Media GX460 / Prado150 pic thread (4 Viewers)

[MeefZah]

The rear bumper is lower than the front bumper and rocker panels.

I have done more damage to my rear bumper wheeling than anywhere else.

Ah. Yes. It low key bothers me, but the thing is I don't see any benefit to cutting it to be even with the rockers. Making that cut tidy would be pretty tough, I think. Plus you really aren't getting better clearance unless you remove the spare and hitch and cut aggressively upward angle. I sat under it for a while with a saw and finally just said "nope".

 

[Cold Iron]

The rear bumper is lower than the front bumper and rocker panels.

I have done more damage to my rear bumper wheeling than anywhere else.

I believe that optical is from not having sliders on it, once and if he puts on sliders that illusion will go away. Many complain about the rake of the rear being higher than the front. Personally I like a little rake.

With the Luxury before going over anything that might catch the rear, which is that super heavy duty and low sitting trailer hitch, I can hit a button and lift the arse end 2". As long as I don't go over 15 mph then it drops back down on me. It does take up to half a minute to fill but is easier than getting out and filling the Firestone Ride Rite bags I had on the Taco.

Reminds me of those auto locking hubs when they first came out. No one including me trusted them at first, to put it in 4 wheel you were supposed to get out in the mud or snow and manually lock them in. Eventually those auto locking hubs were on everything and no choice in the matter. Not that it is a bad thing now LOL.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Ah. Yes. It low key bothers me, but the thing is I don't see any benefit to cutting it to be even with the rockers. Making that cut tidy would be pretty tough, I think. Plus you really aren't getting better clearance unless you remove the spare and hitch and cut aggressively upward angle. I sat under it for a while with a saw and finally just said "nope".

I haven't cut the sides of mine because I am worried it will catch once I cut it.

I did remover the re-enforcment so they can conform to the rocks.

 

[Roody]

First beach trip for this thing. Of all the vehicles I've owned this one was the most comfortable on the soft sand.

View attachment 3915817

I so desperately want to do some beach driving

 

[Banandalorian]

Ah. Yes. It low key bothers me, but the thing is I don't see any benefit to cutting it to be even with the rockers. Making that cut tidy would be pretty tough, I think. Plus you really aren't getting better clearance unless you remove the spare and hitch and cut aggressively upward angle. I sat under it for a while with a saw and finally just said "nope".

I ran the cut rear bumper look for a few months between selling my Trailswing and getting my rear bumper installed. With a relatively full build (front bumper, sliders, 33s, etc) it looked better with the cut rear bumper even with the big OE hitch hanging down. Trying to track down a picture of it.

 

[r2m]

Looks great! Kinda has a full diaper look tho.

Yeah. May consider trimming the rear bumper too.

 

[rav8]

I so desperately want to do some beach driving

C'mon down! Eastern Shore calls. Kids dig the wild ponies and coastal fishing. Decent camping too. OSV pass is worth it, even if you only make it out twice a year.

 

[MeefZah]

I ran the cut rear bumper look for a few months between selling my Trailswing and getting my rear bumper installed. With a relatively full build (front bumper, sliders, 33s, etc) it looked better with the cut rear bumper even with the big OE hitch hanging down. Trying to track down a picture of it.

Yeah I'd like to see that. I just can't visualize the angles of it to make it look right.

 

[Hiluxforever]

thats where I need to cut.

 

[Roody]

View attachment 3916669

C'mon down! Eastern Shore calls. Kids dig the wild ponies and coastal fishing. Decent camping too. OSV pass is worth it, even if you only make it out twice a year.
View attachment 3916676

View attachment 3916677

Eastern Shore, VA?

 

[rav8]

Eastern Shore, VA?

Kinda. Beaches

Whoops. Meant these to be separate posts. Do both?

You would likely enter from the Maryland side. Pass prices are the same if you stay on the National Park area. Outside of park, State(s) have local regs. I pay for the pass on the North side, drive past the tournament fishers a mile or so and get to doing our own thing. Lots of decent restaurants and activities nearby.

These are from a Michigan (Silver Lake) trip. Got to keep moving.

The views over the Lake are unforgettable. Even better view from the north when going the whole loop.

 

[GXTOLX]

Long live the gx460! Probably will outlive my lx700h.

