2013 LX 570 Build: "The Wanderer" (2 Viewers)

[adventurefam]

Goal: Build a vehicle capable of taking our family of 5 (3 boys under 8) and all our gear on off the beaten path adventures. We also wanted the ability to carry friends or grandparents along on occasion.

We considered Land Rover Discovery, LR4, LR3, Lexus GX, 4Runners, Landcruisers, and ultimately selected a 2013 LX 570 for its reliability, capability, size, and price. Also, the lux features helped win over the wifee.

Here it is on the lot on the day I bought it:

This is my first real build but I did own a somewhat capable 87 4Runner in high school. I think I'm subliminally trying to relive that with alot more responsibilities and a larger budget. Our immediate plans for this were/are:

Definitely ASAP:

• Roof rack for all our "gear" - Kids' necessities included.
• Wheels and tires
• Lightbar
• Camping lights for the side of the rack
• Brake controller
• Tow wiring harness
• 5 bike rack
• Fuelpax, Maxtrax mounted
• Ski carrier / cargo box
• Chrome delete as much as possible

Consider in the future:

• Roofrack mounted shower
• Drawer system and sleeping platform without permanently losing the third row
• CarPlay / Android Auto
• Rooftop tent for 5
• Front and rear bumpers
• Rock sliders

I've completed some of the "definitely" list and I'll share that soon.

Always open to questions and advice from the community.

 

[radman]

yessss!!!

 

[adventurefam]

Step one of the build was...not wheels or tires...but to solve the problem of where are we going to put all our stuff? Our prior adventure mobile was a Honda Odyssey, which has seemingly neverending storage space. If we were going to go anywhere beyond the mall with this thing, we needed more space. I looked at the Prinsu, Front Runner, and Gamiviti racks closely and ultimately, chose Prinsu because it was considerably cheaper, provided all the functionality I needed, was lighter, and looked much better (some helpful comparison from @radman here).

The install went ok especially thanks to this thread (required reading if you are removing the roof rails on an LX or LC). Despite preparation, we still had a problem with one of the dreaded brackets. I documented the problem here and @grinchy @livebetter36 @CharlieS and @BluffCruiserDC came to the rescue with a solution. I ordered a new bracket, dropped the back right headliner (easy), and replaced it from the bottom.

Call me cheap but I wasn't about to drop a load on high-end lighting that I rarely use so I went value on the light bar and the side camping lights. I got a referral to Code 4 LED from a buddy and the owner, Dean Hamilton was super helpful with helping me select the light bar and wiring harness. The light bar is super bright and looks great. I also went with a wiring harness with a wireless control so that I didn't have to run a wire through the firewall. As a bonus, it gives me this cool control to impress my friends with. For the side camping lights, I bought 2 of these bad boys on Amazon, which despite their cheap price, are surprisingly perfect for the use case. They sit flush on the rack and provide adequate light to set up camp in the dark without bothering your neighbors.

Here's the Wanderer after step 1.

 

[dubyahard]

For the side camping lights, I'm interested in how waterproof they are and if you can make them more waterproof. This seems to be an issue for the knock off versions.
I've been considering these.

 

[adventurefam]

Those look identical to the ones I have though even cheaper I haven't had them long enough for this to be a problem, especially since it rarely rains in NorCal this time of year. We'll see how they handle the winter. I haven't done anything to waterproof them further. I'd be interested if you find anything. At that price, it's worth a try. Can always switch them out for something better later. I'm even thinking about adding a couple more to the rear.

 

[ty240]

For the side camping lights, I'm interested in how waterproof they are and if you can make them more waterproof. This seems to be an issue for the knock off versions.
I've been considering these.

The 2 pack is on sale for prime members as a lightning deal here. Worth a try for $33.98.

 

[CWolg]

Looking forward to seeing this come along!

 

[dubyahard]

The 2 pack is on sale for prime members as a lightning deal here. Worth a try for $33.98.

I saw that! I finally pulled the trigger. Eventually, I'd like two on each side so I may try the forward ones first.

 

[adventurefam]

Installed a Redarc Tow-Pro Elite today.

How can I be sure it's functioning properly without actually pulling a trailer? What do units do when they are not pulling a trailer? When I press the brake, it flashes blue once. That's the only light it shows. No other colors than that. The Redarc website doesn't seem to be any help. I don't have a trailer to test the system on.

