New member and LX intro - AZ

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Fuge

Fuge

10 Year
Joined
Jun 4, 2015
Threads
14
Messages
257
Location
Cave Creek, AZ
Hello, I am relatively new to this forum and owning a LX470 so I would like to introduce myself. I live in Cave Creek, AZ and bought a 99 LX last summer. I started working on it then although the majority of the work didn't get done until this summer. This forum has been extremely helpful so I wanted to say hi and thanks. I bought the LX to be a daily driver for my wife and to be able to get off the beaten path in AZ. Our wheeling will be mostly forest roads but those can be pretty rocky out here. So, I am setting it up to be protected and with some recovery gear for a little added piece of mind with the family on board.

I picked it up completely stock in amazing shape inside, out and underneath the hood with 175k miles on it.
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And now this is what it looks like.
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So here is the list of mods. Gobi Stealth roof rack, ARB Bull bar (03 model and cut the top tabs down), XRC 9.5k winch, Slee Dual swing rear bumper, Slee Slider steps, Slee skid plate system, Slee recovery bag, X-jack, Hi-lift jack, Garmin Nuvi 2798 navigation with wireless backup camera, Passport Escort 9500 radar detector with hard wire mount, Plasti-dipped all the gold emblems on the truck dark grey, New radiator, new timing belt and new water pump, AHC flush, New stock LX rear springs, Slee rear 30mm spring spacers, full synthetic oil, Weather Tech floor mats and window deflectors.

Adding all that weight sent the AHC pressures through the roof to almost 10. The front and rear are now both 7.1. That makes the front in factory spec and the rear .4 high which I can live with considering all the weight that was added (750-ish lbs). The flush, spacers, new springs and torsion bar adjustments made a huge difference in how it drives.

Next on the list: new tires - Destination AT 305/70R16 on the stock wheels. After that, a CB and onboard air on the realistic list. The no time soon (hopefully not never) list includes ARB air lockers front and rear, dual batteries, and an Eezi-Awn Bat 270 awing.

Here are a few more pics:

Maiden voyage did great.
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Packing up camp. Found lots of additional uses for the dual swing and roof rack. By the way, if you have a dog, the Waterboy waterer (white rectangle by the blue bowl) to the left of the dog is a touchdown.
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Heading home
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Looking forward to exploring more of Arizona and who knows maybe much farther down the road. If anyone has any questions on what I did, B.S. flags, or advice on my future mods I am all ears. Also looking for great places to take it around AZ and people to go with so chime in on that as well. Thanks to all those people who posted great questions, answers and pics. I hope to be able to return the favor... or at least be baffled with you. Cheers!
 
Nicely done; and getting used too! 2 thumbs up. :)
 
Looks nice !! I'm heading that way slowly but about to get laid off so it may be a bit.
 
After making Overland Expo near Flagstaff this year, I'm so jealous of the trips you guys can take over a weekend. Takes me a day+ to get out of Texas. ;-)
 
So I was just asked a question about the roof rack I didn't expect. Apparently there is a LC and LX version of the Gobi Stealth which either wasn't an option when I bought it or I completely missed it. Either way, fyi, the LC fits on the LX with a little modification to the metal gutter strip. Dumb luck I guess but I like the LC version better because the front mount on the LX tapes to the roof instead of bolting on. I would guess completely irrelevant to function as I would image either way performs the same. I just like the look better. The front mount holes are already in the LX roof so no drilling but the gutter cover doesn't have an opening. So I took the entire gutter cover out, cut the back 18ish" off, moved that to the front, turned the rest of it around and re-installed it (the hole for the front factory rack mount is now over the back mount if that wasn't confusing enough). Not perfect but looks good enough in my opinion.

