2015 build (1 Viewer)

[Qball]

Actually I agree with you. I would prefer no spacers and go with offset wheels, and in the future I’ll probably go that route. This is an interim solution to see if I really want a wider stance, I figure if I didn’t like it I could always sell them or go back to stock. I’ve only had them on for a few days so I’m still debating their effectiveness.

I have heard of wheel spacer failures, but then I’ve also heard of a lot of aftermarket wheel failures too, so either way there’s some risk. I like staying with OEM wheels because they’re probably better made than any aftermarket wheel out there. Many of the problems I was seeing was due to either stripped or broken wheel studs and/or vibrations. That is one of the reasons I went with spidertrax vs a knockoff brand. Wheel studs are grade 10.9 and I’m hoping American made means better quality control. We’ll see how well that turns out. And I was careful to follow the torque specs on the instructions.

I did consider wheel bearing and ball joint life. However that problem exists whether I go with offset wheels or spacers, the wheel bearings don’t know the difference. Looking at the design of the spindle it’s already offset, so the additional 1” does increase the stress, but it’s not like stock is centered about the neutral axis to begin with. I’d estimate it increases the moment arm about 20%.

To be honest the GX does need a little wider wheel track as it is quite narrow compared to other modern vehicles. Eventually I’ll go with a set of wheels with less offset, However I also agree with @r2m that at some point I’m going to want the long arm suspension anyways since a good set of wheels are already at 2 grand....slippery sloop indeed.

To all who are afraid of cheap wheels failing and think spacer is the better option..... the simple solution is don’t go buy the cheapest wheels from 4wheelparts!

 

[r2m]

Final shot

View attachment 1939308

It’s a quick and dirty build using mostly leftover materials because I wanted to try it out this setup before dropping a bunch of $$$ on better materials. Total cost is somewhere around $150-$200, the majority of that cost being the 36” full extension slide. The rest of it is misc hardware.

I’ve been using it for a few months now and I like it, but there are a few things I’d probably change in the next version. Next time I think I’d skip the full length drawer and go with a short drawer with trap door storage behind it. For one, once you go longer than 24” the drawer slides get really expensive. Most of the time I don’t need access to everything in the drawer so having such a large drawer just adds a lot of weight. A lot of items that don’t need quick access like tools and straps could be stored behind the drawer. I may add a sliding cover on top of the drawer o it could be used as a temporary table.

Really like your drawer and fridge setup! I've purchased all my heavy duty slides some time ago, but have not had the time or space to do the build. My garage is a mess right now with my daughter and granddaughter living with me. Our garage is full of wetsuits, surfboards, paddle boards, strollers, bicycles and our iKamper D) roof top tent that needs get back on top of my rig next month. I can barely get to my work bench or tool chest in our small one car garage.

Question: I can't tell from your first photo, but did you remove your rear seats or just build over them?

 

[r2m]

To be honest the GX does need a little wider wheel track as it is quite narrow compared to other modern vehicles. Eventually I’ll go with a set of wheels with less offset, However I also agree with @r2m that at some point I’m going to want the long arm suspension anyways since a good set of wheels are already at 2 grand....slippery sloop indeed.

To all who are afraid of cheap wheels failing and think spacer is the better option..... the simple solution is don’t go buy the cheapest wheels from 4wheelparts!

Regarding wheels, ideally for serious off-roading, the best wheels are aluminum (not cast aluminum) or steel wheels. This is on account of being aired down and take your wheel sideways into a rock or some how bend your wheel, note operative word: "bending" the wheel as opposed to shattering the wheel. An aluminum or steel wheel can be pounded back into shape to hold air again. A cheap cast aluminum wheel or other material may shatter and if you do that twice, you're really stuck on the trail.
Same thing applies for on road use also. If you should slide sideways into a curb or something a cheap cast wheel can shatter.

