LX470 Family Adventure Rig

[hoser]

I think you would like the Blue Sea set-up:
http://www.bluesea.com/products/762...rging_Relay_with_Manual_Control_-_12V_DC_500A

And here is the in cabin switch. You can self jump start:
http://www.bluesea.com/products/2146/SPDT_Remote_Control_Contura_Switch_-_ON-OFF-ON

 

[Bretthn]

Headed to Uwarrie this weekend and should find out how stable the new battery tray is. I was hoping to have the Slee tray installed for the primary battery before then but it doesn't look like it will be here until Tuesday of next week. I am also debating on taking off the running boards before i go. If I leave them on they at least offer a little rocker protection and I dont care if they get beat up. If I take them off I will have more ground clearance... The original plan when i bought the LX was to leave them on until I got sliders but that could be a while. What do you think?
Any recomendations or advise from people who have been to Uwharrie before? Would love to have so others to go with if anyone is interested.
We are leaving out of Greensboro, NC.

 

[Bretthn]

Thanks

I think you would like the Blue Sea set-up:
http://www.bluesea.com/products/762...rging_Relay_with_Manual_Control_-_12V_DC_500A

And here is the in cabin switch. You can self jump start:
http://www.bluesea.com/products/2146/SPDT_Remote_Control_Contura_Switch_-_ON-OFF-ON

Thanks! I have spent some time this morining researching this based on your recomendation. This may be exactly what I am looking for.

 

[Bretthn]

Running boards

So the running boards are off. Took about a half hour. My wife actually agrees that it looks much better without them. Hopefully she gets sick of stepping up without them and I can convince her that we need some sliders soon.
Before

After



I'll get some better pictures on the trail this weekend.

 

[Bretthn]

First trip to Uwharrie National Forest

We have never been to Uwharrie before and finally went today. We didn't make the final decision until we woke up this morning. Several people had warned us that it would be extremely crowded this weekend but that was not the case.
We stopped by Eldorado Outpost to get our trail pass for the day, map, and pick up some other trinkets.


The outpost is just up the street from the Forest entrance.

We had lunch and stretched our legs in the parking lot at the trailhead to Falls Dam.

The trails are rated easy, moderate, and difficult and we just did 2 easy and half of a moderate. We drove all of Falls Dam Trail, Wolfs Den Trail, and Part of Dickey Bell. Dickey Bell has a pretty nice climb in the middle that we probably could have made but did not want to risk gashing a stock radial open. It is all loose jagged rock. We will probably not go back until we have better tires and some sliders though we still had fun on this trip without them. It continues to amaze me what the LX470 is capable of in completely stock form. The only thing we did was air down he Michelin LTXs to 25 psi.
There was not a lot of spectacular scenery so we just took a lot of poser shots along the way.



This is where sliders would be nice.


I really liked this shot. It was a cool little one lane bridge about a quarter mile into Dickey Bell.

These shots were cool too with the sun shining through spaces in the tree line and reflecting off all the dust in the air from other cars that were traveling on the road ahead of us.


Before heading back to Eldorado Outpost to grab dinner then head home, we stopped by the Badin Lake Campground boat ramp. Mina, our german shepherd enjoyed it the most.

We took a couple videos that I will try to upload later.

 

[Bismarck]

Looks like a great time. Awesome dog btw.. Got 2 of those lol.

 

[Bretthn]

Looks like a great time. Awesome dog btw.. Got 2 of those lol.

It was a great time. We love our german shepherd but could not imagine having two of them.

The LX came with a set of Michelin LTXs with about 50% of their tread left and I did not feel right swapping out some perfectly good tires without first giving them a shot. After the trip to Uwharrie this weekend and a couple hundred miles of other dirt roads I am convinced that they a pretty damn good tire and worthy of keeping a little longer.


When I do finally swap these out it will be for some 285 75R16. The question is which ones? I have had several sets of BFG All Terrains in the past and loved them for tread life. I had a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers on my Jeep WJ and they rode amazing on the pavement and did well in the sand on our trip to the Outer Banks last year. Now I am looking at giving the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx a shot when I do replace the LTXs. I have read a lot of reviews on them already but would love to hear more opinions.

 

[FlammableFishie]

It was a great time. We love our german shepherd but could not imagine having two of them.

