Build of Rafiki
I decided to buy my own 4x4 (and first car ever!) at 33. Early 2021, I finally found it, somewhere in the French Alps.
A Toyota Hilux -the same truck I rented in my previous trip across Southern Africa. Rafiki* was born and the journey to my dream is on.
*Rafiki is the Swahili word which stands for 'my friend'.
After loads of drawings and drafts, I ordered its overlanding gears in April, 2021 and started the build in October the same year.
The bed rack and the RTT (the roof top tent) have been both installed first. The goal was to turn a simple pick-up into a true and reliable overland vehicle.
A few weeks later, I bought some off-road essentials such as 5 AT tires (Cooper S/T Maxx), skid plates (from Rival), a suspension kit (from Pedders), a pair of recovery boards (MaxTrax) and a snorkel (from Equipaddict but will change its head into a cyclonic one -already bought- when hitting the first sand desert). Also, I want Rafiki to be unique so I got it some special tattoos!
You can watch the video of the build by hitting the button below and you can have a look at the equipment list by scrolling down.
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Overlanding gear & equipment
A special thanks to Front Runner for sponsoring a part of my overlanding equipment and for supporting my project.
EXTERIOR
1x RTT* (*roof top tent) - Front Runner
1x load bad rack - Front Runner
1x snorkel Equipaddict + 1x cyclonic head (?)
3x skid plates - Rival
1x suspension kit - Pedders
5x AT tyres (S/T Maxx) - Cooper
1x hi-lift jack - Front Runner
1x pair of recovery tracks - MaxTrax
1x bumper (?)
INTERIOR
1x fridge 21L - EquipRaid
1x auxiliary battery - Optima
1x portable power pack - National Luna
2x jerry cans 20L - Front Runner
5x ammo boxes - Front Runner
1x water jerry can - Front Runner
1x spade - Front Runner
1x fuel pre-filter - Racor 500FG
1x gaz bottle holder - Front Runner
See the pictures below:
On the left, the skid plates from Rival.
On the right, the S/T Maxx tires from Cooper.
Next is the suspension kit from Pedders.
On the left, the portable power pack from National Luna. On the right, the snorkel from Equipaddict + the spare cyclonic head.
Truck Bed Storage System
Again, I wanted to keep it simple. The first reason is because I didn't have the budget to buy a fancy bedslide drawer system and the second one is that I just like to keep it simple. That's it. My top priority is to have a good truck which can bring me literally anywhere -isolated or not- and as long as possible.
So I opted for a basic rail system with clips along with a set of good straps stowing; note that the system is fixed on a marine plywood board. I then place the ammo boxes and jerry cans in between each rail (3 rails in total) and strap each item. Please see some pictures of the build below:
