Equipt Expedition Outfitters Founder and President Paul May has been involved in the overland industry for over two decades and was building overland vehicles in North America well before the term “overland” became a buzzword. May identifies himself not as a Toyota guy but a Land Cruiser guy at his core. He knows what he likes and why.
Nicknamed the Millennium Falcon, May’s 200-Series Toyota Land Cruiser lives up to its name with black and white accents, “super sweet buttons,” and a tendency to travel “like a bat out of hell.” Unlike the droids, the Cruiser was indeed what May was looking for. May’s interior choices reflect his experience in the industry—everything is built with a purpose, revolves around his lifestyle, and showcases the quality products he stocks at Equipt Expedition Outfitters. Here’s a look at the interior of May’s 200 Series Toyota Land Cruiser.
Sleeping Quarters
“On top of our Toyota Land Cruiser 200 Series, we have an Eezi-Awn Stealth hard-shell rooftop tent on top of three Eezi-Awn K9 load bars. We [also] installed an Eezi-Awn Series 1000 2M hard-shell awning to the end of the load bars.
The Stealth is an incredible tent. It is all aluminum, and the front elevates so big guys like me [can] fit. A full roof rack under a hard-shell tent is redundant and adds a lot of extra weight, so load bars make sense. On solo trips, [I sleep in] a sleeping bag. When with my wife, we use bedding and three pillows at a minimum. All of that stores easily in the rooftop tent.
The Series 1000 awning is very uncomplicated—a simple hand-roll-up style awning in an aluminum case. It matches all the other items on the roof too. Classic.”
Rear Seat Delete
“It’s just my wife and our Labrador retriever that travel in this vehicle, so we made quite a few changes to the interior of the truck to make it as useful as we can. We removed the second and third rows of seating, clearing the way for a three-stage Goose Gear cabinet system. I took my 200 to Brian Fulton at Goose Gear and gave it to him for roughly four weeks. What I had in mind had not been done before, and it was back when Brian had time for custom stuff.
In front of the rear cabinets, Brian designed two clamshell cabinets. The driver-side cabinet was lowered a few inches from the rest of the set so we could put a memory foam dog bed there and keep it in place. The cabinet holds all our recovery and compressor gear. The passenger side cabinet is the same height as the rear drawer set and makes for a great single sleeping platform; this cabinet holds our tools and first aid equipment. Where it becomes unique is the top plate set we put on this. Brian built this one-off set to cover the system completely to the door and rear panels. This makes it safer for our dog and gives us a lot more surface, for either sleeping or gear storage.”
Kitchen Items, Food, and Water Storage
“The system starts with a base plate in the rear floor. We added a camp kitchen cabinet to hold a National Luna Legacy 50-liter dual-zone fridge on an AT Overland combo fridge slide. The slide has a Partners Steel double burner stove built into it. We added a single drawer to the right of the fridge cabinet, which is filled with a divider system for kitchen organization.
The rear of the truck is our kitchen. It takes less than a minute to set up. The fridge and stove slide right out, and we hook the stove to the propane tank mounted on the rear swingout. Pull the drawer out, and you have a full kitchen setup.
[For cooking], we use the GSI pot pan set. All of the pots are nested and non-stick. GSI Lexan utensils and a couple of chef’s knives [are used] for preparation. We also carry a Jet Boil for a quick coffee in the morning. Clean-up is by Clorox wipes—no water used for that. It is all organized by [Pelican] TrekPak divider system materials.
Our pantry is an AluBox 60-liter aluminum storage case. The 60-liter model is just tall enough to handle all those items that you don’t want to lay down—syrup, cereal, olive oil, etc.—with plenty of room for all the other stuff. We tie it off to the single surface mount L-Track loops located in multiple locations on the top plate.
I built a vertical water carrier that is mounted to the side of the Goose Gear camp kitchen. It carries 4 gallons (roughly 16 liters). We carry a lot of other liquids for consumption and don’t use water for cleanup, so this amount of water is plenty for a long weekend. We have a Katadyn filter with our kit but honestly haven’t used it in years.
We don’t typically generate a lot of trash. What we do generate, we put in a plastic trash bag, which is stored in the exterior bag on our Escape Gear tire cover.
We installed a couple of National Luna dual-color touch lights in the rear hatch to light up the kitchen after dark. On the rear swing-out, we built what we call our Thirst Aid Kit. It is a fully functioning bar, with enough hooch and bar kit to tackle one heck of a good time.”
Camp Life: Table, Chairs, Clothing, and Toiletries
“We carry an extra-large Eezi-Awn stainless steel table in a carry bag inside our rooftop tent, and a couple of the Snow Peak red chairs and a bamboo side table inside the truck. Personal clothing items and toiletries are typically stored in a pair of Red Oxx Flying Boxcar bags. [It’s] a serious canvas travel bag with an external toilet kit zippered pocket. The usual stuff [goes] in a Red Oxx toiletry kit. It’s incredible what fits inside. All other gear that we take with us is typically stored in The North Face duffels and tied off to the top plate.”
Solar and Electronics
“We carry an Overland Solar Bugout 130 with an MPPT Controller, which is stored with the tools and first aid kit in the passenger-side clamshell cabinet. We have a National Luna dual battery management system under the hood, with a Group 31 AGM battery as the auxiliary power source. Power distribution is all through a simple Blue Sea 6 circuit fuse block. We don’t have anything that requires an inverter.
Vehicle electronics have been kept to a minimum. We run a Kenwood 2M remote face radio and a WeBoost signal booster—both are mounted inside and outside the passenger side cabinet. Extra USB ports are there as well. Laptops, cameras, etc., are all portable so we can take those with us quickly. We also utilize 12-volt power cords for the computers—much less power consumption.”
Tools and Spare Parts
“I carry a full set of Viking Offroad recovery gear, a DMOS Delta shovel, Indeflate inflation system, ARB tire repair [kit], and winch line weight, and an Eezi-Awn ground cover in the driver-side clamshell cabinet. All our tools are Craftsman, located on the passenger side. I haven’t ever needed spares. I’m a Wilderness First Responder, and my wife is a nurse, so we built our own first aid kit; this too is under the passenger side clamshell.”
Specifications
Eezi-Awn Stealth hard-shell rooftop tent
Eezi-Awn K9 load bars
Eezi-Awn Series 1000 2M hard-shell awning
Goose Gear three-stage cabinet system
National Luna Legacy 50-liter dual-zone fridge
AT Overland combo fridge slide
GSI Outdoors pot/pan set
GSI Outdoors Lexan cutlery set
Jetboil
Pelican TrekPak divider system
Eezi-Awn stainless steel table
Snowpeak Red folding chairs
Red Oxx Flying Boxcar duffel bag
Red Oxx toiletry kit
Viking Offroad Recovery Gear
DMOS Delta shovel
Indeflate inflation system
ARB tire repair and winch line weight
Eezi-Awn ground cover
Craftsman tools
DIY medical kit
Water carrier, 4 gallons
Katadyn water filter
AluBox 60-liter aluminum storage case
Escape Gear tire cover
Overland Solar Bugout 130 with an MPPT Controller
National Luna dual-battery management system
Group 31 AGM battery
Blue Sea six circuit fuse block
WeBoost signal booster
North Face duffel bags
Scheel Mann Vario XL seats
National Luna dual-color touch lights
To learn more about Paul May, his Land Cruiser, and why he is considered an overland OG, tune in to Episode 51 of the Overland Journal Podcast.
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