Rabbit TraX "Rig" Breakdown

Truck

The Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road 2018 was absolutely the correct choice and has served us very well on our adventures. It is rugged enough to take on anything we throw at it and comfortable enough that we always enjoy the journey.

Camper Shell

The all aluminum ARE DCU Camper Shell (Made in the U.S.) has been fantastic for hauling photo/film gear and also adventure supplies. I added five extruded aluminum cross bars to the top which give me the ability to mount just about anything. I also reinforced the side doors with aluminum sheets on the interior to prevent internal denting, this also gives me a great surface for stickers! This camper shell is stronger, lighter, and cheaper than the fiberglass alternative.

Wheels & Tires

A lot of research went into choosing the correct setup for my rig. I opted for the KMC KM270 Roswell 16x8 Matte Anthracite wheels and Toyo Open Country MT 255/85r16 tires. These tall and skinny 33” tires (pizza cutters) paired with the classic looks of the KMC wheels were exactly what I was looking for and give the truck an old-school 4x4 look and feel.

Rooftop Tent & Awning

The Yakima SkyRise Rooftop Tent has been everything we hoped it would be. Being able to climb up the ladder and get up out of the elements is so nice after a long day of adventure. We opted for the small version in red which is designed to fit two people. I am 6’1” and my fiancee is 5’4” and we both fit perfectly. The rooftop tent also comes with the added bonus of seeing amazing views each morning when we wake up. At the rear of the truck, we have the Tuff Stuff 4.5x6 Roof Top Awning. This awning provides cover from the sun and rain and is very nice while cooking up dinner at the back of the truck.

Roof Rack

Over the cab, we have the Martin Offroad Foundation Rack (Made in the U.S.) w/ custom lightbar cutout. This is a very well-built roof rack that I have mounted two Plano 42” All Weather Tactical Rifle Cases (Made in the U.S.) to. The driver-side case holds all of my recovery gear such as snatch straps, tree savers, soft shackles, and so on. On the passenger side, the case is filled with tools such as wire cutters, allen keys, zip ties, and anything else we may need to recover a vehicle in a pinch.

Power & Solar

For power we use a Jackery Explorer 500 Power Station, which we keep behind the driver-side seat. We connect this to a Renogy Eclipse Monocrystalline 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel which we have mounted to the roof rack. This combination gives us tons of power and keeps our computers, tablets, cameras, and drone batteries all charged. We once used it to charge all of these things for a month straight and it worked perfectly.

Water & Fuel

We have a WaterPORT 4 Gallon Tank mounted on the passenger side interior of the truck bed. This is what we use for cooking and showering. We also have two Scepter 5 Gallon Water Tanks on a shelf in the bed of the truck. This gives us 14 gallons of water to work with which can last us 2-3 days. For fuel, we have two Scepter 5 Gallon Fuel Tanks. They are on a shelf in the bed of the truck right above the gas tank. This allows us to use a Safety Siphon to easily fill the gas tank. With the Tacoma’s 21.1-gallon fuel tank this gives us 31.1 total. The extra 10 gallons will get us about 100 miles fully loaded.

Lighting

For the headlights and fog lights I have the Lasfit Dual Color Switchback LEDs. These lights allow you to switch from white to yellow lights just by turning the lights on and off again. The yellow light is great for night driving and is very easy on your eyes. For ditch lights, I have the Lasfit 3" LED Pod Lights in yellow/flood. These lights are pointed out to the right and left at the front of the rig and increase visibility. This allows you to easily spot any deer that may be at the edge of the road. Up top, I have the Cali Raised LED 43" Amber/white Dual Function Light Bar. This light bar is incredibly bright and lights up trails and desert roads on the darkest of nights. I made a modification to this lightbar switching out the amber light covers with clear ones that I gelled with Rosco Medium Yellow Gels so it would match the rest of the yellow lighting.

Kitchen

We do all of our cooking at the rear of the rig. On the tailgate, we switched out the interior aluminum with the Hooke Road Tacoma Flat Tailgate which is made of ABS plastic and is food safe. Basically making the tailgate a giant cutting board. We cook on a Coleman Triton Propane 2-Burner Stove hooked up to a Flame King 5 lbs. Propane Tank I have mounted at the back of the truck. To keep food and snacks cool I have a Stakol 44 Qt Refrigerator which we can plug directly into the Tacoma’s rear 12 Volt Power Outlet. This fridge gives us more than enough space for all of our food.

Airflow

The first thing I did after purchasing the truck was cut a hole in the side of it for the ARB Safari Snorkel. This increases the amount of clean air coming into the vehicle and can give you better performance and gas mileage on dusty roads. Also, you can hardly say you are an overlander if you do not have a snorkel on your rig! I also replaced the disposable air filter with the K&N Engine Air Filter. This washable filter allows for more airflow into the engine giving you more power.

Navigation Mount & Apps

I wanted a sturdy mounting solution that I could use for mounting my phone, tablet, and GoPro. This led me to the Bulletpoint Mounting Solutions, 3 Ball TacoBar (Made in the U.S.). It is rock solid on the dash and holds my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3, Samsung Galaxy tab a7 Lite, and GoPro Hero Black 8. The apps we use most for navigation are Gaia GPS when driving and AllTrails when hiking other good apps are iOverlander, MAPS.ME, and of course GasBuddy. For running our cameras we also use GoPro Quik, Sony Imaging Edge, DJI Go 4, and DJI Ronin.

Radio

For communication, we use the Midland MXT275 MicroMobile 15-Watt GMRS two-way radio w/ MXTA25 3DB Gain Ghost Antenna (on channel 22) mounted in the truck. This is great for long trips as it gives us clear consistent means of communication even in the most remote areas where cell phones will not work. We also use a handful of Motorola T200 handheld walkies for when we get out to check something on a trail, go on a hike, or film.

Safety

There are two Kidde Fire Extinguishers on the rig. One at the base of the passenger seat and another at the rear of the truck just above the propane tank. We also have a Surviveware First Aid Kit at the base of the passenger seat, an Ahier Venom Extractor Snake Bite Kit in the glove box, and another overflow first aid kit behind the passenger seat.