I pulled them out of my Colorado. I replaced them with a simple platform for the dog &/or gear. It's low enough to make access to the ARB fridge reasonable, leaves enough room in front of it for a National Luna PPP, & retains the storage area that is under the OEM seat.
It's a simple enough...
FWIW - Chris is still in the Tucson area, & still has his Tacoma.
As noted above, he doesn't visit the forum much anymore - but he's definitely enjoying life.
Helinox will probably never be the low cost option.
But if you're sensitive to [packed] size and weight (IE: backpacking, traveling on a motorcycle, etc), their products become much more attractive.
One additional advantage that their cots have over most is that there are no spreaders at the...
IMO - the first thing you should do is take a week off. Don't think about it, don't work on it, don't buy anything for it. Better yet, go on a week long vacation. Go camping. Go fishing. Ride a mountain bike. Paddle a kayak. Do what ever it is you like doing (as long as it doesn't involve...
Depending on how cozy you wanted to get - I'm a fan of Blackpine's Turbo tent. The 6-person version is 10' x 10', and just shy of 7' tall in the middle - so maybe a bit small for a herd as big as yours.
IMO, it is much more usable than the Oz-tents (due to the standing height in the center...
That pretty much sucks.
It might be tough to find one place to do it all - maybe consider hiring a couple different businesses that specialize in certain areas? Company A for the wiring/plumbing, company B for cabinetry, . . .
Adventure Trailers up in Prescott does some custom work - they...
I'm happy with mine. Not only is it light, relatively inexpensive (new they're half the price of a quality roof rack), holds a huge volume of gear, & is easy to put on/take off - but it also goes a long way towards keeping you from being mistaken for one of those overlander people.
IMO, you...
Roof racks & snorkels . . . I never understood them (at least for what 99.9% of us do).
I put a Skybox on the factory rails of my (older than yours) 4-runner. Stooopid [sic] amount of room for the light weight stuff, and narrow enough that I can put the MTB or kayak next to it.
There are re-routes every year . . . but when I rode the western half in 2008, some parts of it were too narrow for a truck - even a small truck. I believe 54" was the max width on the section that comes to mind. By that I mean, there were steel posts limiting access.
But, given what the TAT...