps currently) I plan to add sumosprings), JBA offroad High castor UCA's, and 1/4" strut spacers to clear my tires

Armor: CBI overland steel skidplates, Mobtown offroad HD sliders, SSO slimline hybrid front bumper with Stage II wings (101 lbs total).

Recovery gear: Smitybilt 10k comp winch.

Camping gear: currently have a 14" KBVOODOO/MAX Modular rack with tonneau cover brackets, max trax mounting brackets & extreme pins for 4 Actiontrax extremes. and an OVS Bushveld II RTT with awning, and a 4.5" ironman 4x4 awning over the tailgate.

2 Plano storage boxes:
Recovery/misc box: OVS snatch ring & shackles, 20klb steel rated D-ring shackles, 4 17k lb rated soft shackles, C4RS snatch rope, hitch shackle mount. tree saver strap. Biolite stove/grille, 4lbs of wood pellets for stove, tarp tie downs, Paracord, cordless impact, cordless drill, drill bits, leather work gloves

camping gear: Jetboil bascamp stove system, 2 GSI folding fry pans, spare 1lb propane cylinder, jetboil flash, coffee gear (instant packets & GSI rocket drip setup), oatmeal, dried meals, paper plates, towels, GSI knife set, spices, dehydrated meals (at least 2 meals for emergency if my fridge fails). Isopropane canister 500G, thremocell isopropane unit (bug repeller),

ICECO VL65DZ fridge (looking to replace soon with a little smaller ICECO APL55) (I plan to remove one of the rear seat sections (probably the 40% (drivers) seat side and build a platform for it.

sleeping arrangements:
* OOMTOP 4" self inflating air mattress (its large, and a bit heavy.. but the RTT mattress sucks... it is narrower than the foam fiber mattress up there.. just not sure I trest it to survive in the RTT, and be left with a flat mattress)..
* double sleeping bags (coleman - they can zip into individual bags, or stay as a double bag with an integrated sheet.. kinda nice...)
*cold weather we have 2 Teton XL 0* degree bags
*pillows I have hard time convincing my wife not to bring her bulky/heavy memory foam pillow... any suggestions???.. I have a sea to summit inflatable pillow, but it kinda sucks...

Fuel: Typically we carry 2 plastic Jerry cans which easily give me about a 500mile range that is fully loaded on our typical 3-4 day trips..

Water: 5 gallon Hart sprayer for showering/cleaning dishes (easily last me 3 days or so), 2-3 2.5gallon poland spring jugs (have gravity filter good for over 2400 gallons for each filter, have 3 spare filters)


in cab:

stock TRD cloth seats (seat jackers)

3tpam - phone mount, Garmin inReach mount, tablet mount (samsung S6 10.5" running Gaia, and OnX, google offline maps, entertainment)

Midland MXT500 GMRS radio (3dB midland ghost antenna on ditch light extension mount, I also have the 6dB whip)


Lighting: Stock lighting/fogs, Baja Design S8 20" amber driving lightbar in bumper, Cali-raised ditch lights, 2 rear nilight multi-mode 20watt amber/white. Odessey 27F AGM.

2 bags with our clothing and toiletries sit in the rear seat unless occupied...

First aid kits, spare batteries, emergency water filtration (gravity filter bag), NOCO Jumper pack (3000A), spare parts for RTT latches, spare tie rods (inner and outer), upper ball joint rebuild kit ( JBA offroad), ratchet straps, tiire repair kit, all-top 200lpm air compressor, 4 way air up/down kit, tools that wont fit in the plano boxes (pry bar, breaker bar), roll up tool bag, cables, and leather work gloves, bug spray... battery bank (bluetti AC50S to run the fridge when the truck is off, and to run lights, charge phones and tablets, etc at camp).


