Toyota 4Runner · 5th Gen

The Ultimate Camping Build

This Toyota 4Runner build is outfitted for camping, with the gear to give you a place to sleep, keep your food cold and cook off the tailgate, power your camp off-grid, and recover the truck when a trail gets rough.

Every pick sourced from real owner reviews and input (T4R.org, IH8MUD). Prices and specs verified.

Before you build

What owners wish they'd known.

Smart is the essentials at a lower cost.

1

Tires & Suspension

Tires

All terrain tire, 265/70R17 standard load. 14/32 tread, three peak snow rated, with a 65,000 mile tread warranty.

65K mi warrantyTrue
$936set of 4
Air Compressor

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.

5 lbs25 min. @ 30 PSI duty1.97 CFM
$104
2

Recovery & Safety

Recovery Kit
$138

Note: Boards and a tire repair kit handle almost anything. Skip the winch early, it's the most regretted buy.

Satellite Communicator

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.

0 lbs
$149
3

Sleep & Shade

Sleep Platform

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.

16 lbs
$545

Note: Flat sleeping deck across the folded second-row seats.

Sleeping Pad

Foam camping mattress for one.

$70
Leveling Blocks

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.

$29
Ventilation

Sleep with the windows cracked without letting bugs in. Slip-on mesh panels for the rear doors, in medium and large.

$75
Awning

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.

26 lbs
$132
4

Power

Power System
$719

Note: 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.

5

Food & Water

Stoves

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.

3 lbs
$40
Fridge

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.

24 lbs19.9LCools to -4°F
$149
Water

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.

$30
6

Lighting

Camp Light

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.

1 lbs250 lumens
$49

Looking for camping accessories?

Owner-recommended gear that rounds out your setup.

Comfort
Kitchen
Power
Water
Storage
Lighting
See all camping accessories

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