Family Overland 200 build for a family of 4 + 1

[LegendaryKing]

In this thread I will detail how I outfit our 2014 Land Cruiser 200 to overland with a family of 4 + 1 Adventure Pup (Basset Hound).

We are avid tent campers who enjoy the outdoors. We regularly hike family appropriate trails (under 10 miles per day), canoe/kayak, bike, fish, enjoy maintained 4x4 trails, and general outdoor fun.

We began overlanding with a Honda CRV, then moved onto a 1-ton Dodge Diesel extended cab, and then added a pop-up camper (pup) to the mix. While we love our pup, but we miss the agility, comfort, and back seat size of the CRV. We really enjoyed the fact that the Dodge truck could get us just about anywhere with the massive ground clearance, torque for days, and great 4 wheel drive … though it was a rough ride. About 3 hours is the max amount of time the kids can stand being in the back seat of the truck. There were no complaints about backs/buts hurting while riding in the CRV. More often than not we have recently been remote tent camping utilizing the pickup truck, but the kids are only getting bigger and we needed a compromise with more rear passenger space, more comfort, and better agility without sacraficing off road capability. We have several trips planned that are multiple days drive away, so we required a reliable, capable, and comfortable overlanding vehicle; hence the Toyota Land Cruiser 200.

The mindset for this build is growing up from a backpack to a vehicle, not shrinking down from an RV to a truck.

The initial build will include:

1. Maintenance/fluids/belts/hoses
2. Wheels/tires (BBS TRD/Nitto Ridge Grappler 275/70/18)
3. Dual battery upgrade (Slee/REDARC/ODYSSEY)
4. Solar/plug in battery tender/charger (Cascadia/Renogy/NOCO)
5. Trail tools/spares/recovery (Still putting this together)
6. First aid kit upgrade (updating/improving current kit)
7. Roof basket (YAKIMA)
8. Carrying extra fuel/water (undecided)
9. Carrying additional fluids (Oil/Anti-Freeze/Trans/Gear)
10. How to safely carry all our gear in the cargo area of the Land Cruiser. (pelican cases, cooler, soft bags, tie downs, etc)
11. Comms/GPS
12. Trailer brakes & hitches for Pup/Kayak/Canoe/utility trailers.

From there we will be looking to add in this order sliders, skid plates, bumpers, maybe a full roof rack. All of those brands are undecided at this point.

The Original Overlanding CRV on OEM size BFG KO2's:

The previous Overlanding Truck:

Beach Day in December.

January Snow Camping.

Beach Day in March.

Adventure Pup conquering an agility obstacle on a trail.

Adventure Pup ensuring the canoe remains stable.

The Land Cruiser 100% Stock! (for now).

 

[CharlieS]

Congratulations. Enjoy!

Ps. if you go with a Redarc BCDC, you don’t need an additional solar controller, it is built in. You just wire the yellow wire out of the BCDC to an Anderson connector and the other leg to chassis ground. At least for maintaining your house battery…

 

[LegendaryKing]

Trail tools/spares/recovery

With a LOT of help from this thread: What Tools and Parts to Carry on the Trail I started assembling the tools I felt were necessary for my rig. If you have additional recommendations please let me know!

I probably won't carry 1/2" drive simply because I carry a quality 3/8 breaker and sockets with an aluminum cheater pipe. When I was putting myself through college as a mechanic I did a lot of ridiculous things using my Snap On tools and they handled the abuse. I can remember shearing the head off a grade 8 7/8" bolt with a 3/8 breaker and a massive cheater pipe. I still to this day can't believe the breaker bar and socket took the abuse. I want to add that Snap On isn't the ONLY quality tool company out there, and I have drawers of old Craftsman, Matco, MAC, etc. In my opinion, when you can only have 1 set of tools, and it's possible no one is going to be there to lend you theirs to finish a job, I want to spend a few extra dollars to get what I believe will handle anything I throw at it and not have to carry multiple sets in multiple sizes. Your milage may vary.