 

[Qball]

Regarding wheels, ideally for serious off-roading, the best wheels are aluminum (not cast aluminum) or steel wheels. This is on account of being aired down and take your wheel sideways into a rock or some how bend your wheel, note operative word: "bending" the wheel as opposed to shattering the wheel. An aluminum or steel wheel can be pounded back into shape to hold air again. A cheap cast aluminum wheel or other material may shatter and if you do that twice, you're really stuck on the trail.
Same thing applies for on road use also. If you should slide sideways into a curb or something a cheap cast wheel can shatter.

Basically ALL aftermarket wheels are cast except for the ones specifically says forged.....sadly forged wheels are rarely under 400 bucks a pop so yeah, not cheap. However a good quality cast aluminum wheels will bend instead of shattering, that depends on the quality of aluminum and the heat treatment process they use. To put things in perspective OEM wheels are cast also but obviously they are of the higher quality variety.

I have first-hand experience that Lexus cast wheels will bend, wife hit a chunk of concrete on the freeway at 80MPH and bent a wheel that has less than 5000 miles on it. Over $1000 dollars later I am confident that Lexus OEM cast aluminum wheels will not shatter!

 

[ducktapeguy]

Really like your drawer and fridge setup! I've purchased all my heavy duty slides some time ago, but have not had the time or space to do the build. My garage is a mess right now with my daughter and granddaughter living with me. Our garage is full of wetsuits, surfboards, paddle boards, strollers, bicycles and our iKamper D) roof top tent that needs get back on top of my rig next month. I can barely get to my work bench or tool chest in our small one car garage.

Question: I can't tell from your first photo, but did you remove your rear seats or just build over them?

I have the same problem. All my stuff is on wheels so I can wheel it out of the garage, which means I have to do all my work outside. That’s why most of my projects take 2-3x longer than it should, because I need to setup and cleanup every day so I can move my cars back into my driveway.

I removed the rear seats in order to reduce weight and gain a little more clearance. The 3rd row seats were pretty useless and heavy, it probably weigh less now with the drawer system and fridge than in stock form. In fact, other than the test drive, I don’t think the third row seats had ever been sat in . You can see the level of the seats where the rear sill trim piece is removed. The seats are about 6” high at the rear door and slope up to about 9” right behind the second row.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Basically ALL aftermarket wheels are cast except for the ones specifically says forged.....sadly forged wheels are rarely under 400 bucks a pop so yeah, not cheap. However a good quality cast aluminum wheels will bend instead of shattering, that depends on the quality of aluminum and the heat treatment process they use. To put things in perspective OEM wheels are cast also but obviously they are of the higher quality variety.

I have first-hand experience that Lexus cast wheels will bend, wife hit a chunk of concrete on the freeway at 80MPH and bent a wheel that has less than 5000 miles on it. Over $1000 dollars later I am confident that Lexus OEM cast aluminum wheels will not shatter!

I tend to agree with you. I have a friend that makes wheels, and even he said you won’t find better quality than OEM. They are designed for the general public, which means they have to be completely overbuilt and idiot proof. There is no way Toyota, or any car maker, is going to risk the liability with cheap wheels. Anything of comparable quality is going to be big $$$, which is why I was searching for a set of OEM tundra wheels that I heard might be 0 or 5mm offset? Not sure from which years, though

 

[Qball]

I tend to agree with you. I have a friend that makes wheels, and even he said you won’t find better quality than OEM. They are designed for the general public, which means they have to be completely overbuilt and idiot proof. There is no way Toyota, or any car maker, is going to risk the liability with cheap wheels. Anything of comparable quality is going to be big $$$, which is why I was searching for a set of OEM tundra wheels that I heard might be 0 or 5mm offset? Not sure from which years, though

Unfortunately all the Toyota wheels I know are at the same offset. Newer tundra wheels are 5 bolt vs 6 bolt so only old 6 bolt ones will fit but I’m pretty sure they are the same offset. Only wheels I know that have different or less offset would be the 80s wheels but biggest 6 bolt version wheels are 16 inch so probably not going to fit our caliper. So long and round about way of saying likely not. Hahahahaha

 

[ducktapeguy]

Thats too bad. I was hoping to find some take offs that would give me the right offset. So in order to increase track width, the only affordable choices seems to be spacers or aftermarket wheels.