Planned upgrades this winter:

* Voswitch Taco8 8 gang switch panel kit 30A per circuit capable (received this yesterday)
* seat jackers to make the stock seats a bit more livable for longer drives (received in mail yesterday)
* OVS Expedition bed cap (waiting for release)
* OVS 270 awning
* OTT tune w/ AGM tuning
* 5.29 gearing
* 100Ah LiFePo4 battery with a Renogy DC to DC dual input charge controller (possibly add solar if I can find a decent roof rack).
* new tires (looking at MT Baja Boss ATZ, or TOYO open country AT III in 285/75/17 34") if I cannot get gearing done this winter I will likely stick with 285/70/17 sized tires.
* remove rear 40% seat & install a platform & tiedowns for my fridge.
* get a smaller fridge (looking at ICECO APL55) as I don't think the ICECO VL65DZ will fit well in the space behind the drivers seat even with plastics removed (I am 6'3", seat jackers may help here.. but we shall see..).
* lighter sliders (the Mobtown sliders are great, and are tough as nails.. but heavy.. about 240lbs for the set of bolt on sliders (these wrap the frame & have through bolts)
* fix and reinforce the skidplate mounts (I bent the front plate mid mounts hitting rocks, and am looking to lighten these as well as do the exhaust tuck to make a flat T-case plate)
* add some more low wattage lighting for when at camp. and upgrade the ditch lights

Planned future upgrades:
* Overland trailer build (basic box with RTT on it have the trailer, and it is in progress)
* oversized brakes
* solid axle, or possibly MC RCLT (this is a pipe dream, and likely over a $10-15k mod...
* long range fuel tank (basically replaces the 2 jerry cans permanently)
* rear bumper with tire carrier (may be required if I upgrade to 285/75/17 tires as the 285/70/17 is a tight fit in the stock location)


any of you that have done longer trips, or even trips into Canada (this trip if to the Bay of Fundy I live in Midcoast Maine and is scheduled to take about 9 days

what would you do to prep my rig, add or take off? or modify?
I am planning to try to keep weight low.

 

[ZombieCat]

Regarding the pillows, I gotta say your wife is generally correct. Comfort equals a good night’s sleep and makes longer trips more pleasant. I’ve owned several Sea to Summit Aeros pillows; fine for backpacking, but cannot compare to a “real” pillow. To save space, make smaller pillows by cutting your current ones down by ⅓ to ½.

 

[Tundracamper]

All that for just a week?

 

[freak4life]

So I am prepping for a longer than usual trip about a week long in September of next year.. there are a few upgrades I am planning for my setup, and a few upgrades are already in the works to get my rig more comfortable for an extended trip

the base: 2016 Tacoma TRD OR DCSB:

Suspension: Dobinson MRA/MRR 700lb front springs and 111r rear leafpacks, archive garage u-bolt flip kit (has super bumps currently) I plan to add sumosprings), JBA offroad High castor UCA's, and 1/4" strut spacers to clear my tires

Armor: CBI overland steel skidplates, Mobtown offroad HD sliders, SSO slimline hybrid front bumper with Stage II wings (101 lbs total).

Recovery gear: Smitybilt 10k comp winch.

Camping gear: currently have a 14" KBVOODOO/MAX Modular rack with tonneau cover brackets, max trax mounting brackets & extreme pins for 4 Actiontrax extremes. and an OVS Bushveld II RTT with awning, and a 4.5" ironman 4x4 awning over the tailgate.

2 Plano storage boxes:
Recovery/misc box: OVS snatch ring & shackles, 20klb steel rated D-ring shackles, 4 17k lb rated soft shackles, C4RS snatch rope, hitch shackle mount. tree saver strap. Biolite stove/grille, 4lbs of wood pellets for stove, tarp tie downs, Paracord, cordless impact, cordless drill, drill bits, leather work gloves

camping gear: Jetboil bascamp stove system, 2 GSI folding fry pans, spare 1lb propane cylinder, jetboil flash, coffee gear (instant packets & GSI rocket drip setup), oatmeal, dried meals, paper plates, towels, GSI knife set, spices, dehydrated meals (at least 2 meals for emergency if my fridge fails). Isopropane canister 500G, thremocell isopropane unit (bug repeller),

ICECO VL65DZ fridge (looking to replace soon with a little smaller ICECO APL55) (I plan to remove one of the rear seat sections (probably the 40% (drivers) seat side and build a platform for it.

sleeping arrangements:
* OOMTOP 4" self inflating air mattress (its large, and a bit heavy.. but the RTT mattress sucks... it is narrower than the foam fiber mattress up there.. just not sure I trest it to survive in the RTT, and be left with a flat mattress)..
* double sleeping bags (coleman - they can zip into individual bags, or stay as a double bag with an integrated sheet.. kinda nice...)
*cold weather we have 2 Teton XL 0* degree bags
*pillows I have hard time convincing my wife not to bring her bulky/heavy memory foam pillow... any suggestions???.. I have a sea to summit inflatable pillow, but it kinda sucks...

