Builds Eric’s ‘08 GX470 build

[estoddart]

We took a 5000+ mile trip from Seattle (home) to Colorado and back hitting Moab and all sorts of wonderful places between. From 12,000’ highways to Hells Revenge, we pushed the truck pretty well. Not surprising we wore out a couple things on the journey.
A new set of BluePit wheel bearing were in need when we got home.

*here’s some pics from the trip too.

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

Absolutely beautiful! Did you take I-5 south through OR or cut east on I-84? Weather in La Grand or Medford area seems challenging this time of year.

 

[estoddart]

Absolutely beautiful! Did you take I-5 south through OR or cut east on I-84? Weather in La Grand or Medford area seems challenging this time of year.

This "build" thread is a little behind. We left Seattle on this trip June 6th. We cut east through Boise(I-84) to Salt Lake to Moab to Ridgeway, CO and spent time around Ouray, Telluride, Siverton...

 

[estoddart]

After some long trips I was really tired of our current water storage. A 5 gallon cube with a spout and for longer trips another 7 gallon plastic “Gerry can”. They took up tons of room and were awkward to carry.

Enter the front runner slim 11 gallon water tank. It tucked between the 2nd row seats and Dobinsons drawers nicely and we plumbed it to a water pump and spray nozzle. The pump is hidden on the drivers side under the wing of the drawers.

wired a switch just inside the rear hatch to turn the on-demand pump on And added a duel USB/volt meter because I could.

 

[estoddart]

I guess I've been horrible about keeping this build thread up. So lets play some catchup...

-Dobinsons 701v 3" LT progressive rate rear springs (upgraded from 677v LT)
While waiting for our big suspension upgrade to get to us we pre-emptively swapped out the rear springs. First to 677v long travel and then to 701v progressive rate long travel. For our weight these have been just perfect. Thanks as always to Kyle at Treaty Oak Offroad for the help

-WAT Nomad Valve Body upgrade (170,000 miles)
After putting over 35,000 miles on the truck I've been very curious about this one. I talked with the Cruiser Brothers guy and some customers and decided to pull the trigger.

-Rear bumper folding steps
Who doesn't need more stepping points when crawling around the truck. They also double as good drink holders

-Wheeler Offroad Bump stops, front/rear
Change the suspension, extend the bumps. Easy peasy.

-Rear camera relocated to hitch
With the new rear bumper and tire carrier, the OEM camera location was completely worthless. I found a nice little spot right above the 2" receiver/tow hitch.

-Front bumper, Forward camera installed
With the additions on the GROM to our OEM Nav screen, it allowed for a second AV input. Front camera we get.

-Motorcityremotes.com remote starter
I had a remote starter on the Land Cruiser and my wife's RAV4. It was time the GX got one too. I've used this company many times and the self install takes some time but isn't really very hard.

 

[ebbs15]

Thoughts on the nomad valve body?

 

[kody472]

This is an awesome build. How much do you think you can tow with the Coastal bumper? I'd love to change my stocker out, but I tow a 3,000 lbs. trailer.

 

[estoddart]

Thoughts on the nomad valve body?

so far all seems good. We've put maybe 6000miles on it. I'd like to get their TC lock out also.

 

[estoddart]

This is an awesome build. How much do you think you can tow with the Coastal bumper? I'd love to change my stocker out, but I tow a 3,000 lbs. trailer.

3000lbs shouldn't be a problem at all. The coastal hitch is basically the same as the 4runner hitch and that's rated to 5000lbs I believe. I need to pull our 5k-6klbs boat out of the water on it's trailer this weekend. I'll post up if anything horrible happens.

 

[estoddart]

-Proforged T4R rear sway bar end links
Word was that the T4R, rear sway bar endlinks were a little longer then our GX470's. They are, and it aligns the rear axle slightly better and gives a little more suspension movement with the extended travel rear coils.

