Build Lexus lx450 chinook expedition vehicle

[SWCruiser]

Funner,
I will do so! Im not in AZ for months at a time so when i get back i only have a few days to try and cram everything in. Anyway, I plan to document everything along with plans as soon as i get a chance. Ive bought almost all the parts for the interior so i will be able to provide a list of all the future mods.

 

[SWCruiser]

How it started

Like I mentioned before I do alot of outdoor activities and find myself travelling lighter and not wanting to pull a trailer for speed and convenience. I've used the LX on its own and I love it to but its a little smallish for a living space and keeping things easily accesible and easy to setup. I kept looking at Chinooks and the idea of mating the 80 series body to an easy pop seemed just the perfect amount of space for me.

I began the journey of looking for parts. First I searched for an LX. I didn't want to spend a lot of money and cut up a perfectly clean one the first time around. I also figured if i cldn't finish the project I wouldn't cry about getting something inexpensive. Enter Jeepgod! he had an LX with a little over 200K, rebuilt HG, and rear quarter damage for 2K and some change. Things were rolling along and I found a Chinook shell that someone was parting out and we settled on $100.00. He even offered to help me chop the body and mount it in his yard.... n He had no idea what a job it was :whoops: I didn't either.

I flew out to Utah to pickup the lx450 and drove all night to Nevada. I pulled into the owner's house around 7:30 and sat there for an hour contemplating my decisions..... Seemed like a daunting task as I surveyed the amount of work. The body was still attached and he didn't have a lift... Here they sit as i bought them.

 

[SWCruiser]

Next

At this point Im kind of overwhelmed with the lack of sleep... and at that point kind of convinced myself to man up and chop a way.. I grabbed the grinder and made the "no turning back" cuts... I hacked away and by mid afternoon had the body cut down and pieces all over the place. We finally got the camper off a couple hours later. I was ready to push on late into the night but my sidekick and his wife nixed that idea. They weren't as determined as I was and he definitely was not about to work in the dark. He offered me the keys to one of his cars and I drove to town to crash for a few hours.. What good people!

 

[TYM4FUN]

Was reading through this and was thinking mmmm that looks different. But now with the updated pic and the rig painted, it looks pretty awesome! Great work.

 

[SWCruiser]

Next

As I looked over the chopped body I was trying to figure out how to chop the bed and if there would be any issues. There were- the gas tanks straps attach to the bed as well as a variety of other things... I kept mulling over how to solve all these issues until i realized i could build the storage boxes using this as the bottom of the boxes.... OMG. that saved my countless hours of work. It took some craft cutting but i enventually was able to get it level. The next problem was building a platform inorder to set the chinook ontop of so the overhand would sit directly on top of the front cab. of course i didn't have anything to build with so i start combing around my newly acquired auto lot.... what do you know i found exactly what i needed.

 

[SWCruiser]

NEXT

As we began welding the the platform the undercarriage material caught fire and sent us both into a frenzy... i think he was more worried about the garage catching fire. We welded a little more carefully and finally had it firmly attached. The fun part was lifting the chinook. As many of us backyard mechanics know we had to be resourceful. There was a large branch extending from a tree in the middle of the yard.. Somehow we managed to do it.. after 4-5 hours of sweating and extreme mental concentration.... The chinook was finally on!!!! Then i began wondering about getting stopped as i used extra large ratchet straps to secure the whole thing together.... and a couple of bolts... it definitely wasn't pretty and was a little wobbly due to the floor rot. after wiring up trailer lights I was off a 9:30 pm. I planned to drive all night to Tuson as I was already behind schedule.

 

[DBWood]

Epic! Subscribed. Can't wait to see the final product.
Can't believe you made it ANYWHERE without getting busted!

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[Polar Bear]

Epic! Subscribed. Can't wait to see the final product.
Can't believe you made it ANYWHERE without getting busted!

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

LEO's were probably laughing too hard to pull you over.

