Hola Amigos! Its been about two weeks since we made our way across the border into Mexico and I figured it was about time to post some pictures of the living quarters inside our “Supermini Rv”(as I like to call it).  Since we have started this trip I have organized and reorganized about a hundred different times in a hundred different ways.  No matter how it is done, it is still a matter of fitting all of the things that you will need for everyday living into the back of a truck.  Things can get a little tight to say the least.

This is the day that we left and we had the car packed to the gills.  I don’t recommend this organizational style…

The one thing I have realized through trial and error is that organization is key. Once things get even a little out of order you may find yourself searching for that headlight you could have sworn you just had for the next 45 minutes.

Although I am sure we will be rearranging again and again while on the road, I am finally happy with the set up.  It seems that everything fits well in its tiny little spot, and it is all pretty easily accessible.

Sleep mode activate!

The sleeping platform:

When we built the sleeping platform the idea was that it would just clear the wheel wells in order to give us as much head room as possible and also extra room while sleeping. Lets face it, not being able to sit up straight can make you feel a little claustrophobic.  While I enjoy the extra room to sit up, it has made it a bit challenging to fit things undeneath.  We have about 5 1/2 inches of clearance to fit all of the things that we do not want crowding out the back seat.  At first it seemed nearly impossible to cram everything under there, but with the help of the piano hinge on the front of the platform and some To Go Space Bags I finally got it all situated.

Under the platform and on the sides of the 4Runner:

• Our 2 backpacks for hiking (inside is stuffed with hiking gear)
• 2 burner grill- Thanks Ruined Adventures!
• Fuel for camping stove and grill- again, thanks to RA
• Kitchen accessories (cooking utensils, pans, plastic baggies, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, etc)
• Extra straps and bungees
• Eagles Nest Outfitters Hammock(because what says relaxation better that a hammock?)
• Travel books
• Extra blankets and sleeping bags
• All shower accessories including solar shower and towels
• Extra shoes behind seats for easy access
• Tool box, jumper cables, spare parts and all of the other stuff needed to keep the car in good shape
• Mount for the inverter
• First aid kit, medicine bag (including vitamins and antibiotics)
• Shop rags- these have proven to be essential for us
• Hiking poles- these have many uses besides what they are intended for as well, such as using them for props to keep the platform up
• Collapsible sink for dishes

The Piano hinge is key to cramming everything in the way that you want it

On top of the platform:

• Two food bags
     -1 bag has all snacks, lunch and dinner ingredients (check http://www.trailcooking.com/ to get an idea of what we are carrying for food)
      -1 smaller bag with breakfast and coffee items
• Two bags for clothes
• 1 bag with comforter
• Fridge that holds many beers and other essential items…but mostly beer

The drive mode.  The bed folds in half and the left side is used for all of the things listed above.  James loves it as you can see

In the bungee overhead:

• 2 pillows
• Reflective insulation that cover all of the windows when we sleep.  This is helpful to keep out light and keep the truck warmer/cooler when we are all cozy inside or if we leave the truck parked somewhere
• Clip on book light

Storage behind the seat:

Includes more travel books, maps, bug spray, sun block, a trash bag and anything else we need access to while driving

A small basket on the dash that I stuck up there with some double stick tape:

Again, another way to easily access anything we need while we are cruisin around

Stuff on the swing-out

• 2 Chairs
• Water can
• Gas can
• Folding table
• High lift

All packed up and ready for adventure!

Well, that about does it. Stay tuned. First month’s budget is right around the corner.  Time flies when you’re drunker’n hell!

Everything is still going as planned. Our leave date of Nov. 1st is still in grasp, as long as we can get the rear bumper finished, A/C/Heat running, and a few other bits ironed out on Monday. Our gracious landlords have offered to let us stay as long as necessary to get everything taken care of, but we want to leave on the 1st damn it!

I am having issues with my power inverter crapping out after a few minutes, It seems to work fine for a bit then all of the sudden start beeping and cut out even with no load on it. Voltage from the battery looks to be fine, Bao used #4 AWG cable from the battery to the inverter, the run is only 1-2ft. I am thinking it may be a bad inverter. Not sure yet, will have to research further.