Fuel: Typically we carry 2 plastic Jerry cans which easily give me about a 500mile range that is fully loaded on our typical 3-4 day trips..

Water: 5 gallon Hart sprayer for showering/cleaning dishes (easily last me 3 days or so), 2-3 2.5gallon poland spring jugs (have gravity filter good for over 2400 gallons for each filter, have 3 spare filters)


in cab:

stock TRD cloth seats (seat jackers)

3tpam - phone mount, Garmin inReach mount, tablet mount (samsung S6 10.5" running Gaia, and OnX, google offline maps, entertainment)

Midland MXT500 GMRS radio (3dB midland ghost antenna on ditch light extension mount, I also have the 6dB whip)


Lighting: Stock lighting/fogs, Baja Design S8 20" amber driving lightbar in bumper, Cali-raised ditch lights, 2 rear nilight multi-mode 20watt amber/white. Odessey 27F AGM.

2 bags with our clothing and toiletries sit in the rear seat unless occupied...

First aid kits, spare batteries, emergency water filtration (gravity filter bag), NOCO Jumper pack (3000A), spare parts for RTT latches, spare tie rods (inner and outer), upper ball joint rebuild kit ( JBA offroad), ratchet straps, tiire repair kit, all-top 200lpm air compressor, 4 way air up/down kit, tools that wont fit in the plano boxes (pry bar, breaker bar), roll up tool bag, cables, and leather work gloves, bug spray... battery bank (bluetti AC50S to run the fridge when the truck is off, and to run lights, charge phones and tablets, etc at camp).


Planned upgrades this winter:

* Voswitch Taco8 8 gang switch panel kit 30A per circuit capable (received this yesterday)
* seat jackers to make the stock seats a bit more livable for longer drives (received in mail yesterday)
* OVS Expedition bed cap (waiting for release)
* OVS 270 awning
* OTT tune w/ AGM tuning
* 5.29 gearing
* 100Ah LiFePo4 battery with a Renogy DC to DC dual input charge controller (possibly add solar if I can find a decent roof rack).
* new tires (looking at MT Baja Boss ATZ, or TOYO open country AT III in 285/75/17 34") if I cannot get gearing done this winter I will likely stick with 285/70/17 sized tires.
* remove rear 40% seat & install a platform & tiedowns for my fridge.
* get a smaller fridge (looking at ICECO APL55) as I don't think the ICECO VL65DZ will fit well in the space behind the drivers seat even with plastics removed (I am 6'3", seat jackers may help here.. but we shall see..).
* lighter sliders (the Mobtown sliders are great, and are tough as nails.. but heavy.. about 240lbs for the set of bolt on sliders (these wrap the frame & have through bolts)
* fix and reinforce the skidplate mounts (I bent the front plate mid mounts hitting rocks, and am looking to lighten these as well as do the exhaust tuck to make a flat T-case plate)
* add some more low wattage lighting for when at camp. and upgrade the ditch lights

Planned future upgrades:
* Overland trailer build (basic box with RTT on it have the trailer, and it is in progress)
* oversized brakes
* solid axle, or possibly MC RCLT (this is a pipe dream, and likely over a $10-15k mod...
* long range fuel tank (basically replaces the 2 jerry cans permanently)
* rear bumper with tire carrier (may be required if I upgrade to 285/75/17 tires as the 285/70/17 is a tight fit in the stock location)


any of you that have done longer trips, or even trips into Canada (this trip if to the Bay of Fundy I live in Midcoast Maine and is scheduled to take about 9 days

what would you do to prep my rig, add or take off? or modify?
I am planning to try to keep weight low.

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View attachment 270486
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View attachment 270488

You seem well prepared, bear spray and maybe common belt/hoses if you are solo
Sat. phone.

 

[smritte]

Cool snow pic.
Looks like your already geared enough

 

[rgallant]

Fuel take a hard look at your route and where the gas stations actually are.
Communications - Cellphones are hit or miss in a large part of Canada, so have an alternative. GMRS is pretty much not used in most places nor is CB, Ham on VHF is most common.

