Toyota Tacoma ‘Tacozilla’ camper and other customs show off at SEMA

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Joining the big American automakers with some wild SEMA concepts is Toyota. This year’s custom rides are all trucks, including the new 2022 full-size Toyota Tundra truck. The two most impressive were built in-house at Toyota Motorsports Garage, including the spectacular Tacoma “Tacozilla” campervan seen above. Let’s dig in, shall we?

Toyota Tacoma “Tacozilla” Concept

This probably would have been a showstopper if Toyota had just slapped an RV shell on the back of a Tacoma with a retro paint job, but the company went further than that. The entire camper shell is a custom one-off made from aluminum by the Toyota team. It is designed to fit the lines of the Tacoma and offers plenty of space, specifically enough for a 6-foot person to stand up straight. It is also open to the truck cab for extra space and easy access. Further integration with the Tacoma design is the factory rear fenders added to the RV shell. The motorhome also has all the comforts of home, with a full bathroom with hot water shower, a kitchen with stove and sink and a 3D printed folding dining table. The floor is even made of teak. The truck also gets a number of off-road upgrades, such as a 2-inch lift, nearly 33-inch all-terrain tires, a winch, skid plates and off-road lights.

Toyota Tundra TRD Desert Chase Concept

At the other end of the off-road spectrum is the TRD Desert Chase Toyota Tundra. It started as a Tundra TRD Pro with the 437 hp twin-turbo hybrid V6. From there, Toyota added a custom long-travel suspension system that bolts to the factory locations, along with custom 18-inch Method wheels and 37-inch all-terrain tires. To make room for those tires and suspension are custom widened fiberglass fenders. The rear gets an expanded roll bar and chase rack with two spare tires, compressed CO2, fuel and water tanks, a jack and salvage plates. It also gets plenty of Rigid Industries LED off-road lighting, including some on a motorized rooftop mount. This is as close to a Raptor-ized tundra we’ve ever seen.

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Toyota Tacoma Overlanding Concept

This one was not built by Toyota, but by Cruiser Outfitters. And hypothetically, you could build one of those because it uses pre-assembled parts from all sorts of off-road parts suppliers. It has Old Man Emu suspension that raises the truck three inches and has adjustable remote reservoir off-road shocks, plus new upper wishbones. The rear suspension is also supported with Dakar leaf springs. Approximately 33-inch all-terrain tires are mounted on 17-inch Icon wheels. The body is protected by an ARB front bumper and Expedition One rear bumper and rock rails. It has a ton of useful off-road tools in the back plus a bed rack, drawers and a fridge and freezer. It also has a Warn winch and ARB snorkel and air compressor. The roof tent comes from Yakima. It’s a demonstration of how much is available for the Tacoma.

2022 Toyota Tundra with factory accessories

Rounding out the collection of modified trucks is the most down-to-earth, a 2022 tundra with a ton of factory and dealer accessories. The most interesting of these is the lift kit that adds 2.6 inches of ground clearance to the truck. Other extras include a TRD skid plate, aluminum running boards, bed extension, dashboard camera, fold-out storage boxes, bed mat and a tonneau cover. It also has a set of off-road wheels and tires.

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