Surprising Hyundai Tucson Overland Build with a Lift & Off-road Tires

The time has come, we finally found a cool Hyundai off-road build that has been thoroughly prepared for advanced trails and overland expeditions. Even though a Hyundai Tucson is probably the last vehicle you’d expect to see in this role, this build shows that capability is more about the vision of its owner and properly selected modifications than just the badge on the grille.

I’ve occasionally seen some shorts and reels online with first-gen Tucson owners trying to ford a mud puddle or get out to a sandy beach on stock tires, but the 2006 Hyundai Tucson build we’re featuring today is probably the first one truly prepped for off-roading and overlanding to this extent. It’s got everything you see on typical expedition rigs – a lift, oversized wheels, winch, steel bumpers, body armor, and more, making it keep up with the big dogs. Read on to find out how this unlikely off-roader came together and why it keeps surprising everyone on the trails.

Key Modifications:

• Custom suspension lift (1.5″ strut spacers + 1″ longer springs)
• 29″ off-road tires on 17″ Black Rhino rims
• Custom-fabricated front bumper with winch & rear swing gate

List of Off-road Mods

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The Build

As it goes with many unexpected projects, the transformation into an off-road build started in the most unpredictable way – the owner flipped it on a forest trail and after some research on repair costs and parts decided to turn it into a full-blown off-road project that keeps evolving with every trip.

Suspension

The suspension setup on this Tucson is a combination of a 1.5″ strut tower spacer and 1″ longer springs. But except for the ground clearance improvement, the these heavy-duty springs also handle extra load of the heavy bumper (200 lbs up front) and the roof top tent along with all the gear (350 lbs in the rear).

Wheels & Tires

Thanks to the added space in the wheel-wells, the stock 27″ wheels were replaced with a set of 29″ all-terrains wrapped in stylish 17″ Black Rhino rims wrapped. It’s not a massive tire by off-road standards, but on a compact crossover like the Tucson, these 2″ extra inches make a noticeable difference in ground clearance and traction. The owner mentioned he’s planning to switch to 16″ rims soon, which would open up even more tire options and add a bit of sidewall and air down more.

Body Armor

Since the Tucson obviously has no aftermarket support that would allow using bolt-ons, all the parts for it had to be custom designed and fabricated. Upfront you’ll notice a custom-fabricated heavy-duty truck style bumper with integrated winch mount and recovery points, as well as the skid plat built by @budnixson. The same fabricator also made a custom rear swing gate with a spare tire mount and rear recovery points.

Overland Gear

For overnight trips, the owner has installed a CVT rooftop tent and awning which took it to the new level of comfort when out in the wild. AMong other accessoriues are traction recovery boards mounted on the tent for quick access, and Rotopax mounts with supports for extra fuel or water.

The Interview

Conclusion

Based on our off-road capability rating, this Tucson scores 30 out of 70 possible points. Being a unibody AWD with no lockers or special factory off-road features, it earns its marks from the AWD system with a basic lift and slightly oversized off-road tires (25 points) plus body armor and skid plates (5 points).

With all the custom-fab body armor, lifted suspension, and legit overland setup, this 2006 Hyundai Tucson off-road build does surprise with its new looks and capabilities. And what’s most important – it perfectly serves the tasks its owner has envisioned it for.