I've been meaning to post a build thread for a while. Of course, it's never done, but I finished most of the major stuff earlier this year.
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Current Summary of Modifications:
Armor
ARB Combo Bar front bumper (aerial/light tabs cut off to fit) w/ fog-light kit
Slee step sliders
Slee rear bumper w/ dual swingouts (and jerry can rack)
Suspension
OME 1.5" Kit with 2866 springs
SPC upper control arms
Slee diff drop
Tires
275/70r18 Cooper AT3
Misc
ComeUp Seal Gen 2 9.5rs winch
ARB Twin air compressor
Yellow-box speedometer correction
ARB Fridge
SPOD w/ 6 switch panel
Eezi-Awn K9 roof rack
Ham radio - Yeasu 8800R
Hella Rallye 4000 Euro beam lights
Grom TOYNA1 auxillary audio in
Planned
Dual battery (purchased Blue Sea ML-ACR)
Cargo management system
----------------
So, here is my 2006 LX470 as purchased from a Lexus dealer in June of 2014 with about 97k miles on it. It was a very clean, well-maintained truck.
The first thing I did was take off the running boards and get some AT tires. I went with 275/70r18 Cooper AT3s. I've been on a 5 wheel rotation every 5k and these tires have been wearing extremely well. I'm getting 5k+ per 1/32 of tread. They've been performing really well both on and off-road although I am tempted to move to the ST-Maxx when it's time for new tires.
I purchased a yellow-box speedometer corrector from Australia. It was cheaper than many of the other options and works great. Yellowbox Speedometer Correction Install
Unfortunately, my secondary air induction system failed within a few weeks of picking up the truck. I used the $150 bypass that's popular with the Tundra guys (who had a huge issue with this on their vehicles) rather than spending several thousand to repair it. It's been working fine for well over a year and 20k miles now. Details in my thread here: 06/07 Air Induction Pump Failure & Bypass
Additionally, I got whacked in a parking lot about this time, taking out the rear bumper and doing some other damage to the rear of the vehicle. It did a number on the lady's traverse that hit me. When it rains it pours - Do I repair or go ARB?.
I ended up driving it around with the banged up bumper for a few months. Finally in January, I ordered a dual-swingout bumper from Slee and had the bodyshop do the install for me while they were repairing the other damage.
Because the new rear tire carrier was blocking part of my backup camera, I had a local shop fab up a mount and relocate my backup camera:
The next mod was to add an ARB twin air compressor for fast airing up of tires (no current plans to lock the front/rear axles). I used the mounting bracket from Torfab. It requires moving a couple of things around, but it fit without having to touch the AHC components.
At some point around this time I got tired of the gold emblems, so I plastidipped everything black. I think it was a big aesthetic improvement.
Next up on the list was front bumpers and sliders. I decided at this point that it was also time with all the extra weight to move from the AHC to an OME heavy duty suspension. I talked to a bunch of shops in the area about doing the job, but I finally decided that I was just going to run it up to Colorado and have Slee do it for me. Their pricing was either the same or even less than the quotes I got locally, and they obviously know what they're doing when it comes to all of this.
They were able to schedule me just prior to heading out for Overland Expo West 2015 (my brother and I went and spent some time afterwards checking out AZ and Utah). I went with the 1.5" lift, ARB front bumper, and Slee step sliders. It took them a little less than 2 days. I work from home, so I just brought my laptop, rented a car (my corporate rate is dirt cheap), and found a nice cigar shop to hang out at.
Here's what it looked like when I got it home:
And a few shots from our subsequent trip:
I posted a write-up of the trip over on ExPo: Dallas to Overland Expo West '15 - Expedition Portal
Next up was a winch. I picked up a Come Up Seal Gen 2 9.5rs. I had bought the offset hawse fairlead from Slee when I was there and I had bought a factory second Factor 55 Prolink at Overland Expo. They were selling test run colors and ones with marks on them. I couldn't ever see any problems on the one I bought and I saved a bundle on it (I would have just used the hook that came with the which if I had to pay full price for one).
