Builds Family Adventure 200

[psnyman]

"Do I *really* need a winch?"
Disclaimer: personal thoughts/opinions only. I was going to do a separate post on this to poke the bear and let chaos ensue but since it's a question I'm debating for my build I'm going to keep it in this build thread. I have done a fair amount of overlanding when I lived in South Africa going to remote places and ironically I've never owned a winch. I have gotten stuck and I have equipped and used recovery gear such as snatch straps, rigid bumpers and side steps to lift, the old trusty shovel, and friends/passersby to help. When touring Australia years back I did rent a Troopy to explore Fraser Island and got plenty stuck in the sand there as well, but didn't have a winch or MaxTrax and relied on the shovel, tire pressure etc. Emotionally I really like the Rhino bar, it looks as OEM as you can get for a good clearance bar, super sexy and appeals to the bling factor that works well with a LC200. The Doomsday prepper in me says go all in on a Summit ARB bar with limb risers etc. to build the quintesenntial Aussie Outback touring vehicle that I want to build. Will it help with a deer strike - sure. What is the probability of hitting a deer given where I live and how much I overland - mmmm. On my Africa trips I ran over small animals that scampered in front of the truck at the last minute, almost took out people walking on the road at night (don't drive in the dark), but never hit any medium-large animal. Same goes for my 4 months touring Australia in a Hi-Ace camper van - did the outback, never hit a roo. So logically, once I factor in the weight factor of a bar and a winch and the expected chances of using it who am I kidding? Maybe a light/strong enough bar to aid recovery with no winch is the answer? Not sure, will keep (over) thinking it. Comment if any of this resonates and each to their own.

 

[kcruiser200]

that silver looks gorgeous!!! i've been liking the silver more and more. seems like it enhances the fluidity of the lines of the truck. And man!!! whoever cleaned that engine bay deserves a medal.... i've seen new cars on the lot with dirtier engine bays that that!!! congratulations on a beautiful truck!!!

 

[grinchy]

"Do I *really* need a winch?"
Disclaimer: personal thoughts/opinions only. I was going to do a separate post on this to poke the bear and let chaos ensue but since it's a question I'm debating for my build I'm going to keep it in this build thread. I have done a fair amount of overlanding when I lived in South Africa going to remote places and ironically I've never owned a winch. I have gotten stuck and I have equipped and used recovery gear such as snatch straps, rigid bumpers and side steps to lift, the old trusty shovel, and friends/passersby to help. When touring Australia years back I did rent a Troopy to explore Fraser Island and got plenty stuck in the sand there as well, but didn't have a winch or MaxTrax and relied on the shovel, tire pressure etc. Emotionally I really like the Rhino bar, it looks as OEM as you can get for a good clearance bar, super sexy and appeals to the bling factor that works well with a LC200. The Doomsday prepper in me says go all in on a Summit ARB bar with limb risers etc. to build the quintesenntial Aussie Outback touring vehicle that I want to build. Will it help with a deer strike - sure. What is the probability of hitting a deer given where I live and how much I overland - mmmm. On my Africa trips I ran over small animals that scampered in front of the truck at the last minute, almost took out people walking on the road at night (don't drive in the dark), but never hit any medium-large animal. Same goes for my 4 months touring Australia in a Hi-Ace camper van - did the outback, never hit a roo. So logically, once I factor in the weight factor of a bar and a winch and the expected chances of using it who am I kidding? Maybe a light/strong enough bar to aid recovery with no winch is the answer? Not sure, will keep (over) thinking it. Comment if any of this resonates and each to their own.

yeah, I want the clearance of a bumper, but not the weight of a bumper and/or winch.
I did invest in a Bog Out, which will work in most self recovery situations you could winch in; but certainly not as convenient as a winch. It takes about 15 minutes to rig it up, and there is a bit of line work and depending on how how you kit it up, some knots are required.