None of the upgrades are really required for the trip you are taking.

I live in BC and have done numerous 8 to 10 day trips covering up to 800 miles on gravel. The biggest thing you need is the ability to say the road ends here and find another route. I drive a largely stock Land Rover Discovery II, no winch, and do fine.

And just as note if you plan on bringing any firearms to Canada, just don't bother unless you plan to hunt. The eastern part of Canada is far more restrictive than the west as far firearms in the vehicle.

 

[Alanymarce]

So, my comments may come across as somewhat negative, for which I apologise – we all travel differently. I wish you a great trip and you will have fun, I’m sure.

Based on our last “big trip” which was 11 months around Canada, in two chunks. We did this in a standard Wrangler JK – no change to suspension (or anything else other than setting up a bed inside, having taken out the rear seats.

Suspension: unless you plan some serious off-road (i.e., off-track, not just off-tarmac) travel you don't need to do anything to the suspension.

Armour: all of these add mass and are really not needed in my view unless, as in the previous comment, you are heading truly off-road.

Recovery gear: we have a winch on our vehicle at home and it has seen no use, despite having covered some tough kilometres. We’ve never needed one except in Africa. We chose not to put a winch on the Wrangler and didn't need one.

Camping gear: If your current set-up works for you don't change it

Recovery/misc box: I wouldn't bother with the drill.

Camping gear: We need only one frying pan/cooking pot; we cook fresh food rather than instant – unless you are actually going to be completely away from infrastructure you can buy for the first half and stock up after 4 days for the erst of the trip.

Refrigerator – on the Canada trip we took out both rear seats to put in the bed and put the fridge (20L) below the bed.

Sleeping: We used a pair of self-inflating mattresses for the first part of the trip, then brought our “proper” mattress from home, which is a lot more comfortable. The self-inflating mattress was OK but we chose to replace with the “good one”. Good pillows are well worth it – we have two which we store below the folded mattress when on the road.

Fuel: In our travel in Canada (including the Dempster and the TransLabrador) we never needed reserve fuel – our range was 700-800 km (450 miles or so). With a 500 mile range you don't need extra fuel.

Water: We carried a 5 L can for water plus 4 1L bottles – enough for 4 or 5 days. Water is readily available.

Lighting: We never travel at night. At home we have LED spotlights to replace the standard spotlight bulbs; in Canada we added nothing to the standard lights on the Wrangler/

First aid kits, spare batteries, bug spray, 200lpm air compressor, leather work gloves, tyre repair kit – yes (and bring enough “jerky” (tyre plugs)

Emergency water filtration, NOCO Jumper pack (3000A), spare parts for RTT latches, spare tie rods (inner and outer), upper ball joint rebuild kit ( JBA offroad), ratchet straps: Unnecessary - for a 9 month trip through Africa these MIGHT be useful, although if you maintain the vehicle normally prior to the trip you are very unlikely to need the tie rods and ball joint repair.

4 way air up/down kit – if you have it I wouldn’t leave it at home, however the times you need to air down/up (unless going well off-road) will be few if any. In 53,000 km around Canada we never needed to air down, and used the compressor mainly to fix tyre repairs (mostly on others’ vehicles).

Battery bank (bluetti AC50S to run the fridge when the truck is off, and to run lights, charge phones and tablets, etc at camp): We charge all of these when travelling and as long as you are not stopping (not starting the vehicle at all) for several days you don’t need to charge further.

Planned upgrades this winter:

The awning might be worth it, although it adds mass and affects CoG – we had awnings in Africa and Australia, however had no need in Canada except for a few days when one would have been good in the rain.

The re-gearing seems unnecessary.

We’ve experience with a lot of AT tyres and have settled on the Toyos.

Sliders – as noted, unless going seriously off-road these are unnecessary and add weight (unless lightweight and hence costly). Skidplates – similar comment.


As I said initially, we all travel differently, and if you are going into serious off-road conditions some kit which we consider unnecessary may be of use. We did travel on most of the roads in the North West Territory, a lot of unsurfaced roads throughout Canada, and nearly all of the roads in Labrador. I hope this helps.

 

[scott17818]

All that for just a week?

well, I am future proofing to do some longer rides in the coming years. this is just a Bay of Fundy trip our group has planned for a 9 day trip, and I eventually plan to do some solo longer trips out west in the next few years trying to perfect my rig to standards I want.

