An Open Letter to the Overland Gear Industry

Dear Makers of Expensive Truck Toys for Adults,

First, let me thank you for creating a niche market out of thin air. Before “overlanding” became a legitimate hobby (back when I just went “car camping” and didn’t realize I could spend a small fortune converting my vehicle to go even deeper into the wild), I had no purpose in life and wandered around aimlessly with too much extra money and time on my hands. But with the emergence of overlanding, extra time and money is no longer a burden, because it all goes to making my truck look like a FEMA rescue vehicle. Life without purpose is sad, and overlanding has given me that purpose. So, thank you.

I just have one quick piece of constructive criticism to the manufacturers making cool overloading stuff: Could you make some shit for trucks other than Tacomas?

Tacoma owners are like the cool kids in high school. They’re the captains of the football team and get the best parts in the high school play, and of course they’ll be named Prom King and Queen. The whole system seems to be designed for them, and as an F-150 driver, I’m feeling a bit left out. Am I jealous? Yes, I’m jealous. From a marketing perspective, it probably makes sense to build accessories for Tacomas, because those accessories naturally look badass on the back of that truck. It’s a walking advertisement.

But here’s the cold hard truth: Tacoma’s aren’t the only trucks out there. Plenty of mid-size and full-size truck owners are dying to drive to the middle of nowhere with molle racks loaded with fuel canisters and pop-up campers that can survive a roll-over. For an F-150 owner? The pickings are slim.

Every third-party manufacturer makes a bevy of options designed to fit the Tacoma’s smaller trackbed’s dimensions perfectly. Both the five- and six-foot Tacoma beds are a half-foot smaller than most other full-sized truck beds, and a couple of inches off from other mid-sized truck beds like the Ford Ranger, meaning nothing made specifically for a Tacoma will fit the majority of other trucks (except for the Jeep Gladiator, which has similar dimensions). Being a Tacoma owner is like being a size medium and going to an outdoor gear sample sale. The world is your oyster. But if you own a different truck, like say an F-150, Chevy Silverado, Ford Ranger or a Chevy Colorado, you’re forced to ogle these goods like a second string player watching the varsity game from the sidelines.

Rack manufacturer Kuat makes the Ibex truck bed rack system with a new system of panels that transform the open-aired rack into a camper shell, but they only make this awesome panel kit for short-bed Tacomas. North State Overland focuses mainly on the Tacoma with their badass overlanding racks, as does Sherpa.

Then you have the online retailers that only sell Tacoma accessories, the forums where Tacoma owners get together to talk about how great their lives are. Sure, every truck and SUV model has a fanpage somewhere, but are they as feverish and abundant as what you’ll find out there for Tacomas? And don’t forget all of the social media hashtags like #tacomabeast, #tacomanation, #tacomalife, #runnin4tacos. I don’t necessarily get the last one, but there are almost 15,000 posts with that hashtag, most of which hit social media on Tuesdays because, well, Taco Tuesday.

Let me be clear: my beef isn’t with the Tacoma. I wish I could live the “Taco Life,” buying a truck for $15K, driving the hell out of it for three years and then selling it on the secondary market for $20K. I wish I owned a truck that is both an excellent way to get around the backcountry and a status symbol in the grocery store parking lot. I wish I was so proud of my truck that I brought it up in casual conversations, the way Harvard grads always find a way to bring up their alma mater regardless of the situation.

But listen, Overlanding Industry, there are other trucks out there. There are Fords and Chevys and Nissans…there are even other models of Toyotas you should consider when you’re building racks. Throw the rest of us a bone. Those of us who don’t own Tacomas have trucks that are depreciating rapidly and we need to stem the losses with high-priced overlanding gear.

My plea is simple: Make some cool stuff for my truck. Take my money. Please.

Sincerely,

Not a Tacoma Driver