BOG OUT 4x4 Vehicle Recovery System |Turns bogged wheels into winches

BOG OUT is an australian-made 4x4 vehicle recovery system. Lightweight, compact & reliable, working on all vehicles forwards and reverse.

www.bogout.com

 

[CharlieS]

Those are clever devices. Do you need to have a locker for them to work (b/c of open diff spinning?)?

 

[Angelo1]

"Do I *really* need a winch?"
Disclaimer: personal thoughts/opinions only. I was going to do a separate post on this to poke the bear and let chaos ensue but since it's a question I'm debating for my build I'm going to keep it in this build thread. I have done a fair amount of overlanding when I lived in South Africa going to remote places and ironically I've never owned a winch. I have gotten stuck and I have equipped and used recovery gear such as snatch straps, rigid bumpers and side steps to lift, the old trusty shovel, and friends/passersby to help. When touring Australia years back I did rent a Troopy to explore Fraser Island and got plenty stuck in the sand there as well, but didn't have a winch or MaxTrax and relied on the shovel, tire pressure etc. Emotionally I really like the Rhino bar, it looks as OEM as you can get for a good clearance bar, super sexy and appeals to the bling factor that works well with a LC200. The Doomsday prepper in me says go all in on a Summit ARB bar with limb risers etc. to build the quintesenntial Aussie Outback touring vehicle that I want to build. Will it help with a deer strike - sure. What is the probability of hitting a deer given where I live and how much I overland - mmmm. On my Africa trips I ran over small animals that scampered in front of the truck at the last minute, almost took out people walking on the road at night (don't drive in the dark), but never hit any medium-large animal. Same goes for my 4 months touring Australia in a Hi-Ace camper van - did the outback, never hit a roo. So logically, once I factor in the weight factor of a bar and a winch and the expected chances of using it who am I kidding? Maybe a light/strong enough bar to aid recovery with no winch is the answer? Not sure, will keep (over) thinking it. Comment if any of this resonates and each to their own.

I also love the Rhino bumper and will mostly likely end up with it. The TJM would be my choice if you want bull bar.

 

[grinchy]

Those are clever devices. Do you need to have a locker for them to work (b/c of open diff spinning?)?

The solution for that is to buy the 'pro' kit and bog out both wheels. Which I did buy that (at the time great sale on the pro) but I didn't hook up both wheels in my fake stuck test.

I conjecture that crawl would recognize the bog out as traction and just pull on one wheel, but haven't tried that. That's my plan for the front . . .

Worked good in my fake stuck tryout, but i used a locked rear on one wheel in that, just to make sure I could hook it up etc., so doesn't get to your Q effectively.

 

[psnyman]

Finally got around to some new footwear for my 200 after 4 months of driving stock. Went with 285/70R17 on Toyo Open Country A/T III. For wheels I was inspired by @1world1love and went with the new Icon Vector 5 model.

Have some minor gripes to sort out next week:

1) the guys at America’s Tire (Discount Tire) couldn’t detect and calibrate my brand new OE TPMS (part 4260748010) and recommended I visit Toyota

2) Haven’t done alignment yet but am currently getting rubbing at full turn on the front mud flaps/liners. Will wait till after alignment to revisit.

@Romer would you mind changing to a Build thread please.

 

[psnyman]

Before and after:

 

[psnyman]

Current front left and right rubbing visualized:

 

[radman]

Easy peasy. Pull front liners forward, and heat gun the step side (rearward side).

Trimming Wheel Well for Larger Tires

I'm getting ready to have my 305/55/20's (33.2"x12.5") mounted tomorrow. I know there will be just a tad of kissing of the tires to wheel well liners at the front deflector and trailing mud flap. Wanted to see pics of what you guys have done. As a reference, I will be using my stock 20" LX570...

forum.ih8mud.com

ignore all the ahc stuff, but I have pics of liner and step bracket here.