I did look into long travel suspensions, but it’s way overkill for my needs. I went from keeping the GX mostly stock, to a maybe mild lift and tires. Then if I was gonna do that, I might as well get remote reservoirs and maybe some UCA, and a front bumper. I was trying to avoid a rear tire carrier bumper, but the Kaymar ones actually don’t look too bad. Then at that point a long travel almost seems reasonable, at least in my mind. Like you said, it’s a slippery slope. I haven’t done too much research, but how do the long travel kits match the rear track width to the front. Is it an all new axle housing?

Also forgot to add another minor alteration. Those of you with kids can probably understand and appreciate this. Some rubber door edge trim on the rear doors and cargo doors to prevent dings and scratches.

 

[Qball]

Thats too bad. I was hoping to find some take offs that would give me the right offset. So in order to increase track width, the only affordable choices seems to be spacers or aftermarket wheels.

I did look into long travel suspensions, but it’s way overkill for my needs. I went from keeping the GX mostly stock, to a maybe mild lift and tires. Then if I was gonna do that, I might as well get remote reservoirs and maybe some UCA, and a front bumper. I was trying to avoid a rear tire carrier bumper, but the Kaymar ones actually don’t look too bad. Then at that point a long travel almost seems reasonable, at least in my mind. Like you said, it’s a slippery slope. I haven’t done too much research, but how do the long travel kits match the rear track width to the front. Is it an all new axle housing?

Also forgot to add another minor alteration. Those of you with kids can probably understand and appreciate this. Some rubber door edge trim on the rear doors and cargo doors to prevent dings and scratches.
View attachment 1939730
View attachment 1939731

I’m in the same boat as you, I went down the slippery slope with my 80 and with just 6000 miles on my GX I’m NOT going down that slope for a while. Hell I even resisted the temptation of upgrading the tires.....doesn’t mean I haven’t looked.

For now I got sliders and that’s about it for a while. Once the tires wear out then I’ll probably get a set of 17 inch takeoffs and bigger tires. Maybe at 100+k and it’s not used as family wagon then I might go full board and get long arm. For now just some incremental improvements, even so I wouldn’t be too concerned about taking it to a mild trail.

Oh yeah the mother in-law will be driving it to pick up the kids so no lift for sure.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Unfortunately all the Toyota wheels I know are at the same offset. Newer tundra wheels are 5 bolt vs 6 bolt so only old 6 bolt ones will fit but I’m pretty sure they are the same offset. Only wheels I know that have different or less offset would be the 80s wheels but biggest 6 bolt version wheels are 16 inch so probably not going to fit our caliper. So long and round about way of saying likely not. Hahahahaha

Just saw these on sale. 4mm offset. Too bad I already bought tires and spacers, getting this wheel probably would’ve been cheaper and I would’ve been able to get a wider offset while using an OEM wheel

PTR2035110BK - Toyota Trd 17-in. Matte black - alloy wheel | Toyota, El Cajon CA

Nothing makes a statement quite like custom wheels. These alloys with the TRD logo center cap throw down while styling up.. Off-road race-inspired 17-in. x 7-in. cast aluminum wheel with 6 lug nut pattern. 11-mm. with 4-mm. wheel offset widens the overall vehicle track width by 0.9-in. (22 mm.)...

parts.toyotaofelcajon.com

 

[Qball]

Just saw these on sale. 4mm offset. Too bad I already bought tires and spacers, getting this wheel probably would’ve been cheaper and I would’ve been able to get a wider offset while using an OEM wheel

PTR2035110BK - Toyota Trd 17-in. Matte black - alloy wheel | Toyota, El Cajon CA

Nothing makes a statement quite like custom wheels. These alloys with the TRD logo center cap throw down while styling up.. Off-road race-inspired 17-in. x 7-in. cast aluminum wheel with 6 lug nut pattern. 11-mm. with 4-mm. wheel offset widens the overall vehicle track width by 0.9-in. (22 mm.)...

parts.toyotaofelcajon.com

So stock wheels are 52mm offset and the TRD wheels are 4mm so the wheels will stick out 1.88 inches? That seems a lot, does that sound about right? Also the wheels are only 7 inch wide but with the tires we can run that should not be an issue.