 

[Cold Iron]

Long live the gx460! Probably will outlive my lx700h.

View attachment 3917001

Talk about living the dream! Hopefully the GX will live long and prosper. Looking down the road the only vehicle I would consider replacing it with right now is a LX700h OT. But they are larger and while triple locked would be a bit harder to maneuver down tight trails. So my current thought would be to keep the GX for Off Road and LX for a DD and long trips. And wider trails, but that would hopefully be quite a few years out. Did I say you are living the dream yet?! Very nice, I like the way you think.

 

[r2m]

Talk about living the dream! Hopefully the GX will live long and prosper. Looking down the road the only vehicle I would consider replacing it with right now is a LX700h OT. But they are larger and while triple locked would be a bit harder to maneuver down tight trails. So my current thought would be to keep the GX for Off Road and LX for a DD and long trips. And wider trails, but that would hopefully be quite a few years out. Did I say you are living the dream yet?! Very nice, I like the way you think.

Cold Iron, absolutely agree with all your points about LX. But being at the dealership a few months ago while checking out the new GX550's we hopped in an LX. The new LX's smaller than the previous models, and barely larger than the new GX, which made me think, if I were shopping for a GX, I'd just assume bump up to the LX. (if the wallet is thick enough!)
Here are the dimensions for both:
2025 GX550
Wheelbase: 112.2 in
Length: 197.1 in
Width: 78.0 in
Height: 75.6 in

2025 LX
Wheelbase: 112.2 in
Length: 200.6 in (+3.1 in Probably leg room for third row)
Width: 78.3 in (+.3 in Less than half an inch!)
Height: 74.6 in (+1.0 in)

I'm sure Cold Iron will point out, even though bot the LX and GX are so similar in size, they're still getting too large for trails. Not sure how applicable my reply will be to Cold Iron and where he's usually bush wacking, but out here, I've found, originally most all offroading trails were only wide enough and made for "Jeeps" note I'm talking about the early off roading pioneers in old flat fender Willy's and Ford supplus vehicles, bouncing down the trails. As the off road vehicles grew, e.g.: Jeeps, they've become wider; grown with larger and longer body's but also with wider axles, offset wheels and huge tires, the trails have had to evolve to accept these. I'm sure trail widths will continue to grow to allow the off road community to continue down the same trails their grandfaters and great-grandfathers used to bounce down, mid last century, so I'm not too worried about size too much, as long as it's not my old F350 crewcab overlander!

Raise a glass to the original off roaders and trail blazers!

 

[Banandalorian]

Jeeps are too big for Jeep trails now. The LX OT is neat but it really should be much cooler for the price. Yea it has triple lockers from the factory but it also has the same giant overhangs and giant front front grille as every other LX. They should have redesigned the bumpers to be closer to the GX style-wise and put some bigger, chunkier tires on it.

 

[snowGX460]

Jeeps are too big for Jeep trails now. The LX OT is neat but it really should be much cooler for the price. Yea it has triple lockers from the factory but it also has the same giant overhangs and giant front front grille as every other LX. They should have redesigned the bumpers to be closer to the GX style-wise and put some bigger, chunkier tires on it.

The LX OT I saw at the dealer when I was buying my most recent GX had some chunky tires on it compared to the non-OT LX. Unless you're saying it should be even chunkier than that (and to be fair i'm just getting into the chunky game so my scale is probably off).

 

[r2m]

The LX OT I saw at the dealer when I was buying my most recent GX had some chunky tires on it compared to the non-OT LX. Unless you're saying it should be even chunkier than that (and to be fair i'm just getting into the chunky game so my scale is probably off).

To help you understand what we mean when we say "chunky" tires on this forum, the photo below is what we mean by chunky, and will be what my next tires. Yeah, I may need new rims too, I'm not really digging the yellow. But I guess I can rattle can those wheels black or something.

 

[Cold Iron]

To help you understand what we mean when we say "chunky" tires on this forum, the photo below is what we mean by chunky, and will be what my next tires. Yeah, I may need new rims too, I'm not really digging the yellow. But I guess I can rattle can those wheels black or something.
View attachment 3917540

Yellow is OK if it is Volvo CE (Construction Equipment). When I retired from the Navy 30 years ago this year I did business process consulting for their NA HQ in Asheville, NC where I had retired. Some of the equipment had fully articulated wheels on them and I see them just showing up on pickups now. Also did consulting work for Michelin NA HQ down the mountain in Greenville, SC. But the Michelin Defender tires that came on my GX when I bought it absolutely sucked compared to the original Michelin LTX tires in the snow.