Since it's a feet forward bumper, I was able to use my floor jack and a couple of blocks of wood to lift the winch up into place.
I did have to modify the ARB control box bracket (it was sized and drilled for a Warn). I chopped about an inch or so off the end and then drilled holes to match the mounting pattern. Shortening the bracket is specific to the LX470, as you need to get the box a bit more forward to avoid the grill as the hood opens and closes.
The only other issue I had was the temp sensor wire coming from the control box was too short to reach the winch. I did a little bit of research and it turns out the connectors are a mini-Tamiya style. This is apparently really common in the RC world so I just went over to an RC hobby shop where they had exactly what I needed to make a little 12-inch extension cable. My guess is that if you ask nicely, most places would make you an extension cable while you wait.
I bought a fridge last month prior to a road trip with my wife and son so the next mod up is a dual battery system. I've purchased a Blue Sea ML-ACR, but I haven't figured out how to fit both a second battery and my ARB compressor. I'll probably have a shop fabricate something for me and I may have them do the whole job.
I also picked up an SPOD at Overland Expo, but I haven't found a good way to mount it. So I'm thinking that I'll have the shop fabricate a mounting bracket for that when they do the dual battery bracket for me.
I'm also thinking about a storage system for the rear. I still use the rear seats when family is in town so I need something a bit unique. I'm thinking of building a plywood/carpet "base" with fridge slide, tie-down points. and maybe a single drawer. Basically a simple way to run the fridge and have some basic storage organization but done in a way that's easy to remove when I need the rear seats. Something similar to this, using the tie down points in the rear to hold it in place:
Other future mods will include a roof-rack (I'm leaning towards the Eezi-awn K9 right now) and possibly new wheels/tires. I'm thinking about trying to pick up a set of 5 16" wheels, painting them black and getting some Cooper ST-Maxx. I'm unsure of 255/85r16 or 285/75r16. I'm also not sure if there are wheel options other than the factory rims that will fit without spacers. I'm not going to use any wheels that require spacers. Will 80-series rims work?
I'll keep this thread updated as I make more mods/changes moving forward.
---------------
Current Summary of Modifications:
Armor
ARB Combo Bar front bumper (aerial/light tabs cut off to fit) w/ fog-light kit
Slee step sliders
Slee rear bumper w/ dual swingouts (and jerry can rack)
Suspension
OME 1.5" Kit with 2866 springs
SPC upper control arms
Slee diff drop
Tires
275/70r18 Cooper AT3
Misc
ComeUp Seal Gen 2 9.5rs winch
ARB Twin air compressor
Yellow-box speedometer correction
ARB Fridge
SPOD w/ 6 switch panel
Eezi-Awn K9 roof rack
Ham radio - Yeasu 8800R
Hella Rallye 4000 Euro beam lights
Grom TOYNA1 auxillary audio in
Planned
Dual battery (purchased Blue Sea ML-ACR)
Cargo management system
----------------
So, here is my 2006 LX470 as purchased from a Lexus dealer in June of 2014 with about 97k miles on it. It was a very clean, well-maintained truck.
The first thing I did was take off the running boards and get some AT tires. I went with 275/70r18 Cooper AT3s. I've been on a 5 wheel rotation every 5k and these tires have been wearing extremely well. I'm getting 5k+ per 1/32 of tread. They've been performing really well both on and off-road although I am tempted to move to the ST-Maxx when it's time for new tires.
I purchased a yellow-box speedometer corrector from Australia. It was cheaper than many of the other options and works great. Yellowbox Speedometer Correction Install
Unfortunately, my secondary air induction system failed within a few weeks of picking up the truck. I used the $150 bypass that's popular with the Tundra guys (who had a huge issue with this on their vehicles) rather than spending several thousand to repair it. It's been working fine for well over a year and 20k miles now. Details in my thread here: 06/07 Air Induction Pump Failure & Bypass
Additionally, I got whacked in a parking lot about this time, taking out the rear bumper and doing some other damage to the rear of the vehicle. It did a number on the lady's traverse that hit me. When it rains it pours - Do I repair or go ARB?.
