Builds eatSleepWoof's '14 LX
- Thread starter eatSleepWoof
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- Thread starter
- #262
Went down a super tight trail that I hoped would prove to be a shortcut back to my home neighbourhood. That idea got rejected at about 10:52 into the video. If the LX were an inch narrower I could have fit! At that point I was literally 15 minutes from home. Going back out and getting home took around 1.5 hrs, instead. Bummer.
This trail doesn't see anything but dirtbikes and ATVs, thus it was proper Lexus country.
Wide-angle camera makes it look like a huge FSR. Trail was mostly narrower than the LX, steep, with a ton of loose rock, mud, the occasional ditch, etc.
This trail doesn't see anything but dirtbikes and ATVs, thus it was proper Lexus country.
Wide-angle camera makes it look like a huge FSR. Trail was mostly narrower than the LX, steep, with a ton of loose rock, mud, the occasional ditch, etc.
- Thread starter
- #263
My Unique 2.8 cu/ft fridge finally arrived this Saturday, so today was install day. I thought I could make this work in the space gained from removal of the 40 section of the 60/40 2nd row seats, but no dice. Absolutely no way to fit it, so I had to re-install that seat and instead pull the 60 section. This fits, but in only one orientation, and is quite tight. Another few inches of length in the fridge and it wouldn't work.
This fridge is only $900 CAD ($653 USD), comes with a case, bluetooth-connect phone application, has dual compartments, and fits 80L of food. Compared to an ARB63 QT (70L) that I had a few years ago, this is way better value.
Since the 2nd row seats have a ton of noise dampening material, I decided to add two layers of mass loaded vinyl to the bottom of the fridge to try to make up some of that noise deadening. I didn't attach these in any way, but rather just slid the case overtop.
I tried about a half-dozen different tie-down solutions, and found this to be the most secure option: two d-rings on the original seat mounting bolts.
A pair of ratchet straps then wrap around the fridge and hook on the seat mounting hardware at the rear:
This setup is rock-solid. Trying to shake the fridge instead shakes the entire car - great!
Under the fridge's lid you have lids for individual compartments:
To eliminate in-transit rattling, I cut some pieces of clear, 1/4" hose, slit each hose lengthways, and added it to the basket, with a few rolls of electrical tape on top. I added ten such pieces to each of the three baskets:
The cover fits quite nicely, but has a flaw in that it falls off when you lift the lid. This wouldn't do, so I added three pieces of industrial-strength velcro on top of the lid, and pressed the cover down on it. The cover now stays in place and doesn't fall off when I lift the lid.
The phone application is pretty poor. During installation it requires access to my files, photos, and location. Denying access presents an error message in Chinese (?) and prompts for access again. You can't proceed without giving this access. Why in the hell would these items be required? The answer sure as hell will not be anything beneficial to you as the end user. On a positive note, ~3 hours after granting this access, I see the app has not used any mobile data, so it hasn't sent my personal info anywhere just yet. In any case, I'm disabling permissions to those items, and will report back whether the app continues to work without them.
Despite these issues and a poor UI, it does give you easy control over the fridge, and even shows historical data on temperatures & electric usage over the last 24hrs of use. That'll come in handy.
Finally, I installed a 2.2ohm resistor to get rid of the SRS error light on the dash, and wrapped it in heat shrink.
I plugged the fridge into the 12v socket under the AC vents on the rear of the centre console (facing the 2nd row) and was bummed to discover that it's not constantly powered, but rather ignition-switched power. I wasn't planning on running new wiring from the battery to this location, and probably won't have time to do it before next weekend's camping trip. Figure I'll just bring a 12v extension and alligator clips, and change the fridge over to that in camp.
I'm not planning on installing a dual battery setup; done that before and am not interested. I'd love to get a Goal Zero Yeti 1000, but it's cost prohibitive. Maybe when the Canada-US border opens up and we make a trip down south, I'll pick one up down there at a slightly cheaper price point. I've also yet to properly look into the numerous alternatives that are available. For now I've set the low-voltage cut off at the "middle" setting, and plan to run the LX for a half hour every day to charge up the battery. I'll also probably turn the fridge off at night.
