The Toyota Tacoma is the choice of off-road and overland enthusiasts around the country and has served as the basis of countless camper trucks and ultralight pickup camper designs over the years. The latest overlanding Tacoma is quite different from the usual: it doesn't have an engine or cab. Toyota has sawn off a Tacoma TRD-Sport bed and made it a capable, little off-road trailer complete with sleeping accommodations, a full kitchen and even a bathroom. It's a whole new style of Tacoma overlanding.

Toyota's lore in overlanding runs deeper than any auto brand out there, with models like the Land Cruiser, 4Runner and Hilux leading expeditions around the world. In North America, the Tacoma midsize pickup reigns supreme. We've never done a formal count or poll, but we've always figured the Tacoma to be the most popular vehicle of Overland Expo, with countless lifted, snorkeled, tent-topped Tacomas filling the grounds of every show.

It was this popularity that led Toyota to the idea of creating a Tacoma trailer concept. The company explains that Bob Kupina, senior program manager at Toyota Motor North America Research and Development, saw a homebuilt Tacoma trailer at a past Overland Expo West show. He liked the idea so much he went back and put a team together to work on an official Toyota version, eventually enlisting help from Motorsports Garage to bring the idea to life.

To turn the rugged chopped-off Tacoma TRD-Sport bed into a proper camper, the team started by mounting a four-person Yakima roof-top tent on a handy scissor lift to give campers some extra height at camp. It filled out the bed itself with a kitchen box that puts a dual-burner stove and sink on one slide, a drawer with rearrangeable organizers on a second slide.