Before you build
What owners wish they'd known.
Smart is the essentials at a lower cost.
Tires & Suspension
All terrain tire, 265/70R17 standard load. 14/32 tread, three peak snow rated, with a 65,000 mile tread warranty.
Glovebox sized inflator for topping off tires and airing back up after a trail. It clamps onto the battery, and comes with a pressure gauge, an LED work light and a brass twist-on chuck.
Recovery & Safety
Traction Boards
X-Bull Gen 3.0 Recovery Traction BoardsTire Repair
ARB Speedy Seal Series II Tire Repair KitNote: Boards and a tire repair kit handle almost anything. Skip the winch early, it's the most regretted buy.
Satellite messenger that pairs to one phone over Bluetooth for two way texting and SOS on the Iridium network. Runs over 200 hours a charge, IP68 to 1.5 m for 30 minutes, MIL-STD 810G for shock. Needs a monthly plan. 5.3 oz.
Sleep & Shade
Replaces the 5th Gen 4Runner second row seat with a flat plate on the 40 percent side, extending a sleeping platform forward. Requires the Goose Gear rear plate system and installs with no cutting or drilling. The 60 percent side is $575. 15.8 lbs.
Note: Flat sleeping deck across the folded second-row seats.
Foam camping mattress for one.
Interlocking blocks that level the vehicle so you are not sleeping on a slope. Each block is 8.5 by 8.5 by 1.5 inches and adds an inch of lift, stacked no more than 5 inches high. Rated to 40,000 lbs, so they work under a wheel, a tandem axle or a jack. Ten blocks in a nylon storage bag. Ten year warranty once you register them.
Sleep with the windows cracked without letting bugs in. Slip-on mesh panels for the rear doors, in medium and large.
A fabric panel that pulls out from a roof rack for shade beside the vehicle, 19 by 9.8 feet. It is polyester with a blackout coating, and it clamps to crossbars using the T-slot, U-bolt, and round bar brackets in the box. 25.9 lbs.
Power
Power Station
EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power StationNote: No wiring and no install, you can pull it out or top it off at home. The catch is capacity, run a fridge hard for a few days and you'll be chasing sun or a plug.
Food & Water
Single burner stove that runs on an 8 oz butane canister or a 16.4 oz propane bottle, 8,000 BTU. Metal body with an enamel steel drip pan and non slip rubber legs, fuel not included. 13.5 by 11.2 by 4.4 inches. 3.3 lbs.
Compact compressor fridge freezer, 21 quarts, cooling to -4 F, 24.2 by 13.1 by 13 inches. Runs on 12/24 V DC or 110 to 240 V AC with a 3 year compressor warranty and a year on other parts. 24 lbs.
Drinking water for camp, 5 gallons in a tall, slim HDPE can. BPA free, with a flexible pour spout that stows inside the can when not in use.
Lighting
Lantern on folding legs that runs on its 2,600 mAh rechargeable pack or three AA cells when that is flat. 250 lumens, 24 hours on high and 150 on low on the pack, 18 and 120 on alkalines. Dimmable, rated IPX4, with a USB port to charge a phone. 12.1 oz.
Looking for camping accessories?
Owner-recommended gear that rounds out your setup.
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