Hey guys,
I've had a ton of Toyota's I've built over the years, have a current JKU that's pretty much a trailer queen now on 38's and setup for crawling, and I've recently purchased this Black 2013 LX 570 to be a more mild family hauler to some of our favorite places in the country like Moab, Silverton, Lake City, Ouray, Telluride...Alpine Loop areas, so something more mild, but I rarely do mild builds lol. I usually go off the deep end with all aspects of it with hardcore rock crawling being our go to choice when out on the trails.
BUT...I need your help to convince not to do this with this build and keep it as stock but capable as possible, but as comfortable as it is now with the stock AHC ride quality. So, to begin, here's all I've decided thus far:
1) 1.5" NST Body Lift
2) TKO Angled Sliders with heavy duty 3/16" AHC guards thanks to Jason Well's feedback, and we appear to wheel similarly.
3) Powerbrake BBK and Rear Replacement Rotors
4) Redarc Trail Brake Controller
5) I did take it to Finishing Touch in Maryville, TN where we live and have them 1-step paint correct it and ceramic coat it...difference was huge. I think only cost $895.
Here's pics of it in stock form...had 155K miles on it when I bought it a few months ago. So, my request is to get help from all you 200 series experts on how you'd build it, what parts are best, and what to stay away from. I have many ideas and like to do things differently to experiment and push the limits usually, but not sure I want to go this route this time around or not...but maybe lol. Not really concerned with the money side of it, more what's the best options out there. We'll take this vehicle cross country, probably tow a small enclosed ATC toy hauler with our RZR Turbo S, my son's dirtbike, and maybe our Single Seat RZR depending on who's going with us. Might use my F-450 to tow all of it too on a bigger trailer, so just depends what our trip plans look like. But, I want it to be versatile yet very capable without getting insane I guess.
Here's some thoughts I've had:
- Could I make a Dirt King Tundra Long Travel work and get the rear end to match similarly in track width somehow without stupidly big wheel spacers...custom wheels with different offsets maybe?
- I know I want to run 37x12.50R18 Maxxis RZR MT's for tires
- I've got two options for completely custom wheels, either ML Forged (Most Likely) or 9and3 wheels once I figure out suspension
- I'd like to keep AHC, but probably will need to swap to heavier springs to compensate for the increase in load on the AHC shocks. And the beauty of running the Dirt King setup is if I feel the dampening sucks, I could add a secondary bypass shocks
- Not sure what's available for long-traveling the rear, if anything at all for these rigs, but something will need to be done to try to reasonably match the track width up front if I end up going that route
- I don't mind fender trimming, body mount chops, etc, but if I do, I'll weld in completely new fender liners and then likely do a small lip of line-x around the fenders to finish it out like I did years ago on my LX 450. The flip side would be to just run as tight a positive offset as possible and trim as little as possible to fit the 37's and forget about all that extra work. The problem is knowing my wheeling style, if I have no poke, my body will get shredded most likely by rocks despite having sliders. I just know even if it's mild, I'll run the Rubicon and probably most of the trails in Moab in it still...luckily body damage out there is usually avoidable for the most part, outside of a few trails.
- Axle Gearing and Lockers...leaning towards ARB's front and rear and 5.29's...I like really low gearing for crawling...or should I slap Wearwolf portals on it or 74 Weld if they come out and have a good gear reduction lol? The struggle is real trying to decide knowing how I wheel lol.
- Bumpers...really like the minimalist approach of E&E Offroad's Rear Bumper: Low Profile Bumper | E&E Off-Road - https://www.ee-offroading.com/product-page/low-profile-bumper but also really like Dissent's bumpers with all the various things I can carry, etc. But, weight is already an issue with these pigs...probably don't really need a spare if I bring gluetreads and the like to repair the tires, if needed. But, I haven't cut or sliced a tire in 15 years, so thinking no spare for this build. I wish they also made a minimalist front bumper, as well...no idea what I want to run up front yet, but I know I'll need a winch, so what to choose here?
- Roof racks...I've never ran one, never needed one, but we might slap a rooftop tent up there, we might not. I'm not sure yet...not opposed to carrying some lightweight gear up top, but nothing heavy knowing how much it affects the off-camber wheeling. No idea what's best here and why.
- Skids...I really like the idea of running E&E's skids then cutting UHMW to put on the bottoms of them so it slides and does gouge the aluminum skids. I think that's the ideal combo, but nothing exists like that. The flip side is to run a full set of Bud Built aluminum skids and do the same thing with the UHMW. E&E is willing to give me the cad file to send to Factory UTV to cut the UHMW for me precisely, and I've asked Bud Built if they'd be willing to do the same, but I've not heard back from them yet.
- Auxilary Fuel Tank - I'm assuming LRA is the only option, then what size to go with. I know I don't want the big one, because it hangs down so low, so probably guessing the middle one.
- I like Garage Alpha's front grill, but it's been out of stock since I've found it a few months ago, but I'd like to run that since mine is so faded...looks like crap right now
- My son wants to wrap the whole truck when we're done in an army green, leaving bumpers and accents in black, which I think would look cool. All the chrome will go when that happens.
So, that's the extent of the thoughts I've put into it thus far. I welcome the feedback, logic, expertise of all you fellow wheelers to help me not waste money, but also pick the best of the best products and help me reason through why I should go a certain route or not. On my previous LX 450 build, I built the beginnings of the front and rear bumpers super high and tight, which I've considered doing for this too, but I'm just so limited on time compared to back in the day that it's probably not a great idea at this point.