This fridge is only $900 CAD ($653 USD), comes with a case, bluetooth-connect phone application, has dual compartments, and fits 80L of food. Compared to an ARB63 QT (70L) that I had a few years ago, this is way better value.
Since the 2nd row seats have a ton of noise dampening material, I decided to add two layers of mass loaded vinyl to the bottom of the fridge to try to make up some of that noise deadening. I didn't attach these in any way, but rather just slid the case overtop.
I tried about a half-dozen different tie-down solutions, and found this to be the most secure option: two d-rings on the original seat mounting bolts.
A pair of ratchet straps then wrap around the fridge and hook on the seat mounting hardware at the rear:
This setup is rock-solid. Trying to shake the fridge instead shakes the entire car - great!
Under the fridge's lid you have lids for individual compartments:
To eliminate in-transit rattling, I cut some pieces of clear, 1/4" hose, slit each hose lengthways, and added it to the basket, with a few rolls of electrical tape on top. I added ten such pieces to each of the three baskets:
The cover fits quite nicely, but has a flaw in that it falls off when you lift the lid. This wouldn't do, so I added three pieces of industrial-strength velcro on top of the lid, and pressed the cover down on it. The cover now stays in place and doesn't fall off when I lift the lid.
The phone application is pretty poor. During installation it requires access to my files, photos, and location. Denying access presents an error message in Chinese (?) and prompts for access again. You can't proceed without giving this access. Why in the hell would these items be required? The answer sure as hell will not be anything beneficial to you as the end user. On a positive note, ~3 hours after granting this access, I see the app has not used any mobile data, so it hasn't sent my personal info anywhere just yet. In any case, I'm disabling permissions to those items, and will report back whether the app continues to work without them.
Despite these issues and a poor UI, it does give you easy control over the fridge, and even shows historical data on temperatures & electric usage over the last 24hrs of use. That'll come in handy.
Finally, I installed a 2.2ohm resistor to get rid of the SRS error light on the dash, and wrapped it in heat shrink.
I plugged the fridge into the 12v socket under the AC vents on the rear of the centre console (facing the 2nd row) and was bummed to discover that it's not constantly powered, but rather ignition-switched power. I wasn't planning on running new wiring from the battery to this location, and probably won't have time to do it before next weekend's camping trip. Figure I'll just bring a 12v extension and alligator clips, and change the fridge over to that in camp.
I'm not planning on installing a dual battery setup; done that before and am not interested. I'd love to get a Goal Zero Yeti 1000, but it's cost prohibitive. Maybe when the Canada-US border opens up and we make a trip down south, I'll pick one up down there at a slightly cheaper price point. I've also yet to properly look into the numerous alternatives that are available. For now I've set the low-voltage cut off at the "middle" setting, and plan to run the LX for a half hour every day to charge up the battery. I'll also probably turn the fridge off at night.
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- Thread starter
- #264
I've long wanted a new rack, specifically a 84x49 Rhino Rack, but couldn't (and still can't) justify the cost.
In early winter I bought a LC200 rack off a Mud member, and tonight I finally got around to opening the package and installing it.
After a quick cleaning, this is what I had:
It's not evident in the photos, but there was a ton of fading. In person the rack looked more grey than black, and that would not do. A cover for one of the middle mounting points was also damaged upon initial removal, but the previous owner glued it up nicely. I sanded down the exposed glue at the crack, and also hit the rest of the rack with 80 grit, and then steel wool.
Then I sprayed on a few layers of Duplicolor's self-etching primer:
The primer was followed by a few layers of gloss black:
I was running out of paint, and also not crazy about the gloss black colour, so I went to the local Canadian Tire for reinforcements.
I came back with a can of this:
Which then resulted in this:
This is a metallic, textured paint. The texture is like a semi-rough sandpaper; I kind of like it, and kind of don't, but the colour is real nice. Not as boring as matte black, not as blingy as glossy black; clean without being obnoxious, and provides a nice contrast to my LX's black paint. It's just a bit darker than the OEM rack on the LX.
Install went smooth and easy:
Quite happy with how it turned out. Hope it'll hold up fine through the touch-style car wash I've come to frequent a few times per week. Just need to order some extruded aluminium for the cross bars, and that'll be it for a while. One day I'll get that Rhino Rack, but it won't be today.
