Newb with 2009 GX

[Poudre Hound]

Gentlemen, please allow myself to introduce, myself. I have been enjoying and learning a great deal by reading this forum. You guys have done some really incredible work with your vehicles. I purchased my GX in September from a dealer in Omaha (I live in Northern Colorado). I had been looking for one in black for a long time and when I saw this one with only 66K on it I decided to pull the trigger. I had a 2001 Tacoma xtra cab for 13 years prior to this vehicle which I loved. But, got a family now and we need more interior room so I thought that this would be a good compromise. I would really like to build it out into a mild adventure vehicle, but I'm getting grief from my wife already. I keep telling her its my rig! Anyway, so I think probably the way to go is to just make it a bit more off road capable for those camping trips etc. I don't intend to go rock crawling or anything, but it would be nice to be able to tackle some nice overland trails. If anybody has any suggestions as to what I would need to get started I would appreciate it. I've only put about 5K on the odo since I've had her and I must say that I really like this truck. I have very few gripes. Thanks for all the great info you have provided on this site. It is a great resource. Not sure how to post pics, but I imagine that I have to go through photo bucket or some such.

Cheers,
Poudre Hound

 

[JTGX]

Gentlemen, please allow myself to introduce, myself. I have been enjoying and learning a great deal by reading this forum. You guys have done some really incredible work with your vehicles. I purchased my GX in September from a dealer in Omaha (I live in Northern Colorado). I had been looking for one in black for a long time and when I saw this one with only 66K on it I decided to pull the trigger. I had a 2001 Tacoma xtra cab for 13 years prior to this vehicle which I loved. But, got a family now and we need more interior room so I thought that this would be a good compromise. I would really like to build it out into a mild adventure vehicle, but I'm getting grief from my wife already. I keep telling her its my rig! Anyway, so I think probably the way to go is to just make it a bit more off road capable for those camping trips etc. I don't intend to go rock crawling or anything, but it would be nice to be able to tackle some nice overland trails. If anybody has any suggestions as to what I would need to get started I would appreciate it. I've only put about 5K on the odo since I've had her and I must say that I really like this truck. I have very few gripes. Thanks for all the great info you have provided on this site. It is a great resource. Not sure how to post pics, but I imagine that I have to go through photo bucket or some such.

Cheers,
Poudre Hound

I'd say remove the running boards and maybe do a bit more of an all terrain tire (depending on your local terrain conditions). That should be a good start for making the truck more "capable" for overlanding trails. They're honestly pretty capable even when stock. To post pics just click the little Image icon (7th icon from the right), paste in the image URL, boom.

 

[NMBruce]

welcome from a southern neighbor

 

[wingysataday]

BFG KO at2, done.

 

[Poudre Hound]

BFG KO at2, done.

Umm, ya. What?

 

[ultrakill]

BFG KO AT2 = All-Terrain T/A KO2 | BFGoodrich Tires
BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2 (KO 2nd version)

 

[chitown40]

BFG KO at2, done.

I think he is trying to say, in a witty way, to purchase some all-terrain tires and drive the truck. You can do a lot off the pavement with just a set of good tires.

 

[Poudre Hound]

Ah, ha, I'm so not hip to the lingo. Thanks. I'm looking into just that right now. Good tires will be where I start. Fire roads are about as adventurous as I'll get for a while.

 

[Poudre Hound]

Sorry to hijack my own thread, but I have been wondering if all GX470's take bumps so poorly. Surely there must be something wrong back there? When I go over a speed bump for instance, even slowly, the rear comes down hard and almost feels like it's maxing out the travel in the suspension. Anybody else have that problem? Thanks.

 

[Milky84]

Sorry to hijack my own thread, but I have been wondering if all GX470's take bumps so poorly. Surely there must be something wrong back there? When I go over a speed bump for instance, even slowly, the rear comes down hard and almost feels like it's maxing out the travel in the suspension. Anybody else have that problem? Thanks.

Bad air springs. Mine were alternately leaking down and then overfilling and it hit like I had no springs at all in the back. Just about launched me into the ceiling on minor bumps.

 

[dnp]

Your air bag (air spring) rear suspension is probably going the way most of them eventually do: OUT! There are some on here who have replaced the air bags with new OEM units or aftermarket units. From having had two now whose bags have failed, I can tell you that going with a rear coil spring retrofit was MUCH better than replacing the air bags. Not only did it cure the "bottoming-out" you're experiencing, it made the rear feel much less mushy, and it completely eliminated all of the compressor / spring issues most eventually experience.

Likewise, if you think you're ever going to put a suspension lift on the truck, now might be the best time to consider it. Whatever you do to correct the issue on the rear and maintain factory ride height will have to be redone if you decide to go with a lift.

Either way, my STRONG suggestion would be to do away with the air springs in the rear.

 

[wingysataday]

Several of us have extra air springs laying around we could make you a good deal on

 

[Poudre Hound]

Hmmm, so there are no shock absorbers back there? Just air springs? The suspension does adjust itself fine. It's just when I'm driving that it thuds over some bumps. I'm a decent wrencher, but have never done work on suspensions before. Didn't know that this was a known issue. Not sure I will lift it, but it sounds like converting it will be more durable in the long run. Thanks for the replies.

 

[chitown40]

There are shocks back there. But they are exactly that.. shocks. The shock will control the bounce, but the air bags are supposed to carry the weight. If they are not, the weight of the rear will cause the bag to bottom out.... also compressing the shocks.

 

[Poudre Hound]

That makes sense. The airbags are the springs. Just trying to figure this all out. I guess I should get under the truck and have a look around. Thanks for the help.

 

[dnp]

Correct. The air bags provide the same function that coil springs do. The shocks perform the function of normal shocks, albeit being electronically adjustable.