100 Series Family Adventure Rig

[Bretthn]

So we jumped ship from the Jeep and bought a 2001 LX470. The WJ was great but was a little small for our needs.
We looked at many and wound up settling with this one with 160k miles and perfect service history.
I already have many plans for this one. Will post more later.

Recent Photos 8/17/2013

6/4/13

When we bought it.



Upgrades, additions, and modifications

• Dual batteries- Die Hard Platinum 31m and group 65 controlled by a Blue Sea ACR 7622
• Slee Group 31m battery tray
• 2 awg run to Blue Sea Safetyhub 100 in the rear for all house wiring
• Constant power Blue Sea power outlet added to trunk for fridge
• ARB 50qt Fridge
• Weathertech Digital Fit floor liners, front and rear
• Removed factory running boards
• Removed third row seating and seatbelts
• Roof top tent
• 285/75R16 rubber- Cooper ST/Maxx

Future upgrades

• Rock Sliders
• Drawer system- temporary fridge slide in process but plan to build a complete system
• Cargo barrier
• Recovery points
• Self Recovery gear- thinking Maxtrax and a Hilift to begin with
• Better lighting- Exterior and Interior
• Laptop mount for navigation software
• Full length roof rack

Maintenace items and repairs

• Hood and trunk struts
• Door lock actuators- all four doors replaced as part of purchase agreement since two were bad
• Greased driveshafts: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Changed oil: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Flushed AHC system: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Cleaned MAF and throttle body:8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Changed power steering fluid- at same time as reservoir relocation for second battery

Planned Maintenance and repairs

• Replace front and rear differential fluid
• Transfer case drain and fill
• Air filter
• Oil changes- every 5000 miles
• Cabin filters
• Complete timing belt service- trying to hold out to 180,000 but already getting weeping from water pump so will probably replace sooner
• Heater hose ts- need to research options
• Main coolant hoses- will do with timing belt
• Coolant flush- will do with timing belt
• Spark plugs
• Serpentine belts

All maintenance and repairs have and will be done using oem Toyota parts when possible with the exception of upgrades.

 

[mtnbike28]

Great looking LC! Congrats!

 

[skrillah]

Definitely an upgrade from the Jeep! Interested to see where you take it!

 

[ChuckB]

Welcome and congrats!

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

Nice! That's a GREAT looking 100!!

I've been going back and forth between an 80 and 100. I know a 100 would take me where I want to go, but the 80 fits my budget much more easily.

 

[Bretthn]

Thanks guys.
First thing to go in was new floor mats as it didn't even come with a set. This is my first set of Weathertechs and I am very pleased with them. Will be ordering a set for the wife's car soon.


Next up was new hood and trunk struts.
Before


After


The old were KYB. I never knew they made lift struts. New has the blue label.

Sometimes the small things make a big impact.

 

[Cowboy59]

I just got rid of my 4 door jk because of the space issue. Got a 1998 lx with 164K on it. Have had it for 4 months now, you will love the difference. I put an ironman 2" lift on mine and need to order the hood struts as well. Did a little light wheeling with the stock Michelins, not good. Next mod is Goodyear wrangler duratracs. Enjoy!

 

[Bretthn]

Weekend in Boone

My sister-in-law was graduating from Appalachian State on Sunday, so we decided to head to Boone Friday night and spend all day Saturday exploring. I wanted to drive all of Old NC105, which is mostly unpaved and follows all of Linville Gorge, and a few other unpaved public roads. Sampson road off of the Blue Ridge Parkway was pretty fun, and offered some great views. Richland is another public road in Lenoir that has a section that is unpaved, I came across it on the net and saw some pictures that look like it actually offers some technical four wheel drive sections... we did not make it there but hope to next time.
Another area we missed was the abandoned town of Mortimer. I had read about it from a member on here but need to find out how to get there, I was thinking that Old NC105 ran through it.

Shortly after turning off the Parkway, headed to Sampson Rd we came across what looked to be a salvage yard, but there were some pretty nice restorations in progress as well.


Most of it was just tame fire road.

But there were a few crossings and climbs that offered some excitement.



The best part was the views.

These are from Old NC105.



