Adventures and Ramblings of a Lexus GX460 ("Land Cruiser Lite" URJ150)

[SnoViking]

Well the drawers are coming together.

I decided to carpet the whole top of the box so most of my black painting was for nothing. I figured I helped "seal" the plywood.

I checked around and found some carpet at Lowes that seemed to match the color and hue of the interior carpet. It also happened to be the second cheapest carpet Lowes had in stock. :wings:

With some careful measuring and figuring; I managed to cut and sew the corners so they looked nice and finished. I reverse stapled the front edge and then folded everything towards the back. It was a bit tight (which was good) and it was kinda like trying to dress a cat in a sweater. But I got it wrapped up and stapled down.

I think it came out pretty good. Im still waiting on my elbow catches and additional roller bearings which were supposed to be delivered today but were delayed because of snow.

Tomorrow is bolt down day and hopefully handle and latch fitting.

Things are getting serious; I got the pneumatic stapler out!

Corners sewn up!

Front edge reverse stapled. I decided to throw a piece of carpet I had laying around under the new piece. It kinda acts like a piece of padding and helps the top feel a bit squishier.

Front "rolled" back.

Back corners stretched and pulled into place.

Underside pulled tight and stapled down.

Here's the box with the drawers (and faces) installed. I'm still waiting on the latches. Once I have them I can measure everything up and cut/route the handle. I doing a simple oval hole cut into the faces. Doing this, I dont lose any "length" of the drawers. The drawers will be almost up tight against the door.

 

[SnoViking]

The drawer saga continues.....

I'm still waiting on some hardware from Amazon. The snow delayed my shipment, so no latches. I made up some temporary "pulls" and got the box placed in the back. I miscalculated my bolt length needed to bolt the drawer system to the floor. I'll need to make another trip to Lowes for 10mm longer bolts. With the design I can even still use the factory "wings" that'll go on either side of the box. I think I may incorporate my water tank and tool kit into the "winged" recess and make sure there's no wasted spacce. The back ended up being a bit taller than expected but when the middle row is folded down, there is a nice flat area. I have a bit of finish work to do around the lower door molding. I may have to get creative.

 

[Danronian]

I like this simple drawer setup. This is likely what I'll do in my 04 4Runner after removing the shelf system it came with.

 

[SnoViking]

So the HID bulbs were a bit of a bust. The light color and output were nice, but the light pattern was terrible. The bulbs get installed side-ways into the projector housing and I think the reflection angles are off. I've installed numerous kits before on both tradition headlight housings and projector style and have had great luck, but these just weren't working out. I pulled them out and tried a pair of the LED bulbs. I read reviews for about 3 days straight and settled on a pair of the NightEye 72w "9000LM" plug and plays. They were priced right ($36) and have a 3 year warranty. I plugged them in last night and the pattern is much much much better. No more voids and dark spots. These are rated to IP68 (up to 1.5M water) and seem to be built pretty robust. I'll snap a few pictures tonight against the garage door to give a better idea of the beam pattern and concentration.

 

[SnoViking]

I finally managed to pick up another Pelican 1600 case for a good deal. I mocked up and put some holes in a once water proof box. I'm using channel nuts and bolts right into the Rhino Rack. I have a set of packing cubes for each box. The plan is for one box to hold my girls clothing and the other to hold the wife's and mine. With the roof top tent opened up and in action we'll be able to access the boxes (and contents) from the rear door. Plus the roof top tent rain fly with cover the boxes. Hopefully it all works like it is up in my head.

 

[SnoViking]

Made it out this weekend and enjoyed a quick trip down to Shenandoah National Park. The park is about 3.5 hours from us and we made it down there late friday evening. It was a bit chilly (in the low 30s at night) but still had a great time. Sunday turned out beautiful and we soaked up the vitamin D.

Tested out the rooftop tent setup (and awning) and decided I may make some changes. The ladder off the back impedes the rear door swinging open and is quite a hassle. I'm brain-storming ideas to move the ladder off to the side and support the over-hanging portion of the tent using telescoping poles at the corners. I think it may then have the clearance so the rear door swings freely.

I also have to figure out something for the whole condensation thing within the RTT. We woke up Sunday to everything dripping wet in the tent.... and dry on the outside.....

My assumption was correct also that I'd feel all the weight of the camping gear in the ride quality; I ordered up a few bits to improve the suspension and ride when loaded down with camping gear, kids, and dogs. I decided to go with a set of the AirLift Air Bags. These will allow me to "increase" the spring rate when hauling gear while still maintaining the factory ride quality when not loaded down. More to follow on this...

And my latest upgrade came in the mail today after a few exciting weeks of waiting......

 

[SikofFalln]

Looking good! I've been debating on a GX vs a cruiser, so I enjoying seeing these threads and peoples experiences with these trucks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colonal Angus]

I love it! Been looking at GXs for a while now. I love the '10-'13 bumpers so much more than the '14+. I've test driven them and love the way they handled. I may have missed it...did you get the Premium with airbags and crawl control? Like I said, you may've said earlier but I was too busy looking for pics. Great color!