Spanner/Socket Deep & Short 12pt, 3/8" breaker bar, 3/8" ratchet & extensions/adapters

• 10
• 12
• 14
• 17
• 19
• 21
• 22
• 24
• 39

HEX

• 4
• 5
• 6
• 8
• 10

Torx

• T27
• T30

Additional tools/supplies

1. Adjustable wrench
2. Multi Screw Driver
3. Serp belt tool
4. Vice Grip
5. Small Pry Bar
6. Medium Pry Bar
7. Test Light/Multi Meter
8. Bottle jack
9. Life straw
10. Tire plug kit
11. High Temp RTV
12. Electrical Tape
13. Duct Tape
14. Self Vulcanizing Tape
15. JB Weld
16. Super Glue
17. Zip Ties

Spares:

1. Serp Belt
2. Alternator
3. Fuses
4. CV Axle
5. 5 wheel studs and nuts
6. Wheel Bearing, seals, and grease (pre-pack wheel bearings)

Fluids:

1. Coolant
2. Oil, engine/trans/axle
3. ATF
4. Brake fluid

I'm still researching what I want to carry my tools in. I have seen several tool rolls that look promising. If you have any recommendations please let me know! With my Ram Truck I have a tool box and that makes it incredibly easy to fit anything I could possibly want with out even a thought of organization or space savings. I don't have all the tools yet, but I'm acquiring them when I have free time (that seems to be in short supply these days). I'm just purchasing the same tools I already have in my tool box strictly for use in my Land Cruiser.

My recovery gear is currently limited to a snatch strap, hitch mount eye, and a recovery damper in an ATC recovery bag. The ATC recovery bag is very nice. I especially like the Cordura material and the super bright orange interior. I'm planning on an extension strap, tree saver/bridle/ a few soft shackles, and a few hard shackles (number/size is still up for debate).

Since I have to keep additional fluids inside the cargo area of the truck, I wanted something soft (bag) and something that would contain any fluid spills. To handle this duty I purchased the Blue Ridge Overland bag. So far I'm impressed, it's really well made and I'm sure it will protect the interior of my LC from accidental spills. While there I also picked up the attic (not shown). I think the only changes I'll make to the bag is I might seam tape the bag for extra protection, put some pigg mats in the bottom, and maybe add a waterproof/protection just to make sure it stays looking good. Yes, I'm OCD like that, and yes I oil/polish my tools before putting them away. No that isn't innuendo for something else.

If you have any recommendations from your experience, PLEASE SHARE!

 

[CharlieS]

Make sure your 39mm socket is 12 point, so you can use it on the axle nuts.

 

[LegendaryKing]

Congratulations. Enjoy!

Ps. if you go with a Redarc BCDC, you don’t need an additional solar controller, it is built in. You just wire the yellow wire out of the BCDC to an Anderson’s connector and the other leg to chassis ground. At least for maintaining your house battery…

Thanks for the information! :highfive:

I'm planning on just purchasing the Cascadia hood mounted solar panel and wiring it to the Redarc BCDC just as you suggested. Having said that, the panels are only 85w (peak, probably at high altitude, on the equator) ... but it's 85w without having to do anything and that's convenient when you're on the go.

I currently own the 200w Renogy suitcase solar panels. I usually use them to charge the single deep cycle in my pup which then runs the fan all night, charges cellphones/tablets/bug lights/etc. I'll probably pack them up to take along with me on overlanding adventures so I have additional solar when I need it to charge the house battery. However to do that I have to open the hood, clamp the solar panel to the battery with the alligator clamps, blah blah blah. I might wire in an Anderson somewhere and switch over to that rather than the battery clamps, but with the limited time I have it's just not on the list of things necessary to do ... yet. I'll probably change my mind when my OCD runs wild and I get tired of popping the hood to hook them up. Who am I kidding, now I probably won't sleep tonight and now I have a project.

The LC also spends a lot of time just sitting in the garage. It's not a daily driver, it's strictly an adventure truck. Personal rule, if it isn't a daily, I install a battery tender. I'm a fan of the NOCO battery tenders. The unit I plan on using for this build is a dual battery 10a tender. Yes, that's probably more than I need, but I would rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. There have been times I have pulled into a state park electric camping spot and lugged my massive 50/10a battery charger out to charge the extra battery(ies) in my truck/camper. Having a built in automatic charger/tender that can plug into any household socket and ensure perfect battery condition is a win IMHO.

 

[LegendaryKing]

Make sure your 39mm socket is 12 point, so you can use it on the axle nuts.

EXCELLENT advice! :high five: All the sockets will be 12 point, but for those who copy this build, if you don't have a 12 point 39mm you won't be using it on the axle nuts. 6 point won't fit the axle nuts.

 

[gx2lc]

Never seen a CRV on KO2s extremely cool site though!