 

[afgman786]

Installed a Redarc Tow-Pro Elite today.

View attachment 2468286

How can I be sure it's functioning properly without actually pulling a trailer? What do units do when they are not pulling a trailer? When I press the brake, it flashes blue once. That's the only light it shows. No other colors than that. The Redarc website doesn't seem to be any help. I don't have a trailer to test the system on.

Mine never did anything or does anything until I hook up a trailer. That's when it does its initial calibration

 

[dubyahard]

Installed a Redarc Tow-Pro Elite today.

View attachment 2468286

How can I be sure it's functioning properly without actually pulling a trailer? What do units do when they are not pulling a trailer? When I press the brake, it flashes blue once. That's the only light it shows. No other colors than that. The Redarc website doesn't seem to be any help. I don't have a trailer to test the system on.

Mine never did anything or does anything until I hook up a trailer. That's when it does its initial calibration

Yeah, mine is off until it senses a plug in on the trailer harness. The for the first 5 minutes or so, it flashes the calibrating signature, blue and green I think, until it's calibrated then solid blue and then purple when you brake. It's slick and easy to use, just have to remember what all the flashing means.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

Installed a Redarc Tow-Pro Elite today.

View attachment 2468286

How can I be sure it's functioning properly without actually pulling a trailer? What do units do when they are not pulling a trailer? When I press the brake, it flashes blue once. That's the only light it shows. No other colors than that. The Redarc website doesn't seem to be any help. I don't have a trailer to test the system on.

I have the EXACT same concern! Gee, wouldn't it be great to be all hitched up, loaded, weighed in, motor running ready to roll down the road and THEN find out the controller does not work for some reason. Regarding the blue flash - mine does not do that AFAIK.
I haven't done this but this is what I found at Redarc's website:
Tow-Pro Elite Testing Procedure | REDARC Electronics

 

[SWUtah]

Just buy a set of BFG AT/KO’s 275/60/20 or 275/55/20’s or if you want to spend more $$ 285/55/20’s they will all fit, you’ll be good to go the Lexus wheels are premium forged wheels

 

[adventurefam]

I have the EXACT same concern! Gee, wouldn't it be great to be all hitched up, loaded, weighed in, motor running ready to roll down the road and THEN find out the controller does not work for some reason. Regarding the blue flash - mine does not do that AFAIK.
I haven't done this but this is what I found at Redarc's website:
Tow-Pro Elite Testing Procedure | REDARC Electronics

My thoughts exactly. Thanks for the link.

 

[adventurefam]

Got a DM asking how I got power to the light bar and rack lights so I thought I'd respond here in case others are thinking through this. I used a wire loom and ran the wire down the side of the windshield. I used some gorilla double-sided tape to help to keep it in place. It's solid and barely noticeable so far.

 

[mike552]

^^^ That’s keeping it simple, which is always good, but I wonder how difficult it would’ve been to remove/loosen the outside windshield trim to get a set of wires behind it. It’s all LED so I can’t imagine you’d need more than 16GA wiring... possibly 18GA.

 

[adventurefam]

Just buy a set of BFG AT/KO’s 275/60/20 or 275/55/20’s or if you want to spend more $$ 285/55/20’s they will all fit, you’ll be good to go the Lexus wheels are premium forged wheels

I wanted more rubber and less chrome under me so I went with 285/70/R17 KO2 with Icon Rebounds.

I bought from 4WP because they didn't charge shipping, and gave me $100 off the wheels. However, the customer service has been dreadful - they mistakenly installed one C load tire among the four E load tires. I'm still waiting for the replacement 3 weeks later and they still owe me $100.

There was quite a bit of rub on the front leading and trailing edge. For the trailing edge, I simply took off the mud flaps. For the leading edge, I followed @TeCKis300's advice here and it worked magically. I now have 0 rub.

One issue that I didn't expect was that the spare holder/bracket didn't fit the rebound wheels. A corner of the bracket would dig into an uneven surface on the wheel. We cut the offending corner off with a grinder. This is what it looks like now:

Very happy with how this wheel/tire combo turned out - especially since this LX no longer looks like a lux mall crawler.

As part of my upcoming partial dechroming, I will plastidip the fake beadlock nuts black.

 

[mike552]

Nice. What is the offset on those wheels?

 

[adventurefam]

Nice. What is the offset on those wheels?

+25

 

[pound]

The windshield trim comes off very easily FYI