The LX came with a set of Michelin LTXs with about 50% of their tread left and I did not feel right swapping out some perfectly good tires without first giving them a shot. After the trip to Uwharrie this weekend and a couple hundred miles of other dirt roads I am convinced that they a pretty damn good tire and worthy of keeping a little longer.


When I do finally swap these out it will be for some 285 75R16. The question is which ones? I have had several sets of BFG All Terrains in the past and loved them for tread life. I had a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers on my Jeep WJ and they rode amazing on the pavement and did well in the sand on our trip to the Outer Banks last year. Now I am looking at giving the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx a shot when I do replace the LTXs. I have read a lot of reviews on them already but would love to hear more opinions.

I did a few months of (not continuous) research on tires, which ones would be best suited for me, and what kind of reviews all the tires were getting, plus the "cool" factor of how they look. I went with the Goodyear DuraTrac's in 285/75 because they have an aggressive tread design for A/T's, which I liked, and they also get excellent reviews of performing well in all kinds of situations. I actually never looked into the tires you mentioned so I can't speak on those, but I also strayed away from the BFG A/T's because just about everybody and their cousin has them, and although they're proven tough I wanted something a little different that gives BFG a run for its money. I'll be taking my truck on a light wheeling excursion sometime this week and if you want to know I'll report back and let you know how they perform. But IMHO the road noise isn't too bad, they look good, and I've heard nothing but excellent reviews for the DuraTrac's.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I have DuraTrac's and they are perfectly suited to my 100. I love them and will be buying them again.

 

[LandCruisers4Life]

Those Weather-Tech mats look pretty good, I am up for some new ones gonna check em out.

 

[Bretthn]

I did a few months of (not continuous) research on tires, which ones would be best suited for me, and what kind of reviews all the tires were getting, plus the "cool" factor of how they look. I went with the Goodyear DuraTrac's in 285/75 because they have an aggressive tread design for A/T's, which I liked, and they also get excellent reviews of performing well in all kinds of situations. I actually never looked into the tires you mentioned so I can't speak on those, but I also strayed away from the BFG A/T's because just about everybody and their cousin has them, and although they're proven tough I wanted something a little different that gives BFG a run for its money. I'll be taking my truck on a light wheeling excursion sometime this week and if you want to know I'll report back and let you know how they perform. But IMHO the road noise isn't too bad, they look good, and I've heard nothing but excellent reviews for the DuraTrac's.

Thanks. I have read a lot about the DuraTracs and they do sound like a great tire. I would love to hear more about how they performed for you after your trip this weekend.

I have DuraTrac's and they are perfectly suited to my 100. I love them and will be buying them again.

There must be something to these DuraTracs. What kind of mileage have you gotten out of them?

Those Weather-Tech mats look pretty good, I am up for some new ones gonna check em out.

I love them! The only issue I have is that the plastic grommet in the carpet broke so the hook that holds the drivers mat in place moves around a lot. I bought a new grommet from the dealer but it turned out to be the wrong size. If anyone can post up the correct part number it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bretthn]

So the second battery tray that I made is holding up great, with zero movement. The group 31 that weighs about 80 pounds in the factory location has not moved any either but I was still not comfortable with the fit of factory hold down and the fact that it was meant for a battery of half that weight. I ordered a Slee Battery Upgrade Tray designed specifically for the 100 series Land Cruiser and LX470. It is made to fit a Die Hard Platinum group 31m. I must say that Slee Offroad has some great customer service. I sent an email asking several questions before placing my order and got a nice long response within a couple of days from a person that I believe is the owner. I placed my order by phone and got the same level of service. It arrived packaged well with a complete book of installation instructions which include pictures. They also sent a sticker :wings:

The old plastic tray.


Plastic tray removed.

Slee tray installed. I had to drill one hole.

Completely installed.


The fit and finish on this thing are great. It is a substantial chunk of metal and it holds the battery in place, so I am happy.

 

[TXLX100]

One of my carpet grommets came loose a while back. The dealer gave me a new grommet and updated retaining hooks for both sides. I'm not sure about a part number, but I believe all of the updated retaining hooks are the same, so the grommets should be the same/standard as well. With all of the ruckus about Toyota/Lexus floor mats, I would bet most Lexus or Toyota dealerships have the parts (or can get) the parts to fix this.

Cool battery setup by the way, may have to upgrade to a 31 when the current battery dies.