I also managed to kill our main starting battery, It was a junk battery from the start, new one swapped in and everything is back in action. We did learn that our rear battery can easily take over and start then truck when the main one dies! Score!

I picked up the truck from the shop this weekend to put some miles on the fresh motor. We have to put 500 miles on it under 3K RPM, then an oil change, another 1500 miles, then another change and we should be golden. Drove her out to Yosemite and back, was tough pulling up some hills under 3K but she made it just fine, Ran like a top!

The OME suspension kit is installed, all new front end bits are installed. We ended up leaving the 3″ bodylift on there due to time constraints and the bumper needing to be modified if we wanted it to fit. It looks a bit goofy but we will live with it. ARB ended up shipping me 2 pairs of front shocks, called up trdparts4u.com in dallas and they were able to overnight me the correct parts, need to install them on Monday. In the meantime I am driving around with no rear shocks and fresh OME springs. BOUNCY! haha

Heres a shot with the bumper and Smittybuilt winch installed

OME lift kit

Rear Swingout getting fabbed up, Decided to build a big loop to mount the jerry cans and leave plenty of room to strap whatever other random bits we end up wanting back there. Im thinking table/chairs/highlift

We went to Walmart today to pick up some curtains and more storage stuff. Lauren is rigging up some wooden dowels into curtain rods so we can block out some of the bright morning light shining into the rear of the 4runner. Waking up early is for people who have jobs!

Coming down to the wire. Less than 2 weeks to go till we hit the road! Our entire lives are up on craigslist right now. Everything that can’t fit in the truck, gots to go!

Happy Halloween!

Got the truck back from the guys at AudioMobile. They did a great job putting my ideas into action. Check out all the modifications after the jump. These little touches will go a long way when we’re living in the back of this badboy.

Carpeted the sleeping platform. Looks alot nicer than the raw plywood.

Added a rear-work light for camp setup/cooking on the tailgate

Added a secondary battery to run all our accessories off of and allow us to jump ourselves if the main battery dies. Beefy Diehard Marine battery, thing weighs at least 70Lbs

Added some interior LED lighting. Well you can go to this web-site for tips on buying festoon lights. Bao even put in a dimmer switch so we can dial-in the perfect mood. Oo la la.

Added a 2000w inverter so we can run regular 110v outlets. Lauren says she wants to bring a popcorn maker??? Good for charging phones/laptops/cameras/etc.

Bao fabbed me up this awesome control panel to run everything. Also have 5 additional 12v outlets, USB outlet, Rear Up/Down window switch (This is so money!), and switches/dimmers for the interior/exterior lighting.

Action Shot! Should be plenty of light to setup camp and cook on the tailgate

Truck is now at the Any7 4×4 Shop getting the motor swapped out, rear swing-out bumper fabbed up, and the suspension bits installed.

Everything is coming together!!

Not much room for storage in the 4runner so to maximize space we have built a basic sleeping platform. This will also allow us to keep the bed fairly clear for quick camp setup.

Pretty simple, just 3 6’X2.5″x5.5″ boards, a sheet of plywood, and a piano hinge. Learned a new fact, the 4runner bed is exactly 48″ wide – the exact same width as a sheet of plywood. Accident? I think not. Those Japanese were some crafty dudes.

I put a hinge about 3/4 of the way up the platform to allow for easy access to the storage where the rear seats used to live.

Due to the shape of the back of the 4runner a little bit of cantilever was necessary. Ahh ya, respect the construction worker terms!

Taking it into the audioshop tomorrow for them to wire up the secondary battery, hardwire the cooler, fans, interior lighting, and a fix up the stereo a bit.

Whats up guys, Stayed tuned for our preparation for our trip down the Pan-American highway all the way to the bottom of the Americas. Ushuaia, Argentina.

I am new to WordPress so bear with me as the site takes shape. In the meantime check out some of our “Other Trips” on the menubar above.