 

[LegendaryKing]

Latest addition are 33" Nitto Ridge Grapplers on BBS TRD Wheels. They are quiet! Much quieter than the KO2's.

275/70R18 and absolutely no rubbing.

 

[LegendaryKing]

I've been busy ... oh boy.
So, I finally completed the dual battery install (Group 31 & 35) and wired up 4 separate circuits to the house battery. 1 circuit for the dash cam, 1 for the HAM, and 2 for the USB. I will be adding additional circuits and electrical components at a later date.

Here is what I have so far.
Starting with the starting battery I'm running the Interstate Group 31 Deep Cycle AGM. This was installed using the SLEE battery tray, and terminals. That is a REALLY well thought out kit. That 60A breaker supplies power to the Redarc DC/DC charger (see later pictures)

From there the cable crosses over the front crossmember to the opposite side.

Once to the starboard side of the truck we have the house battery, DC/DC, breakers, and fuse block.
I used the SLEE second battery tray, terminals, accessory tray, Redarc BCDC1250, and Blue Sea fuse block.

The 60A breaker is in-between the DC/DC and the group 35 house battery.
The 100A breaker feeds the fuse block.

 

[LegendaryKing]

Getting the wiring INTO the cabin:

As many of you know, Toyota has done us all a favor and put firewall penetration gromets in for us. I simply sliced off one end, pushed a piece of copper wire through to help me pull the cabling through.
This is the view from the firewall.

Inside behind the glovebox on left hand drive vehicles you can see where I pulled the copper wire through.

Here is what the cable looks like coming through the firewall gromet with 2 layers of tech flex.

The Blue Sea fuse block
As you can see, I used irradiated PVC with pure copper wire. Everything on this side was terminated with ring terminals and heat shrink. The hole in the SLEE accessory mount has a rubber gromet to keep the wires from being abraded. There is also heat shrink and tech-flex as additional protection.

I don't like the plastic jacket on ring terminals, but this is what I could get, and they were supposedly 100% brass and of high quality. They crimped well in my 20t hydraulic crimping tool. I simply cut the plastic jacket off and utilized high quality heat shrink.

 

[LegendaryKing]

I wired up 4 separate circuits. All 4 circuits are always on and running off the house battery.
2 Blue Sea USB battery chargers.
1 Dash Camera
1 HAM radio

The 4 circuits each had their own color.

They were terminated into a deutch connector. The other side of the deutch connector went to each individual item on the circuit to be powered.

It's easier to cut a little bit off than it is to add ... I cut a LOT off.

Here is the Blue Sea USB charger I installed in the knock out just below the steering wheel. The knock out is just slightly smaller than the blue sea smart charger so I had to do some cutting to get it to fit.

The passenger side USB smart charger was installed just above the ash tray.

Sometimes things are a little bit messy before they are clean.

Comments, questions, and constructive criticism is accepted here.

 

[LegendaryKing]

The family went on our first big adventure with the Cruiser in late December early January, and it was an amazing sucess.

South Padre National Seashore.

Big Bend National Park just a few yards from the Rio Grand.

Big Bend National Park near Rattlesnake Mountain.

Big Bend National Park

Things I learned on our first big trip out.

1. I found that the OEM suspension needs to be upgraded.
   1. The gravel roads at Big Bend and heavy loads overwhelmed the OEM suspension.
2. I need better organization
   1. I'm thinking drawers.

The above picture shows ALMOST everything. The blue Hardigg case has all my recovery gear, tools, spare parts, compressor and camp chairs. It is strapped down to the 3rd row OEM seat latches in the floor. Everything was well secured in in the case, but if I need to air up ... ugh, that's a LOT of stuff to unstrap and move off the case just to get to my compressor.

The other problem was on the left side is where we kept food, cooking supplies, and clothing. If we wanted to pull off to the side of the road and make a quick lunch for the family, I had to remove the ratchet strap(s) and pull the things that I needed out of that mess. It wasn't difficult, it was just annoying. I think a drawer system will help organize things better ... but I'm open to other ideas.

What do you recommend to better organize all this gear?
How are you carrying water?

The Yakima Warrior roof basket houses most of the tools required to drive on the beach, 10gal of fuel, a solar panel and a folding table. Battery powered lights were a requirement put forth by the kids.

As you can see ... we are riding LOW in the rear.
I'm talking with Filthy Motorsports about a set of 2.5" King coil overs up front, and Dobinson springs with King 2.5" shocks in the rear.

 

[bemerritt]

Fellow 4+1 here. And the plus 1 is 100lb that takes up quite a bit of space.

Water on rear bumper. ARB drawers. Two big pelican cases on the roof rack. Not sure I could do it without any of those three.

Other general tips.
- everyone gets their own bag, and only one bag.
- all chairs pack small
- try and be conscious of size with the food menu. A fridge helps since you don’t have the volume of ice.

 

[molanginaeda]

Big Bend National Park just a few yards from the Rio Grand.
View attachment 2889005

Big Bend National Park near Rattlesnake Mountain.
View attachment 2889006

Big Bend National Park
View attachment 2889007

Love Big Bend National Park. I was there in July 2021. I recognized the last pic, old maverick road, heading toward Santa Elena Canyon. I was having so much fun driving it. I stayed at a site next to Rio grande too along the River Rd. The sunrise, sunset and night sky within the park is just pure awesome.

 

[joltman]

@LegendaryKing I'm curious where you installed your ham radio. I'm going through a similar exercise right now. I've got the Slee prime battery tray, accessory tray, Blue Sea SafetyHub 150 and I suppose I should be running another fuse block to the rear. The ham radio (and GMRS radio) would all run to that interior block. But where to put the radios without a drawer system is the big question.

As to the subject of drawers, I think I'm in the "pro drawers" camp. My family (3 of us) took a couple road trips last summer and the back was full of stuff. However, I think due to carrying tools/recovery in Rubbermade tubs strapped in the back, along with an ice chest, made the back harder to pack due to where the tie down points are. I did remove the rear seats, so that opened more space, but having to tie down the heavy things in the center of the rear made organization tough. I think that drawers would make this easier (at least, that's what I'm telling myself). Granted it would reduce vertical space, but maybe if we didn't pack up 10 days of clothes in too large suitcases, we could do this easier. I know it sounds dumb, but seeing a breakdown of how others organize for a long trip would help me decide on the drawer question.

Congrats on the truck! It's looking great!

 

[grinchy]

I have one drawer (a Land Shark Reef). It holds truck tools, air up, and evergreen trip stuff (axe, tiedowns, shovel, bucket, hitch point), the kind of stuff you take every trip. Then the recovery rope has a dedicated climbing rope bag (it can get dirty, the recovery rope). And the bog outs, recovery ring, and soft shackles are in a separate duffel. I like having these split up as combined they are quite heavy and bulky. Separately allows for some packing flexibility.

 

[TeCKis300]

Onboard air could be justified in itself for space savings and usability. Easy of access, use, and don't have to worry about restoring a hot compressor.

I find myself airing up / down sometimes daily depending on where the trail takes us. I'll generally run 18PSI off-road, but tarmac transitions want at least 30PSI, and sand especially climbing wants closer to 13PSI or less.

 

[LegendaryKing]

Fellow 4+1 here. And the plus 1 is 100lb that takes up quite a bit of space.

Water on rear bumper. ARB drawers. Two big pelican cases on the roof rack. Not sure I could do it without any of those three.

Other general tips.
- everyone gets their own bag, and only one bag.
- all chairs pack small
- try and be conscious of size with the food menu. A fridge helps since you don’t have the volume of ice.

I feel your pain!
We decided, ARB drawers are absolutely the next purchase.
Currently everyone gets their own Under Armor school type backpack for clothes and personal items. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't go.
The kids have the super small pack up REI flex lite and the wife and I have the Kelty low loveseat.
This trip everything was dehydrated and we boiled water with a snow peak stove.

Love Big Bend National Park. I was there in July 2021. I recognized the last pic, old maverick road, heading toward Santa Elena Canyon. I was having so much fun driving it. I stayed at a site next to Rio grande too along the River Rd. The sunrise, sunset and night sky within the park is just pure awesome.

I couldn't believe how many stars were out there. We want to go back!

@LegendaryKing I'm curious where you installed your ham radio. I'm going through a similar exercise right now. I've got the Slee prime battery tray, accessory tray, Blue Sea SafetyHub 150 and I suppose I should be running another fuse block to the rear. The ham radio (and GMRS radio) would all run to that interior block. But where to put the radios without a drawer system is the big question.