In early winter I bought a LC200 rack off a Mud member, and tonight I finally got around to opening the package and installing it.
After a quick cleaning, this is what I had:
It's not evident in the photos, but there was a ton of fading. In person the rack looked more grey than black, and that would not do. A cover for one of the middle mounting points was also damaged upon initial removal, but the previous owner glued it up nicely. I sanded down the exposed glue at the crack, and also hit the rest of the rack with 80 grit, and then steel wool.
Then I sprayed on a few layers of Duplicolor's self-etching primer:
The primer was followed by a few layers of gloss black:
I was running out of paint, and also not crazy about the gloss black colour, so I went to the local Canadian Tire for reinforcements.
I came back with a can of this:
Which then resulted in this:
This is a metallic, textured paint. The texture is like a semi-rough sandpaper; I kind of like it, and kind of don't, but the colour is real nice. Not as boring as matte black, not as blingy as glossy black; clean without being obnoxious, and provides a nice contrast to my LX's black paint. It's just a bit darker than the OEM rack on the LX.
Install went smooth and easy:
Quite happy with how it turned out. Hope it'll hold up fine through the touch-style car wash I've come to frequent a few times per week. Just need to order some extruded aluminium for the cross bars, and that'll be it for a while. One day I'll get that Rhino Rack, but it won't be today.
Last edited:
My Unique 2.8 cu/ft fridge finally arrived this Saturday, so today was install day. I thought I could make this work in the space gained from removal of the 40 section of the 60/40 2nd row seats, but no dice. Absolutely no way to fit it, so I had to re-install that seat and instead pull the 60 section. This fits, but in only one orientation, and is quite tight. Another few inches of length in the fridge and it wouldn't work.
This fridge is only $900 CAD ($653 USD), comes with a case, bluetooth-connect phone application, has dual compartments, and fits 80L of food. Compared to an ARB63 QT (70L) that I had a few years ago, this is way better value.
Since the 2nd row seats have a ton of noise dampening material, I decided to add two layers of mass loaded vinyl to the bottom of the fridge to try to make up some of that noise deadening. I didn't attach these in any way, but rather just slid the case overtop.
I tried about a half-dozen different tie-down solutions, and found this to be the most secure option: two d-rings on the original seat mounting bolts.
A pair of ratchet straps then wrap around the fridge and hook on the seat mounting hardware at the rear:
This setup is rock-solid. Trying to shake the fridge instead shakes the entire car - great!
Under the fridge's lid you have lids for individual compartments:
To eliminate in-transit rattling, I cut some pieces of clear, 1/4" hose, slit each hose lengthways, and added it to the basket, with a few rolls of electrical tape on top. I added ten such pieces to each of the three baskets:
The cover fits quite nicely, but has a flaw in that it falls off when you lift the lid. This wouldn't do, so I added three pieces of industrial-strength velcro on top of the lid, and pressed the cover down on it. The cover now stays in place and doesn't fall off when I lift the lid.
The phone application is pretty poor. During installation it requires access to my files, photos, and location. Denying access presents an error message in Chinese (?) and prompts for access again. You can't proceed without giving this access. Why in the hell would these items be required? The answer sure as hell will not be anything beneficial to you as the end user. On a positive note, ~3 hours after granting this access, I see the app has not used any mobile data, so it hasn't sent my personal info anywhere just yet. In any case, I'm disabling permissions to those items, and will report back whether the app continues to work without them.
Despite these issues and a poor UI, it does give you easy control over the fridge, and even shows historical data on temperatures & electric usage over the last 24hrs of use. That'll come in handy.
Finally, I installed a 2.2ohm resistor to get rid of the SRS error light on the dash, and wrapped it in heat shrink.
I plugged the fridge into the 12v socket under the AC vents on the rear of the centre console (facing the 2nd row) and was bummed to discover that it's not constantly powered, but rather ignition-switched power. I wasn't planning on running new wiring from the battery to this location, and probably won't have time to do it before next weekend's camping trip. Figure I'll just bring a 12v extension and alligator clips, and change the fridge over to that in camp.
