The Prospector

[AZ Digger]

So my newest buy is this 2021 Tacoma TRD Off Road. I will be lifting it, putting on bigger tires, a roof rack, a bed rack and overlanding tent, and strapping on all my prospecting equipment. It will be my "overlander" rig. I call it "The Prospector"

I also want to purchase a side by side dow the road too, but there are other things first.

 

[chrisski]

Nice rig.

I wonder for those overbed tents, how they hold up on the trails.  I find most unmaintained trails I go down have been cut to cab height by other off roaders.  I do wonder how the tent tarp would hold up to those branches hitting it that are at roof level.  

A side by side would definitely help with that.

[Nugget Shooter]

Seen one blow off a truck at Gold Basin and self district in the desert. The couple that owned it were very happy they were not in it sleeping at the time. 

[Bedrock Bob]

Quite a machine.

I'd do $2000 worth of body and paint damage on that truck just throwing my gear in the back and getting it to the honey hole.

If I had a beautiful ride like that I would start wearing my Stetson again.

[Dakota Slim]

Don't forget a winch....

[mn90403]

Those are some great pictures.

If I was still prospecting I would consider that or a new 4Runner but with two kids and some long trips planned I have to put this on my 'want' list!

 

[AZ Digger]

Thanks everyone. A side by side is definitely in the future.

Smittybuilt or IKAMPER are the tents I am looking at. If it blew off its because it wasn't mounted properly. 

Yea also a steel front bumper with a winch is also in the plan.

I am in no hurry. The truck is only 4 months old, so I will be talking my time with rge build.

I used to be a Jeep guy, built a 77 CJ5, and a 69 Jeepster Commando. Bot a fan of those Penastars they put in them now days.

Edited September 5, 2021 by AZ Digger

[AZ Digger]

20 hours ago, chrisski said:

Nice rig.

I wonder for those overbed tents, how they hold up on the trails.  I find most unmaintained trails I go down have been cut to cab height by other off roaders.  I do wonder how the tent tarp would hold up to those branches hitting it that are at roof level.  

A side by side would definitely help with that.

The iKamper has a rugged fiber-reinforced plastic outer shell, not fabric.

[Gilaoro2]

I have had 2 Tacoma's I used in my BAJA Exploring/mining days , also drove the Tundra crew cab as a support truck for a Baja racing group. They all preformed well in most aspects , the Tacoma,s had. . a weak rear bumper attachment and some underbody wiring that I had to reroute , the Tundra would haul a huge load of MC,s, Beer, Spare parts, wife's , kids without a problem. It could not go everywhere a Baja racing bike would go but it could keep them in sight or radio contact. My usual procession with the Tacoma's was tow them with a 26' Motorhome with a Samurai or Geo Tracker behind it. Park the MH, before it was stuck too bad , take the Tacoma towing the toad carrying a long  length of Sampson double braided nylon to get the Tacoma Unstuck if necessary. There was not a road, cow trail, Baja race course , dry wash, dry lake, or beach reachable by my combination of rigs that I did not travel in my 15 years in BAJA.

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[AZ Digger]

56 minutes ago, Gilaoro2 said:

I have had 2 Tacoma's I used in my BAJA Exploring/mining days , also drove the Tundra crew cab as a support truck for a Baja racing group. They all preformed well in most aspects , the Tacoma,s had. . a weak rear bumper attachment and some underbody wiring that I had to reroute , the Tundra would haul a huge load of MC,s, Beer, Spare parts, wife's , kids without a problem. It could not go everywhere a Baja racing bike would go but it could keep them in sight or radio contact. My usual procession with the Tacoma's was tow them with a 26' Motorhome with a Samurai or Geo Tracker behind it. Park the MH, before it was stuck too bad , take the Tacoma towing the toad carrying a long  length of Sampson double braided nylon to get the Tacoma Unstuck if necessary. There was not a road, cow trail, Baja race course , dry wash, dry lake, or beach reachable by my combination of rigs that I did not travel in my 15 years in BAJA.

 

My love for the Tacoma goes back to my Gen 1.

In truth I am a huge Jeep fan, and built a few. Not a fan of the Penastar.

Lots of people under estimate the Tacoma. Factory set up is pretty stout, and it can wheel with the best of then.

When I purchased it, the dealer said I should get a pro. My response was tell me why I should give you 10K more for pretty much the same truck as the Off Road package besides a few comfort elements and Fox shocks.

I plan to lift it, so those Fox shocks are coming off anyhow, so I might as well just take 10K and throw it in the trash can. He was dumbfounded.

If I wasn't planning to lift it, maybe the Pro with the Fox shocks, but because I am lifting it, that makes no sense.

Outside of the Fox shocks, the TRD Off Road and TRD Pro are basically the same truck. Oh hea amd the Pro comes with nice rims, but again, they are going away, so moot point.

 

[Mike C...]

Nice truck  When you do your lift use adjustable coilovers on the front and if you go over 2 !/2 inches you'll have to get after market upper control arms-I have a 2nd gen TRD sport with  3 inch lift-Icon extended length coilovers in the front with Camburg uniball upper control arms and Fox 2.5 adjustable res shocks in the back with Icon add a leaf pack in the rear-The good thing about these trucks is theres lots of aftermarket stuff for them including bolt on horse power-I would like to get a super charger for mine it adds another 100 horses to it but is very pricey-Very dependable trucks-Ive had mine for 10 years and Ive only replaced a altenator so far Knock on wood-Never had it stuck either gets me from point A to point B  with no problems But Im not Young and Dumb anymore either 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Mike C...

[GotAU?]

Tacoma’s are my favorite too, after my 1985 solid front axle Toyota SR5 PU, should’ve never sold that one! My 2002 Tacoma was still running strong at 285k miles when I sold it, and now my 2017 has 50k miles on it and it’s doing really well.  I overloaded it with lots of gear, all steel armor underneath including sliders, steel gas tank plate and two roof racks for the cab and camper. I have a Smittybuilt tent that does fine on the trails, its heavy canvas has done well in high winds. No trees or low hanging branches where I go but I can see the point about that with a standard roof top tent. They do open up larger than a hard shell tent so that made the difference for us.   I also skipped the steel bumpers thing with it, having the steel under the truck was more important to me for those mine roads and other rocky trails. I did have a winch on a cradle and a front reciever so I could pull from either front or back, and also have a pull-pal soil anchor for desert use.  But after seeing what they can do, I sold  the winch for a griphoist which IMHO is a much better choice as I can also pull from the side in addition to front and back and can also use it for moving boulders when prospecting.  Good decision on not getting a Pro, they cost way too much for the extras you are getting.  One thing you are going to love is that crawl control if you got an AT model, it really works going up slippery dry hills and that auto limited slip rear differential and locker is awesome as well!