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#Vanlife: Club Ride Apparel builds killer Tacoma for camping & off-road

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Born in Sun Valley, Idaho, Club Ride Apparel is all about bringing you casual and functional ride wear. They also love camping and traveling to cycling events, and needed a proper way to get around. They opted to get rid of their old Sprinter van in favor of something newer and off-road worthy – and we wanted a closer look at their custom Toyota Tacoma.

All images courtesy Club Ride Apparel

#Vanlife: Club Ride Apparel custom Toyota Tacoma

While we often feature actual vans in our Vanlife series, we like to venture out into trucks, RVs and other fun things from time to time. We corresponded with Cameron Lloyd of Club Ride Apparel, who customized a slick Toyota Tacoma for their adventures in 2019 and beyond. Check out their images and words below.

From Cameron Lloyd:

In the fall of 2018, we talked internally about what we were going to build to take the place of our 2008 Dodge Sprinter van that seemed to be on its last legs. Do we go down the Sprinter van road again or do we want to stand out in the crowd of white vans at each event? We have been dabbling in the overland scene the last few years with its popularity and our clothing being a go-to for that crowd. When you look at the overland scene there are lots of options to choose from. We decided a Toyota Tacoma would fit the bill for our needs.

We chose the Tacoma because they are just a badass, reliable truck. There are many options to choose from with a base level truck that you can build however you would like all the way up to the TRD Pro that is equipped to handle just about anything you want to throw at it right off the lot. We went with the TRD Sport model. Although this is an overland truck it is used for all events that we attend so we need as much space as possible so we wanted a 6’ bed. The TRD Pro isn’t available with a 6’ bed. The Sport model is.

The wrap is mountain inspired and was created locally by Crown Union. Being that we chose the cement colorway for the truck and our logo is primarily black we went with grey, black and white for the wrap. We even went as far as taking the Sport logo off the back, replacing it with a matte black colorway in its place. The wrap was done locally by Windy City Arts.

The best part of building the truck was working with our various partners to build a dream truck. Once we purchased the truck, we needed a shell. We went with an A.R.E. HD Series shell being that we planned on adding a roof-top tent. It has internal supports to hold up to 550 lbs. Hal and Nathan at CBI Off-Road were the first to offer their assistance with the build. They helped us with custom front and rear bumpers along with a Prinsu roof rack. After we knew we had bumpers and the rack taken care of we needed wheels and tires. We purchased some 17” Method NV wheels directly from them in matte black. We wrapped those in some Maxxis Razr MT in LT285/70R17. They are an aggressive tire that still goes down the highway relatively well. We swapped out the stock suspension system to a Toytec Boss Performance Suspension System with a 2” lift.

Decked is a company that is right up the street so we reached out to Greg Randolph and he got a system moving our way. The Decked system is perfect for organizing our event gear, keeping it in one place. Our friends at CVT supplied us with a St. Helens 2-person roof-top tent. It is a hard-shell roof-top tent that takes less than 10 minutes to setup and take down, solo. We sleep very comfortable in our Big Agnes Dream Island sleeping bag and pad. We added a Rhino-Rack Batwing awning to the right side of the truck for tons of shade. The awning has 270 degrees of coverage and is a breeze to setup and take down. We rounded out the outside with a 1up-USA 2” Super Duty Double bike rack in black. It is solid, light and very versatile with how many options for bike placements it has.

As I stated before CBI Off-Road did most of the installation for us. They installed the lift, bumpers and wheels/tires. They also installed a massive light bar on the Prinsu Roof-Rack, Maxtrax grip system and lights on the inside of the windows on the shell. They did a great job with everything and would be highly recommended for their products and service.

We are really stoked at how the project turned out in the end. We have a vehicle that stands out at bike events and turns heads everywhere we go. A Tacoma is a great option if you are looking to get into the overland scene and with your Club Ride Apparel you will be ready for the ride and everything after out there!

ClubRideApparel.com

 

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Chad W Colwell
Chad W Colwell
4 years ago

I believe it would be CBI Offroad located in Idaho. not CBO.

Big Randy
Big Randy
4 years ago

Sick rig.

Never understood the tent on top thing though… Why not just camp on the ground in a tent? or in the bed of the truck?

Brett
Brett
4 years ago
Reply to  Big Randy

When overlanding, there may not be a spot on the ground suitable for a tent. They are also generally easier to put up and take down. Typically there is a mattress and enough room to keep the bed made. Keeps the tent, bedding, mattress, all stored up top out of the way. Also keeps your gear in the truck to not have to make the room to sleep inside the cargo box.

Brad Hunt
Brad Hunt
4 years ago
Reply to  Big Randy

Protection from ground dwelling predators? Lol

Pete
Pete
4 years ago

Is that the new Saris rack??

Dan
Dan
4 years ago
Reply to  Pete

1UP rack

lars
lars
4 years ago

total cost?

Cameron Lloyd
Cameron Lloyd
4 years ago
Reply to  lars

Lars- It’s not easy to give you a total cost of the build. Most of the truck was put together with the help of a lot of partners. My best guess is that if you were to build this same truck (minus the wrap) it would probably be around $70,000.

Chris
Chris
4 years ago
Reply to  Cameron Lloyd

2020 Tacoma TRD Sport / Double cab in “Cement”, 6ft bed, Premium Audio with Navigation ($3700 option)
$42,370.

Method NV MR305 NV 17″ wheels from tirerack.com: $1031

Maxxis Razr MT LT285/70R17 tires: $243.99 each, includes shipping: $976

CBI Offroad rear bumper: 3rd Gen Tacoma High Clearance Rear Bumper with Single SwingArm and Straight Tire Carrier: $2845 (includes extra costs for Powdercoat ($200), Hi Lift mount ($75), and Single Can Carrier ($170).

Tacoma 3rd Gen Front Bumper in steel: $1375. (includes extra costs for powdercoat and low center grill protection)

1up USA 2″ heavy duty double rear bike rack in black: $619

Toytec Boss Performance Suspension System with a 2” lift:
From $1,664.95 To $3,053.34 (this article doesn’t specify)

Prinsu Cab Rack (roof): $675

ARE truck cap: $2000 (there are many different options for these caps, and the article mentions none of them, so let’s just assume $2k)

CVT St. Helens 2 person rooftop tent: $2700

Rhino Rack Batwing awning: $715

Decked 2 drawer system: $1,189

Maxxtrax $600 for 2.

total bolt-ons cost $17,778.

total cost (not including the wrap): $58,760

Andy
Andy
3 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Really digging this rear bumper setup. I’m running a 1up as well. Is the hitch point original on the cbi bumper?

David Koah
David Koah
4 years ago

I think the tent on top completes the rig all inclusiveness, ready to go and it provides more comfort for a good night sleep. It also adds a layer of security being off the ground when you spend a night out in the wild. There have been stories of wild animals dragging people out of their tents too.

Greg
Greg
4 years ago
Reply to  David Koah

Trust me, if a black bear (which is the animal most responsible for attacking people at night in their tents) wants to get up into that tent, it would be nothing for them to crawl right up that truck hood and get at you in that fabric walled tent. If that is a concern, then sleep in the vehicle. Much safer.

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