This budget overlanding rig has allowed me to explore many amazing places

On occasion seemingly small decisions have a huge impact on your life. While this is by no means “news” to just about anyone, it’s interesting how one thing leads to another, and so on. For me one of those decisions that ended up leading to surprising places, both literally and figuratively, was the purchase of my 2001 Tacoma. About 6 years ago I started looking for a first generation Tacoma. I had a pretty specific truck in mind so I didn’t rush, and was even open to the possibility of flying somewhere and driving the right truck back. However, somethings in life took precedence and I put the search on pause for a few weeks. Then one day during some down time I opened Craiglist to “just look” and found a truck less than half an hour away. It checked all of the boxes; double cab, upgraded suspension, reasonable mileage, and a price to match. It wasn’t long before I had the keys in hand.

It seems like those first few weeks I was hitting local trails after work every other day and almost every weekend. The idea of exploring new areas or checking out new spots was never far from the front of my mind. As it goes with most overlanders I began a list of accessories that I needed, or at least things that I thought I needed. At the top of the list was a camper shell for a temporary sleeping area and to keep camping gear secure and dry. While the truck itself ended up being an easy find, the shell took some hunting due to the limited number of double cab Tacomas from this generation. After several months of passing on cracked or mismatched shells I finally found one. Just as the stars aligned with the truck itself, the trip to get the camper ended up taking me across North Carolina just as my friends from Mountain State Overland were on a trip in the Tellico region of Tennessee. So after a 7 hour drive to get the camper, 30 minutes to pay and bolt it down, I drove another 7 hours to spend my first night in the Tacoma before a few days of trails and camping with MSO.

From there I was fortunate to win a CVT roof top tent in a charity raffle. The trips in the truck grew longer and it served as exploratory vehicle and basecamp from the mountains to the coast. Over the next year I added a Safari snorkel and sliders. Then as the aging Bilstein suspension started to sag I installed a new Old Man Emu suspension and the ARB bull bar. These two projects updated the look and more importantly the trail capability of the Tacoma.

Then in 2018 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to test one of the first AT Overland Summit campers. I took everything off the back of the truck for the first time in years and drove west to Arizona. After a weekend at Overland Expo West I headed into Prescott, AZ to the AT Overland Headquarters. Within a couple of hours my Tacoma was totally transformed. The Summit didn’t have to wait long for action as I returned home and began preparing for a trip to New England the next month. Within that first year the winds of the southwest, the sweltering humidity of summer, and some very cold nights proved that the Summit was an excellent addition to the truck. The room to move around and the quick deployment was particularly enjoyable when thunderstorms rolled through. We also thoroughly tested the removable tent liner when a few nights in the mountains dipped into the lower teens. On daily driver duty the Summit keeps equipment secure and still allows the transport of kayaks, ladders, and anything else that needs to go on top. Considering that it provides a sleeping area, space for a fridge and cargo, and room to hang out in inclement weather the AT Summit really is an all in one relatively lightweight and durable package.

It’s been interesting to review the evolution of this truck over the last 5 years. It’s a small truck by today’s standards, but it’s played a big role in many of our adventures. Sometimes I think about the next rig, maybe it’s something new, or maybe something a little more unique or exotic, but lately I find myself thinking more of keeping the old Tacoma and maybe just changing it up a bit. As it approaches 250,000 miles I’ve started to see the number as a bit of a milestone. I’m curious what direction the truck takes me, both literally and in terms of the next evolution of the build.

 

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