Yotahome - Current Setup (Regularly Updated Page)

by Gabriel Chroust

The Yotahome - Current Setup

This page stays updated with the current setup of the 3rd Gen 4Runner that I live out of! Hopefully this list can give you some ideas for what you'd want in your own camping/overlanding/pit sleeping setup. Links to products are affiliate links. Torture Test Magazine will earn a commission on sales resulting from these links.

Videos and other media:

The Truck Itself:

  • 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5 RWD


    This here truck currently has a whopping 318,000 miles on it. That's 511771.392 kilometers according to Google, which sounds to me like a lot of kilometers. I have crash-landed it off of several jumps and have always been unsuccessful in breaking it. Lately, these trucks have become "overlanding" favorites, because people realized it's not fun to break down in the middle of a desert. These things don't break down like a domestic. They simply gain character as they age. This one has a lot of exterior character because it has been parked outside throughout its entire existence. However, internally, and mechanically, it is completely fine. I wish it would blow up (explosively) so I could justify getting something newer, but it just keeps going.

  • Here's what I have for this truck:

  • Dirt Cheap Homebrew Grip Coating:

  • Rexing V1 Basic Dash Cam 1080P - Available on Amazon

  • Hulkman Alpha 85 Power Bank and Emergency Jump Starter Pack - Available on Amazon
  • Hyper Tough 12v Air Pump - Lol these things are not "hyper tough" by any means. Nicely priced, but you have to treat it nicely or it will break! - Available at Walmart 
  • Jumper Cables - Available on Amazon
  • Slime Flat Tire Repair Kit - Available on Amazon
  • 12v Socket 175w Inverter - Can't seem to find the exact one anymore, but there are plenty on Amazon.
  • Passenger Seat Removal - Four easy bolts and it comes right out without a hassle. It is very easy to fit through the door, and it's not heavy to lift out. Opens up a ton of room in the vehicle and allows me to have an excuse to deny people rides lol. I now have a platform that I built out of two 1x3 boards in place of the passenger seat, which my refrigerator straps to. This creates storage space beneath the refrigerator.
  • Safety Net (super helpful in preventing projectiles) - Available on Amazon (says it's for a Heap but it fits fine in this 3rd gen using carabiners and tie down soft straps)
  • Rear Seat Bottom Cushion Removal - 4 easy bolts and both rear seat bottom cushions come out to allow my 80" mattress to lay flat across the entire back of the truck.
  • Rear Window Bug Nets - Super nice to be able to keep the windows open for some air flow on a warm evening - Available on Amazon

  • 80" Long Memory Foam Mattress - Available on Amazon (it's the Twin XL 6". It's not always available. 6" is a good height as it will match the wheel wells pretty neatly.)
  • Water resistant, breathable spill protector for mattress - Available on Amazon  (yeah, it's queen size. It still works fine, just have to tuck it in under the mattress)
  • Haul Master Drop/Rise Adjustable Ball Mount Hitch - Available at Harbor Freight
  • KYB Gas-A-Just shocks/struts - Available on Amazon (Rear shocks) (Front struts)
  • AC Delco 45H2131 Rear Springs (These are the part for 4WD, 16" 3rd Gens. They are one inch longer than the originals in a RWD, 16" 3rd Gen. They did provide a slight increase in ride height in the rear.) - Available on Amazon
  • Air Lift Helper Springs - They only cost me $28 for the kit on Amazon, so keep them added to a watch list to snag deals! - Available on Amazon
  • Cooper Discoverer ATP II 265/70R16 since 312,000 miles - Available at Amazon
  • Union Safe Company Portable Safe - Available at Harbor Freight
  • Pittsburgh Two Foot Breaker Bar - Available at Harbor Freight
  • Katchy Bug Trap (what a life saver!) - Available on Amazon
  • Reflectix window covers - Material available on Amazon
  • External windshield reflective shade/snow cover - Available on Amazon
  • A big sock filled with desiccant beads for passive humidity control - Desiccant Available on Amazon
  • Battery Powered Lantern - Available on Amazon
  • 6" chirp wheel for back pain - Available at Amazon
  • 26 feet of extension cord for moving the generator away from the truck - I would recommend at least 50 feet, having run my generator all-night on multiple occasions. My generator is an extremely quiet model, yet it is still quite loud and irritating when parked in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but peace and quiet. - Available on Amazon
  • Old stuff that I removed...

