I have been hunting for a vehicle for a while that was smaller than my F150 for the trails, but more capable towing than my GX460. I poked around Gladiator Ecodiesels and the new Colorado ZR2, but everything seemed like a fairly large compromise. The Gladiator was great when I test drove it, and I was really close to buying one, but it has overheating issues and I had already dealt with that on my F150. The ZR2 just was disappointing to me when I test drove it and was really cramped inside. There really just isnt much else out there smaller than a half ton that can also tow and offroad decently.
I had been watching Land Cruiser prices for a long time, and it made me puke in my mouth a little. But I decided to look at LX570's since it seemed they could be had for a good 30% less in some cases. So I finally decided to pull the trigger on a 2018 with 50k miles.
I towed 950 miles with it this last week from Park City, UT down to two different state parks in NV and back. It did really well. I had to fight some 20-30 mph headwinds and lots of elevation changes. The 5.7L pull really well, stronger than I expected coming from my GX460. The biggest issue is the fuel tank size at 24.5 gallons. There was a few stretches where I was running on fumes because I was getting 7.5 mpg with the headwinds, so my range was limited to around 150 miles.
So my plan is to do a few immediate mods:
1. Long Range America 12.5 gallon aux tank. I would like to keep the spare under the truck so I dont want to go with one of their larger tanks.
2. CBI Covert front bumper to get rid of horrible approach angle. I already had whacked the front bumper on my 2011 GX460 with a 2" lift and 33's, which had a much approach angle to begin with.
3. 17" wheels with 34 or 35's. I really would love to get some Rock Warrior wheels to keep the offset close to stock but they are hard to come by and the ones I do find are pretty beat.
Down the road I think I would like to do a Tundra swap on the front end, which is kinda why I want the Rock Warriors since it will push the wheels out 1.5".
I had been watching Land Cruiser prices for a long time, and it made me puke in my mouth a little. But I decided to look at LX570's since it seemed they could be had for a good 30% less in some cases. So I finally decided to pull the trigger on a 2018 with 50k miles.
I towed 950 miles with it this last week from Park City, UT down to two different state parks in NV and back. It did really well. I had to fight some 20-30 mph headwinds and lots of elevation changes. The 5.7L pull really well, stronger than I expected coming from my GX460. The biggest issue is the fuel tank size at 24.5 gallons. There was a few stretches where I was running on fumes because I was getting 7.5 mpg with the headwinds, so my range was limited to around 150 miles.
So my plan is to do a few immediate mods:
1. Long Range America 12.5 gallon aux tank. I would like to keep the spare under the truck so I dont want to go with one of their larger tanks.
2. CBI Covert front bumper to get rid of horrible approach angle. I already had whacked the front bumper on my 2011 GX460 with a 2" lift and 33's, which had a much approach angle to begin with.
3. 17" wheels with 34 or 35's. I really would love to get some Rock Warrior wheels to keep the offset close to stock but they are hard to come by and the ones I do find are pretty beat.
Down the road I think I would like to do a Tundra swap on the front end, which is kinda why I want the Rock Warriors since it will push the wheels out 1.5".