I love the ghetto engineering- tres chic! Can't wait to see this thing complete!

 

[SWCruiser]

The Drive

I forgot to mention- After driving all night from picking up the lx to get the chinook. i was rolling along at about 80 mph 20 minutes from my destination in Fallon and Bammo! I get pulled over for speeding and not having plates... I flew in so late and on the weekend there was no time to get a temp. I was pissed but too tired to really care... Now as Im just hitting the outskirts of town i get pulled over again for not having plates! Whats up with Nevada? When I pull up to get the chinook all thats going through my mind is how the hell am i going to get back to AZ without getting stopped every 2 seconds.. I was imagining the looks on the cops faces in Fallon as I rolled past with the teetering Chinook. WTF is that!!!

It was at the forefront of my mind all during the process and i was glad to be leaving at 9:30pm. I was sweating bullets for 20 min... but low and behold they don't work after dark I pull out of Fallon and instantly hit a sign that reads Danger High Winds for the next 60 miles ... I slide into the open plains and get blasted by some huge gusts.. Now all Im thinking is whats my plan when I look in my mirror and see a ruptured oversize egg all over the highway... i decide the only option is to cut my losses!!! That was a pretty stressful drive... i was cruising along at 40-45 mph because i felt like either the whole car or the camper were going to flying off. As the miles fly by i slowly creep up and after hitting the AZ border Im flying at about 70.... my backyard skills are better than I realized... luckily the trip was totally uneventful... i passed a few officers in AZ but they were to much in awe to notice the missing plates

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

F ya!

Good start to a great story
Looking forward to more

and the final product.

 

[mmml4]

I think I like it, it's kinda like a really ugly woman, it hurts to look but you can't help but stare . I would like to see it in person. All it needs is a set of dually's and your set.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Nice. As a former Vanagon Syncro owner I now find I have a soft spot for offroad capable self supporting expedition rigs. Just took the maiden voyage in our LandCruiser set up for sleeping 4 with a roof top sleeping setup and platform. Thread is "$500 rooftop tent" in Camping Gear section.

I think this is going to turn out well. Some random thoughts: For that rear overhang, you might fashion a strong point to handle dragging it down a rock face once in a while, and it could double as a hard point for recovery or towing, or rear rack mount options like bikes, kayaks, etc. I'm interested in what your background will yield for an interior. You have a lot of space to do stuff with in there. You can never have enough lights, ventilation, and hard points to tie off gear in there. One of the best efficient uses of space I saw in my research was taking a portable chemical toilet and making a frame around it that disguised it as a footstool. We put one behind the 3rd row sideways for last weekend's trip. Make blackouts for the windows that are absolute so no light leaks out and you can "stealth camp" in urban areas without being bothered.

DougM

 

[SWCruiser]

your right about the looks... I sometimes love it and other times Im kind of scratching my head. To be honest its early in the process still and I think the next steps will tie everything together. Larger tires and lift will definitely help it get there. Commenting on Doug's advice and experiences I do have a lot of plans for the interior. I was going to hold off on that but might as well put it all out there.

Exterior-
Horizontal fixed mount ASME propane cylinder fixed behind drivers side rear wheel.
Water tank- positioned between rear overhand and lx frame
Cargo boxes around the lower section below the chinook fiberglass- probably going to make them out of glass so i can contour them a little bit. Will hold chainsaw, battery, charger, inverter, other fun stuff.
For the rear- I plan on welding from the lx frame to a bumper to cover the rear overhang. As Doug states I think this will be a place that needs protecting.
Custom awning These will tie in with metal brackets into the metal frame of the Chinook.
Finish modifying bumper
3" lift (heaviest available springs)
35" tires with 2 wheel spacers or less backspaced rims
solar panel on top. (brackets already fiberglassed in)
outsider shower installation with curtain.
wash down hose outlet
compressor mounted in recessed panel
Interior
Norcold CF80 built into the cabinet on drivers side. Top will be level with counter top.
Eco-temp hot water heater
Thetford toilet
seaquest II meters (propane, water, battery)
Atwood heater
Inverter 1200 W
2 burner cooktop
Bench seat along passenger side that folds out to a bed. Full storage underneath.