 

[r2m]

Good looking wheel at a good price!
I wouldn't mind wider for my rig, but there aren't any fenders that support it.
It would be nice if someone would make a fender flare kit that actually allows the wheel to cycle into full (suspension) compression without rubing and not just some stupid bolt on over the existing fender.
I'm thinking something like a pre-runner type fender flare, but maybe not so huge, just enough to cover a 33" to 35" tire in full compression. The Taco pre-runner flare kits usually allow up to six inches more width in the front end.

 

[LTSR]

So stock wheels are 52mm offset and the TRD wheels are 4mm so the wheels will stick out 1.88 inches? That seems a lot, does that sound about right? Also the wheels are only 7 inch wide but with the tires we can run that should not be an issue.

The trd wheels are also 9lbs lighter than stock wheels. Getting a C load tire for example at 44lbs (265/70/17 KO2) gives you a lighter combination than the stock bridgestone dueler ht 840, which comes in at a whopping 37lbs.

 

[BMRisko]

So stock wheels are 52mm offset and the TRD wheels are 4mm so the wheels will stick out 1.88 inches? That seems a lot, does that sound about right? Also the wheels are only 7 inch wide but with the tires we can run that should not be an issue.

Stock are 25mm offset.

 

[Qball]

Stock are 25mm offset.

Oh wow guess my eyes are that bad!

 

[BMRisko]

Oh wow guess my eyes are that bad!

To be fair, several sites have them mis-listed as 52mm, but I confirmed that the stamping on the back of the wheel is indeed +25.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Well it's been a while, but the lift is finally on. Originally I planned on getting a 2" lift on medium springs, but ended up with 3" heavy front and back. However, the initial lift number are much larger than expected, I'm sitting about 5" higher than before. I still need to install the bumper and winch and RTT, but I don't expect it to lower it that much. I'm hoping the spring settle a bit.

Before

After

Also, It took almost 8 months, but I finally received my DV8 bumper. Now that I see the front clearance with just the lift, I'm kinda having second thoughts about the bumper. The main reason was for approach angle, but with a bumper cut and lift I have plenty of approach angle. So I'm looking again at the CBI covert bumper.

 

[r2m]

Regarding your initial height, you ride will also be a little harsher. Putting some miles and weight on her, she'll start driving and looking great! She'll settle down to your original 3" height. Just needs to get acclimated to her new high heels!
BTW, looking good!!

 

[ducktapeguy]

Finishing up all the minor stuff after the lift took almost as much time as the lift itself. Had to do the zero point calibration because I was getting the traction control light error, but it took a while to get it right because I kept getting an error until I the the DAC calibration first. After that I had to extend the height sensor on the rear control arm to get my auto leveling headlights back to normal. Most people use spacers under the bracket but my sensor was too far out for that to work, so I needed to extend the arm.

Still not finished with everything yet. Next up I still need to get the PCK installed to fix the panhard angle, and I'm not sure if i need extended brake lines for the rear. Seems like the only ones available are for long travel and at 20" long, seem like they're way too long for this amount of lift. Also, I installed the 2" durobump stops from ORW, but not sure if I still need an extension. The bumpstops are for 2" lifts, but they don't make one for 3". I think I'm ok with the durobumps for now, but I'll have to flex it out to verify. I also need to get some new wheelwell liners, my front ones are gone.

I was hoping to head out this weekend and next weekend to give the springs a workout, but due to the CA National forest closures it looks like all my plans are on hold.

Also, if anyone was curious, here's a comparison of the 3" dobinsons springs vs stock. Getting the springs in on the rear axle was a workout.

 

[ducktapeguy]

Finally got my PCK installed. If anyone is contemplating getting a decent size lift, I'd highly recommend doing the panhard correction kit at the same time. Fixes the geometry back to stock and improves the ride. It wasn't that bad without the correction, but there was a slight bit of squirreliness in the rear axle when going over bumpy roads. This simple bracket fixes it.