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tl;dr: If you don't like long rambling stories or cool pics and boring videos, this is not for you! 
BACKSTORY
It wasn't that long ago that I thought I had left the 200 indefinitely, but here I am just a few short months later. I like the 200 platform quite a bit, and this is somehow already my 4th. About 4 years ago, I found a really nice mostly built 14 I picked up for a great deal, but after having some fun with it I traded it for a nicely built Tacoma with an AT Habitat. I missed the 200, so I found a really clean 08 LX 570 for an impossible to pass price and picked it up as a daily driver. The truck only got used here and there, and I started to think about getting rid of it for a 16+ LC. The market was soft for a little while, so I was able to get a brandywine/terra 16 at a huge discount and sold the truck. The build thread for that one is here (Builds - mcgaskins' 2016 build thread - Ruby).
Ruby was one of my favorite vehicles I've owned, but at the end of last year I was getting burned out from spending too much time on the hobby being with being active in local clubs, multiple organized events, wrenching, planning, etc. I decided it was time for a change of pace and bought a thoroughly used 2002 Sprinter (which we still have and adore), took a break from wheeling, and put my focus on landing my dream job. I knew by pursuing this new focus I wouldn't have time for wheeling or even much recreation in general. The long story short is that I was able to get the job, and life became even busier than I expected. I had to relocate out of state for the new job, and there literally wouldn't have been any time for wheeling or recreation if I still had Ruby or any recreational vehicles for that matter.
While I felt the logical decision of selling Ruby was validated by my new circumstances, I certainly did not enjoy being Cruiser-less and wished for a scenario in which getting another one made sense. Well, covid happened. And that caused my out of state office to close and forced us to all work remotely for the foreseeable future, and I returned to Denver where my family had remained as I worked in California. About a week or so after I moved back, a beautiful silver LC popped up for a reasonable price about 4 miles from our house, and of course the only logical thing to do was look at it...and buy it
WHY DID I CHOOSE A 2013?
Since I knew I'd be back in Denver for a while and had no 4x4s, I thought this 2013 Land Cruiser would be a fun project to turn wrenches on and use to socially distance alone in the wilderness (with the hopes of course my wife and our pup would join occasionally). One of the main reasons I was drawn to this one is that it's silver which seems to be a pretty rare color on the LC (hence palladium), and it was a 2013 which was the first year for the LC to get the radar cruise and basic pre collision safety system which I had the dubious honor of experiencing how effective it is here (Are the active safety features any good in the 200? Found out today). In 13, a few more features were added like heated steering wheel, cooled seats, HID headlights, and other small things, so while it is not quite at the level of features of the 16+, it's pretty close for significantly less money. After having 2 pre and 1 post 16 200s, there are definitely things I miss in the 16 like the 8 speeed transmission (for off road not on road so much) and better button layout...and terra interior, but I could not justify the $15k+ premium between an identical 2013 and 2016. Some may say newer is always better, but it is such a significant premium for incremental features it is hard to justify. I love a good deal, and I feel like I got a very good deal on the 13 whereas anyone looking at the 16+ market knows there are no good deals to be had. I paid about $7k less 2 years ago for my 16 than what it would sell for today. It's a crazy hot market for 200s right now!
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS BUILD?
All prior 200s had at least 34" tires, and 2 were fully built with front and rear bumpers, winches, drawers sliders, etc. I've realized some mods were worth their weight in gold, and others were a bit of a disappointment particularly relative to cost. The priority with this build is efficiency - balancing best value and performance. I'll try to discuss why each mod was chosen and why I like certain brands over another to give context, but feel free to ask questions.
UPDATE
May 2020:
October 2020:

BACKSTORY
It wasn't that long ago that I thought I had left the 200 indefinitely, but here I am just a few short months later. I like the 200 platform quite a bit, and this is somehow already my 4th. About 4 years ago, I found a really nice mostly built 14 I picked up for a great deal, but after having some fun with it I traded it for a nicely built Tacoma with an AT Habitat. I missed the 200, so I found a really clean 08 LX 570 for an impossible to pass price and picked it up as a daily driver. The truck only got used here and there, and I started to think about getting rid of it for a 16+ LC. The market was soft for a little while, so I was able to get a brandywine/terra 16 at a huge discount and sold the truck. The build thread for that one is here (Builds - mcgaskins' 2016 build thread - Ruby).
Ruby was one of my favorite vehicles I've owned, but at the end of last year I was getting burned out from spending too much time on the hobby being with being active in local clubs, multiple organized events, wrenching, planning, etc. I decided it was time for a change of pace and bought a thoroughly used 2002 Sprinter (which we still have and adore), took a break from wheeling, and put my focus on landing my dream job. I knew by pursuing this new focus I wouldn't have time for wheeling or even much recreation in general. The long story short is that I was able to get the job, and life became even busier than I expected. I had to relocate out of state for the new job, and there literally wouldn't have been any time for wheeling or recreation if I still had Ruby or any recreational vehicles for that matter.
While I felt the logical decision of selling Ruby was validated by my new circumstances, I certainly did not enjoy being Cruiser-less and wished for a scenario in which getting another one made sense. Well, covid happened. And that caused my out of state office to close and forced us to all work remotely for the foreseeable future, and I returned to Denver where my family had remained as I worked in California. About a week or so after I moved back, a beautiful silver LC popped up for a reasonable price about 4 miles from our house, and of course the only logical thing to do was look at it...and buy it

WHY DID I CHOOSE A 2013?
Since I knew I'd be back in Denver for a while and had no 4x4s, I thought this 2013 Land Cruiser would be a fun project to turn wrenches on and use to socially distance alone in the wilderness (with the hopes of course my wife and our pup would join occasionally). One of the main reasons I was drawn to this one is that it's silver which seems to be a pretty rare color on the LC (hence palladium), and it was a 2013 which was the first year for the LC to get the radar cruise and basic pre collision safety system which I had the dubious honor of experiencing how effective it is here (Are the active safety features any good in the 200? Found out today). In 13, a few more features were added like heated steering wheel, cooled seats, HID headlights, and other small things, so while it is not quite at the level of features of the 16+, it's pretty close for significantly less money. After having 2 pre and 1 post 16 200s, there are definitely things I miss in the 16 like the 8 speeed transmission (for off road not on road so much) and better button layout...and terra interior, but I could not justify the $15k+ premium between an identical 2013 and 2016. Some may say newer is always better, but it is such a significant premium for incremental features it is hard to justify. I love a good deal, and I feel like I got a very good deal on the 13 whereas anyone looking at the 16+ market knows there are no good deals to be had. I paid about $7k less 2 years ago for my 16 than what it would sell for today. It's a crazy hot market for 200s right now!
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS BUILD?
All prior 200s had at least 34" tires, and 2 were fully built with front and rear bumpers, winches, drawers sliders, etc. I've realized some mods were worth their weight in gold, and others were a bit of a disappointment particularly relative to cost. The priority with this build is efficiency - balancing best value and performance. I'll try to discuss why each mod was chosen and why I like certain brands over another to give context, but feel free to ask questions.
UPDATE
May 2020:
October 2020:
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