We saw at least 100 small campsites that I assume are free to use. Some of the roads leading into the campsites got a little muddy and offered an opportunity for some poser shots. I am pleasantly surprised at the flex the LX has in the rear with AHC. We stayed away from the mud. I poked around at some of the holes which got pretty deep, and did not feel like ruining the day by getting stuck.

 

[60Dan]

Great pics thanks for sharing!
Did you end up staying at any of the campsites?

We are postponing our big Yellowstone trip until 2014 now, and have talked about doing North Carolina instead for a week or so.

This looks like a perfect fit, any other pics and info you could post up would be a great help

 

[Bretthn]

Dual Batteries With AHC

We are really enjoying the LX.
Here is the current project.

That is a group 31m. I will be putting a group 65 Die Hard Platinum here but wanted to see how this one fit and to help anyone else who might be interested in seeing what the largest size they could squeeze in there would be. There is actually a lot of space between the AHC reservoir and the air filter box.

 

[Desert Dan]

Very nice Lexus

What dual battery charging system are you going to use?

 

[Bretthn]

Great pics thanks for sharing!
Did you end up staying at any of the campsites?

We are postponing our big Yellowstone trip until 2014 now, and have talked about doing North Carolina instead for a week or so.

This looks like a perfect fit, any other pics and info you could post up would be a great help

No we didn't camp this trip because they were calling for rain all weekend but we will definitely be going back a few more times this year to hopefully camp. Right now we are trying to decide between there and Uwharrie for Memorial Day weekend. I have never been to Uwharrie so we are leaning towards there.
Other things we did this trip or on previous trips to the Boone, Blowing Rock, and Linville area are:

• Mast General Store
• Grandfather mountain. More pictures and details here.
  
  
  
  
  
• Linville Falls
  Upper and Lower falls
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Linville Caverns
  
  
  
  
• Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway
  
  
  
  
• See the Linn Cove Viaduct
  
  

I am sure there is much more that we haven't seen or do not yet know about. Things that we plan to do on future trips:

• Mount Mitchell
• Mortimer
• See the Blowing Rock
• Drive Richland Road (trail)
• Explore more of the fire roads

Places we have eaten that are worth mentioning:

• Famous Louise's Rock House Restaurant in Linville Falls, off of 221. Just good home cooked food but the staff is very helpful and knowledgable of the area and places to go and see.
• Macado's on King street in Boone. Quirky deli/bakery and they have beer.
• The Mellow Mushroom on King street in Boone. Amazing pizza shop with a good selection of craft brews.
  
• Dan'l Boone Inn on King street in Boone. Family style southern cooking. No menu, you eat what they are serving that day. Make reservations.

If anyone knows of anything else I have not listed to see or do, please post up. We are always on the hunt for things to explore in this area.

 

[Bretthn]

Very nice Lexus

What dual battery charging system are you going to use?

Thanks. I haven't decided what setup I want to use yet. I like the idea of keeping it simple and may just use a robust manual switch mounted in the engine bay. I have not done too much research on the solenoid kits yet but like the idea of using a Painless kit and running all accessories to my main starter battery which will be the group 31M Die Hard Platinum seen above, and using the group 65 Die Hard Platinum as a backup for if the starter battery gets drained too low. I still have to fab up a mount for the second battery and make a mount for the power steering reservoir and reroute the hoses to it.

 

[Bretthn]

Dual Battery Lx470 With AHC

Second battery is mounted securely. Here is how I did it.
Moved the power steering reservoir from here.

To here. Still using the factory mount, just modified a little. I extended the larger 5/8 inch line, the smaller 3/8 line worked as is.

I also move an electrical heat sink that was mounted to the fender well. I mounted it to the fender wall and rerouted some wires which left a wide open canvas for a battery mount.

I made the base out of 16 gauge, 2 inch angle iron and 3/4 inch hardwood plywood. Everything is primed and coated in 4 thick coats of truck bed liner. It is extremely sturdy and stable.


I think it looks pretty good too if I do say so myself. I would like something that looks a little more factory for a tie down though.\

Now I just need to decide how I want to wire it. I like the idea of a manual switch in the engine bay for simplicity and less things to brake. I also like gadgets though and wouldn't mind having a a display and switches on the dash for monitoring and switching between them.
Choices....

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Going too stick with the AHC or ditch it eventually?