Builds Oso the Land Cruiser (@twundy) (1 Viewer)

[timjax]

Obviously the new mounting location should be far enough away from the edges to prevent tear out, but if it feels good now (and you have a half inch or more of material to the edge), you should be fine The liner material is a lot thicker on the 200 vs on the 5th Gen 4Runner, which is good and bad. It provides a stronger base for the screw to insert into, but also sees more force because the plastic wants to spring back and the liner shape is more contoured. Only advice is to spend a little time rotating the tires through their entire arc to determine which part of the liner needs to be moved forward. I found that the area closest to the body didn't have to move as much as the liner further inboard. The plastic is stiff, so the amount you can move it is fairly limited unless you really start hacking at it. So, knowing which part to move reduces the overall modification required.

Man, I have to say your rig is looking good! The Nittos look great, and I really like the contrast of the white lettering "out" against the black body. Also Interested to hear how the +0 offset works long term. I was told I would regret my +20s, but so far they have been fine and I love the planted look.

Yeah I have just about a half inch of material to the edge, but had to trim a decent amount just for it to slide properly into the Z clip. I hear you on the liner, it sure is stiff, and I spent a good amount of time turning the tires and heat gunning and making sure I was clearing away the most important areas. Redrilling the liner forward gave a greater overall clearance arc too. If I could've pushed it more I would have! I wonder if there's any other spots I could maybe throw some self tapping screws in to strengthen its hold, or maybe soften up the tension along the wheel well that might tear the screw loose with a heatgun.

And thank you for the kind words! The 0 offset is certainly something different, but I feel it's nothing too extreme at all. Adds a bit of prerunner flair to the overland build. I feel like being between 18 and 25mm offset is really the sweet spot between a planted look and functionality for wheeling. The 0 offset might restrict me from 285/75 or 305/70 in the future.

It sits pretty nicely with the 0 offset and 285/70, so I can't complain:

 

[Just a Ninja]

Yeah I have just about a half inch of material to the edge, but had to trim a decent amount just for it to slide properly into the Z clip. I hear you on the liner, it sure is stiff, and I spent a good amount of time turning the tires and heat gunning and making sure I was clearing away the most important areas. Redrilling the liner forward gave a greater overall clearance arc too. If I could've pushed it more I would have! I wonder if there's any other spots I could maybe throw some self tapping screws in to strengthen its hold, or maybe soften up the tension along the wheel well that might tear the screw loose with a heatgun.

And thank you for the kind words! The 0 offset is certainly something different, but I feel it's nothing too extreme at all. Adds a bit of prerunner flair to the overland build. I feel like being between 18 and 25mm offset is really the sweet spot between a planted look and functionality for wheeling. The 0 offset might restrict me from 285/75 or 305/70 in the future.

It sits pretty nicely with the 0 offset and 285/70, so I can't complain:
View attachment 1994665

One of my favorite 200's on here. Those white letters and fat tires look just got that something that makes it look badass.

 

[JtFSU]

@timjax Man, I really dig the look of your Lc. Seems nicely proportional to the bloated shape of the 200. Just to confirm, you still only have the OEM spacers up front?

I am hoping when it’s time to change tires to try to go to a 285/70r18 which is almost the exact same. Will need to figure out a spacer to put with my TRD tundra wheels (+60) to get a similar offset. Thinking a 1.75” to put me at about a +15.

 

[timjax]

@timjax Man, I really dig the look of your Lc. Seems nicely proportional to the bloated shape of the 200. Just to confirm, you still only have the OEM spacers up front?

I am hoping when it’s time to change tires to try to go to a 285/70r18 which is almost the exact same. Will need to figure out a spacer to put with my TRD tundra wheels (+60) to get a similar offset. Thinking a 1.75” to put me at about a +15.

Thank you! Yes currently still on the OEM coil spacers to lift the front about .7-1". It is not a wheel spacer, it's pretty much a leveling kit.

That tire+offset combo should fit perfectly, but I'd be wary of using that large of a spacer. It's probably fine, but just one more point of possible failure way down the line. At that point, I would just get new wheels with an offset around there - there's a good number of wheels that come in our fitment and at +25mm offset. Plus if you're a fan of downsizing to 17's to get a bit more tire and sidewall, that's also possible with new wheels.


