Good job and I totally agree with your attitude. It’s getting out there that counts and being comfortable on the highways works for me. There are lots of stunning places to go without a rock crawler, but that works for some folks and that’s fine too. Most important that we take care of these wild places, both for future generations and the critters that call those places home!
Winnie is the over-packer, that was hilarious! Love your positive and inclusive spirit for enjoying the outdoors. And it is great to see a rig other than a Jeep.
One heck of an upload. One of the most honest, down to earth upload of what it means to off road. It is also a ringing endorsement of the Tacoma. The new generation will be coming out soon . Thanks
I'm a Jeep guy, but it's cool you went Toyota. MIixes it up ... power! Go solar. I did dual batteries, but now also have Solar for if we find a great spot and decide to stay a day or two longer. Your fridge will shut down cuz your battery is dieing. But since I did solar, I don't worry about it at all. And I don't have to keep starting my Jeep. Now I can blow up my floaty toy and putter around the lake worry free. And you can get some really simple starter setups (at a really nice price)... that you even grow into. (I could actually take away my dual battery now... I just have it shut off). AND! no carrying around big heavy battery packs or whatever those things are called.
I've got'ta say you did a very good job, both with your truck and here in your video. I've been away for a while and surprised to see a "new face" as it were when I came back, again, to see what Trail Recon was up to. But, it looks like there's a whole new generation ready to step up if your Dad ever decides to kick back and relax. However, I hope that won't be soon. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the whole family embarking on some new adventures and taking us viewers along for the ride.
Great video Jordan, also nice to meet Sam and Winnie. I love my 2018 JLU and we were looking at getting a 2023 or 2024 JT but seeing how much you love your Toyota now we're looking at those for Overlanding. Really like the Project M camper and all of the possibilities. Can't wait to see more of your content here. And Thank You for your service, stay safe.
I’m really looking forward to seeing the Son’s of Recon vehicle builds. They both have some more things that can be added & improved, but both are already very capable rigs. We’ll see where they go from here.
Absolutely agree with your comment about getting out there and having fun. I have a Jeep now, but I had a Toyota FJ Cruiser before the Jeep. BOTH are extremely capable and I like them equally. Good job with the video.
I currently drive a Jeep, and I love it. It’s the most capable and “fun vehicle” I’ve ever owned, but my last vehicle was a Tacoma. I absolutely loved it too. The Tacoma was by far the most dependable and quality built vehicle I’ve ever had. I think it’s a great choice. Especially for vehicle supported camping! 🔥
Tacomas are some of the most popular off-road vehicles for a reason. They work. You could do a lot worse than a Tacoma. I like how this build is going. Not every 4x4 needs to be a rock crawler, sometimes you just want a little more capability to go out into the desert. As long as you're having fun that's all that counts.
this is my all time favorite overlanding channel for sure. I love jeeps and I love tacomas so this series building on the tacoma is probably as good as it gets
I was at the Sand Stone canyon today and three newer Jeep Rubicons showed up. One guy commented that his alternator went out last time he was there and another guy’s Jeep sounded like the transmission was going out. The desert is a perfect terrain for IFS. I would love to have a Jeep Rubicon but I want to get home after a hard day on the trail. Good luck with your build.
I can highly recommend your rig, I ran a 2006 trd offroad access cab 6 ft bed Tacoma truck for 15 yrs with a Leer shell for sleeping in. I used it for coastal rock fishing, nugget detecting in Nevada backcountry many times, and its worked out well. Recently sold it at 200,000 miles and bought a new 2022 TRD Pro 4runner, will see how that goes. Love it so far for travel.
When I tried to sell Toyota's My go to for a customer on the fence was, " When was the last time you saw a Toyota on the side of the road?" Work 9 out 0f 10 times Great vehicles
All reasons mentioned for going with Tacoma were why I went 4Runner over Jeep. I REALLY wanted a Wrangler, but the 4R ticked all the boxes for my intended use case, since I wasn't planning on building a rock crawler intended on using it as a daily driver.
I have had nothing but jeeps, but my son recently went with Toyota. It's a great rig, more dependable than jeeps, just don't tell your family I said that. Great presentation. Great video! Get out there and enjoy your rig!
I've owned Jeeps and like them, had an FJ and liked it a lot, now in a Taco (2013 TRD Off Road, access cab) and I'm pretty sure I'll keep it forever. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned that checks all the boxes for me (4wd w/ rear locker, small enough for tight trails, comfortable, good gas mileage, good roadtrip vehicle, aftermarket support, good community, etc.).
I used to take my family and a 2001 Yukon Xl 4x4 w/ a rear locker almost everywhere we went in my Jeep LJ except for technical trails. And I could sleep solo in the back. Go with what you got!
