We’re having quite an unusual SEMA Show this year, but that hasn’t deterred automakers from coming up with special off-roading concepts. Toyota is no exception and has teamed up with 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine to develop an Overlanding concept based on the Tacoma. We’ve seen a lot of aftermarket Tacoma builds over the years, but this one stands out for the amount of equipment installed on it.

What Makes This Build Special?

The Tacoma is known for its long-term reliability and durability and is one of the most rugged pickup trucks in the market today. Converting it into an Overlanding vehicle goes on to show how versatile this truck can be. 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine and Toyota have created a wonderful Overlanding example of this Tacoma. This particular example is based on the Tacoma TRD Pro, which in itself comes with a whole lot of off-road equipment. In the standard form, the Tacoma TRD Pro is offered with skid plates at the front and back, a snorkel, and Fox shocks, to name a few. However, Toyota has pushed the envelope with this build.

Toyota Marketing Division’s group Vice President, Ed Laukes, said, “We were excited when the 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine editors shared their idea for this project, and we naturally thought it would be cool to include the build in our SEMA360 presentation.” He further added that “the word Overlanding may be a new word to some, but it’s become increasingly popular this year as more and more people are exploring roads off the beaten path with friends and family,”.

How Is It On The Outside?

On the outside, the Overland-Ready Tacoma comes with a CBI Offroad Fabrication T3 aluminum bumper at the front. A 20-inch Rigid Industries light bar is mounted atop it. The stock bumper at the rear is swapped with a Swing Arm Series steel unit with dual swingouts and a ComeUp SEAL winch. The truck rides on 16-inch Trail Series wheels from Method Race Wheels and are finished in matte black. They are wrapped in 255/85 section BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 tires.

Now that’s lit! Toyota and 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine have also installed DOM steel tube rock sliders with a kick-out design, MaxTrax MKII traction boards, Truck Covers USA locking cargo bed cover and rack system, and a Yakima rooftop tent.

Apart from all this, the Overland-Ready Tacoma features a PowerTank on-board air, a four-gallon Rotopax fuel storage container, a two-gallon Rotopax water storage container, and a Hi-Lift jack to make it one of the most complete Overlanding vehicles we’ve seen in recent times.

What’s Different Under The Skin?

It’s not just the extra equipment that makes it a competent Overlanding truck. This Tacoma also comes with other off-road upgrades, which include:

-* ToyTec BOSS Aluma 2.5 Series coilovers on the front axle

-* New dampers and leaf spring to the rear

-* CBI Offroad lower control arms

-* Camburg Engineering upper control arms

-* Toyota E-locker locking differential

In the standard form, the Tacoma TRD Pro is powered by a 3.5-liter, V-6 engine that cranks out 278 horses and 265 pound-feet of torque. The team here upped these figures by installing a Magnuson supercharger, accounting for all the extra weight that’s added to it. Now the truck makes 370 ponies and 330 pound-feet of twist.

Final Thoughts

This example is a nice showcase of the accessories that can be fitted on the Tacoma. It’s a shame that we can’t see it in person, but we hope to see Toyota offer an Overlanding package akin to this and venture into the fairly new segment.