 

[scott17818]

So, my comments may come across as somewhat negative, for which I apologise – we all travel differently. I wish you a great trip and you will have fun, I’m sure.

Based on our last “big trip” which was 11 months around Canada, in two chunks. We did this in a standard Wrangler JK – no change to suspension (or anything else other than setting up a bed inside, having taken out the rear seats.

Suspension: unless you plan some serious off-road (i.e., off-track, not just off-tarmac) travel you don't need to do anything to the suspension.

Armour: all of these add mass and are really not needed in my view unless, as in the previous comment, you are heading truly off-road.

Recovery gear: we have a winch on our vehicle at home and it has seen no use, despite having covered some tough kilometres. We’ve never needed one except in Africa. We chose not to put a winch on the Wrangler and didn't need one.

Camping gear: If your current set-up works for you don't change it

Recovery/misc box: I wouldn't bother with the drill.

Camping gear: We need only one frying pan/cooking pot; we cook fresh food rather than instant – unless you are actually going to be completely away from infrastructure you can buy for the first half and stock up after 4 days for the erst of the trip.

Refrigerator – on the Canada trip we took out both rear seats to put in the bed and put the fridge (20L) below the bed.

Sleeping: We used a pair of self-inflating mattresses for the first part of the trip, then brought our “proper” mattress from home, which is a lot more comfortable. The self-inflating mattress was OK but we chose to replace with the “good one”. Good pillows are well worth it – we have two which we store below the folded mattress when on the road.

Fuel: In our travel in Canada (including the Dempster and the TransLabrador) we never needed reserve fuel – our range was 700-800 km (450 miles or so). With a 500 mile range you don't need extra fuel.

Water: We carried a 5 L can for water plus 4 1L bottles – enough for 4 or 5 days. Water is readily available.

Lighting: We never travel at night. At home we have LED spotlights to replace the standard spotlight bulbs; in Canada we added nothing to the standard lights on the Wrangler/

First aid kits, spare batteries, bug spray, 200lpm air compressor, leather work gloves, tyre repair kit – yes (and bring enough “jerky” (tyre plugs)

Emergency water filtration, NOCO Jumper pack (3000A), spare parts for RTT latches, spare tie rods (inner and outer), upper ball joint rebuild kit ( JBA offroad), ratchet straps: Unnecessary - for a 9 month trip through Africa these MIGHT be useful, although if you maintain the vehicle normally prior to the trip you are very unlikely to need the tie rods and ball joint repair.

4 way air up/down kit – if you have it I wouldn’t leave it at home, however the times you need to air down/up (unless going well off-road) will be few if any. In 53,000 km around Canada we never needed to air down, and used the compressor mainly to fix tyre repairs (mostly on others’ vehicles).

Battery bank (bluetti AC50S to run the fridge when the truck is off, and to run lights, charge phones and tablets, etc at camp): We charge all of these when travelling and as long as you are not stopping (not starting the vehicle at all) for several days you don’t need to charge further.

Planned upgrades this winter:

The awning might be worth it, although it adds mass and affects CoG – we had awnings in Africa and Australia, however had no need in Canada except for a few days when one would have been good in the rain.

The re-gearing seems unnecessary.

We’ve experience with a lot of AT tyres and have settled on the Toyos.

Sliders – as noted, unless going seriously off-road these are unnecessary and add weight (unless lightweight and hence costly). Skidplates – similar comment.


As I said initially, we all travel differently, and if you are going into serious off-road conditions some kit which we consider unnecessary may be of use. We did travel on most of the roads in the North West Territory, a lot of unsurfaced roads throughout Canada, and nearly all of the roads in Labrador. I hope this helps.