 

[Bretthn]

Thanks

One of my carpet grommets came loose a while back. The dealer gave me a new grommet and updated retaining hooks for both sides. I'm not sure about a part number, but I believe all of the updated retaining hooks are the same, so the grommets should be the same/standard as well. With all of the ruckus about Toyota/Lexus floor mats, I would bet most Lexus or Toyota dealerships have the parts (or can get) the parts to fix this.

Cool battery setup by the way, may have to upgrade to a 31 when the current battery dies.

Yeah, the parts guy at the Toyota dealer said that it was part of the carpet and the entire carpet needed to be replaced... I insisted that this was retarded, (in a much more polite way) and asked that he speak to some of the technicians. He did and came back with a handful of different grommets. None of them looked like mine, I am guessing due to the updates. I picked one that looked like the closest fit and of course that was wrong. I think it was about $5 so I would rather have an exact part number next time.

 

[Bretthn]

Wires through firewall

With all the new gadgets on their way I have been trying to figure out how best to route all the new wiring through the firewall while still keeping things factory looking and water tight. I came across this awesome bit of rubber in my searching.

So I ordered one... next I had to find a good spot to install it. I found this area on the drivers side between the brake fluid reservoir and the fender.
From the engine bay. The ovalish area without any insulation.


From the interior side under the drivers side of the dash. There is the same ovalish shape missing from the insulation and a bolt spot welded in the center. this must be here for an option that I do not have or for the right hand drive vehicles over seas.


Now I am just waiting for Brown Santa to leave a few more packages on my door step.

 

[Bretthn]

Current status of the LX is... after a lot of cleaning.

I am getting things ready for installing some new gear and found quite the mess when I started pulling things apart.




I have been soaking and scrubbing all of the plastic bits and carpet with this. Woolite and hot water does an amazing job of cleaning things up.

 

[Bretthn]

While I have things apart I figured it was a good time to repair my rattling Mark Levinson factory subwoofer.It has been blown since I bought the vehicle and has forced me to turn the bass all the way down to be able to listen to any music. I ordered a new foam surround kit from Amazon. I am still waiting on it to arrive but have already prepped the speaker for installation. It is as simple as removing the old surround with a razor blade while being careful not to puncture the paper cone. When the new one arrives all I have to do is glue it in place and reinstall the speaker.

Here you can see that the foam was blown out all the way around.

This is all ready for the new one to be glued on. I will post the final results once it arrives and I get it installed.

 

[Bretthn]

Blue Sea ML-ACR and Safetyhub 100

I had a few packages waiting on my doorstep when I got home today. Still waiting on a few other bits to deliver.
These are my first Blue Sea products and I can definitely see why everyone uses them. These things are built like tanks.
I also got a marine 12 volt receptacle, the Daystar firewall boot, and a few step drill bits.

 

[2000UZJ]

This is shaping up to be a great build! I love URE and try to go two times a year. I am currently rewiring my entire truck. Look into Techflex, I used it throughout my truck. It's great stuff and very clean if you do it right.

 

[Bretthn]

Blue Sea ACR progress

This is shaping up to be a great build! I love URE and try to go two times a year. I am currently rewiring my entire truck. Look into Techflex, I used it throughout my truck. It's great stuff and very clean if you do it right.

Building it is as fun as using it! This was our first time to Uwharrie and we will definitely be going a few times a year from here on out. Thanks for the recommendation on the Techflex. I have looked at it before for other projects but wonder if it offers the protection that good old split loom gives. Plus my company sells split loom, making it almost free for me.

I got a little work done this evening. I installed the Daystar firewall grommet. All it took was a 1 1/4 hole saw bit.
I had to move this to fit the drill down there to make the hole.

Once it was moved drilling took all of 10 seconds. Not as centered as I would have liked it to be...


I cleaned up the edges with a file and pushed the grommet through from the interior and finished up by pulling it the rest of the way from the engine bay. It was all very simple and I highly recommend this product if you do not already know about it. I am now ashamed at all the time I have wasted and butcher jobs I have done to factory firewall grommets in the past.


So after finishing that up much quicker than I thought it would be, I decided to make the bracket for mounting the Blue Sea ACR. I had a few pieces of scrap aluminum that already had good bends in them so the bracket was pretty easy. The hard part was deciding where it should go. In the end I put it close to the starting battery where I only had to move a few wires. It still needs some work and a coat of black paint.