Hi from South Africa. Prado 150 (11 Viewers)

[Roadhawg]

Hi guys. From Deepest Darkest Africa here.

I've played with TJ and JKU Wranglers a bunch (still have a 2006 TJ on 33s) but I'm trying to grow up a bit (but not too much!)

I had a 2022 Ford Ranger T6 (not sure you get them there?) with the 2L single turbo diesel....But that Wet Belt story I just did not trust keeping it out of warranty. I found a 2014 4L V6 Prado 150 and want to build a nice overlander rig for me and my daughter to do some adventures in. The TJ is awesome but it's like camping on a motorcycle. The Prado feels huge compared. VX spec here has rear air suspension, KDSS and TEMS shocks.

As soon as I can I want to add some decent tyres and roofrack. Already have a fridge to go in to the back. Oh and sort out some way of adding Carplay etc.

 

[iwashmycar]

Welcome! Looks very nice!

 

[Roadhawg]

I do have a question....Do people complain of a hard ride on the rear of the GX460's with air suspension? It's a common complaint here on the VX Prado.

 

[Roody]

Welcome, that's awesome!

 

[23GXOR]

I do have a question....Do people complain of a hard ride on the rear of the GX460's with air suspension? It's a common complaint here on the VX Prado.

My GX has air ride, and while I've never felt the need to complain about it, over rough pavement it definitely lets you know you're driving an old school, truck based SUV, not a modern unibody xUV like most everything else on the road today. I'd compare the ride quality on less than ideal pavement to something between a half ton and a 3/4 ton truck. When you consider that air ride is only available on the Luxury trim and pushed the price well past comparable BMW/Benz territory, I could easily see how someone evaluating the GX against that market segment would find it unacceptably harsh.

Of course, in all likelihood only one of those three will still be on the road 15 years from now, so it's all a matter of where you want to compromise.

 

[Roadhawg]

My GX has air ride, and while I've never felt the need to complain about it, over rough pavement it definitely lets you know you're driving an old school, truck based SUV, not a modern unibody xUV like most everything else on the road today. I'd compare the ride quality on less than ideal pavement to something between a half ton and a 3/4 ton truck. When you consider that air ride is only available on the Luxury trim and pushed the price well past comparable BMW/Benz territory, I could easily see how someone evaluating the GX against that market segment would find it unacceptably harsh.

Of course, in all likelihood only one of those three will still be on the road 15 years from now, so it's all a matter of where you want to compromise.

Thanks!

Do the air ride GX's also have MUCH longer rear bumpstops than the coil sprung versions? (If there is a coil version?).

It seems part of the s***ty rear ride on the prado is that there is barley any uptravel before running into the bumpstops on the Airride VX model. The coild sprung TX has bumpstops that are around 90mm shorter.

I'm trying to work out if the long bumpstops are due the air itself, the TEMS shocks, or the KDSS setup.

 

[stinkyfj60]

At least you got a color since everything here in ZA is white or silver

Are you on the East or West Rand?

 

[Roadhawg]

At least you got a color since everything here in ZA is blue or silver

Are you on the East or West Rand?

You mean White or silver hahah. Yeah, I VERY nearly bought a white one but I thought it might be the worst midlife crisis buy ever. The blue is at least slightly interesting

I'm in the Centre Rand, Sandton

 

[stinkyfj60]

You mean White or silver hahah. Yeah, I VERY nearly bought a white one but I thought it might be the worst midlife crisis buy ever. The blue is at least slightly interesting

I'm in the Centre Rand, Sandton

Yeah, I was thinking that is a nice blue while typing

I'm in Krugersdorp area... If you're looking for a rack, the Eezi-Awn ones are fantastic. I'm not running one because we have one of their hard RTT mounted and it takes up the whole roof.

 

[Roadhawg]

Yeah, I was thinking that is a nice blue while typing

I'm in Krugersdorp area... If you're looking for a rack, the Eezi-Awn ones are fantastic. I'm not running one because we have one of their hard RTT mounted and it takes up the whole roof.

Ok cool. I was hoping to find some used stuff but it seems pretty rare. Otherwise was thinking FrontRunner, but I'll check out the Eezi-Awn stuff.

I see you have Dobinsons suspension....Who does it locally? And compared to OME etc is it legit? Seems like the guys in OZ like it.

 

[stinkyfj60]

Ok cool. I was hoping to find some used stuff but it seems pretty rare. Otherwise was thinking FrontRunner, but I'll check out the Eezi-Awn stuff.

I see you have Dobinsons suspension....Who does it locally? And compared to OME etc is it legit? Seems like the guys in OZ like it.

I love it, they've been brilliant on a lot of trips. We had it done at N1 4x4.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Hi guys. From Deepest Darkest Africa here.

I've played with TJ and JKU Wranglers a bunch (still have a 2006 TJ on 33s) but I'm trying to grow up a bit (but not too much!)

I had a 2022 Ford Ranger T6 (not sure you get them there?) with the 2L single turbo diesel....But that Wet Belt story I just did not trust keeping it out of warranty. I found a 2014 4L V6 Prado 150 and want to build a nice overlander rig for me and my daughter to do some adventures in. The TJ is awesome but it's like camping on a motorcycle. The Prado feels huge compared. VX spec here has rear air suspension, KDSS and TEMS shocks.

As soon as I can I want to add some decent tyres and roofrack. Already have a fridge to go in to the back. Oh and sort out some way of adding Carplay etc.

Looks amazing. Love that color.

 

[23GXOR]

Thanks!

Do the air ride GX's also have MUCH longer rear bumpstops than the coil sprung versions? (If there is a coil version?).

It seems part of the s***ty rear ride on the prado is that there is barley any uptravel before running into the bumpstops on the Airride VX model. The coild sprung TX has bumpstops that are around 90mm shorter.

I'm trying to work out if the long bumpstops are due the air itself, the TEMS shocks, or the KDSS setup.

I wouldn't know. There are coil sprung GXes, all of them are except the lux trim. I do think the nature of air suspension mostly eliminates the need for a bump stop; the air bladder usually has bump stop material inside it to prevent a pinch rupture.