I ended up driving it around with the banged up bumper for a few months. Finally in January, I ordered a dual-swingout bumper from Slee and had the bodyshop do the install for me while they were repairing the other damage.
Because the new rear tire carrier was blocking part of my backup camera, I had a local shop fab up a mount and relocate my backup camera:
The next mod was to add an ARB twin air compressor for fast airing up of tires (no current plans to lock the front/rear axles). I used the mounting bracket from Torfab. It requires moving a couple of things around, but it fit without having to touch the AHC components.
At some point around this time I got tired of the gold emblems, so I plastidipped everything black. I think it was a big aesthetic improvement.
Next up on the list was front bumpers and sliders. I decided at this point that it was also time with all the extra weight to move from the AHC to an OME heavy duty suspension. I talked to a bunch of shops in the area about doing the job, but I finally decided that I was just going to run it up to Colorado and have Slee do it for me. Their pricing was either the same or even less than the quotes I got locally, and they obviously know what they're doing when it comes to all of this.
They were able to schedule me just prior to heading out for Overland Expo West 2015 (my brother and I went and spent some time afterwards checking out AZ and Utah). I went with the 1.5" lift, ARB front bumper, and Slee step sliders. It took them a little less than 2 days. I work from home, so I just brought my laptop, rented a car (my corporate rate is dirt cheap), and found a nice cigar shop to hang out at.
Here's what it looked like when I got it home:
And a few shots from our subsequent trip:
I posted a write-up of the trip over on ExPo: Dallas to Overland Expo West '15 - Expedition Portal
Next up was a winch. I picked up a Come Up Seal Gen 2 9.5rs. I had bought the offset hawse fairlead from Slee when I was there and I had bought a factory second Factor 55 Prolink at Overland Expo. They were selling test run colors and ones with marks on them. I couldn't ever see any problems on the one I bought and I saved a bundle on it (I would have just used the hook that came with the which if I had to pay full price for one).
Since it's a feet forward bumper, I was able to use my floor jack and a couple of blocks of wood to lift the winch up into place.
I did have to modify the ARB control box bracket (it was sized and drilled for a Warn). I chopped about an inch or so off the end and then drilled holes to match the mounting pattern. Shortening the bracket is specific to the LX470, as you need to get the box a bit more forward to avoid the grill as the hood opens and closes.
The only other issue I had was the temp sensor wire coming from the control box was too short to reach the winch. I did a little bit of research and it turns out the connectors are a mini-Tamiya style. This is apparently really common in the RC world so I just went over to an RC hobby shop where they had exactly what I needed to make a little 12-inch extension cable. My guess is that if you ask nicely, most places would make you an extension cable while you wait.
I bought a fridge last month prior to a road trip with my wife and son so the next mod up is a dual battery system. I've purchased a Blue Sea ML-ACR, but I haven't figured out how to fit both a second battery and my ARB compressor. I'll probably have a shop fabricate something for me and I may have them do the whole job.
I also picked up an SPOD at Overland Expo, but I haven't found a good way to mount it. So I'm thinking that I'll have the shop fabricate a mounting bracket for that when they do the dual battery bracket for me.
I'm also thinking about a storage system for the rear. I still use the rear seats when family is in town so I need something a bit unique. I'm thinking of building a plywood/carpet "base" with fridge slide, tie-down points. and maybe a single drawer. Basically a simple way to run the fridge and have some basic storage organization but done in a way that's easy to remove when I need the rear seats. Something similar to this, using the tie down points in the rear to hold it in place:
Other future mods will include a roof-rack (I'm leaning towards the Eezi-awn K9 right now) and possibly new wheels/tires. I'm thinking about trying to pick up a set of 5 16" wheels, painting them black and getting some Cooper ST-Maxx. I'm unsure of 255/85r16 or 285/75r16. I'm also not sure if there are wheel options other than the factory rims that will fit without spacers. I'm not going to use any wheels that require spacers. Will 80-series rims work?
I'll keep this thread updated as I make more mods/changes moving forward.
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