Tex's 2019 GX460 build
- Thread starter Tex68w
- Start date
washington taco
Explorer
Look at you OG still around Expo?!
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Thanks! She'll continue to get better in time, lots planned for it in the next 12 months. The bike is all but done, if it sticks around for a while longer it'll get a new wheel set and see duty on the TAT and CDR. The Yamaha Tenere 700 is starting to pull my eyes in the other direction though haha.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
We traversed the Texas Hill Country Overland Route earlier this week with my parents following along in their 2nd Gen Tacoma. We split it up into two half days starting outside of Marble Falls and ending in Fredericksburg. We took our time and covered both days in under three hours for a total time of six or so hours for the entire 149 miles. I'd be willing to bet that over half of the route is paved, which I was pretty bummed about. I am not sure why I expected more of it to be dirt but that was how I was imagining it beforehand. I recommend the northern loops for the southern most portion of the route.
We must have crossed 50-75 cattle guards and a large portion of the route runs through and just outside of private property via ranch roads. The private property is clearly marked in most areas with signs warning you not to trespass so don't wander off of the the road in these areas. I found the stretch from Mason south to Cherry Spring to be the best section of the entire route. This contained the most rugged terrain and the James River Road Crossing near the bat caves. Parts of the route from outside of Marble Falls over to Mason were interesting most notably from Click over to Loyal Valley, this stretch also contained the dirt roads in the best condition as well. *See the red marks on the maps below
We saw plenty of White Tail deer and some Axis and Mule deer as well as some wild pigs. Keep your eyes peeled for cattle, they are loose on almost every stretch of this route and they have a tendency step out in front of you at times lol. We only passed two others out specifically traveling the route and like ourselves they were covering it in short order. We never once needed 4WD and I see very few areas that would present an issue to even a stock Subaru Forester. Short of elevated water levels from upland lakes releasing or hill country rain showers that would bring up the multiple creek crossings there's really not much that would make this anything more than a docile drive in the dirt. Depending on the conditions I would safely recommend this route for even a 2WD SUV/crossover with decent tires. I wouldn't recommend they venture out alone but it could easily be done especially in drier conditions.
We stayed the night at Dos Rios RV Park just south of Mason and I think it's the best option should you want to break the trip up like we did, but you can easily cover the entire route in an afternoon. We enjoyed seeing parts of Texas that we would likely never lay eyes on had we not taken this trip but I doubt that I'll ever return to run it again. I had planned to return in a few weeks with some buddies on our dual sport bikes but after seeing how much of the route was paved I think we will switch it up and avoid it. That said, it would be a great route for those on an adventure bike that don't mind slabbing large sections.
We must have crossed 50-75 cattle guards and a large portion of the route runs through and just outside of private property via ranch roads. The private property is clearly marked in most areas with signs warning you not to trespass so don't wander off of the the road in these areas. I found the stretch from Mason south to Cherry Spring to be the best section of the entire route. This contained the most rugged terrain and the James River Road Crossing near the bat caves. Parts of the route from outside of Marble Falls over to Mason were interesting most notably from Click over to Loyal Valley, this stretch also contained the dirt roads in the best condition as well. *See the red marks on the maps below
We saw plenty of White Tail deer and some Axis and Mule deer as well as some wild pigs. Keep your eyes peeled for cattle, they are loose on almost every stretch of this route and they have a tendency step out in front of you at times lol. We only passed two others out specifically traveling the route and like ourselves they were covering it in short order. We never once needed 4WD and I see very few areas that would present an issue to even a stock Subaru Forester. Short of elevated water levels from upland lakes releasing or hill country rain showers that would bring up the multiple creek crossings there's really not much that would make this anything more than a docile drive in the dirt. Depending on the conditions I would safely recommend this route for even a 2WD SUV/crossover with decent tires. I wouldn't recommend they venture out alone but it could easily be done especially in drier conditions.
We stayed the night at Dos Rios RV Park just south of Mason and I think it's the best option should you want to break the trip up like we did, but you can easily cover the entire route in an afternoon. We enjoyed seeing parts of Texas that we would likely never lay eyes on had we not taken this trip but I doubt that I'll ever return to run it again. I had planned to return in a few weeks with some buddies on our dual sport bikes but after seeing how much of the route was paved I think we will switch it up and avoid it. That said, it would be a great route for those on an adventure bike that don't mind slabbing large sections.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
I finally pulled the trigger on a rack, I ended up ordering the Rhino Rack 84x49" Pioneer Platform with the Backbone base for the side rails. I personally like the look better than that of the Front Runner but it gives you pretty much the same platform/system and it sits about 1" lower to the roof line which is my biggest complaint about the FR. I hope to have it in my hands in the next few weeks and on the truck before our Big Bend trip in December.
How do you feel about the vertical vs horizontal slats? I have a GX470 and was leaning towards FR. I haven’t looked if the rhino sits lower on the 470, but that would be appealing if it did.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
I don't know if they vary much on the 470 as I don't own one so I haven't been paying any attention to those models. The Backbone version of the RR definitely sits lower than the FR on the 460 by 1" and that was really the main reason why I went with the Rhino Rack. The vertical cross bars are kind of odd but there are a few other racks that do it the same way and so far I personally can't see any drawback to it other than it doesn't look traditional. Some might not like the lack of access to the underside of the rack from the sides with the Backbone system, but it's no different than any of the modular racks (Prinsu/Sherpa/SSO/Victory/LFD) in that regard.
