LX470 Family Adventure Rig

[Bretthn]

So we jumped ship from the Jeep and bought a 2001 LX470. The WJ was great but was a little small for our needs.
We looked at many and wound up settling with this one with 160k miles and perfect service history.
I already have many plans for this one. Will post more later.

Recent Photos 8/17/2013

6/4/13

When we bought it.



Upgrades, additions, and modifications

• Dual batteries- Die Hard Platinum 31m and group 65 controlled by a Blue Sea ACR 7622
• Slee Group 31m battery tray
• 2 awg run to Blue Sea Safetyhub 100 in the rear for all house wiring
• Constant power Blue Sea power outlet added to trunk for fridge
• ARB 50qt Fridge
• Weathertech Digital Fit floor liners, front and rear
• Removed factory running boards
• Removed third row seating and seatbelts
• Roof top tent
• 285/75R16 rubber- Cooper ST/Maxx

Future upgrades

• Rock Sliders
• Drawer system- temporary fridge slide in process but plan to build a complete system
• Cargo barrier
• Recovery points
• Self Recovery gear- thinking Maxtrax and a Hilift to begin with
• Better lighting- Exterior and Interior
• Laptop mount for navigation software
• Full length roof rack

Maintenace items and repairs

• Hood and trunk struts
• Door lock actuators- all four doors replaced as part of purchase agreement since two were bad
• Greased driveshafts: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Changed oil: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Flushed AHC system: 8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Cleaned MAF and throttle body:8/4/13 165,202 Miles
• Changed power steering fluid- at same time as reservoir relocation for second battery

Planned Maintenance and repairs

• Replace front and rear differential fluid
• Transfer case drain and fill
• Air filter
• Oil changes- every 5000 miles
• Cabin filters
• Complete timing belt service- trying to hold out to 180,000 but already getting weeping from water pump so will probably replace sooner
• Heater hose ts- need to research options
• Main coolant hoses- will do with timing belt
• Coolant flush- will do with timing belt
• Spark plugs
• Serpentine belts

All maintenance and repairs have and will be done using oem Toyota parts when possible with the exception of upgrades.

 

[txslg]

Look very nice.

Enjoy the truck

 

[Bretthn]

small things

First thing to go in was new floor mats as it didn't even come with a set. This is my first set of Weathertechs and I am very pleased with them. Will be ordering a set for the wife's car soon.


Next up was new hood and trunk struts.
Before


After


The old were KYB. I never knew they made lift struts. New has the blue label.

Sometimes the small things make a big impact.

 

[Bretthn]

Trip to Boone

My sister-in-law was graduating from Appalachian State on Sunday, so we decided to head to Boone Friday night and spend all day Saturday exploring. I wanted to drive all of Old NC105, which is mostly unpaved and follows all of Linville Gorge, and a few other unpaved public roads. Sampson road off of the Blue Ridge Parkway was pretty fun, and offered some great views. Richland is another public road in Lenoir that has a section that is unpaved, I came across it on the net and saw some pictures that look like it actually offers some technical four wheel drive sections... we did not make it there but hope to next time.
Another area we missed was the abandoned town of Mortimer. I had read about it from a member on here but need to find out how to get there, I was thinking that Old NC105 ran through it.

Shortly after turning off the Parkway, headed to Sampson Rd we came across what looked to be a salvage yard, but there were some pretty nice restorations in progress as well.


Most of it was just tame fire road.

But there were a few crossings and climbs that offered some excitement.



The best part was the views.

These are from Old NC105.



We saw at least 100 small campsites that I assume are free to use. Some of the roads leading into the campsites got a little muddy and offered an opportunity for some poser shots. I am pleasantly surprised at the flex the LX has in the rear with AHC. We stayed away from the mud. I poked around at some of the holes which got pretty deep, and did not feel like ruining the day by getting stuck.

 

[kashmir]

Nice - fun reading about your travels...

Great to see AHC holding up, I'm nervous about mine

 

[Clead]

Great pics! Thanks for sharing.
Nice to know what kind of trouble I'll be able to get into once I get my brood out in the LX.

 

[twentyocho]

great thread thanks for sharing. Nice rig. Also love my Weathertechs..

