First Five Mods You Should SERIOUSLY Consider For Overlanding

love the advice of going out and getting started with your stock truck. A stock truck with good tires in the factory size or one above will get you a lot of places. Start exploring and figure out what you need to get out further!

Question: You mentioned a tank not being necessary with the compressor. Would that hold true with air-lockers installed?

👍🏻

You called my commitment issues out fuck you im subscribed!

I greatly appreciate the info and advice 👍

Good stuff! One thing I would add is to add all the overlanding stuff before suspension. That way you can weigh the rig and get suspension dialed first time. I had to change all the springs afterwards.

I have a 200 series Land Cruiser it’s all stock and I don’t know what suspension I want for it.

Thinking about getting a 4Runner for the family. I’m really enjoying your channel. The blind shock tests were awesome. I don’t even have a rig yet and I’m already comparing shocks lol. Keep ‘‘em coming and thank you !

I have a question I just bought a 2024 TRD off-road 4 runner and I want to run 285 but I haven’t had a 4x4 in years and back in the day with straight axles well you get what I mean different animals. I don’t want to have to cut the body mount is this possible. Some say yes some say no. What do you think. PS I live in Florida so I Wouldn’t be on rocks but don’t want to bounce and destroy a tire. Thanks in advance.

Why go through all that, just get portal axles or a portal conversion kit.

A big CO2 inflator beats a compressor.

My biggest regret of building up my old truck was going with uniball upper control arms. I learned the hard way why OEM style ball joints are better for winter weather conditions after incessant creaking and popping. I think I'm going to go with the SPC adjustable ones next time on my new truck.

All I’ve used is stock trucks. So far 2001 ranger, great. 1995 f150, suspension was too soft and would cause you to bottom out on rocks on the bounce after the initial bounce. But great traction, just had to go really slow. 1993 Nissan hardbody. Horrible. Suspension too stiff, instead of articulating I’d just spin out. So strategy is just to go really fast over anything gnarly. 2009 Tacoma, suspension too soft, same as f150. 89 bronco great, 87 Comanche was great as well. 2019 Tacoma sport did great, only problem was the stock tires would get punctured with thorns, never a problem I had before. Maybe because the tires were new and soft, instead of dry rotted like all my other trucks. Sadly my truck trading days seem to be over. The wife doesn’t like me buying and selling broken trucks all the time. Took my 2008 gmc 1500 sierra off-road once, it was pretty good. Could use more ground clearance but it has good suspension.

What is an E locker?

Americans - I need 40s on my Jeep to take that line

Aussies- step aside mate my 33s will take it just fine I reckon

I was given a 1946 dodge power wagon ambulance by my grandpa it’s in decent shape but want to make it an overlander and at a loss at where to start. This was a great video for guidance

Really dig this dude and the channel. Subbed!

Man! Thank you so much for your honesty. Really enjoy watching your videos.

“Overlanding” - When douches from the city living in apartments, buy an overpriced, overweight 4x4 to drive on established trails that grandmas minivan goes often while telling themselves they are rugged explorers. 😂😂😂

Great perspectives. I love the honesty instead of just trying to sell sell sell. You guys do much work on Jeeps?

I m in bc now . Hope to ride with u guys soon. Getting my licence soon.

I’ll say it for you.
1: buy a Toyota 😂

I absolutely agree on skids and plates. Protect the undercarriage is a must because where you think you're going, it may not end up there and the road can be way more challenging than you thought. As for tires, I disagree, you don't really need 33" or bigger if you don't do serious rock crawling. Stock size or slightly bigger (up to 32") would suffice. Yes, bigger tires may give you an inch or so more clearance and it may "look cool", but it's not really necessary. Consider "Pizza cutters". They may give you a better on road ride, save you gas and would air down more efficiently. Upgrading suspensions depends where is your starting point. If you buy any SR5, sure, suspension upgrade may give you some advantage, but if you start with TRD off-Road or Pro late years, the stock Fox suspensions would be absolutely sufficient. The most important question to ask is, what is the percentage of your overall driving is allocated to off-road? If you drive mostly on paved roads and you are an occasional "weekend warrior" who do some off roading, don't do any modification that can jeopardize your ride's safety and comfort on the road. You will regret if you do regardless of how "cool" you ride looks.

Anyone know where to get a switch panel that’ll fit where the sunglasses overhead compartment is on a 2006 LC/LX 100?

i can appreciate brutal truth

Is it worth investing into a 2011 2WD Prerunner? For dirt roads/hunting? Would a portable winch suffice in leu of 4WD?

The 1st mod if you have a tacoma,
And it rains where you live,
Is to plug the drain holes in the bed and run a weather strip between the cab and the bed.
*hindsight while dealing with my 2nd gen frame, that "wasn't bad enough" for the recall.

