nice rig and lots of good mods and trips, thanks for the thread.
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LX470 Family Adventure Rig
- Thread starter Bretthn
- Start date
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I just read through the whole thread after the recent revival this week.
Lots of quality time spent behind the wheel and enjoying your LX... it goes to show you don't need every available part to enjoy yourself.
Side note: I'm in Winston Salem with my fairly new to me '99 and willing to meet up anytime.
Lots of quality time spent behind the wheel and enjoying your LX... it goes to show you don't need every available part to enjoy yourself.
Side note: I'm in Winston Salem with my fairly new to me '99 and willing to meet up anytime.
- Thread starter
- #223
Haven’t done much to the Lexus lately. Wife has been daily driving it. We put some cheep alpines in to replace all the blown Mark Levinson door speakers a few weeks ago. The sound is a lot better but does not have much bass at all. I had repaired the factory sub a few years ago but think this channel has died on the amp. We will be putting in a new headunit and removing the factory amp and adding an aftermarket subwoofer soon.
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- Thread starter
- #224
We also replaced the file cap as the original was sticking really bad and difficult to remove. The new OEM cap did not resolve this. I am thinking I need to live the gasket, maybe clean up the lip on the filler neck...
- Thread starter
- #225
Tonight I finally started sewing on the new Xuji steering wheel leather. Spent about an hour on it and probably have another hour to go. It looks and feels great so far. The lacquer on the wood was cracking and getting to the point where it would cut you if you are not carfull. This new leather looks and feels great and the added width feels nice too.
Somebodyelse5
16124-75030
looks great, how much did that run you?
- Thread starter
- #228
About $50
Just read your thread, your adventures in George Washington reminded me that I can look closer to home for little expeditions.
- Thread starter
- #230
Finished up the steering wheel tonight. It’s not perfect as this cover was intended for a Land Cruiser and the diameter is different on the Lexus wheel. Still worth it and a huge improvement over factory with the cracked wood lacquer. I will see how this wears through the summer and may request the manufacturer make one specific for the Lx470 wheel.
Where did you purchase the steering wheel cover?
Thanks
Just read this entire thread last night and this morning; hadn't seen it before. Great stuff, all around, @Bretthn ; thanks for taking the time to detail your improvements and trips. We recently picked up an '05 LX470 (like, a week and a half ago), then a used Tepui Autana 3 (a week ago), a Simply Speakers repair kit for the rotted Levinson sub (repair went great, and stereo sounds awesome!), AHC fluid (haven't done the job yet, but maybe tomorrow), ordered a set of KISS drawers a day or two ago, and are homing in on a roof rack (probably Gamitivi). VERY interested in your dual battery mount; the only prefab kit I could find was on Slee and it only fit on trucks that have removed the AHC. I had resigned myself to having to go w/ an AGM mounted inside the truck somewhere, but I really didn't want to give up the space.
BTW.. GREAT to see your AHC system holding up and performing well for you! When we bought the truck, one of the first things I planned to do was rip it out and put in a moderate lift/standard shock/coil system (after a REALLY bad experience w/the air suspension on a '93 RR County LWB we owned years ago.. OME/Bilstein to the rescue there), but so far I like the way the system works, and trust hydraulics way more than air bags. Hoping to get as much out of the system as you have! Anyway, with your permission, I might pick your brain a bit more about your dual battery setup and mount. I'm great at following directions... not always so good at figuring things out in areas outside my expertise (music theory.. how's THAT for a useful offroad skill set?)
One of my dilemmas centers on the fridge slide; I'd like build and add one on top of the soon-to-be constructed KISS drawer set, but I'd also like to have it easily removable leaving a perfect flat surface so I could use the vehicle for hauling stuff when not camping, which would be frequently. Having to load stuff around a fridge slide would be inconvenient at best, and damaging to the slide AND the cargo being loaded at worst. Anyone have any ideas for something easily completely removable, yet strong enough to be up to the task of safely managing a 50L fridge when installed?
edit: .. and OH... the most important question.. it looks like you mounted your RTT to the factory roof rack??!?! If that works and is safe, I'd LOVE to just do that, but virtually everyone I've talked to cautioned against it. What does your tent weigh, and how did you mount it?
BTW.. GREAT to see your AHC system holding up and performing well for you! When we bought the truck, one of the first things I planned to do was rip it out and put in a moderate lift/standard shock/coil system (after a REALLY bad experience w/the air suspension on a '93 RR County LWB we owned years ago.. OME/Bilstein to the rescue there), but so far I like the way the system works, and trust hydraulics way more than air bags. Hoping to get as much out of the system as you have! Anyway, with your permission, I might pick your brain a bit more about your dual battery setup and mount. I'm great at following directions... not always so good at figuring things out in areas outside my expertise (music theory.. how's THAT for a useful offroad skill set?)
One of my dilemmas centers on the fridge slide; I'd like build and add one on top of the soon-to-be constructed KISS drawer set, but I'd also like to have it easily removable leaving a perfect flat surface so I could use the vehicle for hauling stuff when not camping, which would be frequently. Having to load stuff around a fridge slide would be inconvenient at best, and damaging to the slide AND the cargo being loaded at worst. Anyone have any ideas for something easily completely removable, yet strong enough to be up to the task of safely managing a 50L fridge when installed?
edit: .. and OH... the most important question.. it looks like you mounted your RTT to the factory roof rack??!?! If that works and is safe, I'd LOVE to just do that, but virtually everyone I've talked to cautioned against it. What does your tent weigh, and how did you mount it?
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It certainly appears so...but how does the OEM roof rails hold up with the rooftop tent? Is there something you put between the tent's rails and the roof's rails to alleviate scratching those?
I made two trips ( one 300 miles, the other 450 miles) with my RTT on factory rails ( an LX). After the first trip I decided that a roof rack was my highest priority. It wasn’t so bad that I didn’t make the second trip but it certainly didn’t feel super safe.
What about it didn't feel safe?
@duvinclunk The cross-bars had a lot of flex which allowed the tent to bounce slightly in wind and over undulations in the pavement.
- Thread starter
- #239
Wow, just realized I hadn't checked this thread in quite a while. 2018 apparently. Sorry LXG8R for the late replies. I would not recomend mounting the tent to the cross bars. I mounted mine to the rails. I believe the owners manual says the factory roof rails are rated for 190 pound dynamic load. This means while moving and my tent is only about 125 pounds. I dont think the owners manuals in the US list the weight rating for a static load meaning parked but I had found a digital manual for a European 100 series or South Aftrica.. cant remember which but it said they were good for up to 700 pounds stationary which covers us when parked and the extra weight of people sleeping in the tent. I didnt add anything to protect the rails from scratching and actually never got any scratches since that would imply a loose mount and movement.
Let me know if you are still looking for details on the dual battery setup with AHC intact. I think I just resolved the issues with my photos not working. I hate photobucket!
Let me know if you are still looking for details on the dual battery setup with AHC intact. I think I just resolved the issues with my photos not working. I hate photobucket!
I was one of the folks very interested in this.. it's the very next thing I want to do on our LX. I'd be very grateful for as much help and detail you can give. Thanks!
Just a fun tidbit... when we replaced our OEM roof rack and crossbars with a Gamiviti rack (with bolt-on fairing), we lost almost 3 mpg highway.. from a high of 18 to about just over 15 (calculated). HOWEVER... and here's the weird part... when we put our heavy, bulky, Ruggedized Autana 3 on top, we regained about 1.5 mpg.. we did 16 routinely on a long trip, and sometimes 17. Who knows.
