Builds DMC Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[dmc]

So I'm going to start this thread on a bit of a rant about how much I love the 200. I wrote this article when I had my previous 200.

Evolution of an Icon

But I just want to say I'd basically forgotten the emotion and soul of that article over the last few years in a Tundra. I picked up my new 200 (2016, 38k miles, Certified, one owner $57K) in Augusta, GA back in Feb and drove it back to Utah. I've been holding off on taking it off road until lift and tires were done because it was immaculate underneath and that makes that job much easier. Weds I finally got the chance to really take it off road. I'd fallen back in love with driving the 200 on pavement about 5 hours after I bought it but I'd truly forgotten how amazing they are to drive off-road. I only got about a 100 miles in the other night. Mostly high-speed, but threw in some slow 4-low crawling stuff too. I averaged 9.2mpg that night so I was pushing it. I fell in love all over again. I learned long ago what I like in a truck so my build will be pretty simple but I also tend to do some things that make my trucks unique so I thought I'd start a thread so I can document those things for others as I go.

@cruiseroutfit Took care of the lift. Budget dictated I had to choose between drawers or BP51s. After a quick consult with Kurt I decided drawers were a better investment for me for how I use my truck. I've had no issues with the basic OME shocks in my trucks and think I'll be happy with them once again.

Lift:
OME 2702 Front Coils
OME 2723 Rear Coils
Nitrocharger Shocks
Light Racing UCAs

I really like the idea of a tall/skinny for the 200 so I went with the BFG T/A KO2 285 75 r17s (34 x 11). Which left me exploring the 17" wheel dilemma. We run RWs on our race truck so very familiar with both the wheel and diminishing availability. I decided the Icon Alloy Rebounds were the best route to go. Very happy with how they look and the although not ideal (17 x 8.5 25mm offset) they are really close. Tires don't stick out past the mudflaps, fenders and only slight rubbing on the KDSS arm. I'm sure as my coils soften up there might be other rub spots but so far only on back up full lock to the right.

Wheels/Tires:
BFG T/A KO2 285 75 r17s
Icon Alloy Rebound Titanium

I installed my drawers and got them loaded up. I've helped Kurt do a few sets and had them in my old truck so only about a 2 hour job (I'd already pulled the rear seats) and love the cleanliness of them.

This weekend I plan to install the Beat Sonic Nav mod and I'll post a few pics. I had the Prestigious Society in my last 200. They refunded my money twice this go around so need to try a different product.

Range is a huge priority for me. Both for wandering Utah and racing in Baja so next on the list will be finding a way to carry a spare and add a long range tank. Rear bumpers are obviously pricey so it might take a while to get to it.

I've attached a few before and after pics for reference.

 

[dmc]

and a few post usage pics...

oh and one from day 3 of ownership on the way home from Georgia.

 

[supercarrera]

I remember you from the 80s forum! Glad to see you here in the 200 forum now. Beautiful rig!

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

and a few post usage pics...

oh and one from day 3 of ownership on the way home from Georgia.

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Really liking the direction you’ve gone in this build, and looks like your priorities are similar to mine. And thanks again for the input via instagram, helped a lot with my decision making process. One question though....what made you decide on the 2702 front coils instead of the 2703?

 

[dmc]

Really liking the direction you’ve gone in this build, and looks like your priorities are similar to mine. And thanks again for the input via instagram, helped a lot with my decision making process. One question though....what made you decide on the 2702 front coils instead of the 2703?

Any front mods are a long way off. I might try and build a simple bar for my 4 ARB Intensity lights but a bumper and winch are way down the line. When they do show up I'll probably swap in stiffer coils. I need to edit my original post. I am running the trip packer on the front coil as well.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Any front mods are a long way off. I might try and build a simple bar for my 4 ARB Intensity lights but a bumper and winch are way down the line. When they do show up I'll probably swap in stiffer coils. I need to edit my original post. I am running the trip packer on GitHub nowthe front coil as well.