 

[jonharis]

Welcome! I made a similar move when I had kids from a TJ to the 100. Would never go back to a Mopar offering unless they start making magic with their full size line.

 

[NKP Garage]

Great photos. Looks like a beatiful place for a family trip. Congrats on the new adventure rig

 

[paflytyer]

Welcome! That area of NC is really nice, I did the BRP back when I was an East Coaster. Thats a fun little road trip.

 

[SmoothLC]

Congrats on the new purchase . . . love the pics of that part of the country.

Reminds me somewhat of southern Indiana.

 

[Bretthn]

thanks

Thanks for the kind words everyone.
We are really enjoying the LX.
Here is the current project.

That is a group 31m. I will be putting a group 65 Die Hard Platinum here but wanted to see how this one fit and to help anyone else who might be interested in seeing what the largest size they could squeeze in there would be. There is actually a lot of space between the AHC reservoir and the air filter box.

 

[NKP Garage]

Great choice on the battery.

 

[artwerks]

Subscribed.

Looking forward to how you're going to secure that.

 

[Bretthn]

Great choice on the battery.

Thanks. I already had an almost new group 65 DHP from my previous vehicle. I have been using it as the starter/primary battery but it will become the secondary battery once I get the mounting finished. I just bought the group 31m for the LX and a group 35 DHP for my wife's car on sale. I got them both for the regular price of one.

Subscribed.

Looking forward to how you're going to secure that.

Thanks. Bungee cords and duct tape

 

[Bretthn]

Dual Battery Lx470 With AHC

Second battery is mounted securely. Here is how I did it.
Moved the power steering reservoir from here.

To here. Still using the factory mount, just modified a little. I extended the larger 5/8 inch line, the smaller 3/8 line worked as is.

I also move an electrical heat sink that was mounted to the fender well. I mounted it to the fender wall and rerouted some wires which left a wide open canvas for a battery mount.

I made the base out of 16 gauge, 2 inch angle iron and 3/4 inch hardwood plywood. Everything is primed and coated in 4 thick coats of truck bed liner. It is extremely sturdy and stable.


I think it looks pretty good too if I do say so myself. I would like something that looks a little more factory for a tie down though.


Now I just need to decide how I want to wire it. I like the idea of a manual switch in the engine bay for simplicity and less things to brake. I also like gadgets though and wouldn't mind having a a display and switches on the dash for monitoring and switching between them.
Choices....

 

[artwerks]

Second battery is mounted securely. ....

Nice!
Although, now you are going to have to wait until the AHC goes to find room for an ARB compressor

 

[hoser]

Nice work! You might consider wiring the Group 65 battery as the "main" and the Group 31 as the "auxiliary" since it has more capacity. Your fridge could probably go a day longer on the 31 vs the 65.

 

[Bretthn]

Nice!
Although, now you are going to have to wait until the AHC goes to find room for an ARB compressor

Thanks. I still have an MV50 that is running strong so no need for an ARB for now... Don't jinx me on the AHC either. I am loving it but have a very small monetary threshold for keeping it when the time comes for repairs.

Nice work! You might consider wiring the Group 65 battery as the "main" and the Group 31 as the "auxiliary" since it has more capacity. Your fridge could probably go a day longer on the 31 vs the 65.

Thanks. I have thought about it but am leaning towards a simple system where all accessories run through the primary starter battery (group 31) and if it is ever drained too low I can self jump off the group 65 auxiliary. Also since the primary is a deep cycle it can be run low and recharged without loss of life like a standard battery would have. As it stands now I still have not decided how I want to wire it though partly due to the many different options and opinions, all of which seem to have their pros and cons. I would love to hear what factors were used by others when deciding what kit to use or how to wire it from scratch. For now they will sit as they are and I will carry jumper cables. I am ordering the Slee tray to hold the primary more securely though. By the time I get a fridge or decide what other electrical accessories I will be running, I should have it finished.

 

[Bretthn]

wiring

So I started sketching out a plan for the dual battery wiring today. My love of gadgets has won out and I am leaning towards a nice setup with in cab control and the ability to self jump start at the push of a button.