I'm not planning on installing a dual battery setup; done that before and am not interested. I'd love to get a Goal Zero Yeti 1000, but it's cost prohibitive. Maybe when the Canada-US border opens up and we make a trip down south, I'll pick one up down there at a slightly cheaper price point. I've also yet to properly look into the numerous alternatives that are available. For now I've set the low-voltage cut off at the "middle" setting, and plan to run the LX for a half hour every day to charge up the battery. I'll also probably turn the fridge off at night.
Thanks for this post! This is exactly where I am at with trying to figure out 2nd row placement for a fridge! I was curious how the resistor went on as well.
- Thread starter
- #267
It really does make a big difference. I previously tried mounting cargo boxes and other items and found the rack to be seriously lacking stability due to how close the cross bars were (at their max spread). This setup should be much more practical.
I've also ordered 6 extruded aluminium cross bars and accompanying hardware. Can't wait to get them and finish this little project!
1world1love
SILVER Star
I fixed your post for you.
1world1love
SILVER Star
Hahah, thanks. Typing engrish while trying to hold a conference call can be challenged at times. Hope I didn't say anything too wrong in my telecon either.
I didn't even notice the typo
- Thread starter
- #271
Using the awesome idea in this thread, I added a red cargo light:
It's very bright, spreads light quite well, and should work great for those late-nights in camp.
It's very bright, spreads light quite well, and should work great for those late-nights in camp.
- Thread starter
- #272
Went through a "touch" car wash and am happy to report the painted roof rails held up great. Not a mark on them.
- Thread starter
- #273
The painted LC200 rack did start chipping from the car washes. I was going through them 3-4 times per week, and a few pieces of paint eventually flaked off. I'm done with those touch car washes - they were starting to scratch the paint, too. Very convenient, especially on a perpetually filthy black car, but not worth it.
I wasn't overly happy with the rack, nor did the 80/20-like crossbars work out for my needs, so a while back I placed an order for a Rhino Rack LC200 fit kit + six legs + 3 vortex cross bars. I originally ordered 53"-wide cross bars, but with a recent decision to purchase an AluCab RTT, I needed wider bars, so I switched them out for the 59" width. Mounted everything last night:
The shorter bars would have looked better, but these will be more practical. There is a t-channel on both the top and (parts of) the bottom for easy mounting of accessories. It is wider than an M8 bolt, but the FrontRunner "track nuts" (which accept an M8 bolt) fit very well. Very happy with the fit and finish of all parts - well made kit, with good instructions.
I wasn't overly happy with the rack, nor did the 80/20-like crossbars work out for my needs, so a while back I placed an order for a Rhino Rack LC200 fit kit + six legs + 3 vortex cross bars. I originally ordered 53"-wide cross bars, but with a recent decision to purchase an AluCab RTT, I needed wider bars, so I switched them out for the 59" width. Mounted everything last night:
The shorter bars would have looked better, but these will be more practical. There is a t-channel on both the top and (parts of) the bottom for easy mounting of accessories. It is wider than an M8 bolt, but the FrontRunner "track nuts" (which accept an M8 bolt) fit very well. Very happy with the fit and finish of all parts - well made kit, with good instructions.
- Thread starter
- #274
I left the crossbars' top channels empty (didn't cover them up with the rubber filler strips) and that results in ridiculous wind noise. At 40kph it's already quite audible, and at 70kph+ it's simply obnoxious. I'm quite sure the filler strips will take care of the problem, but haven't gotten that done yet. Will also be ordering a wind deflector.
In the meantime I picked up the AluCab Gen3 RTT and Shadow Awning from the awesome guys at Adventure Trucks in Kelowna. They spent over 5 hours getting the tent properly mounted, including making a few custom stainless brackets for the frontmost crossbar, trimming my crossbars so that they aren't wider than they need to be, and generally working out millimetre precision. Can't say enough good things about this shop!
I instantly got rid of the bulky and annoying ladder that came with the tent, and picked up a CVT telescoping ladder from the same shop. The rear hatch of the LX would hit the rear ladder mount, and we couldn't move the tent forward any more. We tried removing the ladder mount, but couldn't do it as part of the hardware is inaccessible due to being covered by the interior "electrical box." We opted to trim the bracket and cut off the protruding parts.