Thanks for the reply. I’m still on the fence about front coils. Like you, a front bumper is a long way off, but I do intend to do a dual battery setup and onboard air sooner rather than later. Maybe a concealed winch mount as well. Was thinking about sucking it up and going with the 2703’s so no need to swap later....and hope it’s not too stiff. I’m still on the stock suspension of my 2010LC that I purchased new, with 165k miles. Couldn’t be any harsher than what I’m experiencing right now

 

[Hoot23]

Looking forward to this one. Dave's a good dude. He thinks out his builds very carefully. I was very concerned when you went with a Tundra, haha. Nice to see you back in a Land Cruiser.

 

[mcgaskins]

I really like those Rebounds on the 200.

 

[Mogwai]

Any front mods are a long way off. I might try and build a simple bar for my 4 ARB Intensity lights but a bumper and winch are way down the line. When they do show up I'll probably swap in stiffer coils. I need to edit my original post. I am running the trip packer on the front coil as well.

Hey can you post the pic of your old 100 series front bar? I really think one of the vendors on here can figure out how to make something similar for the 200s. I know you said you tried but the lines didn't quite look right?

 

[dmc]

Hey can you post the pic of your old 100 series front bar? I really think one of the vendors on here can figure out how to make something similar for the 200s. I know you said you tried but the lines didn't quite look right?

It's the fender line on the 200 that I can't wrap my head around. I'd rather replace the factory bumper than cut it. I realize at some point I'll have to cut it to do a replacement but as I'm still CPO (my old 200 was as well) I don't want to give a dealer any reason to deny warranty claims.

 

[dmc]

And some winch pics...

 

[dmc]

Got some more accomplished Saturday and also last night. I installed the Beat Sonic screen mirroring system...



I didn't get any pics of the process but aside from my absolute fear of breaking off a clip when disassembling the dash it was a simple job. Less than an hour. I have a Samsung Note 8 and so far it works exactly as advertised. I also removed the rear displays. One of them wasn't working and as a single guy I have no need for them. I have an idea of how I want to fill the seat voids but it will take some time to get it done. I'll post up once I do.

I got my fridge mounted up and rear switch/handle installed. The wires on the rear switch are very small gauge and my strippers didn't go that small so I had use a pair of sidecut pliers to strip them. Delicate work but other than that very straight forward. Install instructions from @cruiseroutfit are excellent. In really bad weather I'll sleep in the truck rather than in a tent. I did a month trip to Alaska a few summers ago and split my nights evenly between inside, ground tent and hotel (had a home office job and needed real internet to host Webex calls when the hotspot speeds didn't cut it) and like to have a very comfortable set up. I have a single, memory foam mattress and sheet set I use over my Exped XL to added to that set up.

Hadn't post a pic yet but I love having a real wood shift knobs in my trucks. It was the first 'mod' I did after the purchase.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Got some more accomplished Saturday and also last night. I installed the Beat Sonic screen mirroring system...



I didn't get any pics of the process but aside from my absolute fear of breaking off a clip when disassembling the dash it was a simple job. Less than an hour. I have a Samsung Note 8 and so far it works exactly as advertised. I also removed the rear displays. One of them wasn't working and as a single guy I have no need for them. I have an idea of how I want to fill the seat voids but it will take some time to get it done. I'll post up once I do.

I got my fridge mounted up and rear switch/handle installed. The wires on the rear switch are very small gauge and my strippers didn't go that small so I had use a pair of sidecut pliers to strip them. Delicate work but other than that very straight forward. Install instructions from @cruiseroutfit are excellent. In really bad weather I'll sleep in the truck rather than in a tent. I did a month trip to Alaska a few summers ago and split my nights evenly between inside, ground tent and hotel (had a home office job and needed real internet to host Webex calls when the hotspot speeds didn't cut it) and like to have a very comfortable set up. I have a single, memory foam mattress and sheet set I use over my Exped XL to added to that set up.