-Extended rear diff breather
Super easy, I'm not sure why it took me so long to get this one done. I routed the new breather hose up to the fuel door. We've done several deep water crossings and I change the front and rear diff oil every 30K or so. I haven't seen any evidence of water getting in either but this is just good insurance.

-Rear door Blue Ridge Overland Gear Velcro bag organizers w/ Velcro panel
Everything has it's place and there's a place for everything. We try to stay very organized and this is just one more thing to help.
Also, the OEM tool tray was pretty useless and taking up valuable real-estate.

-CVJ High angle CV joints, 3/19/20
I tore the boot on the drivers side on our last big trip to Colorado, and what luck CVJ is based outta Denver. I made an excuse to go by their shop and sends this red beauties back home waiting for me. It's a good multiple hour job, but not all that difficult.

 

[ebbs15]

so far all seems good. We've put maybe 6000miles on it. I'd like to get their TC lock out also.

What changes have you noticed?

 

[estoddart]

What changes have you noticed?

It holds gears longer and the shifts feel a little "sportier", more firm. We might have picked up a mpg or so also.

 

[estoddart]

-Rear cargo area Blue Sea 12v/USB panel.
We picked up a Dometic CFX 75 fridge so I wanted to make a little home for it where we use to keep our Yeti 105 cooler. This panel had the 12v plug the fridge needs on a switch so we could turn it on or off appropriately.
*Side note, we love and trust everything Blue Sea makes. We have used their products in our Land Cruiser, GX and multiple boats we've owned.

-Fridge platform.
We had a platform of sorts in this spot that held our Yeti 105 cooler. The Dometic CFX 75 is just about the exact same size. I rebuilt the scrap plywood and 2x4 chunks and bolted it to the OEM 2nd row attachments holes. A little foam shop flooring was added to easy jolting of the fridge going down the trail and it's the perfect home for the Dometic. It's nice to roll down the rear window and grab a cold drink or snacks right out.

 

[teemo901]

Hi is this 17x8.5 -10MM or 17x9 -38MM?

 

[estoddart]

Hi is this 17x8.5 -10MM or 17x9 -38MM?

Here’s what my wheels are:

 

[estoddart]

-Dobinson's front MRA standard travel (C59-352 springs)
-Dobinson's rear MRA long travel (701v springs)

Being able to adjust the high speed & low speed compression and the rebound has been a huge game changer. It seems the faster you drive over speed bumps, rocks, washboard or drainage cuts the better these shocks work and the better they feel. Being able to keep both the rear tires planted on the ground is amazing too.

 

[estoddart]

Mounting locations of the remote reservoirs:

Driver Rear:

Passenger rear:

Passenger front:

Driver front:

Driver front:

 

[estoddart]

-Gobi rack custom rear step/platform

When climbing around on the rear of the rack we wanted a little more room for our feet to feel a little safer. A scrap piece of aluminum diamond plate and we had Rinolined works perfect.

 

[estoddart]

-WeBoost 4G-X cell booster w/ Drive OTR antenna

This isn’t some magical box that will give your iPhone signal like it’s a satellite phone but it does work.
On our last trip in Canyonlands NP I was 40’ up on top of a huge rock and happened to see one bar of service. I sent a text and it slowly went through. I tried to make a call and it failed. I climbed back down to the GX, turned on the WeBoost and had two bars of service instantly. I tried the phone again and my call went through great. I was impressed.

 

[estoddart]

-SmartTap flasher module CF18
One of my top five favorite modifications for the GX. We can now run LED turn bulb. "Tap to signal", one touch gives you 4 flashes when changing lanes. Programable flasher modes and more.

-Toyota wire harness - 82241-35010
You need this to use the SmartTap

-New RTT mattress (45 density)
After two years we wanted a more firm mattress so this was an easy upgrade.

-Re-built rear swingout with 4x Innovations hinge and locking handle
A stronger hinge, more solid handle and now a full length swingout with a propane mount and rack for the aluminum boards.