How much weight on your tacoma is too much weight for overlanding?

Hey everyone, new member here, new Tacoma owner (about 3 months now).. spent 6 months researching until my brain hurt. After calling multiple companies and all of them giving me opposing answers (some of them completely dumbfounded by the fact that people even put 1000lb on the back of their truck), I finally decided to ask this community.

I've watched just about every C4, CBI build video, and other youtubers doing these great overland builds with full skids (150lb), front bumper (120lb), rear dual swing out bumper (200lb), rock sliders (150lb), roof rack (45lb), fully loaded lights (?lb), diamond back hd bed covers (115lb), bed rack (55lb), hard shell rooftop tents (172lb), 20lb propane tanks full and mounted (68lb), 30-40 pounds of tools/recovery gear, winch (80lb), 8-12 gallons of fuel in rotopax, gallons of water, portable fridge (55lb), some kind of drawer system (?lb), another 100lb of camping gear, spare wheel on rear bumper (45-60lb), etc.. apparently running just fine..

Here are the questions I can't seem to find the answers to:

1. With an additional 1200-1400lb of weight on the truck, and let's say Fox 2.5 full kit with Deaver Stage 3's that's rated from 700-1000lb, how on earth are these trucks normally functional on all these trips for years? The Deaver stage 3's are rated for 1000lb max, so how are people putting 1400lb on it (not even counting 2 passengers that weight between 180-200lb each for example)? .... Also, I'm aware that the weight distribution really mostly matters in the rear for the leaf springs, so given that the roof rack creeps towards the rear, and half the sliders and skids do too, really the only thing to subtract to get the rear weight is the front bumper, half the sliders, and half the skids. It still ends up being over a 1000lb.

2. How is a V6 with not much torque able to handle that? (not to mention adding bigger tires lowers power). For argument's sake let's say 33's for tires so no re-gear required.

3. If the Tacoma is not meant to have that much, then where do you compromise? ....Half the people say you NEED armor because you have to protect your investment so full skids, rock sliders, front and rear bumper are non negotiable cuz accidents happen once. And of course the purpose of the truck is to go off grid to camp and enjoy and explore and get away from the city, so I'm going to need at the anti-theft of the truck bed cover, the bed rack, and the rooftop tent... it's like, well, what's left? Say I dont take the fridge and propane tank and just stick to MRE's.. Everything else is for a "just incase" situation. From the winch, to the recovery gear, to tools, etc.. So between armor, what i need for the "experience", which is 80-90% of the weight, I'm torn between what to compromise on.

The setup I want to go for in terms of the build for my 2023 Tacoma TRD Off Road is: Fox 2.5 full kit with the reservoirs, upper control arms, U bolts, Deaver stage 3 leaf springs, Falken Wildpeak AT3W (285/70r17), I wouldn't really want anything past a 1.5" lift on front and back, MAYBE 2 if there is a solid functional reason behind it. I'm trying to keep my center of gravity low, and not lift it too much past stock lift. I want strictly best functionality, longevity, etc.. not one for just looks, no offense to anyone that is, just have a different purpose for this truck. Also, this won't really be a daily driver as I have a sedan for that. Perhaps down a few blocks to the store here and there.

Thank you ahead of time, and I apologize for the giant rant sized post. Just sucks being in limbo for months because I can't find answers to base my decisions off of.

 

1. Not very well
2. Not very well
3. Do without

You have two schools of thought. One school is the spend money for Instagram likes crowd, that you absolutely need to outfit a weekend camper/weekday commuter like it's a rock bashing machine. The other school is that real overlanders keep it as minimalist, light, and as uncool as possible.

You are already ahead of the curve on your thinking. There's no such thing as a free lunch - adding a piece of gear is a compromise. Similarly, deleting a piece of gear is a compromise. And that's more than just weight. Weight affects performance, handling, safety, and believe it or not, driver fatigue. A loaded camper can't go rock crawling. A rock crawler sucks ass at camping. And a do-all, Swiss army knife sucks at everything. My advice is always this: get the truck, go camping, figure out where it hurts, adjust the loadout for the next trip. I would rather do without and buy for the next time than buy for the theoretical and have a garage full of unused junk.

Good luck, have fun, and welcome.

 

I never understood the adding weight (suspension, wheels, bumpers, etc.) part of modifying a Tacoma,...
to add yet more weight (Overlanding gear), ...
and then go Overlanding with a Tacoma.
Why not go minimalist?

 

People hike for longer than most camp in their Tacoma with only what they carry on their backs. “Overlanding” for most people is just a word for buying toys for their truck that are cool but are not needed 95% of the time. Modding trucks is a hobby and like a lot of hobbies means spending money on things you like, not things you need. A truck outfitted for crossing the Sahara looks cool even if it’s sitting in your suburban America driveway.

 

I saw a bunch of tacomas doing "overlanding" this weekend, I love the idea, but these guys were a 30 min walk from the highway and had dealer plates from the nearby city.

