I am a long time fan of the Toyota Tacoma since they came out in 1995.5. Also loved the 4Runners prior and owned a 1991. I do like the Tacoma line, but no real need for a full size V8 truck.
Ive posted on here prior about overland camping in the desert and showed the pic of the guy and his Nissan Xerra in the Mojave. I would like to get another 4Runner in the far future and over night came in that. In the past I have done some grilling on a small BBQ and just bring the chicken, salad, etc in a cooler. Also bring a laptop and pop in a DVD after chilling out by a fire pit.
As for the 4Runner and/or Tacoma truck, I do not believe in jacking it up with too many aftermarket upgrades like shocks, tires, etc. Im not too crazy.
To give you some idea, almost a year ago, George from Canada got stuck in the playa mud outside of Reno near Gerlach. Im pretty sure Druff covered this incident on the radio show. Anyways, he had a nice set up with the 4Runner, etc, but picked the wrong area to travel over. I honestly didnt know much about playa mud prior to this. George put out a distress call on the 775 Off Road Rescue Facebook page and then this incident went world wide.
Anyways, here is the video. Im sure George would have had a good time if he just didnt venture into the playa mud...