While I'm here, might as well update the build thread!

Threw on some small mods, namely adding custom powdercoated HD Recovery Points off a Tundra, and a custom stainless steel shift knob to modernize/personalize the interior a little bit:

I also swapped the reverse lights and license plate lights with AUXITO LED bulbs off Amazon, and they are incredible! Very bright and pure white. At night, the reverse lights are almost blindingly bright like headlights, and the license plate lights add a nice crisp white glow that really ties in the look of it being a current gen truck. I can take pics sometime if anyone wants em. I highly encourage swapping all the old, warm colored halogen bulbs for LEDs on any vehicle possible really - an easy and cheap random mod when you're bored.

Also, ended up having to replace the driver door lock actuator myself. Seems to happen on every single Toyota vehicle I've come across. This was a surprisingly early failure at only 3 years in, most of the other ones I've had happened around the 7-10 year mark. For anyone who is interested in replacing theirs, check out this refurbished model on eBay - this guy seems to have made a neat business of repairing actuators himself, and then offering a lifetime warranty if you send your old one in, which I assume he then repairs and adds to his inventory. $50 for an OEM based part that could last even longer (newer and nicer motor?) than the $150 OEM replacement.


Now for the main update... one of the mods I've been wanting to do from even before I got the LC finally came in today:

Received the Gobi Stealth Rack + Ladder, and will hopefully be installing it this weekend! I ordered it back towards the end of April, and it arrived fairly within their lead time estimates. I've seen a lot of complaints of others waiting over 6 months, but I received mine right along the expected 4 month time frame.

 

[CoastCruiser]

Cool you're building my dream LC, Feel free to post loads of pics!

 

[timjax]

Installed the Gobi rack yesterday - only took about 3-4 hours. I'm really pleased with it, great build quality. Haven't put on the wind deflector or ladder yet. The ladder should be going on when I have some time this week, but I might leave the deflector off for a more bare bones look, not sure. The wind noise without the wind deflector isn't even that bad either, only some mild howling past 75-80 mph so far.

 

[terdrocket]

The wind fairing works well on these. You can bend the brackets to get your desired slope and contour.
The ladder is the easiest part to install.

 

[tbisaacs]

View attachment 2084203View attachment 2084204
Installed the Gobi rack yesterday - only took about 3-4 hours. I'm really pleased with it, great build quality. Haven't put on the wind deflector or ladder yet. The ladder should be going on when I have some time this week, but I might leave the deflector off for a more bare bones look, not sure. The wind noise without the wind deflector isn't even that bad either, only some mild howling past 75-80 mph so far.

How long was the wait from Gobi?

 

[timjax]

The wind fairing works well on these. You can bend the brackets to get your desired slope and contour.
The ladder is the easiest part to install.

Yeah I’m very impressed at the lack of wind noise without the fairing, so with the fairing should be great! And very good to hear about the ladder, I was actually worried that the whole double sided tape and alignment process would be tedious.

How long was the wait from Gobi?

Pretty much right at 4 months. I ordered on April 25th, it shipped out on September 5th, and arrived on the 10th. I’ve heard of a good number of 6-8 month waits, so I’m very happy. Possibly since I ordered in the spring the backlog wasn’t very long? Maybe more people think to order during the Summer-Fall.

 

[timjax]

Here's how it looks right now, with the Gobi wind fairing and ladder on as well.

Also got TSB-0209-17 done this week and the transmission is way smoother. Considering getting ceramic tint soon and mounting up some small accessories. Only big item left to get for now is the 2" lift.

Any recommendations for places to head out to this Thanksgiving/Christmas time? Thinking of New Mexico or maybe Big Bend NP.

 

[afgman786]

@zjamshidi this is what you should do...

 

[psnyman]

Welcome!

I have Icon Rebounds that are 17x8.5 with a 25mm offset. Currently have 285/70/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers. The shop that fitted the wheels and aligned the truck did push the front side of the front fender liners in a little. With that minor tweaking, I have no issues with no lift and that wheel/tire setup.