AHC Height Offset Utility How-To

Height Offset can adjust a maximum of .8", so you move the physical sensors first, and then you have .8 to play with. 1mm of movement on the sensor equates to 2mm on the rig. In theory, assuming there’s enough stoke in the shocks, you might be able to add .8” on top of the “sensor lift” method...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[04UZJ100]

How do those ATIII’s ride? Noise?

 

[psnyman]

How do those ATIII’s ride? Noise?

Coming from P metric Michelin’s, which were on when I bought her from Toyota, the ride is “nobbley”, albeit softer, probably due to a higher side wall. One or two local bumps that felt hard on the Michellins were absorbed better. Still early days though, will report back more as I get perspective. Love the looks so far, the offset is working, rubbing aside. I should note my final 3 was an Excel toss up between these, the sage choice in the KO2s and for Falken A/T 3W. I was tempted by Nitto RG and XG but both seemed too much for my needs.

 

[psnyman]

Rubbing gone after doing a simple mud flap removal using this thread below as a backup:

Removing Front Mud Flaps

forum.ih8mud.com

Having wheel alignment done tomorrow and we re-assess then.

 

[psnyman]

Finally got around to some new footwear for my 200 after 4 months of driving stock. Went with 285/70R17 on Toyo Open Country A/T III. For wheels I was inspired by @1world1love and went with the new Icon Vector 5 model.

Have some minor gripes to sort out next week:

1) the guys at America’s Tire (Discount Tire) couldn’t detect and calibrate my brand new OE TPMS (part 4260748010) and recommended I visit Toyota

2) Haven’t done alignment yet but am currently getting rubbing at full turn on the front mud flaps/liners. Will wait till after alignment to revisit.

@Romer would you mind changing to a Build thread please.

View attachment 2405554

View attachment 2405555

View attachment 2405556

@gaijin could you please recommend the RCTIP for my new 285/70R17 Toyo Open Country A/T III with Icon Vector 5 wheels on my 2016 LC200 - thanks in advance!

 

[psnyman]

OEM side steps off much to my wife’s dismay looks more balanced with the new wheels

Plus a little help from my furry friend, she jumps in any chance she gets ... just in case

 

[LCtwohundred]

Before and after:

View attachment 2405560

View attachment 2405561

Looks great! Few questions:

1) How did you get a hold of the Vector 5s? Icon gave me a 6 week wait time when ordered directly from them.
2) Would it be possible to just move the old TPMS sensors over to the new wheels?
3) Did you get a new spare as well and does it fit easily in the stock location?

 

[psnyman]

Looks great! Few questions:

1) How did you get a hold of the Vector 5s? Icon gave me a 6 week wait time when ordered directly from them.
2) Would it be possible to just move the old TPMS sensors over to the new wheels?
3) Did you get a new spare as well and does it fit easily in the stock location?

Great questions:

1) I checked out who all the Icon dealers were and rang around and SDHQ sorted me out as they had a batch coming in. They were great to work with and shipped for free, worked with Bryce.
2) Yes, in hindsight I should have done that and saved the extra expense and hassle so learn from my mistake
3) I am still waiting on my 5th tire so can’t confirm that yet.

 

[psnyman]

Checked out my KDSS bolts to see if I could turn them and I lucked out, the surrounding area had surface rust but the bolts were good and turned freely with a little coaxing, I did first spray a couple of times with PB to loosen it up before trying. Finished with a covering of lithium grease, probably not as good as marine grease but all I had for now.

 

[LCtwohundred]

Great questions:

1) I checked out who all the Icon dealers were and rang around and SDHQ sorted me out as they had a batch coming in. They were great to work with and shipped for free, worked with Bryce.
2) Yes, in hindsight I should have done that and saved the extra expense and hassle so learn from my mistake
3) I am still waiting on my 5th tire so can’t confirm that yet.

Thanks for the details!

Quick follow up on this for anyone who might also want them: SDHQ is sold out of all colors on Vector5. But Icon is getting a batch in this week and shipping them out next week (or at least this is true for the Black ones that I ordered).

 

[psnyman]

Confirming the matching spare wheel & tire fits underneath.