I do use my winch, and not just for self recovery but for others as well. the steel sliders and skids & front bumper I am looking at where I can remove some material to save some weight as it just doesnt make sense to get an aluminum skid to save 15lbs.
the reason for the other mods/additions is over the years I get tired of the tonneau cover limitations, it doesnt fit right, it leaks water up front near the cab and with my current rack it is a pain to get at items stored in the front of the bed. and I want the RTT a bit higher. the awning, if it is easy enough to setup we will use it every trip we do. I live in Maine so the weather is a bit unpredictable and can change easily.. and having an awning that can fold away rather quickly is a plus.. I had one of the Maxitrac 8" units and it is a PITA to try and put away solo.. my COG is decent. and with the planned upgrades that weight will move more towards the front of the bed (the fuel cans, water, and traction boards will move lower.. my rtt is about 150lbs, and the cap is about 200lbs. the trails we hit are anything from mild logging roads to complete rutted out washed out roads, rocky hill climbs and suspension mods while not necessary make the ride more enjoyable, and the ability to fit and run larger tires so we arent slamming skidplates on every rock. (think similar terrain to what "the story till now" runs). while this tacoma is my DD at the moment it is paid off as of 2 months ago.. so I plan to do some bigger mods as well as make it a dedicated overlander in the near future (waiting on the 2024 tacoma trailhunter to be released).. the 5.29 gears are for saving my sanity. with my tire size and weight the transmission hardly ever uses 6th gear which is a second overdrive giving me slightly better fuel economy at highway speeds, combine that with a tune you can get rid of 80% of the driveability complaints of the 3rd gen tacoma.

 

[oneleglance]

So I am prepping for a longer than usual trip about a week long in September of next year.. there are a few upgrades I am planning for my setup, and a few upgrades are already in the works to get my rig more comfortable for an extended trip


View attachment 270488

You need to read the blog from Adventuretaco.com and realize you are well setup and honestly only need to add fuel and food to have a great time.

 

[scott17818]

id take the memory foam pillow for sure and might as well throw in another water filter just in case...

I have 3 spare filters on top of the one it came with. this is the only one I found that uses a larger gravity bag, and has an activated charcoal after filter and 0.1micron filtration (I would prefer tighter filtration, but for emergency use this should do fine, and packs up small enough I can keep it in my truck..). The filters are packaged in vac sealed bags. and the filter can be used independant similar to a lifestraw and has fittings so you can use a regular bottled water to backflush the filter if needed. also if intended to eat or drink/cook with.. I would boil for 5minutes & cool it.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

talk your group into not just going to the bay of fundy. Keep heading east and visit Newfoundland while you are over this way! You won't regret it. I know lots of back country routes for central part of the island so you won't have to black slab it.

 

[Oscar Mike]

So I am prepping for a longer than usual trip about a week long in September of next year.. there are a few upgrades I am planning for my setup, and a few upgrades are already in the works to get my rig more comfortable for an extended trip

the base: 2016 Tacoma TRD OR DCSB:

Suspension: Dobinson MRA/MRR 700lb front springs and 111r rear leafpacks, archive garage u-bolt flip kit (has super bumps currently) I plan to add sumosprings), JBA offroad High castor UCA's, and 1/4" strut spacers to clear my tires

Armor: CBI overland steel skidplates, Mobtown offroad HD sliders, SSO slimline hybrid front bumper with Stage II wings (101 lbs total).

Recovery gear: Smitybilt 10k comp winch.

Camping gear: currently have a 14" KBVOODOO/MAX Modular rack with tonneau cover brackets, max trax mounting brackets & extreme pins for 4 Actiontrax extremes. and an OVS Bushveld II RTT with awning, and a 4.5" ironman 4x4 awning over the tailgate.

2 Plano storage boxes:
Recovery/misc box: OVS snatch ring & shackles, 20klb steel rated D-ring shackles, 4 17k lb rated soft shackles, C4RS snatch rope, hitch shackle mount. tree saver strap. Biolite stove/grille, 4lbs of wood pellets for stove, tarp tie downs, Paracord, cordless impact, cordless drill, drill bits, leather work gloves

camping gear: Jetboil bascamp stove system, 2 GSI folding fry pans, spare 1lb propane cylinder, jetboil flash, coffee gear (instant packets & GSI rocket drip setup), oatmeal, dried meals, paper plates, towels, GSI knife set, spices, dehydrated meals (at least 2 meals for emergency if my fridge fails). Isopropane canister 500G, thremocell isopropane unit (bug repeller),

ICECO VL65DZ fridge (looking to replace soon with a little smaller ICECO APL55) (I plan to remove one of the rear seat sections (probably the 40% (drivers) seat side and build a platform for it.

sleeping arrangements:
* OOMTOP 4" self inflating air mattress (its large, and a bit heavy.. but the RTT mattress sucks... it is narrower than the foam fiber mattress up there.. just not sure I trest it to survive in the RTT, and be left with a flat mattress)..
* double sleeping bags (coleman - they can zip into individual bags, or stay as a double bag with an integrated sheet.. kinda nice...)
*cold weather we have 2 Teton XL 0* degree bags
*pillows I have hard time convincing my wife not to bring her bulky/heavy memory foam pillow... any suggestions???.. I have a sea to summit inflatable pillow, but it kinda sucks...