 

[SWCruiser]

Doug,
you have a link to that toilet/ footstool? i like efficient use of space!

 

[SWCruiser]

After reaching AZ. I found some good guys to patch the fiberglass... When I returned home I made quick work cutting of the initial frame to build metal boxes below the frame... Retaining the original floor also let me reuse the original carpet Seeing as how the cab seemed flimsy when the doors were closed I also built a square tube roll cage.

 

[SWCruiser]

The bulk of the weight will sit on the 1 x 3" cross members which are connected to the 1" angle. Access doors for the lower cargo hold will rest on the tabs located in the middle section. I ran 1" angle around the outside perimeter as i wanted to be able to mount boxes and have a metal surface for other attachment points (step, jack holder, etc.). I had an old electric cart so I used curved round tube to create grab bars and for additional support on the roll bar. Sides are 3/16 plate... its more than sturdy enough.

After all the welding i grabbed seam sealer and went to work sealing the boxes. Finally I coated with Al's liner.... ( wasted half of it because it only lasted about 10 minutes before it hardened! .... After all of that I was feeling pretty good!

 

[thatcabledude]

Looking great!!!

So let me get this straight. You bought the Chinook shell and the seller was your slave for the day for only a hundred bucks? What a deal! Glad you had a safe trip back.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I don't know if you'll be crossing borders with it, but a custom vehicle always gives opportunity for hidden storage and they know it. So before closing things up, you might consider what might look suspicious and cut a 1" hole in it and use those standard hole plugs to seal it. That way they can easily snake an inspection camera in vs detaining you for a reaaaaallly long time while they inspect and sometimes cut things.

This may be beyond your intentions, but it would also be cool to make the connections between the Chinook unit and the truck such that you could separate the two and drive around what the Aussies call a "trayback" - an open flat bed, making the truck useful for a whole new category. Sort of like the camper units in pickup trucks that come out for the off season.

Are you going to have anything under the truck to stabilize it while camping so the springs don't let it sway around when people move? I found this weekend that with 4 sleeping in our 80, it didn't move much, so just mentioning it as now would be the time to tuck and weld those swing down manually telescoping jack things.

DougM

 

[SWCruiser]

yeah basically, but he helped me for 2 days... After all the work I gave him some extra cash. It didn't seem right considering all the time and effort he expended. Sometimes you meet good people.

Idahodoug,
Most all the compartments should be readily and easily accessible. I do drive into Mexico so its definitely a concern. I will make sure that they won't need to cut into anything. Unfortunately the camper is not removable, it would be nice to have as I have quads but there are really two reasons making it a problem. First, there isn't a cover for the front part of the cab as it is a walk through to the rear (also nothing where the sunroof used to hit). Secondly, I had to fiberglass the camper to the front cab to seal the sides. It wasn't easy trying to figure out how to accomplish this with the roll bar and sizeable gaps. I also didn't want a lot of noise generated from this junction and wanted to make sure it looked nice. I eventually decided fiberglassing it in would be the best option. As for the jackstands- those can be easily added later due to the metal frame but I honestly hadn't even thought of that. Ive been in an out of the camper and it doesn't seem to bounce much and Im still on stock springs. I plan to find the heaviest I can. After fully loaded I will see what its like but I hope I wont need them. Id rather keep it minimal. The original did not have them but then again the build on the original had a lot to be desired. I will give it a test after getting the weight on the back and put new springs on.

 

[SWCruiser]

Exhaust Question

If you look in the picture above with the rack you can see i removed one of the rear body mounts. I want to put a cargo box in the space behind the rear wheel but now have to think about moving the exhuast. Has anyone run it out the back, exited in the same area but installed the muffler somewhere further upstream?