In a stock Tacoma, I've done Sevenmile Rim in moab which is a difficulty 4/5 out of 10. All I did to the truck is put 31s on it and took off the sway bar. I've got bumpers and sliders now, so that was before those mods.
Personally, I recomend doing suspention last. My reasoning is, once you've added all this extra stuff to the truck the springs won't be the right stiffness for the truck anymore and you'll have to get other springs down the road.

I love this video! Thanks!

Thanks

I think for a beginner, like me the best is just buy good tyres, a rack to put a tend and a good tend. And this is what I will do this winter after buy my first truck.
And than from there and after have done some small trip, start to build the truck properly (:

On road use is probably more like 99% of the time.

Thanks for the advice. I have a TRD Pro with the Fox suspension and upgraded tires to BFG KO2s. Would you consider that setup okay or should I still upgrade the suspension? I normally like going fast on dirt roads and doing some light climbing in Arizona.

No re gear on a taco with 33s. Yeah right.

Great vid.. So funny you named everything I had in my list, ty sir

I'm the opposite, I always go for the best option that fits my mean.

Thanks for the honesty.

someone chill n honest, how weird.... Sub'd

Had a buddy with a Tacoma pro and felt bad about my "work truck" SR5. I got out there and realized my 4x4 SR5 with A/T tires and upgraded $250 Bilstein/springs take offs from an off-road Tacoma was all I needed. Great daily and beast in the mountains.

i agree with the first 5 ... However fuel range is one of my concerns, are you going to add a 2nd fuel tank where spare tire used to live? That is one of my biggest items on my "to do" list. but to also add hd springs front & rear. I focused on recovery equipment, winch, snatch blocks straps, and a chainsaw. the more i use it the more i want to bring but organization becomes more important at some point. I have a 3rd gen 4runner. I have a roof rack amd rear cargo box on the way.. the roof carrier is to carry the 33" spare that wont fit under rear anymore. so i need to mount it on the roof. Plus to carry more fuel and my saw box i will carry a cargo box that i will modify to get some more exit angle out of it by 45 degree a step up after the hitch. like a foot until i can get a rear bumper with a tire mnt kit is what im thinking.. but thats more weight.. my winch is on a hitch mnt that i can mnt front or rear as i added a hitch mnt to the front and a 2nd bat with anderson connectors on both ends one to ea battery. I can jump my self without opening the hood. or jump someone else w/o opening hood..red and grey connectors. hd.. I also use it for the winch connection..

Good videos thanks

#1. Overlanding tires just go one size larger than stock.
#2. Buy a off-road model and the suspension will be fine.
#3. Rock-Sliders
#4. Traction Boards.
#5. Basic Recovery Gear
This is for Overland not a Rock Crawler.

I love how clever marketing has created a catch phrase for driving a damn vehicle

Love the list and the general concept to just get out and use what you got first. I've taken my 2012 Honda Pilot to places only side-by-sides go in Utah and it has far surpassed my expectations. But it's time to step up and your insights on first five and not worth it lists are much appreciated!

Perfect. I'd recommend getting a common vehicle (preferably 4x4 or fulltime awd) with tough steering/suspension components that is easy to find cheap replcement and aftermarket parts for. Off the top of my head, im thinking XJ Cherokees, twin beam Rangers or exploders, s-10/blazer/sonoma/jimmy/bravada, maybe even a honda cr-v or element... just depends on what your priorities and preferences are. But it feels much better to feel confident beating on your vehicle a bit, and hot having to worry that something is gonna snap all the time... or at least be able to find affordable parts and be competent in repairing your rig as you go. Toyotas have become crazy expensive... many aftermarket replacement parts dont really hold up in the toyota designed steering/suspension setup. And many OEM Toyota replacement parts are expensive and hard to find... sometimes even impossible to find new from a dealership. Just saying... you can beat on beams and straight axles quite a bit harder than you can on a-arm IFS without blowing out anything too severe... but if you prefer the ride comfort of a-arm ifs, you can always adjust for that by taking it a little easier and using "mechanical empathy" out on the trail, rather than just plowing through/over obstacles. If you are seriously living out of a vehicle for extended periods of time... especially if you insiist on taking it offroad, it would behoove you to start with a vehicle you can afford to repair regularly if needed... and one that quality parts are easily accessible for. Just my two cents

It is quite easy actually.

Get a truck or SUV

Go out and test the ground clearance in something easy

Go and get All terrain tires. At this point you can go 2 ways... 1.- Get the biggest tires you can fit there stock. 2.- Get the huge tires you actually want and spend a lot of time and money to make them fit but never worry about it again.

Then get rock sliders and skids

Then keep going as your rig demands for things.

Entry door are 3 mods: tires, skid plates and sliders. 4 if you really want to get huge tires that require a big lift.

A genuinely humble man. One day I may have to get back up to Canada to meet this man.

Definitely tires first. Learned the hard way when I got a flat with stock non-offroad tires that came w my 4runner. Sliders next. I kept hitting my stock steps the most on rocks. Sliders gave me several inches of clearance plus protection. Wasted money on a leveling kit when I then decided to go for a full lift-buy once, cry once!