Cold Iron, absolutely agree with all your points about LX. But being at the dealership a few months ago while checking out the new GX550's we hopped in an LX. The new LX's smaller than the previous models, and barely larger than the new GX, which made me think, if I were shopping for a GX, I'd just assume bump up to the LX. (if the wallet is thick enough!)
Here are the dimensions for both:
2025 GX550
Wheelbase: 112.2 in
Length: 197.1 in
Width: 78.0 in
Height: 75.6 in

2025 LX
Wheelbase: 112.2 in
Length: 200.6 in (+3.1 in Probably leg room for third row)
Width: 78.3 in (+.3 in Less than half an inch!)
Height: 74.6 in (+1.0 in)

I'm sure Cold Iron will point out, even though bot the LX and GX are so similar in size, they're still getting too large for trails. Not sure how applicable my reply will be to Cold Iron and where he's usually bush wacking, but out here, I've found, originally most all offroading trails were only wide enough and made for "Jeeps" note I'm talking about the early off roading pioneers in old flat fender Willy's and Ford supplus vehicles, bouncing down the trails. As the off road vehicles grew, e.g.: Jeeps, they've become wider; grown with larger and longer body's but also with wider axles, offset wheels and huge tires, the trails have had to evolve to accept these. I'm sure trail widths will continue to grow to allow the off road community to continue down the same trails their grandfaters and great-grandfathers used to bounce down, mid last century, so I'm not too worried about size too much, as long as it's not my old F350 crewcab overlander!

Raise a glass to the original off roaders and trail blazers!

When I was stationed in San Diego in the 70's the first thing that hit me was the lack of understory and successional growth. At least compared to the Northwoods from the PNW to Maine. And down the backbone of the Appalachian Mountains.

Couple of months ago got behind a lady in a LX700 and followed her for a ways she probably thought I was stalking her LOL. The nearest Lexus dealer is a couple of hours away from me. I did notice that the cab wasn't much different size than mine but the body panels hung out a ways from the main body. First thought was that was a lot of wasted space, not as bad as my Xterra was all bumpy and such, but stuck out a lot. Width is the critical measurement why they all measure it without mirrors is beyond me as they are required by law:
Width:
GX460- 74.2
LX700- 78.3
Polaris Ranger Northstar Trail Boss - 65". And ground clearance of 14"

Inches matter. I use the Ranger when and where I can it depends on where I am at.

Just a typical Forest Service Road. Took the picture from the way I came in you can see the broken branches. Mother Nature claims what is hers and now you can hardly walk down it. But it still shows up as a road on the Vehicle Use Maps. They don't get opened back up until a timber sale happens then dozers will open them for logging equipment to get in for the harvest.

The 4x4 shop that did my fluid changes and installed the tranny cooler buffed out some of the scratches from a log that nailed me.

Took him an hour so $90 and looks much better but to do it right at a body shop he estimated $1,800-$2,200. I'm going with it is a character mark for now unless it starts to rust. Turns out it is double walled at that section.

The other side is full of Nature's pinstriping as well. Hard to see don't think you can zoom in on pictures here but it is covered.

Will spend the next week or 2 in my spare time when I can buffing out the clearcoat, it is really thin on the GX. I certainly don't want to go any wider than I am already with the GX.

The Jeep didn't come out until after WW2. Up until the late 40's and into the 50's sedans had as much ground clearance as a Jeep does now. Roads were primitive until the Roosevelt Highway system went into place and vehicles had to travel on what many today call off road trails. Many places roads especially in the Northwoods are still primitive.

Don't hear many use the term Overlanding around here unless they are from the Cities.

 

[Hiluxforever]

For the Vehi-cross fans.

 

[Roody]

For the Vehi-cross fans.
View attachment 3917690

View attachment 3917692

Ironman Edition-- neat! Think I've seen that one in the Rogue Overland videos.

Miss my VX some days and never want to think about it again others. Awesome to drive and look at, complete PITA to find parts for.