AAIR Expedition Vehicles

The Old Truck

One of AAIR's first vehicles was a 1989 Toyota 4x4 Extended Cab which I purchased in 1994. It was a V6 and after a few mods it became a very capable offroad vehicle suitable for aviation archaeology outings.

While the 10 years and many miles on the 89 Toyota helped me know what I wanted to do to the new truck, the bulk of my knowledge of how and which components to use came from:

• Expedition Portal
• Expeditions West
• Parks Off Road
• TORRA Forums

The Current Truck

After a run-in with a hidden rock the 89 Toyota was retired at 370,000 miles in favor of a 2004 Toyota Tacoma 4x4. It came equipped with a V6 and automatic transmission. The truck had 24,000 miles on her when purchased and like the 89, it needed a few mods to make her expedition ready.

I rarely go out to just off-road; usually I am trying to get somewhere specific like an old mine, plane wreck, or a place to camp or hike. I built my truck with the goal of having a capable 4X4, but still retaining the drivability. I've driven from Mexico to Canada; often going to remote places in NV, NM, or CA and I have put 50,000 miles on it in the last 2 years. My preferred roads are 2 tracks that are in the middle of nowhere.

75% of my (off pavement) driving is on 2 tracks like those pictured below. I have set up the suspension to allow almost highway speeds on most of them, like a prerunner, but still having 4 wheel drive capability.

With 2 people and full tanks, but no gear, my rig is at 4720 lbs. When I weighed it with full camp gear it tipped the scales at 5760 lbs. I usually get around 15 to 18 mpg.

The "Expedition" Trailer

Our camping gear was taxing the 8 leaf Deaver springs in the rear of the truck. I had been thinking a trailer might be a good way to decrease the load on the bed. I had been eyeing adventure trailers for a while, but my wife pointed out that they really did not improve our camping "comfort", and if we were going to tow a trailer, shouldn't our comfort be improved? Our current truck camp setup already had a kitchen sink with hot water for dishes and also a shower. If we were going to spend the money and deal with the hassle of a trailer we might as well upgrade for the luxury items we really were after: an indoor shower and toilet. While the Fleetwood Evolution series are no where near as off-road capable as the adventure trailers, my wife pointed out that on the more extreme trips we can still use our current truck camp setup. The Fleetwood could serve the trips were we would only mildly off-road (dirt 2 tracks really), and when we wanted a more permanent base camp.

I have to admit that in addition to the toilet and shower, the thought of having heat, air conditioning, as well as a dry, wind free, place to cook and eat sucked me in too. We settled on the Fleetwood E2 for the floor plan and length. We also looked at Jayco and Starcraft off-road camping trailers, but the Fleetwoods seemed to be built better, had a larger water tank, had a better layout, and looked better (I have to admit that the option of getting the trailer in gray and black to match the silver and black truck probably biased my opinion). I was a bit surprised at how much the trailer dropped the rear of the truck, but I had already decided to upgrade to Deaver 10 leaves to better carry the regular camping gear in the truck.