 

[SnoViking]

I love it! Been looking at GXs for a while now. I love the '10-'13 bumpers so much more than the '14+. I've test driven them and love the way they handled. I may have missed it...did you get the Premium with airbags and crawl control? Like I said, you may've said earlier but I was too busy looking for pics. Great color!

Alas, no premium for me. I was hunting for one really hard but the Peridot Mica (green) hooked me and I never looked back. The peridot was never offered with the premium package (just the comfort interior package; "better" leather, rear A/C, rear heated seats). And at the time there was only 3 Peridot GXs for sale across the US (I considered them all).

To be honest, I'm OK without the factory rear air bags (people are starting to report failures) and I'm actually adding a set of the Airlift 1000 bags to help with the varying loads.

Even though the crawl control would be fun, these days I dont really have a need for it. We're mostly cruising fire roads and class IV roads.... nothing super technical.

The adaptive cruise control would have been nice for the highway miles and I guess 17 speakers is "better" than 11......

The one thing I REALLY wish I had, which was only offered on the premium package, is the heated steering wheel option. The wood and leather steering wheel gets a bit chilly. But that's splitting hairs.

I considered a 200 series LC but they were out of my price range (or had too many miles/beat up). Plus that 5.7l engine is thirsty. The majority of our "trip budgets" are fuel (camping is cheap, hot dogs are cheap). The GX averaged 19.4mpgs down and back so I can't complain one bit (cruising at 75 on I-81).

 

[Colonal Angus]

Alas, no premium for me. I was hunting for one really hard but the Peridot Mica (green) hooked me and I never looked back. The peridot was never offered with the premium package (just the comfort interior package; "better" leather, rear A/C, rear heated seats). And at the time there was only 3 Peridot GXs for sale across the US (I considered them all).

To be honest, I'm OK without the factory rear air bags (people are starting to report failures) and I'm actually adding a set of the Airlift 1000 bags to help with the varying loads.

Even though the crawl control would be fun, these days I dont really have a need for it. We're mostly cruising fire roads and class IV roads.... nothing super technical.

The adaptive cruise control would have been nice for the highway miles and I guess 17 speakers is "better" than 11......

The one thing I REALLY wish I had, which was only offered on the premium package, is the heated steering wheel option. The wood and leather steering wheel gets a bit chilly. But that's splitting hairs.

I considered a 200 series LC but they were out of my price range (or had too many miles/beat up). Plus that 5.7l engine is thirsty. The majority of our "trip budgets" are fuel (camping is cheap, hot dogs are cheap). The GX averaged 19.4mpgs down and back so I can't complain one bit (cruising at 75 on I-81).

Really impressive MPGs! I could care less about the adjustable rear suspension too...I'd immediacy replace it with springs. Really the only thing that I'd want from the premium is the crawl control. I love the 200s too but I'm in the same boat as you...just too dang much. "Land Cruiser Lite" is exactly how I feel about the Prado/GX.

 

[zimm]

shezimm got a ford escape from her company, and unless i buy her out now, i lose my next luxowheeler project. i can get another G for that. the math doesnt work with my genetic inclinations toward frugality. sigh.

well, i always thought this could be the real successor to the 100, but i never did see good bumper options anyway. unsub...

 

[MTSN]

shezimm got a ford escape from her company, and unless i buy her out now, i lose my next luxowheeler project. i can get another G for that. the math doesnt work with my genetic inclinations toward frugality. sigh.

well, i always thought this could be the real successor to the 100, but i never did see good bumper options anyway. unsub...

Umm what?? :squint:

 

[SnoViking]

shezimm got a ford escape from her company, and unless i buy her out now, i lose my next luxowheeler project. i can get another G for that. the math doesnt work with my genetic inclinations toward frugality. sigh.

well, i always thought this could be the real successor to the 100, but i never did see good bumper options anyway. unsub...

Around the world there are a few companies who make bumpers (front and rear) for these (actually the Prado 150). ARB makes a bumper, TJM (I think) just to name a few. Just google "Prado 150 Bumper". The ARBs are importable, there was a company up in Washington who just did one on a white GX460. Kay-Mar makes a sweet rear bumper.

MetalTech also makes a front bumper now here state-side.

 

[SnoViking]

What do we need?.... ... ... More power!

We have an upcoming road trip down to Daytona Beach so I figured it was about time I wired in some USB outlets in the rear passenger area. The past few trips having been lacking in device rechargability for anyone but myself in the truck. I hope someone at Lexus either got reamed out or out-right fired for "forgetting" to put any kind of accessory power (not even 12V cigarette plugs) in the rear half of the truck. When I did my accessory fuse panel and wiring I went ahead and pre-ran a bunch of wires through the firewall grommet into the cab. I ran the wires under the factory carpet and out into the center console. This let me put two accessory USB outlets (one on either side) below the passenger A/C controls. My kids were quite excited and actually thanked me.....

 

[zimm]

Around the world there are a few companies who make bumpers (front and rear) for these (actually the Prado 150). ARB makes a bumper, TJM (I think) just to name a few. Just google "Prado 150 Bumper". The ARBs are importable, there was a company up in Washington who just did one on a white GX460. Kay-Mar makes a sweet rear bumper.

MetalTech also makes a front bumper now here state-side.

they only advertise a 470.