Build: 2000 LX470, Our first foray into off-roading and Cruisers (1 Viewer)

[KCoverland]

Everything was going well until just before the 2nd water crossing, which is where we attempted to climb a rock to line up for the crossing, and broke our first CV of the trip. I was able to get it swapped out with one of our 2 spares in about 30 minutes (timed and filmed by Zachary Diehl ).

For whatever reason, that CV was faulty from the factory, because once it was swapped out, I went to pull up on the same rock again, and it broke the new CV at the center shaft. So we swapped in the last spare CV, and made it across the water crossing, only to then find out that my fan clutch had seized, which then broke my fan blades off when we went into the water crossing.

 

[KCoverland]

*I forgot to mention, you can get on Zachary Diehl's TikTok and he has a great multi-part video series on this whole trail, it was awesome having him along.*

This was the water crossing that killed the fan blades. But man does it look good in the water!

 

[KCoverland]

After the fan blades broke off it made things a little harder, since now we had to contend with keeping the truck temps under control, which often times meant that we would just shut it off every 5 or so minutes and let it cool as the others were working over an obstacle. But we ended up running all the way to mile 9.5 which is what is called the Committee Crossing. This is a somewhat shorter path off of the trail, but it has a pretty gnarly slick rock climb that is right on the other side of the water crossing, so we opted to take that route off of the trail. And by about 1:30am we had made it back onto gravel.

We were only about 45 minutes from the truck, and running 40MPH or faster it was able to keep the temps in check, so we did a little bit of rally driving to get back to the trailer.

After sleeping hard, we woke up and it was time to start packing up and getting ready for the long haul home.

 

[KCoverland]

After saying our goodbyes to the awesome crew we just went through that crucible with, it was time to hit the road headed back East towards KC. Thankfully we didnt have any issues on the way back, so we did make it back in around 32 hours.

 

[KCoverland]

After recovering for a while we were able to make it by @cjmoon 's shop to really get a good look at how bad the damage was on the underside of the LX, and let me tell you, it was pretty impressive.

 

[KCoverland]

The next thing we needed to get the truck ready for was our trip out to visit @OwnerCS down in the Ozarks, so I got to work getting the CV's swapped out with some fresh ones from Carquest, getting the spindle bearings swapped out for brass bushings, and making sure nothing else was too damaged to survive a gentle weekend of camping and some fire roads while we checked out the Fall colors in the Ozarks.

Also got some sweet footage of @Valleytechfab 's new 80 series armor while we were down there.

 

[KCoverland]

And here’s the 80.

I think it’s time I get one…

 

[KCoverland]

And here are a few more shots from the weekend!

Next outing is this coming weekend with the Tornado Alley Cruisers, and hopefully I don’t actually break the steering rack, because that’s pretty dang loose now

 

[Marvelicious]

After getting good USA grade-8 hardware on them, WITH the beadlock ring shims, they have been solid with no issues losing bolts or air. Prior to that I would have said to avoid them at all costs.

They have tackled some gnarly trails over the last couple of months, so I'd say that they have regained some of my trust, thankfully!

I appreciate the feedback. Looks like you've been busy!

For what it's worth, I'm thinking the gooseneck trailer was money very well spent. Bumper towing a heavy load is always a bit stressful.

 

[KCoverland]

I appreciate the feedback. Looks like you've been busy!

For what it's worth, I'm thinking the gooseneck trailer was money very well spent. Bumper towing a heavy load is always a bit stressful.

It has already hauled another cruiser as well, I’ve been happy with it; that’s for sure.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Daang man! That CA trip is the one for the books! Well done proving the world that an LX on AHC can do everything an 80 could do!

As for the damage underneath, remind us what sort of under carriage are you running?
Looks like you can just weld some T iron on the lower CA mounts and the LCAs themselves to make them stronger for the next time! A little concerned about the damage to the fame cross member that hold the torsion bar adjusters, hoping it is just the edges that got mashed and there are no actual structural issues!

 

[Marvelicious]

After getting good USA grade-8 hardware on them, WITH the beadlock ring shims, they have been solid with no issues losing bolts or air. Prior to that I would have said to avoid them at all costs.

They have tackled some gnarly trails over the last couple of months, so I'd say that they have regained some of my trust, thankfully!

I wound up ordering a set of those wheels, and since I'm sure it's a problem I'm going to experience for myself... Where did you get the spacers? Did you have to have them made? I found some for 32 bolts and some for 24 bolts, but none for 28. I imagine they would be inexpensive to water jet, but if there's an existing solution, I'd love to hear it.

 

[geo5]

Hi @KCoverland - awesome thread, read it a couple times, very entertaining, great photos.

Wondering your thoughts on the Ohana stealth panels, you’ve had them for a bit, good gear?