LC Gobi Stealth on a LX

LC Gobi Stealth on a LX

  • Media owner Fuge
  • Date added
Front mount

Front mount

  • Media owner Fuge
  • Date added
Holes exist no drilling required. Holes are further after than LX front bracket
Gutter mod

Gutter mod

  • Media owner Fuge
  • Date added
Gap on second mount

Gap on second mount

  • Media owner Fuge
  • Date added
 
Looking great. Have the same rig down to the color. Hard not to want an ARB after seeing yours. Decided to prioritize with tires (K02's) and now getting rid of the Nakamichi.
 
Big fan of the ARB bar. It was pretty easy to put on too. You have to cut a a few inches off of where the stock bumper attached to the frame and drill a few holes. I used an electric grinder with a cut off blade but it could be done with a hack saw and some elbow grease if needed. I had the rear bumper on first for a while and it rides much better now with both bumpers. I went with the 03-07 version of the ARB. That won't show it is compatible on most sites but that is because the hood won't close due to some light tabs on the inside upper bar. I cut those down once I installed the bumper but only enough for the grill to clear it. There is still enough tab left to drill some holes and mount something if need be.

Tires are definitely next. Took it up to the mountains yesterday and it was raining up there. Anywhere off the main forest roads we were slipping and sliding. These tires were almost brand new when I picked up the LX so I was trying to get some more miles out of them while I worked on the rest of the stuff. Now just waiting for the truck fund to build up some more. Good news is the tires will also fit on my old 66 GMC pick up and it is in need of them. I saw a LX the other day in the parking lot with 285/75R16 KO2's. It looked really sharp, so nice choice there besides those being great tires. I am going to go with the Firestone Destination AT 305/70R16. I had Destinations on a Grand Cherokee and a F350 and was really happy with them.
 
I got another cool addition to the LX recently. The Gladiator Cargo Net. I went with the medium size. After going camping over labor day weekend and using racket straps and bungees, I decided it was time to pull the trigger. I tested it the other day and it works like a champ. So much easier to just throw this net over everything instead of messing with individual straps. The only issue I had is the hooks are just a hair too small to go around the Gobi Stealth roof rack tubes. So I just hooked it into the wire floor and it worked fine. I may try to bend the hooks out a bit before the next time but we'll see. I forgot to get pics so I will try to remember that the next time I use it.
 
Here are some pics of the Gladiator Net. Driveway pics but wanted get some before we hit the road and I forgot. Which I did. After using it a few times, it is great. A few points though if you get one. It comes with four tie down straps. I got an extra pair. I will probably get another pair or two. If you used this just in the bed of a truck 4 would be fine. But since it is going on a roof rack, to be secure you need at least 6 to make the sides secure. It was secure with 6 but it would be easier to secure with 8 or 10. 6 with a few bungees to keep loose peices from flapping works though. I definitely feel much better at highway speeds with this than tie downs and tarps. Overall great purchase. I called the company and ordered it direct. They had it on its way that day. That is probably way too much detail but if anyone wants more let me know.

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Good eye! It is west clear creek. That was my second time there. Such a great place to camp and canyoneer.
 
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The emblem is antricite grey with a touch of gloss plastic-dip. It has been on there for over a year and is holding up great. I think at some point it will need to be redone. Great short term solution or if you like to change the look periodically. Also good if you are not sure what color you want to test it before going permenant. The road isn't the hardest on it though. It is when it gets detailed. I didn't think to tell them not to wax the emblems. Even then it still held up. It is cheap and fast too. I might do something different later but for now it is working fine.
 
Do you or have ever looked at CSC? We can always use a few more 100s! Nice rig.
 
Thanks. Yea LandCruiserPhil mentioned them to me. So far I have only joined TRAL but CSC looks great too. I just looked at the CSC website and sorry I missed the ROTM. I really want to try that. I will look into joining. Still just getting my LandCruiser legs under me.
 
Great looking rig. Love the Gobi rack. Next on my list.

Did you plasti-dip / paint the grill?
 
Fortunately the grill was already that color stock.
 
Update on the cargo net. Turns out Gladiator has two hook options. They have a bigger S-hook option that works perfectly with the 1" tube rails of the Gobi rack.
 
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