So stoked how happy you are with the Tacoma Jordan! Between the truck and Project M that is not cheap. So awesome how you can fine tune the inside to make it perfect for your needs!
🇺🇸 I love my 2015 Taco OR! A-Trac has rescued me from many stuck situations. Even if I have a jeep, I wouldn't take it rock crawling. I would rather hike those rock crawl trails. It would be faster by feet. My Taco has never failed me! Just the oil, trans, brake pads, changes. Wish list, switching between 2wd to hi, lo can be a bit cumbersome. But, it has never failed. I'm looking at the four-wheel shell, too. Thanks for your updates.
I really like the focus on keeping weight under control. Coming out of the airplane and sports car world, I'm often horrified by how much mass folks will throw on (and where they do it) an off road vehicle.
Too many people get into this weird "brand loyalty" thing. Where they like what they have, and think everything else is junk. Weighing your options and getting what best suites you is what's important. Be it a Taco, a Ranger, Frontier, Jeep, etc.
I have been using these Outdoor Products soft duffel bags to stow gear. They come in multiple sizes and colors so you can just look at them and know where stuff is when you need to find something.
I really like that camper set up. And yes, my '18 two door JK is a bit rough riding while off road. Looking forward to following along as you make it your's. Semper Fi.
As a fellow tall person (6'10") and an overlander in a Tacoma, this was a really cool video. You have all the right thoughts. Keep it simple, don't get hung up on so much gear for the sake of having gear. Keeping it as lite as possible is my ideology as well. Interested in seeing where you go from here.
I drive a 2015 Tacoma too, before that it was a 2001 Tacoma. I’m loving the build out and how u are not going over the top with it so far. Keep up the great videos, I’m mainly tuning in for the Taco! 😂
Had the exact same truck. An old man emu setup is an excellent choice. Put 240k on mine and it was decked out with front/ rear steel bumpers. Its an excellent bolt on choice that will last you the life of the truck and get you everywhere you want to go. Best of luck!
Been watching this channel for a long time. Great videos. Looking forward to future Tacoma videos. I’ve had 3 Toyotas over the years. Currently own a 2008 Tacoma. Looking forward to seeing what y’all decide to do with it. So many options. Keep up the great videos.
Agreed, it doesn’t matter what you drive. To be a good overland or off road vehicle is doesn’t have to be a Jeep. There are many Jeeps that look very off road capable that only see the pavement. Yes, get out there! I think you made a good choice. If you want to do some modifications, aftermarket support is important. I have a 2016 Colorado and the aftermarket support for it is not as “strong” as for my wife’s Gladiator or your Tacoma. Your plans sound pretty good.
Jeeps are great, no doubt. But my favorite overlanding videos have a variety of vehicles. Seeing what different vehicles are capable of is interesting to me. Your Tacoma was a great choice and I look forward to each of your videos to see the latest changes and where it takes you.
I really liked this video. I have a jeep and my husband has a Tacoma. We love both our cars. His is a work vehicle where he carries his equipment in the back. He's had several Tacomas and put literally hundreds of miles on them driving to service calls around the Tampa Bay and Sarasota area. We both got into our cars because of movies. He loved the Tacoma from Back To The Future and I loved the Jeeps in Jurassic Park. So we got our dream vehicles. We appreciate both.
As a former Taco owner and a present 4runner driver there are a number of suspension kits. If you like the way it drives just go up with the Bilstein 5100s... they're the same shocks you have just taller. I, personally, am a big fan of the ironman 4x4 FCP... the ride was awesome, I have them on my 4runner now too.
I own a truck too (Brazilian 17' S10, that would be much like your Colorados) and I love it... I've been to places an ordinary 2WD car would never take me, with plenty of luggage space and comfort. I loved your build and it gave me many project ideas...
Reliability and off-road capability is exactly why I went with a Land Cruiser. Especially after seeing what happened with Brad’s Jeep, I’m glad I went Toyota.
You want steel up front. It's your deer protection and you don't want it toasted after 1 accident. The weight gain from it will not be noticable. I love my steel bumper and will get one on every truck I own. Aluminum skids, steel bumpers
Steel is a good option, but for me I'd rather save the weight with everything else being added to the truck. We really only need an aftermarket bumper so we can add a winch and have a little more protection if we accidentally bump it on the trail
Good choice now I'll be watching more of your videos I'm a Toyota guy. I wasn't before because I'm not into jeeps at all and the points you mentioned about the jeeps are my sentiments exactly.