The Gobi rack comes with a fairing and there is no whistling on my truck. For the past ten years I’ve had multiple roof racks over multiple vehicles and the Gobi gives me no reason to complain. For tires, I’ve had the Nittos since last July and love them. They did great at the last LCDC and have been quiet. No droning nosies. I will say that my MPG have gone down since I’ve installed all of this. The roof rack may have hurt the MPG but I’m sure the SS Budbuilt stage 3 skid plates and sliders didn’t help. The tires are are E range/10 ply and from what I’ve seen, seem to be the biggest culprit with it comes to decreased MPG.

Retrospective on your Nitto RG E rated tires - how is your MPG holding up and would you do the same again? I'm busy doing the wheel/tire analysis paralysis shuffle and I like the E range for the load bearing but wonder if I'm going overboard. I will be heavily loaded when all is said and done.

 

[Gorilla]

Man, I have been researching wheel offsets all week, and Now I come accross yours. Definitley going + offset now!! Looks awesome man, I love it!!

 

[timjax]

Here's some recent pics of Oso to update the thread:

Haven't added too much to the build aside from some convenience mods inside, really happy with how it is right now. Pretty darn capable and good looking for stock suspension and 33's. Really tempted to yank off the running boards. Long term, I do want to get lifted and throw on some 285/75 or 35x10.5 tires.

Next up might be lighting, such as ditch lights and a cargo area light, as well as some ceramic tint all around.

 

[Gorilla]

Thanks for those pics. So just to confirm on the road it doesnt scrub, but if offroad it may rub a bit?

 

[timjax]

Thanks for those pics. So just to confirm on the road it doesnt scrub, but if offroad it may rub a bit?

Yeah, after I took all the measures listed earlier in this thread to get the fender liner, mud flap, and rocker panel out of the way, rubbing is fairly minimal now. Off road when articulating I've experienced some rub here and there, and if I turn quickly and sharply into a parking lot or driveway with an incline/decline it'll rub for a split second. Daily driving I don't rub, just in those rare sharp turn occurrences maybe 1-2 times a month. Overall not too bad. I bet a lift, UCA's, and a good alignment would help even more.

An offset along the lines of +18 to +25 should be a best of both worlds with a wide stance and less rubbing. I will probably get some wheels with those specs if/when I size up to 34-35's.

 

[Gorilla]

Thanks man, and no dramas with going down to a 17" from an 18? Because I showed my friend your Rig (And he is not into 4wds) and he said thats it, those wheels and offset, order it now haha. Mind you I dont even have a 200 (YET) but Im in the process of getting a 2014-15 mode but has KDSS. Sorry to clog your thread up with these silly questions!

 

[timjax]

Thanks man, and no dramas with going down to a 17" from an 18? Because I showed my friend your Rig (And he is not into 4wds) and he said thats it, those wheels and offset, order it now haha. Mind you I dont even have a 200 (YET) but Im in the process of getting a 2014-15 mode but has KDSS. Sorry to clog your thread up with these silly questions!

No issues at all. 17" is the smallest wheel you can run on the 200 series because of the brakes, lot of guys run 17's around here (primarily the Rock Warrior and EvoCorse wheels). Plus it allows for a nice meaty tire with more sidewall. If you're going for a lift too, I would even consider sizing up tires to a 285/75R17 (34") for even more sidewall, just with a wheel with more offset (less poke). Can't wait to see your build!

 

[Gorilla]

Thank's Timjax! I dont plan on a lift for a while, maybe just teh front spacer to level it out. DO you regret getting black at all? I'll start a build once I pick her up!

 

[timjax]

Thank's Timjax! I dont plan on a lift for a while, maybe just teh front spacer to level it out. DO you regret getting black at all? I'll start a build once I pick her up!

Yeah then you should be happy with the 285/70R17 tire size.

Black is a pain to keep clean, but I would have it no other way. Brandywine Mica or Amazon Green are neat colors if you wanted to be different, and I'd probably get Silver or Gray if it was an LX. I was dead set on a Black with Terra interior during my search. I maintain it with Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic products to have deep gloss and keep it looking cleaner longer, and to make it easier to wash.

It cleans up nice: