Media GX460 / Prado150 pic thread (14 Viewers)

[CaptRussia253]

Awesome!!!

 

[Tastethesoup]

great pics. What are you’re thoughts on the Victory front bumper? Did you have any noticeable movement against the plastic facscia?

 

[FWTXM5]

great pics. What are you’re thoughts on the Victory front bumper? Did you have any noticeable movement against the plastic facscia?

Thanks.
I believe I have one of the first and few Victory blitz bumpers out there right now. When opening the box and looking over the pieces when they arrived, it was evident this is a very high quality and well thought out design. I did the install alone in my garage using hand tools, but admittedly have years of experience working on offroad builds that helped make this a pretty straightforward process. It took a full sat/sun worth of a weekend to complete. Then entire front end has to come off, lots of cutting and fitting, and fitting and cutting, and then putting it all back together with the extra weight of a winch and light bar was quite a challenge and balance exercise. Everything fit right up and mounted without issue. The youtube instructions were very helpful.

About the time I was enjoying a beer and admiring my work, I realized I did have a problem, though. The tire size(285/75-r17) and wheel offset specs(17x9, -12mm) I have, in combination with the suspension geometry (Dobinsons IMS 2.5", Slinky uca with fixed caster built in), I had significant rubbing of the tires at the bumper. I had to take a sawzall to the bumper and remove about .750" across 10" as shown in the pics below. I had to modify (different from Victory's instruction) the way my inner fender wells contacted the bumper to clear the tires as well. I also had to replace the factory projector style fog lights with some small BajaDesigns pod lights to allow the inner fender liners to move as far forward as possible. While this was a time delay setback (I had waited over 3mos for the bumper to arrive and was to leave for CO the next week) it wasn't overly difficult or complicated.

I did contact Brian Meyers at Victory 4x4 afterward and told him what I ran into and what I modified to make it work. He was immediately responsive and texted back and forth with me late one evening. A few days later, he sent CAD renderings of some modifications they can make during production to help others avoid this in the future. I was totally impressed with the level of customer service and customer interaction he provided. I already admired Victory's quality and design before, but now I'm a committed customer that trusts how they run their business, stand behind the products, and truly want to give the customer everything they expect.

When out on the trail, the bumper had adequate clearance given the intended purpose, as well as the GX platform in general. When it didn't have enough clearance and made contact with the trail (generally rocks), it took the abuse just fine. Certainly an aluminum bumper is not the same as a steel one when your bashing rocks all day, but for me, this trail was as tough as it's going to get with this vehicle, and it likely won't be more often than once a year it even sees this much action. I'm sure the bumper flexed a little when pushed up against a rock or dirt berm, but even if it made contact with the trimmed body, it never left marks (on the body) nor did any gaps change afterward. I did pull winch cable on the trail at one point, the bumper seemed solid as ever during that winching event.

In general, I would highly recommend this bumper! And I would absolutely recommend you go to Victory for other products as well.

 

[K Dub]

I did stupid things to reach this campsite.

 

[K Dub]

I did stupid things to reach this campsite.

I won't have any crazy action shots like FWTXM5 (bravo, by the way) but on closer inspection I did earn a little trail rash on my way out yesterday. There's a hairline crack in my passenger running board and a good scrape on the rear bumper cover.

I'm glad I got that over with. The suspense has been killing me for almost a year, not knowing when I'd eventually damage the body.

Here's another couple of glamour shots.

Short version of a trip report: Monache Meadows is a nice trail to safely wheel a stock GX, well within it's capabilities. You'd have to be a darn fool to drag a rented trailer out there though.

 

[dstewart3ss]

Current stable

 

[Acrad]

A little OT but since there is a LX-470 pictured..

Opinions... MODs may need to move my post to 100/200 series thread.

Which LX 470 years have the best ride "on-road"?

Do LX 470s ride better "on-road" than LX-570s?

 

[K Dub]

The first night of the trip, on the Great Western Divide, was a much better site with easier access and fewer people. I'll be going back there again.

I found and visited a "hidden" Sequoia grove. No signs or parking lots, you just gotta know where to park and head into the woods where the giants live.

 

[M61Guru]

New member here...not yet a GX owner. Just experienced a car crash that resulted in my newly "Crunchy Taco", and a 2020 GX460 tits up.

 

[Tastethesoup]

That looks like a pretty violent accident. Hopefully not too much lasting damage to the occupants in either vehicle?

Thanks.
I believe I have one of the first and few Victory blitz bumpers out there right now. When opening the box and looking over the pieces when they arrived, it was evident this is a very high quality and well thought out design. I did the install alone in my garage using hand tools, but admittedly have years of experience working on offroad builds that helped make this a pretty straightforward process. It took a full sat/sun worth of a weekend to complete. Then entire front end has to come off, lots of cutting and fitting, and fitting and cutting, and then putting it all back together with the extra weight of a winch and light bar was quite a challenge and balance exercise. Everything fit right up and mounted without issue. The youtube instructions were very helpful.

About the time I was enjoying a beer and admiring my work, I realized I did have a problem, though. The tire size(285/75-r17) and wheel offset specs(17x9, -12mm) I have, in combination with the suspension geometry (Dobinsons IMS 2.5", Slinky uca with fixed caster built in), I had significant rubbing of the tires at the bumper. I had to take a sawzall to the bumper and remove about .750" across 10" as shown in the pics below. I had to modify (different from Victory's instruction) the way my inner fender wells contacted the bumper to clear the tires as well. I also had to replace the factory projector style fog lights with some small BajaDesigns pod lights to allow the inner fender liners to move as far forward as possible. While this was a time delay setback (I had waited over 3mos for the bumper to arrive and was to leave for CO the next week) it wasn't overly difficult or complicated.

I did contact Brian Meyers at Victory 4x4 afterward and told him what I ran into and what I modified to make it work. He was immediately responsive and texted back and forth with me late one evening. A few days later, he sent CAD renderings of some modifications they can make during production to help others avoid this in the future. I was totally impressed with the level of customer service and customer interaction he provided. I already admired Victory's quality and design before, but now I'm a committed customer that trusts how they run their business, stand behind the products, and truly want to give the customer everything they expect.

When out on the trail, the bumper had adequate clearance given the intended purpose, as well as the GX platform in general. When it didn't have enough clearance and made contact with the trail (generally rocks), it took the abuse just fine. Certainly an aluminum bumper is not the same as a steel one when your bashing rocks all day, but for me, this trail was as tough as it's going to get with this vehicle, and it likely won't be more often than once a year it even sees this much action. I'm sure the bumper flexed a little when pushed up against a rock or dirt berm, but even if it made contact with the trimmed body, it never left marks (on the body) nor did any gaps change afterward. I did pull winch cable on the trail at one point, the bumper seemed solid as ever during that winching event.

In general, I would highly recommend this bumper! And I would absolutely recommend you go to Victory for other products as well.

View attachment 2757622

View attachment 2757623

Thanks for the detailed reply. I actually have the victory bumper also, but haven’t had the chance to take it off pavement yet. That trail you posted is as aggressive as anything I’ll take on. Just curious about your experience because I’ve been considering recutting the plastic fascia to add more clearance. May not be necessary.

Like you, I’m really happy with the design and quality.

Additional point of reference for others. I’m running 285/70/17 with a 2.5” bilstein lift and had no need for additional clearance (or changing the factory fog lights).

gratuitous driveway shot

 

[Yorttam83]

Hi all - I figured I would introduce myself here - I'm Matt from Central Massachusetts and I am anxiously awaiting the delivery of my new '21 GX, I am on vacation now so it will have to wait until Wednesday until I can take delivery. The suspense is killing me!

I am coming from a 2018 Tacoma TRD Off Road and wanted a little more room for camping/ road trips.. Looking forward to learning all about this platform! And trying to wait a but before I start modding..

Taco:

And the new (yes it's the dreaded dealership picture - bought it a day before I flew out on vacation):

 

[r2m]

Welcome to the forum!
Very nice looking TRD, are you keeping it? If so, do you plan on also overlanding the GX?
If so, check out the sticky posts at the top of the main page for builds, products, manuals, etc.

Enjoy!

 

[Yorttam83]

Welcome to the forum!
Very nice looking TRD, are you keeping it? If so, do you plan on also overlanding the GX?
If so, check out the sticky posts at the top of the main page for builds, products, manuals, etc.

Enjoy!

I am not keeping the TRD - She's back to stock.. King 2.5 coilovers, Icon RXT rear leaf pack, JBA HD high caster UCAS, and I just had my Dirt King LCAS delivered.. It was also re-geared to 5.29 and flashed for gears and 33's.. It is an awesome truck and I am going to miss it, but my kid is getting bigger (he's 4), and my girlfriend has a 3 year old who can barely fit in his seat behind my seat.. He has to ball his legs up and is not comfortable.. I am 6'3"so I have to have my seat a little too far back for him. I know the GX isn't a huge step in the large car department, but it will help, and I didn't want to go full size..

I wheeled the truck, but always thought I was more of a weekend camper vs overlander.. I do have plans for this, but nothing extreme.

I have been scouring this site already, even before I pulled the trigger. For about a year I told myself the GX would be my next car. I got a fair deal (6% off MSRP) on the new one, and they gave me $33k for my truck. I bought it brand new in 2018 for $33,400 (LOL) so I think the trade in really sealed the deal for me.

It is going to be really nice having a nice plush and quiet ride for a while.. And the vented seats will be nice!

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[mchlhmltn]

I was able to take the GX out on the beach in the Outer Banks this weekend. Hit as many beaches as I could. Recently installed the Smittybilt compressor in my engine and was great for airing back up afterward. I think I will end up wiring it to my battery just need to figure what size fuse to put on it.

 

[orangerock]

Just got done installing my Dobinsons drawers!

 

[skey44]

Just got done installing my Dobinsons drawers!

View attachment 2761380View attachment 2761381

Could you post a pic with the fridge side slide out too? I built my own storage solution (not nearly as elegant as this) but every time I see this I’m just still wanting it!

 

[orangerock]

Could you post a pic with the fridge side slide out too? I built my own storage solution (not nearly as elegant as this) but every time I see this I’m just still wanting it!

I went the DIY route at first but I’m glad I coughed up the money for this drawer kit.

 

[CaptRussia253]

I want/need that drawer system!

 

[vegasfj40]

Just got done installing my Dobinsons drawers!

View attachment 2761380View attachment 2761381

Where did you purchase this kit? This looks fantastic!

 

[Banandalorian]

That looks like a pretty violent accident. Hopefully not too much lasting damage to the occupants in either vehicle?




Thanks for the detailed reply. I actually have the victory bumper also, but haven’t had the chance to take it off pavement yet. That trail you posted is as aggressive as anything I’ll take on. Just curious about your experience because I’ve been considering recutting the plastic fascia to add more clearance. May not be necessary.

Like you, I’m really happy with the design and quality.

Additional point of reference for others. I’m running 285/70/17 with a 2.5” bilstein lift and had no need for additional clearance (or changing the factory fog lights).

gratuitous driveway shotView attachment 2759549

Is that the OEM front skid plate? Victory's install video made it sound like the factory front skid wouldn't work with the bumper. Was it just a matter of trimming where needed? My front skid is currently in good shape so I'd rather use my money for upgrades elsewhere while it's still useful.