Heck yeah! Great video. As someone who traded in my JKUR for a 3rd Gen Tacoma TRD Offroad. I'm excited to finally see a Toyota on this channel. Brad has pretty much covered all the other top brands already. You're right. It doesn't matter what you drive. Just get out there and explore.
So the closed caption called it a toilet to comb on. 😅 Pretty well sums up the way we've always felt about the Tacoma. 😂 But we always say, drive what you've got until you can drive what you want.
Well said, well spoken. This whole us vs them thing is so tiresome. I see ANY vehicle that displays signs of camping and natural adventure travel my first thought is “those are my people” not how are they different or worse ‘not right’. We looked hard at several vehicles before settling on a Mojave Gladiator which serves as our everything vehicle. Excited to ride along on your Project M adventure. It’s currently my first place contender to replace the bed rack/RTT misstep. ✌🏼❤️😊
I love the 2nd gen tacoma, I looked at them with the intention of doing a SAS but ended up with my 23 ecodiesel gladiator that I drove from NC to UT in 2 days spend all week in moab then drove back... 37in tires 3.5in metalcloak gamechanger lift and at no time did I think... this could be more comfortable or quiet...
The newer JTs and JLs are definitely better than the older models, but at the end of the day it's just a personal preference for me. Going back and forth from driving/riding in the Tacoma and jeeps on our trips, the noise difference is just something I've noticed
SSW off-road wheels come in machined alum and are 🔥 🔥. They are clear coated so you won’t have to keep the polished alum polished. I made that mistake once and will never again buy raw polished aluminum wheels! Excited to follow along with this taco build.
Your video was Awesome.. Enjoyed your articulation, and passion for your vision on Tacoma, and the outdoors!!!!! I get to travel for free. Family togetherness is so Important!!!!!!!!
You've probably seen these options, but for bumpers the two I liked best were either the SSO Slimline Full Tube bumper (steel, 70lbs) or the Backwoods Adventure aluminum Tacoma bumper. I opted for the SSO bumper because I like how minimal it is. This was for 3rd gen.
I think you’re correct in assessing the Toyota reliability compared to other makes, but hey don’t you just love the Jeep’s rugged looks and Brad approved off road capabilities! I can’t believe how much your voice sounds like your Dad’s, I opened this video half not paying attention and I swear it was your Dad I was listening to, and I couldn’t believe that he had bought a Toyota! Great video, I’m sure you’ll build the truck of your dreams, given all the skills you probably learned from you father. I’ll be staying tuned into your future videos. By the way, you really want to live dangerously, than run a Landrover like I do, you’ll really learn how to be a mechanic quickly; but seriously the comfort issues you described with the Tacoma is why we run out LR4 off road, comfort and off road capability all in one 👍🏼
Don't change anything unless you are getting limited. Focus on the things that will get you out there more. Sometimes that's as simple as a fridge and good toilet!
Hey Jordan, nice video. I noticed that you have a commercial license plate and are probably paying substantial unnecessary weight fees. Since you have a camper on the truck, you are able to register your truck as an SUV and not pay the weight fees. DMV will issue you new plates that have a passenger car style license number. If you are a member of AAA, then they will do it for you. Otherwise just go to the DMV. I hope that helps you and other readers too.
Love the Tacoma build, I would do a 3inch lift so that it’s still practical but yet it’s high enough for the trails, add a few off-road lights nothing to flashy and keep it simple
Could probably put a truck bed molle panel on the back wall so that you can hook up a couple 5 gallon tanks with a pump of some kind, while at the same time you have endless options of what you can hook up to the molle panel for any situation.
Good ole OME Nitrochargers will most probably get you everywhere you want to go reliably and there are so many configurations as far as how you plan on setting up your truck. If you wanna get fancier, have a look at Elka. Top of the line and from the Montreal area where I’m from!
‘17 3rd gen 130k is what I have. My grips are: fuel range, and torque. I fixed the torque with 529 gears. Made it a new pickup. Best upgrade I’ve done. I also did icon stage 9 (pricy!) ARE grill; heavy but super solid. Haven’t decided on camper yet so look forward to your comments on the M as it’s top 2 choices. Hope you guys bring to Amarillo next time you come to Palo Duro. Love to see the setup.
Bilstein 6112 in the front, and medium or heavy dakar leaf pack. Rear shocks I have a relo kit with kings for the weight but another bilstein set would be fine. Perfect set up for long road trips/offroading with no crazy rock crawling
I have a first gen 04 Tundra that I purchased new. It has been the most reliable truck that I have owned, compared to Chevrolet, Dodge and Nissan. 20 years old next April and really not feasible to trade it in for something new.
Would love to see an FJ on this channel. Im glad im a fan of all offroaders i have a gladiator and about to buy a older jk but was really considering an FJ.