I've had a ton of Toyota's I've built over the years, have a current JKU that's pretty much a trailer queen now on 38's and setup for crawling, and I've recently purchased this Black 2013 LX 570 to be a more mild family hauler to some of our favorite places in the country like Moab, Silverton, Lake City, Ouray, Telluride...Alpine Loop areas, so something more mild, but I rarely do mild builds lol. I usually go off the deep end with all aspects of it with hardcore rock crawling being our go to choice when out on the trails.
BUT...I need your help to convince not to do this with this build and keep it as stock but capable as possible, but as comfortable as it is now with the stock AHC ride quality. So, to begin, here's all I've decided thus far:
1) 1.5" NST Body Lift
2) TKO Angled Sliders with heavy duty 3/16" AHC guards thanks to Jason Well's feedback, and we appear to wheel similarly.
3) Powerbrake BBK and Rear Replacement Rotors
4) Redarc Trail Brake Controller
5) I did take it to Finishing Touch in Maryville, TN where we live and have them 1-step paint correct it and ceramic coat it...difference was huge. I think only cost $895.
Here's pics of it in stock form...had 155K miles on it when I bought it a few months ago. So, my request is to get help from all you 200 series experts on how you'd build it, what parts are best, and what to stay away from. I have many ideas and like to do things differently to experiment and push the limits usually, but not sure I want to go this route this time around or not...but maybe lol. Not really concerned with the money side of it, more what's the best options out there. We'll take this vehicle cross country, probably tow a small enclosed ATC toy hauler with our RZR Turbo S, my son's dirtbike, and maybe our Single Seat RZR depending on who's going with us. Might use my F-450 to tow all of it too on a bigger trailer, so just depends what our trip plans look like. But, I want it to be versatile yet very capable without getting insane I guess.
Here's some thoughts I've had:
- Could I make a Dirt King Tundra Long Travel work and get the rear end to match similarly in track width somehow without stupidly big wheel spacers...custom wheels with different offsets maybe?
- I know I want to run 37x12.50R18 Maxxis RZR MT's for tires
- I've got two options for completely custom wheels, either ML Forged (Most Likely) or 9and3 wheels once I figure out suspension
- I'd like to keep AHC, but probably will need to swap to heavier springs to compensate for the increase in load on the AHC shocks. And the beauty of running the Dirt King setup is if I feel the dampening sucks, I could add a secondary bypass shocks
- Not sure what's available for long-traveling the rear, if anything at all for these rigs, but something will need to be done to try to reasonably match the track width up front if I end up going that route
- I don't mind fender trimming, body mount chops, etc, but if I do, I'll weld in completely new fender liners and then likely do a small lip of line-x around the fenders to finish it out like I did years ago on my LX 450. The flip side would be to just run as tight a positive offset as possible and trim as little as possible to fit the 37's and forget about all that extra work. The problem is knowing my wheeling style, if I have no poke, my body will get shredded most likely by rocks despite having sliders. I just know even if it's mild, I'll run the Rubicon and probably most of the trails in Moab in it still...luckily body damage out there is usually avoidable for the most part, outside of a few trails.
- Axle Gearing and Lockers...leaning towards ARB's front and rear and 5.29's...I like really low gearing for crawling...or should I slap Wearwolf portals on it or 74 Weld if they come out and have a good gear reduction lol? The struggle is real trying to decide knowing how I wheel lol.
- Bumpers...really like the minimalist approach of E&E Offroad's Rear Bumper: Low Profile Bumper | E&E Off-Road - https://www.ee-offroading.com/product-page/low-profile-bumper but also really like Dissent's bumpers with all the various things I can carry, etc. But, weight is already an issue with these pigs...probably don't really need a spare if I bring gluetreads and the like to repair the tires, if needed. But, I haven't cut or sliced a tire in 15 years, so thinking no spare for this build. I wish they also made a minimalist front bumper, as well...no idea what I want to run up front yet, but I know I'll need a winch, so what to choose here?
- Roof racks...I've never ran one, never needed one, but we might slap a rooftop tent up there, we might not. I'm not sure yet...not opposed to carrying some lightweight gear up top, but nothing heavy knowing how much it affects the off-camber wheeling. No idea what's best here and why.
- Skids...I really like the idea of running E&E's skids then cutting UHMW to put on the bottoms of them so it slides and does gouge the aluminum skids. I think that's the ideal combo, but nothing exists like that. The flip side is to run a full set of Bud Built aluminum skids and do the same thing with the UHMW. E&E is willing to give me the cad file to send to Factory UTV to cut the UHMW for me precisely, and I've asked Bud Built if they'd be willing to do the same, but I've not heard back from them yet.
- Auxilary Fuel Tank - I'm assuming LRA is the only option, then what size to go with. I know I don't want the big one, because it hangs down so low, so probably guessing the middle one.
- I like Garage Alpha's front grill, but it's been out of stock since I've found it a few months ago, but I'd like to run that since mine is so faded...looks like crap right now
- My son wants to wrap the whole truck when we're done in an army green, leaving bumpers and accents in black, which I think would look cool. All the chrome will go when that happens.
So, that's the extent of the thoughts I've put into it thus far. I welcome the feedback, logic, expertise of all you fellow wheelers to help me not waste money, but also pick the best of the best products and help me reason through why I should go a certain route or not. On my previous LX 450 build, I built the beginnings of the front and rear bumpers super high and tight, which I've considered doing for this too, but I'm just so limited on time compared to back in the day that it's probably not a great idea at this point.
Last edited:
I'm also unclear why the foam needs trimmed up front if we're moving up the entire aluminum frame piece 1.5" to compensate for the lift...shouldn't it just fit right under the bumper like normal again? I still have some more reading to do in his thread to clarify those things, but so far so good on the disassembly.