Fuel: Typically we carry 2 plastic Jerry cans which easily give me about a 500mile range that is fully loaded on our typical 3-4 day trips..

Water: 5 gallon Hart sprayer for showering/cleaning dishes (easily last me 3 days or so), 2-3 2.5gallon poland spring jugs (have gravity filter good for over 2400 gallons for each filter, have 3 spare filters)


in cab:

stock TRD cloth seats (seat jackers)

3tpam - phone mount, Garmin inReach mount, tablet mount (samsung S6 10.5" running Gaia, and OnX, google offline maps, entertainment)

Midland MXT500 GMRS radio (3dB midland ghost antenna on ditch light extension mount, I also have the 6dB whip)


Lighting: Stock lighting/fogs, Baja Design S8 20" amber driving lightbar in bumper, Cali-raised ditch lights, 2 rear nilight multi-mode 20watt amber/white. Odessey 27F AGM.

2 bags with our clothing and toiletries sit in the rear seat unless occupied...

First aid kits, spare batteries, emergency water filtration (gravity filter bag), NOCO Jumper pack (3000A), spare parts for RTT latches, spare tie rods (inner and outer), upper ball joint rebuild kit ( JBA offroad), ratchet straps, tiire repair kit, all-top 200lpm air compressor, 4 way air up/down kit, tools that wont fit in the plano boxes (pry bar, breaker bar), roll up tool bag, cables, and leather work gloves, bug spray... battery bank (bluetti AC50S to run the fridge when the truck is off, and to run lights, charge phones and tablets, etc at camp).


Planned upgrades this winter:

* Voswitch Taco8 8 gang switch panel kit 30A per circuit capable (received this yesterday)
* seat jackers to make the stock seats a bit more livable for longer drives (received in mail yesterday)
* OVS Expedition bed cap (waiting for release)
* OVS 270 awning
* OTT tune w/ AGM tuning
* 5.29 gearing
* 100Ah LiFePo4 battery with a Renogy DC to DC dual input charge controller (possibly add solar if I can find a decent roof rack).
* new tires (looking at MT Baja Boss ATZ, or TOYO open country AT III in 285/75/17 34") if I cannot get gearing done this winter I will likely stick with 285/70/17 sized tires.
* remove rear 40% seat & install a platform & tiedowns for my fridge.
* get a smaller fridge (looking at ICECO APL55) as I don't think the ICECO VL65DZ will fit well in the space behind the drivers seat even with plastics removed (I am 6'3", seat jackers may help here.. but we shall see..).
* lighter sliders (the Mobtown sliders are great, and are tough as nails.. but heavy.. about 240lbs for the set of bolt on sliders (these wrap the frame & have through bolts)
* fix and reinforce the skidplate mounts (I bent the front plate mid mounts hitting rocks, and am looking to lighten these as well as do the exhaust tuck to make a flat T-case plate)
* add some more low wattage lighting for when at camp. and upgrade the ditch lights

Planned future upgrades:
* Overland trailer build (basic box with RTT on it have the trailer, and it is in progress)
* oversized brakes
* solid axle, or possibly MC RCLT (this is a pipe dream, and likely over a $10-15k mod...
* long range fuel tank (basically replaces the 2 jerry cans permanently)
* rear bumper with tire carrier (may be required if I upgrade to 285/75/17 tires as the 285/70/17 is a tight fit in the stock location)


any of you that have done longer trips, or even trips into Canada (this trip if to the Bay of Fundy I live in Midcoast Maine and is scheduled to take about 9 days

what would you do to prep my rig, add or take off? or modify?
I am planning to try to keep weight low.

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Nice Setup! Hey, I found this other article that might provide you with a good storage solution for propane canisters.

Gray Man Productions

www.graymanelements.com