I ordered a FR originally a few months back and after staring at them on other 460's for a few days I couldn't bring myself to install and I sent it on down the road. On the 460 the FR sits up too far off of the roof line IMHO, it looks like a ping pong table atop the roof if you ask me lol. I wish I could do without a roof rack so that I could avoid the added wind drag/noise and reduced fuel economy but I couldn't avoid the need any longer. I'll be sure to post some pics once it's installed.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
I found a pic of a 470 with the Front Runner rack. Just like on the 460, it sits up pretty far off of the roof line. It may not bother most, but I personally can't stand it. If it sat lower to the roof line I would have had a FR rack on the 460 months ago.
The front runner does sit much higher. Here is the Rhino Rack on the GX470. It seems like it sits much lower to the roof, I really like that. The only issue is the backbone system for the 470 either isn't imported to the US anymore, or has very limited availability. I am checking to see if it is still available. If your priority is low profile what is your reasoning for not going with a prinsu or sherpa style rack?
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Tex68w
Beach Bum
Yes, the RR definitely sits lower than the FR on most vehicles, I think the lower it sits the better it looks as well. I'd check directly with Rhino Rack about the Back Bone for the 470. I know they've struggled with inventory this year due to Covid so things are backed up or altogether out of stock that usually aren't.
We had a Prinsu on our TRD Pro 5th Gen 4Runner and I loved the look. The reason I'll never own another one is due to a few major shortcomings. For starters, the way that they designed the foot mounts is a joke. Using small OD spacers stacked underneath and balancing on an angled aluminum extrusion is terrible. Your lack of water intrusion/leaks rests solely upon how much sealant you globbed into the mounting holes and most have to redo it or add more annually. This is also an unsightly solution and PITA to remove/clean up. The black hardware they provided had corroded/tarnished in under six months and the powder coat had started to flake on the edges in places almost immediately. Granted this was the very first modular rack of it's kind so some leeway is given to the execution but they haven't improved upon the design since its inception and now there are better similar options available such as Sherpa, SSO, LFD, Victory, etc. They also use a much smaller 1/4" hardware in their t-slots so you have to come up with the majority of your own mounting accessories instead of being able to use the many available form FR or RR.
In regards to the other modular racks, most have a better mounting design for the feet and an actual seal so that's a plus, but I find issue with most either because I find their side rails too busy or because their wind fairing doesn't follow the lines of the windshield and those little things bother me. If I can't find some pleasure in the form of something I am going to spend $1K+ on to bolt on my vehicle and to be seen daily then I can't bring myself to purchase it, it's as simple as that. I had high hopes for the Sherpa Rack but the angle of their wind fairing is majorly off if you ask me. Another option soon to market is that from ProSpeed Rack, they are popular with the 100 and 120 Series trucks and I find their prototype for the 460 rather pleasing, I guess we will see what the final version looks like soon.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Another lazy Sunday at the beach this afternoon. The water is crystal clear and rather calm following this most recent norther. There were quite a few fisherman out trying to catch Bull Red's on their annual fall surf run. This is in my opinion the best time of the year to be on the beach.
There were lot's of dead Monarch Butterflies in the surf today, must be those that didn't make it to finish their overwintering migration south into Mexico.
The GX continues to grow on me more and more every time I take a step back to admire it. She's not the prettiest girl on the block but she's reliable and loyal lol. Still loving these Nitto Ridge Grapplers as well, such a great tire in the sand.
I stopped and talked with a fellow dual sport rider and checked out his sweet 450X. It turns out we know some of the same people out west, small world. Always glad to link up with other riders and expand our riding group. He has a very nice InTech Flyer Explore trailer and a lifted Tacoma as well. I have been eyeing those trailers for a while now, so cool.
There were lot's of dead Monarch Butterflies in the surf today, must be those that didn't make it to finish their overwintering migration south into Mexico.
The GX continues to grow on me more and more every time I take a step back to admire it. She's not the prettiest girl on the block but she's reliable and loyal lol. Still loving these Nitto Ridge Grapplers as well, such a great tire in the sand.
I stopped and talked with a fellow dual sport rider and checked out his sweet 450X. It turns out we know some of the same people out west, small world. Always glad to link up with other riders and expand our riding group. He has a very nice InTech Flyer Explore trailer and a lifted Tacoma as well. I have been eyeing those trailers for a while now, so cool.
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Tex68w
Beach Bum
LOL!!! Yea, it's not often you see clear water in Texas unless of course you're down at SPI. But every once in a while with just the right conditions and no recent heavy rains or flooding draining muddy waters into the Gulf via one of the many rivers that dump into this part of the gulf, you can get such a day. And yes, we are in Texas.
Tex68w
Beach Bum
Matagorda, just south of Bay City. We live nearby so if any of you plan to visit send me a PM and I'll meet up if possible.