This fixed the hatch clearance, and I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the awning almost clears the hatch, too. I say almost as there is contact, but it's minor, and a piece of adhesive-lined foam on the awning's arm took care of that issue.
The tent and awning both look and feel like very quality pieces of gear, and I'm very happy with how things came together. Best of all, I can remove the entire thing by removing just six bolts (one in each foot of the cross bars).
In the meantime I picked up the AluCab Gen3 RTT and Shadow Awning from the awesome guys at Adventure Trucks in Kelowna. They spent over 5 hours getting the tent properly mounted, including making a few custom stainless brackets for the frontmost crossbar, trimming my crossbars so that they aren't wider than they need to be, and generally working out millimetre precision. Can't say enough good things about this shop!
I instantly got rid of the bulky and annoying ladder that came with the tent, and picked up a CVT telescoping ladder from the same shop. The rear hatch of the LX would hit the rear ladder mount, and we couldn't move the tent forward any more. We tried removing the ladder mount, but couldn't do it as part of the hardware is inaccessible due to being covered by the interior "electrical box." We opted to trim the bracket and cut off the protruding parts.
This fixed the hatch clearance, and I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the awning almost clears the hatch, too. I say almost as there is contact, but it's minor, and a piece of adhesive-lined foam on the awning's arm took care of that issue.
The tent and awning both look and feel like very quality pieces of gear, and I'm very happy with how things came together. Best of all, I can remove the entire thing by removing just six bolts (one in each foot of the cross bars).
Nice!
i had a similar setup on my 4runner (vortex bars with rts track) and LOVED it. Zero noise with the rubber strips in the channel.
i had a similar setup on my 4runner (vortex bars with rts track) and LOVED it. Zero noise with the rubber strips in the channel.
- Thread starter
- #276
Installed rubber strips on the upper and lower channels. With the tent and awning on there’s now virtually no noise until about 100kph, and even then, it’s quite quiet. Very happy with the noise improvement!
- Thread starter
- #278
I never considered the iKamper. I'm quite familiar with them, and think they are on the low to mid range of quality. Other aspects of those tents also didn't fit what we were looking for. Retail pricing for the AluCab can be found here: Alu-Cab Gen 3 Expedition Rooftop Tent
- Thread starter
- #279
The other week I removed the platform I built, and came up with a better and much more secure way of attaching it.
I found these u-bolt-like things in the ropes section of Home Depot. The inner diameter of the top piece was too narrow, but that was easily enlarged with an angle grinder, and soon enough these pieces clamped on to the 3rd tow seat hardware as if they were made for it:
I then drilled matching holes in the platform, made some ugly recesses for the hardware, and bolted it all together.
I also took this time to bolt down (vs. the previous method of screwing down) the airline tracks, add another track, and three more D-rings.
The rear-most Scepter can is held down by one strap (meant for a gas can), and the two front Scepter cans are also strapped down with another strap (meant for two water cans). The order is reversed in the photo, as I needed the (empty) gas can close by in order to fill it up.
Lastly, my cooler fits perfectly in the remaining space, and it's also strapped down:
Great fit:
This setup worked quite well during this weekend's camping trip.
Next up is figuring out how to make a drawer fit under these cans/cooler.
I found these u-bolt-like things in the ropes section of Home Depot. The inner diameter of the top piece was too narrow, but that was easily enlarged with an angle grinder, and soon enough these pieces clamped on to the 3rd tow seat hardware as if they were made for it:
I then drilled matching holes in the platform, made some ugly recesses for the hardware, and bolted it all together.
I also took this time to bolt down (vs. the previous method of screwing down) the airline tracks, add another track, and three more D-rings.
The rear-most Scepter can is held down by one strap (meant for a gas can), and the two front Scepter cans are also strapped down with another strap (meant for two water cans). The order is reversed in the photo, as I needed the (empty) gas can close by in order to fill it up.
Lastly, my cooler fits perfectly in the remaining space, and it's also strapped down:
Great fit:
This setup worked quite well during this weekend's camping trip.
Next up is figuring out how to make a drawer fit under these cans/cooler.
Stealing this idea for mounting!