Large Items/Bins Inside the Truck:

  • Jackery Explorer 500 Power Bank, Solar Generator, and Pure Sine Wave Inverter - Available on Amazon

    • Honeywell Heatbud ceramic space heater (175-250 watt) - For staying warm at night - Available on Amazon

    • BN-LINK Thermostat-controlled AC outlet relay (up to 1kw) - To keep the truck at a specific temperature when using the space heater at night - Available on Amazon

  • Food bin: Husky Waterproof Sealed Storage Bin in 12 gallon size -  Available at Home Depot
    • 600ml collapsible instant kettle - For tea, coffee, and showers. Draws about 350-450 watts for a few minutes to boil about two and a half cups of water. Runs fine off the Jackery 500 and won't badly affect the state of charge on the Jackery. It can actually hold close to 900ml of water, but it will struggle to bring it to a rolling boil if you do that, so it will suck up more energy than if you just boiled two smaller batches of water. - Available at Amazon
  • Selectable Dumbbells - Available on Amazon
  • 12v Refrigerator - Available on Amazon
  • Desktop editing rig
    • PC Monitor: LG 32QK500-C 32-Inch Class QHD LED IPS Monitor - Available on Amazon
      • I originally kept this thing protected in an ARCO transport case, but it was taking up too much space. I then built a protective covering for the monitor out of plywood and microfleece.
    • Clothing bin: Another Husky 12-Gallon Waterproof Sealed Bin - Available at Home Depot
      • I keep a large sock filled with desiccant beads for passive humidity control in this bin. Without it, my clothing wouldn't stay fresh smelling. It didn't smell awful but it didn't smell like clean, fresh laundry. The desiccant sock made a HUGE difference - Desiccant Available on Amazon
      • I always use tea tree oil in my laundry. This is something I learned during my time in Army training. If you take your just-dried laundry and stuff it right into a tight area/container like your ruck sack (or this sealed bin) it will smell a little funky after a while. Treating it with tea tree oil during the wash prevents this from happening at all. It's a neat trick. - Tea tree oil available on Amazon
      • I found "detergent sheets" to be wonderful for this lifestyle. They basically don't take up any room, there's no chance of it leaking or getting powder everywhere, and it has been working well to keep my laundry clean and nice smelling. As long as I'm doing mobile living, I'll never go back! - Available on Amazon
    • A toiletry bag with all the hygiene essentials.
      • Early on in my adventure, I got really tired of soaps, fluids, and powders exploding from elevation changes, vibration, being thrown around and crushed... So I purchased 100ml hard plastic bottles with SCREW CAPS instead of flip-caps. When I purchase soap or shampoo, I immediately dump it into these bottles. They have never leaked. - Available on Amazon
    • Two military sea bags for my military gear - Available on Amazon

    Items Onboard the Harbor Freight Trailer

    This is the $199 36"x48" (branded 40"x48") mini trailer from Harbor Freight. I have expanded it to about 6.5' wide.

      • Containing... 
      • POWOXI 100W Solar Panel - Available on Amazon
      • POWOXI 60W Solar Panel - Available on Amazon
        • Note: These two POWOXI solar panels in parallel are the secret sauce for quick charging the Jackery 500 off of solar. My charge rate with these in parallel is 99 watts. Look at a lot of Jackery 500 solar charge tests and you'll see people either struggling to hit 65-70 watts of input, or reaching the over-current limit which causes a shutdown of the charge controller. This setup seems to be the sweet in-between that charges fast but doesn't over-do it.
      • 20ft 8mm DC extension cable - Available on Amazon
        • Note, this extension cable requires the slightest modification to work with the Jackery's input port. Just take a pocket knife or other blade and trim back the rubber insulator at the end of the cable a tiny bit until it makes a good connection with the jackery.
      • 8mm DC parallel cable - Available on Amazon
      • 14ft 12V DC extension cable in case I want my refrigerator even further from my power setup - Available on Amazon
      • Automated camera slider - Available at Amazon
      • Big Red jack stand (3 ton) - Available at Amazon
      • Yamaha EF2000ISv2 Gas Generator - Available at Amazon
      • MSR Gear Bag - Contains ALL of my riding gear! It's very impressive and keeps everything well-organized. I keep it packed with a pair of riding boots, three pairs of riding gear, a jacket, two helmets, four pairs of gloves, a pair of glove liners, tear offs, two pairs of riding socks, and 3 goggles. It even has room for more! Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC  
      • Husky 18", 15", and 12" tool bags. With these in the trailer and the two Ridgid toolboxes in the truck, I am able to pack around all of the tools that I own (which is a crap-ton). - Available at Home Depot
      • SCC light duty tire chains - Available on Amazon
      • Oil/Fluid Bin - A 5 Gallon Husky Sealed Storage Bin - Available at Home Depot
        • I always keep a Ratio Rite in here. Helps with measuring out the right amount of whatever fluid I'm dealing with. It also pours a lot more accurately than most oil/fluid bottles. - Available at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC
      • Ridgid 22" Stacker Toolbox - Available at Home Depot
      • Ridgid Small Stacker Toolbox - Available at Home Depot
        • These two toolboxes connect together. Pretty handy to be able to connect and disconnect them depending on how I want to store/transport them.
      • Resistance band set for exercise - Available on Amazon
      • Weighted stability ball for use as a chair and for exercise - Available at Target 
      • Lunatec Aquabot pump-up spray bottle - I heat up some water and shower with this if I need to - Available on Amazon
      • A Variety of tarps - Available at Harbor Freight
    • Flo-Tool Oil Collection Jug - Available at Amazon
    • Fuel Jug - Can't buy the actually good ones anymore.
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