If you want to offroad the armor is absolutely needed, the weight needs to be negated by springs or its awful to drive.

Most tacomas could do a RTT, add a leaf, and a set of all terrains, boom "overlander".

 

Unless you're in like Africa or something, you aren't overlanding shit. A lot of people enjoy the rural dirt gravel road / camping build look that is still applicable and effective for 99% of USA driving.

 

But have you thought about how it looks on Instagram with a @overlanding handle ? Who cares about all those boring weight details

 

Get a van.

 

It is really easy to overload these trucks. As much as I would like a "lightweight" camper like a Four Wheel or Kimbo, your truck will be overloaded from the get go. I travel light and can stay out for a week or more before I resupply. Basically I have a cot/tent (which can be setup on the bed rails when I have to stay off the ground) a minimal cook kit, and a good ice chest. Someday I may add a refrigerator. My tires are stock size Michelin Defenders and they can handle all the gravel and dirt roads I have ever tried.

If I ever decide I need more comfort, I will consider one the small off-road teardrop trailers. I hate towing through.

 

1.- People are often overloaded. Not a pleasant drive and potentially Dangerous.
2.- With so much added weight you are becoming quite underpowered. - Again not pleasant.
3.- Carefully define what you need and err to the lighter side. It is often the case that the instagram trumps everything else. Most "overlanding" vehicles are simply posers. (I guess the 'gram' is a legitimate purpose for some...)

A Tacoma is for minimalist type camping to be practical. Ideal for a solo user... I can camp with my two little boys fine. If my wife came along - we'd need a second vehicle!

The boys and I pack light and use a ground tent and keep it basic. I have sliders - just in case (And as steps for the boys), but I won't do anything that requires armor. I simply do not want to carry all that around on a daily basis... We do not travel with support vehicles or a camera car! (I carry the sliders and the cap only while in town - I don't carry anything else while not camping).

The taco is a capable offroader - while lightly loaded (to be fun). The clue is the load capacities. If you want to carry armor, fridges, campers, steel fenders, and huge tires, you hopefully have another vehicle - or take it quite slow, likely impacting longevity...

 

990lbs-that is including passengers etc.

 

Your truck can handle the weight of your Ice chest filled with ice and supplies, your sleeping bag, some firewood.
A grill to place your percolator. Your dog, the AR15 a few mags and a feeshin pole.
Then yes...by all means drive over the land to get to a good car camping spot

 

My “Glamping” .”Broverlander” setup.. with my supplies & a shovel & table.

 

Skip the 285's and go with the skinny 255's. Save a few more pounds there, and they will serve you really well. Also, won't need a swing out tire carrier, as a 255 spare will fit in the stock spare location.

Skip the heavy steel front bumper, go with aluminum or just stay with the stock plastic.

Skip the drawer system and be creative with lighter plastic or water/dust resistant fabric totes.

Skip the sliders and skids if you have no travels that go in the big boy rocks. Just be mindful of your under bits if you find yourself having to traverse said trail.

Skip the heavy LP tank, and cook with the smaller green bottles, or go with a isobutane back packing style cook set.

Be realistic on your recovery gear needs.
Shovel, traction boards, yank strap with some soft shackles will do you just fine.

Ask yourself before each trip how far will you "really" need to accommodate for extra fuel/water needs.

My truck is a 2017 with many odds and ends that I have added since purchased new. The truck is unloaded of camping/overland/wheeling gear when not adventuring with the exception of a custom designed strong lightweight aluminum bed rack over my SoftTopper, along with my ARB awning, shower awning and MT bike mounts that are attached to the aluminum rack permanently. All that listed above weigh in under 100lbs combined.


The truck gets configured accordingly to whatever adventure I am taking. MT biking, kayaking, desert exploring, wood exploring, sand dunes, etc....

Bottomline, use common sense where you go camping/overlanding/wheeling. Prepare to adjust your gear as you go. There is no one size fits all for each trip.

 

Perfect!!

remember; KISS!

wait for this economy to take a shit, and some of the glampers maybe trying to decide which roof to keep

 

All you need to go camping/overlanding is a Honda civic and a tent.

 

What you NEED to do is drive your truck off road completely stock for six months. You will then know what you need. Quit overlanding on youtube and Instagram and start doing it for real with no help.

 

Welcome to TW! lots of good advise here. It's a snake oil filled slippery slope with mods. Keep it stock for now and go minimalist camping at first. Go from there.

 

My setup:

33x10 tires
Steel sliders
Aluminum front bumper
12k winch
RTT and bed rack
OEM roof rack
TRD skid

That’s about 500 pounds of constant weight, I would not want more weight than that. That’s not even accounting gear, passengers etc.

I’ve been to quite a few gnarly places and my setup is overkill for the most part. Go out and explore, then see what you need. These trucks are extremely capable in stock form.

 

Yes.. KISS I used that in acronym in another thread. TRD Lift & Skidplate 265/75/16. I did splurge on an awning & it’s been great. Im jus adding lil bit @ a time & when things are on sale.