Hadn't post a pic yet but I love having a real wood shift knobs in my trucks. It was the first 'mod' I did after the purchase.

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Love that shifter!

 

[Mogwai]

Did you install the Netgear piece with the Beat Sonic install? Is it "wireless"? Any lag? Also if you turn your phone screen off, say while navigating on Google maps, what happens on the car display?

 

[dmc]

Did you install the Netgear piece with the Beat Sonic install? Is it "wireless"? Any lag? Also if you turn your phone screen off, say while navigating on Google maps, what happens on the car display?

They recommend an Actiontec HDMI mirroring stick from Amazon on their site. Video is slightly older. @LALC upgraded to a Roku in his setup...

Beatsonic Smartphone Mirroring Kit

I've had no issues with the Actiontec in 3 days of use. As you'll see in his thread, like @LALC my phone did get too hot while casting and sitting on the wireless charger. I ran it plugged in for a long drive Sunday and had zero heat issues.

I'll test what happens with Google. I do know it will play waze/google map instructions over the top of anything I am watching if both are running. When I lock my phone that screen shows up on the dash display but haven't let it time out to see what happens. I'll try that tonight.

 

[LALC]

Did you install the Netgear piece with the Beat Sonic install? Is it "wireless"? Any lag? Also if you turn your phone screen off, say while navigating on Google maps, what happens on the car display?

Miracast just makes the video/audio output go to the screen. It literally shows exactly what you see on your phone screen and the same audio output, so if you lock your screen or turn the screen off you will still get any audio that the phone would put out, but you will only see the lock screen or a black screen if you turned the screen off.

As dmc mentioned, I changed up to a $35 roku and the video/audio lag is very small and often not at all.

 

[dmc]

Quick update on my lift/tire/wheel combination. I'll also add this to the aftermarket tire/wheel thread so it's more readily accessible. After a couple of thousand miles on my lift I'm starting to rub while backing up on any non-level surface. It happens when turning in either direction. I'm rubbing on bumper up front., not the fender liner or KDSS arm. It's very light but accentuated if backing through a gutter like I do every morning out of the driveway. I need to park when it's rubbing and see part of the tire is hitting. I'll probably throw on some small plate spacers to see what that does. However that will push the tire outside the fender opening which creates other problems. I was fully prepared to heat the liner to clearance the tire but didn't think it would rub on the bumper. It it doesn't get any worse I might just take a file or dremel and clearance the area just a bit.

OME 2702 Front Coils
OME 2723 Rear Coils
Nitrocharger Shocks
Light Racing UCAs

Wheels/Tires:
BFG T/A KO2 285 75 r17s (33.9 x 11.5)
Icon Alloy Rebound Titanium

 

[chiplee]

Hey great looking rig. Researching build parts myself and was curious if your latest pics in the LC200 picture thread were taken after you fixed the rubbing issue you mentioned here. Did you install a spacer and/or have to clearance the area?

 

[dmc]

Hey great looking rig. Researching build parts myself and was curious if your latest pics in the LC200 picture thread were taken after you fixed the rubbing issue you mentioned here. Did you install a spacer and/or have to clearance the area?

Thanks. So I had/have two places where I rubbed. Inner fender liner on the front self-clearanced after 10k mile of dirving. I still rub the front bumper if the perfect conditions exist. Meaning I have to be going about 35 and turned at the exact right angle and hit a deep bump. I haven't had it happen in the last few trips because I think I've learned to drive around it. At full lock backing up I still hit the KDSS arm but that's easily avoidable.

 

[chiplee]

Thanks. So I had/have two places where I rubbed. Inner fender liner on the front self-clearanced after 10k mile of dirving. I still rub the front bumper if the perfect conditions exist. Meaning I have to be going about 35 and turned at the exact right angle and hit a deep bump. I haven't had it happen in the last few trips because I think I've learned to drive around it. At full lock backing up I still hit the KDSS arm but that's easily avoidable.

Got it, thanks. So no spacer up front?