2003 Land Cruiser Build & Adventure Thread

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I really like how the Expedition Overland guys have their 100 setup...

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I agree, are they running 285's and a 2 inch lift??
 
I picked up a set of Metaltech sliders a few weeks ago. They are almost too pretty to scratch up.

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Found a set of Tundra 18" wheels on craigslist, and picked up a set of used BFG ATs just in time for the Santiago Peak run. I really like the look of these, even though the front center cap doesn't fit over the grease cap. I also bought a set of earlier 16" wheels, so need to decide if I want to run 275/70R18 or 285/75R16 tires. I like the extra side wall of the 285s but the 275s on the Tundra wheels sure look good. Decisions... :hmm:


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Joined a bunch of fellow SoCal80 members on a run up Santiago Peak. I was able to test out the truck off-road for the first time. I was pretty impressed with how it handled overall and specifically a couple of loose rocky sections and a some mild hill climbs. The ATRAC never activated, so need to find some more challenging terrain to test that.

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Santiago Peak fire road - challenging? - NOT! If it makes you feel any better, you did mildly scrap the bottom of your hitch once.

The tires w/o a lift looked good with that size. Great that you drove all the way up and thx for the gas tank parts. Nice little project for the unemployed.
 
Santiago Peak fire road - challenging? - NOT! If it makes you feel any better, you did mildly scrap the bottom of your hitch once.

The tires w/o a lift looked good with that size. Great that you drove all the way up and thx for the gas tank parts. Nice little project for the unemployed.

Didn't say it was challenging, just that it wasn't enough for the ATRAC to kick in. I had a great time, it was good to see some familiar faces again, and some new ones as well. My wife actually enjoyed herself :cool:
 
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I have to agree, those tundra wheels do look really good on your rig. Tough call vs the extra sidewall running the 16's. :hmm:

It was great meeting you Sat, glad you were able to make it. :cheers:
 
Teaser...

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Finally got some new shoes. I was happy with these on my 80, so went with them on the 100. Toyo AT2. :cool:

I was undecided on wheels. It was either 275/70R18 on the factory wheels or the Tundra wheels or 285/75R16 on the factory wheels that came on the 98-02 trucks.

I liked the look of the 18" Tundra wheels, but was concerned that the 275/70R18 wouldn't have enough sidewall. My test setup seemed to work well on the Santiago Peak run, but there weren't many rocks there to test sidewall flex. I saw in another thread someone running this size tire in a rocky area, and the rocks were dangerously close to the wheel. Plus the 18" tires were more expensive.

I decided on the 16s, but was having a hard time finding a set. Not having any luck locally, I bought a set from a guy in CO. They looked good in the pics, but after receiving them, I discovered the clear coat was pitted beyond my liking, so I kept looking. I then bought another set for a great price from a guy in AZ. These were much nicer but after receiving them I realized they were the darker silver color and I wanted the lighter. I was about to give up and get the 18" tires, but decided to check craigslist one last time. Just so happened there was a set there, just up the coast a bit, so I drove up and bought them. Now I need to sell the other two sets :hmm:

Took a drive up a local dirt road to test them out and watch the sunset.

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Looks great, I like the Toyos. We're running basically the same setup, 285/75r16 with stock lift...and a white cruiser.

The sliders look great too.
 
Took a drive up to Otay Mountain today to do some shooting. Unfortunately shooting was (temporarily, I hope) prohibited due to the high fire danger and extremely dry conditions. I hope they don't use this as an excuse to close this area to recreational shooting :mad:

I tried to make the best of it by exploring some new areas that I haven't been to before.

I wanted to test the ATRAC as well. I have to say, between the ATRAC and the new tires, so far this truck has gone everywhere I wanted to go. :steer: I'm impressed so far.

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I stumbled on these strange rock formations. Not sure what they are or why they are there. Maybe someone was bored :smokin:

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Finally got a lift installed. I had some OME 865 springs I got from Tare sitting in the garage for months. Slee just had the TJM XGS Gold shocks on sale so that was my motivation to get this stuff installed. Also picked up a diff drop from BIOR. Adjusted the factory torsion bars to bring the front-end up.

Installed I netted about 1.5"-2" lift. Just enough to add some much needed clearance, but not enough to affect driveability or cause too much CV angle. Pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Measurements from center of hub to fender lip (vertical line)
Before After
FR 18.75" 20.25"
FL 19" 20.25"
RR 19.25" 21.5"
RL 19.25" 21.5"
Droop 5" 3"

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looks good!
 
Man she is looking gooooooood! Got me itching even more for a Hundy! :rolleyes:
 
Ordered a set of ARB drawers. I was a tiny bit concerned about the semi-permanency of the whole thing, but I think it will work just fine. Besides the organizational advantage, I wanted something that would provide a flat surface with the second row seats folded down. I tested a queen size air mattress in there and it fits like a glove.

I also installed some L-Track (airline seat track) on to the drawer tops using the existing mounting locations. Got the hardware from uscargocontrol.com.

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Nice report and pics!
 
Took another drive up to Otay Mountain today. It's a completely different experience in the rain and fog.

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I picked up a RAM laptop mount recently. I wanted a computer in the truck for navigation, mapping, APRS, radio programming software, techstream, repair manual PDFs, etc.. Shown is a 17" laptop, which is pretty large for that area so I will probably try to find something a bit smaller. I know a lot of people are using tablets, and I may eventually go that route, but I already had the laptop setup with most everything I need so will try that for now. Plus it's nice to have the serial port as some of the programs use it, and the USB to serial port adapters can be problematic.

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Went out to the American Adventurist Desert Rendezvous this weekend. Had a lot of fun and saw some familiar faces and met some new people. What a great event. The Friday night "Build Your Own" Bacon Sandwich Bar was awesome. On Saturday, several of us took a drive to the West end of Fish Creek Wash, through Hapaha Flat (or is it Hahapa?) to the base of Pinyon Dropoff. On the way back, we took a quick jaunt through Sandstone Canyon.

http://americanadventurist.com/Foru...-2015-SoCal-Desert-Rendezvous-Official-Thread

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Anticline in Fish Creek Wash

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View from top of Pinyon Dropoff with Hapaha Flat in distance and trucks below.

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Sandstone Canyon
 

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