Toyotech - I will answer all your recent questions on my build. First, you said that it is more of a decent budget build. I don't know what you mean by that but I feel like you are saying that I have a decent amount of $$ into it. Maybe I am taking that wrong. I have had the truck for 3 years now. I purchased the truck for $3,500 with 101,000 miles on it and it needed a few things. I have $500 into my camper setup which I feel is pretty cheap considering a used shell would cost me a few hundred $$ plus a roof top tent would cost another $1,000 plus. I re-geared the axles and have a Detroit locker in the rear-end for less than $600. This would be close to $2,000 if I bought everything new and that is without paying someone to install the parts. Sure, there are a mix of new and used parts on the truck and new parts can add to the cost. But, I added up receipts of all maintenance and upgrade parts and by doing all the work myself other than the alignment I have less than $8,000 into my truck including purchase price. I have a very reliable and fairly capable back country camping rig with 126,000 original miles on a 22re motor for about the same as what we paid for our stock '97 4runner when we bought it 4 years ago. If you used all new parts and counted costs for someone else doing the welding and labor I would probably be in for twice that much. And keep in mind that this build has been on going over the 3 years that I have owned the truck by putting away a little $$ here and there for parts and materials.
I have posted my build-up to show what can be done over time with a limited budget and try and encourage people to get out and work on their own rigs and build it into what they want on a budget that works for them. By working on your own rig it also makes you more self sufficient if something breaks while out in the back country.
If I had a high paying job I would have a high dollar long travel front suspension, ARB's front and rear, Marlin low range transfer case, upgraded axle shafts, a turbo, and a new Four Wheel pop up camper. But these are all dreams that may come to me somewhere down the road. In the meantime, I have built a decent and reliable 4x4 camper on a very limited budget. It may not be the nicest rig out there, but it takes me where I want to go, and I still have gas $$ left over.
You also asked me why I went with the MT tires over the AT's. While I do live in snow country, the roads are only bad when it is snowing. Generally it snows in cycles and then the sun comes out. Thus, the roads are only bad for a few days at a time. During these cycles I slow down and drive careful. 3/4 of the year or more the roads are dry and mud tires are fine. As I stated before, I have run both AT and MT tires in the past. I'm sorry that the pictures I have don't show it, but the mountains that I live in and wheel in are subject to mud (spring snow melt and summer rain) and rocks. A mud terrain simply works better in these conditions. I still average 20-21 m.p.g's on the highway with the MT's and as I only put about 8,000 miles a year on my truck I am not worried about replacing tires every 4-5 years. I have seen some spy shots of the new BFG AT on a Baja rig and these look like they could be my next tire. They look like they have beefier sidewalls and a more open tread pattern to clear mud. I think the new "Hybrid" AT's are a very exciting addition to our chosen do it all style of offroading.
Finally, you asked about the cost of my 2 person Big Agnes sleeping bag. I don't know what they are priced on the retail market as I got a "professional" deal on mine from working in the outdoor industry. But I can say that we really love the bag and Big Agnes is made here in Colorado and makes some really great gear. I would recommend checking out what they have to offer.