As to the subject of drawers, I think I'm in the "pro drawers" camp. My family (3 of us) took a couple road trips last summer and the back was full of stuff. However, I think due to carrying tools/recovery in Rubbermade tubs strapped in the back, along with an ice chest, made the back harder to pack due to where the tie down points are. I did remove the rear seats, so that opened more space, but having to tie down the heavy things in the center of the rear made organization tough. I think that drawers would make this easier (at least, that's what I'm telling myself). Granted it would reduce vertical space, but maybe if we didn't pack up 10 days of clothes in too large suitcases, we could do this easier. I know it sounds dumb, but seeing a breakdown of how others organize for a long trip would help me decide on the drawer question.

Congrats on the truck! It's looking great!

I only started the install, I didn't get a chance to finish. When I do finish I'll update this post with pics. That should be coming along soon.

I have one drawer (a Land Shark Reef). It holds truck tools, air up, and evergreen trip stuff (axe, tiedowns, shovel, bucket, hitch point), the kind of stuff you take every trip. Then the recovery rope has a dedicated climbing rope bag (it can get dirty, the recovery rope). And the bog outs, recovery ring, and soft shackles are in a separate duffel. I like having these split up as combined they are quite heavy and bulky. Separately allows for some packing flexibility.

Thanks for the recommendation! We decided to go with the ARB system. It was a close tie between ARB and Goose Gear but decided on the ARB due to the weigh handling and the future accessories we might be purchasing.

Onboard air could be justified in itself for space savings and usability. Easy of access, use, and don't have to worry about restoring a hot compressor.

I find myself airing up / down sometimes daily depending on where the trail takes us. I'll generally run 18PSI off-road, but tarmac transitions want at least 30PSI, and sand especially climbing wants closer to 13PSI or less.

I completely feel this. I REALLY want to do the ARB twin under the hood, but $800+ when I already have a 100% duty cycle VIAIR that works awesome is hard to swallow. I need to come up with a way to mount the VIAIR somewhere. If you have any ideas I'm open to suggestions!

 

[LegendaryKing]

I’m trying to decide if the Cascadia 4x4 hood mounted solar panel is a good option for my setup. Price per watt is extremely expensive. Solar on average is $0.70-$1.50 per watt; the Cascadia 4x4 panel is $5.16 per watt … oof.

Having said that, the convenience of having a solar panel always on the vehicle, always charging, all the while looking great is quite the benefit.

I’m currently using a 200w mono-crystalline suitcase panel from my pop-up and I have zero issues keeping up with charging; however I have to pull it off the roof, open my hood, connect the alligator clamps every time I want to get a charge.

Is the convenience of not having to do anything to charge my house battery something that can overcome that price tag shock? First, let’s run some numbers and see how this would integrate into my setup.


CHARGING MATH!

I got my formulas from this website: How long does it take to charge batteries from solar panels - Voltacon Solar Blog - https://voltaconsolar.com/blog/2021/04/27/how-long-does-it-take-to-charge-batteries-from-solar-panels/


The Hardware:

Battery: Diehard Group 35 AGM with 55Ah​

Solar Pannel: Cascadia 4x4 LC200 5.5A​

Multiply current by rule-of-thumb system losses (20%) and charge controller efficiency (PWM: 75%; MPPT: 95%):

5.5A * (1-15%) * 95% = 4.44A​

Multiply battery capacity by 1 divided by rule-of-thumb battery charge efficiency (lead acid: 85%; lithium: 95%):

55AH * (1/85%) = 64.70Ah​

Divide battery capacity by current to estimate how long it’d take to charge the entire battery:

64.70Ah / 4.44A = 14.57hrs​

Multiply the charge time by the battery’s depth of discharge to estimate how long it’d take to charge the battery at its current level: (my battery is an AGM so I only have access to 50% of the battery)

14.57hrs * 50% = 7.285hrs​

Add 2 hours to account for the absorption charging stage of most charge controllers:

7.285hrs + 2hrs = 9.285hrs​

9.3 hours to charge a Group 35 battery with the Cascadia 85w LC200 hood mount solar panel … and that is assuming excellent sun. Is that worth paying 3.5 times or more the cost of a standard solar panel for something that provides the convenience of having to do absolutely nothing and the cool factor of looking absolutely AWESOME!? I know I’m trying to justify it in my own head … anyone have any good coupons or better options to make this an easier decision?

 

[TeCKis300]

I completely feel this. I REALLY want to do the ARB twin under the hood, but $800+ when I already have a 100% duty cycle VIAIR that works awesome is hard to swallow. I need to come up with a way to mount the VIAIR somewhere. If you have any ideas I'm open to suggestions!

ARBs great, but Viairs got some game too.

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