After putting nearly 40k miles on Wildpeak AT3s and Method MR306 wheels, which by the way served me very well, I recently stepped up to a more aggressive set up. Not only in tread but size as well. This time I chose Toyo Open Country RT 305/70R17. You may recall them briefly stretched around bronze Falcon T8 -38mm wheels. They were gorgeous but did not fair well during our trip through KY. One of them bent beyond repair. So I made another switch to Stealth Custom Series BR6’s in a beautiful matte gunmetal. I went with amber spoke highlights to accent the lighting and a few other details. They feature a massive lip that I believe will withstand everything I throw at them.

Back in early 2020, before overland was even in my vocabulary, I installed a full Toytec 2.0 Boss kit paired with JBA uppers just for lift and fitting 33s. I’ve learned a lot since then. Much like the Falcon wheels, all things aren’t created equally. I spent the last year upgrading the IFS and rear components. In the front, I installed Fox 2.5 DSC with 14” #600 Eibach springs, Dirt King uppers and lowers and DRT spindle gussets. In the rear, Accutune adapted oversized Tundra Fox 2.5 DSC shocks for extra travel and swapped the stock leaf pack with Deaver U402 Stage 3’s. Diving even deeper, I added Archive Garage hammer hangers, shackles, super bumps and U-bolt flips. Dialed.

I managed to get through most of the hard lines even with open diffs and stock gearing. In the Spring of 2022, just before our Moab trip, I installed a rear locker and 5.29 gears. East Coast Gear Supply offers customized front and rear diffs for Tacomas that made the job simple enough to tackle in my driveway. Since then, off-roading has been just as fun only it requires much less work. With the proper final drive gears, the rig now feels like a truck again.

I would’ve destroyed my rig six times over if it weren’t for some stout armor. From front to back, the rig is equipped with Lil B’s hybrid front bumper, 3/8” thick aluminum skids, Race Relations DIY sliders and WarFab’s full DOM Phantom rear bumper with dual swing outs. I have a spare tire mount on the passenger swing-out and added a custom 5 gallon jerrycan carrier to the driver side. The Lil’s B’s bumper comes with an interesting story, check out the forthcoming blog if you’re interested.

It is a known fact that the fine engineers at Toyota tuned the stock 6-speed trans with very little zest. Throw on bigger tires and add a couple hundred pounds of gear that drag more than RuPaul; and you have yourself a TuRD. To address this issue, I linked up with my friend and fellow Pittsburgh’er, John Gobbels of Overland Tailor Tuning. He sprinkled some taco dust on the TCU and now that 3.5 V6 is packin’ some heat. I’m currently running his custom Overland 9.0 tune and we also added a custom map to the ECT button that improves towing drivability.

You can find more about John and his amazing work at Overland Tailor on Facebook, Instagram and his website.

You're looking at the rig’s forth light design iteration. I’ve been running Diode Dynamics from the start. New in 2022, I installed additional sets of pods. The ditch lights are SS2 Pro white floods and the chase lights are SS2 Pro amber floods. SS2 white pods for reverse will be mounted soon. The front bumper carries an array of pods including a pair of SS2 Pro yellow fogs, SS3 Max white combos and mounted on the bull bar, the core of forward lighting, is the SS5 Pro yellow combo CrossLink 3-pod light bar—an absolute unit, at 270 watts throwing 26,700 lumens.

Sponsored by Diode Dynamics.

Early in the build process, my first setup was a bed rack that I personally designed and built. After deciding to swap the RTT for a Gazelle ground tent, I had no reason to keep the bed rack. Next, I tested a SmartCap EVOa. It was brilliant but after getting a little too rowdy at the 2021 Red Clay Rally, I made the tough decision to change things up again for something lighter but still providing ample storage. I’m now very satisfied with the Softopper paired with the drawer system I built in 2022.

We chose IntechRV because of their reputation and rich history of adventure trailers. Their enthusiasm for adventure and attention to details matched ours. With our Sol Horizon, we named Burt, we can get lost in the views of the panoramic windshield. The “tilt-forward design” creates a spacious interior, the quality materials and meticulous craftsmanship make us feel at home—not cramped. The all-aluminum frame and fiberglass shell is lightweight, durable and long-lasting out in the elements.