Builds R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build (5 Viewers)

[r2m]

Did a little Spring skiing at Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe a couple weeks ago. We cam down the 1 highway along the coast taking a copule of days coming home. We stopped at Pismo Beach just for an excuse to engage both front and rear lockers and low range.
Here's a short video clip of me churning up some sand. Since we were only there for an hour or so and had to hit the road again, I did not air down my tires. This is done with 67 PSI on all four tires.

C:\Users\R2M\Documents\GX 460\Pics

 

[tortoiseracing]

Did a little Spring skiing at Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe a couple weeks ago. We cam down the 1 highway along the coast taking a copule of days coming home. We stopped at Pismo Beach just for an excuse to engage both front and rear lockers and low range.
Here's a short video clip of me churning up some sand. Since we were only there for an hour or so and had to hit the road again, I did not air down my tires. This is done with 67 PSI on all four tires.

C:\Users\R2M\Documents\GX 460\Pics

Link doesn't work for me. I'm trying to live vicariously through other people's off-road adventures.

 

[r2m]

Link doesn't work for me. I'm trying to live vicariously through other people's off-road adventures.

My apologies for the broken link. I don't believe it's the link. The file is actually a MPEG and I don't think I can post a video unless it's on a website. My wife was supposed to have taken pictures while I was spinning in the sand, but wound up doing video instead. I didn't find out until we were back on the road. Needless to say I was a little disappointed.
So, in short, no photos...

 

[r2m]

Someone was asking about HAM antenna location, so I thought I'd take a few quick photos to show one option that comes with the Metal Tech rear bumper and also how I mounted my HAM radio in the console with the mic.
The first photos are the rear of my vehicle between the rear door and the spare tire. Note the HAM antenna mount.

This is how I have the face plate of my Yaesu FTM-400 radio mounted. Note how I have the MIC. I really like having the mic in that location. No cables hanging, easy to reach and out of the way.

 

[KJ6IRM]

This is how I have the face plate of my Yaesu FTM-400 radio mounted. Note how I have the MIC. I really like having the mic in that location. No cables hanging, easy to reach and out of the way.

Do you have anymore details on how you mounted the faceplate to the radio door? I really want to steal this idea for my install. Thanks!

 

[r2m]

Do you have anymore details on how you mounted the faceplate to the radio door? I really want to steal this idea for my install. Thanks!

It is pretty darn simple. I mounted the unit under my drivers seat, right to the seat rail. I'll put up some photos shortly as to how that looks and works. The face plate was even easier. In a word (maybe two) "double backed tape". Since I never use my CD or any of the controls that are behind that sliding face plate I decided to use that space for my radio. I made a plate that has a slight incline (tilt) so it is kind of wedged shaped so the face plate with have a slight upwards angle for better viewing. This plate is narrow enough to not be seen behind the face plate, but have enough surface area for the really good double backed tape that one uses for mounting mirrors. I then ran the face palte wiring down the left side into the left side console panel. If you look carefully at the photos above you can see a thick black wire coming down the side of the face plate and sneaking into the left side console panel. That wire goes to the unit under my seat. Being under my seat the volume is great and hear it very clearly and it stay's cool from the air conditioner and seat cooler.

Also, if you have wireless charging in your phone, I highly recommend that wireless charger I have also mounted there. I found it on Amazon: Amazon product ASIN B07DZRPZQNThis is an awesome charger for several reasons:

1. Ultra simple one handed setting the phone in and taking it out.
2. Never have to deal with plugging in and unplugging cables Just set your phone in and it starts charging, FAST!
3. Makes it really easy to stream my Pandora stations, just drop my phone in the cradle and the car picks up my Bluetooth and starts playing.
4. Works even with my large Galaxy Note 8.

I have a short high speed USB cable going from the charger down into the ashtray USB port. Again, if you look closely at the above photos you'll see the cable coming out of the bottom of the charger and into the ashtray with the cover shut. I also mounted it the same way as the face plate, tilled it up a wee bit and used heavy duty double backed tape.

One last thing, I had to add a very small post that is tucked underneath to keep the sliding face plate from dropping down with the weight of the phone, charger and HAM face plate. Again, I'll take pictures very soon and post them.

 

[KJ6IRM]

Thanks for the reply... I just looked at the back of my FTM-350 and I think it’s got too much going on to mount like your 400. Might have to sel the 350 and upgrade.

I have the Pitaka Qi mount for my phone. It’s a magnetic and Qi charging mount and they have minimalist phone cases. I agree with how easy it is to not have to plug in the phone anymore.

 

[r2m]

Here are the promised photos of everything HAM on my rig.
I opened up my tire carrier and took a few photos to better show the antenna mount provided by Metal Tech on their rear bumpers.

 

[r2m]

These photos will be of the console and mounting of both the head unit and phone charger.
This first one is a shot looking from the drivers side across to the passenger side.

This photo is the same as above except looking towards the drivers side.

Next couple of photos are of the MIC clip.

 

[r2m]

These photos show the mounting location of the unit under the drivers seat. Note the low profile allen head screws that mount the radio to the actual seat rail. They'll look a little rusty, but are fine. Also the holes are already in the seat rail and they line up with the threaded holes in the unit!

The photo below should give a good look at the exactly where I mounted the radio to the rail.

 

[r2m]

The last photo here is of the short length of polyimide rod (a type of plastic rod I had laying around) that I cut to length and wedged under the drop down face plate so the weight of the HAM face plate and phone charger would not cause the face plate to drop down.
It will be the yellowish looking rod on the left side under the unit.
It may not look like it the photo because I was purposely trying to show it, it is actually very well concealed and not noticeable.

 

[r2m]

The face unit of your radio doesn't look any thicker thank mine. So unless you're looking for an excuse to tell your wife why you need to spend almost $500.00 on a new radio (I'm always looking for excuses to tell my wife for new stuff...), then I think your radio should work. You could also mount it a little higher than mine and still not have it interfere with with reading the climate zone temperatures and clock.

With it in this position, it's real easy to adjust and use while driving and the location of the mike works great for easy access and not being in the way.

 

[hatfieldcb]

I asked Rich what all these things were in the dual battery setup. Here is what he sent me:

1. House battery (for the winch, rear 3,000 Watt inverter, aux lights, compressor, etc.)
2. The starter battery. basically, everything that is stock on the battery remained. (see No. 9 below)
3. The breaker switch. This runs back to the 3,000 Watt inverter and power panel in the jack access door. I used a breaker switch instead of a fuse for several reasons:
   1. I can completely turn off ALL power to the rear to avoid any transient power loss if there are any issues.
   2. I don't have to worry about carrying any fuses if something overloads the system. Just flip the switch and I'm good to go again, assuming I remove the load that caused the switch to flip.
4. That's all the wiring from my winch, compressor, and lights. The one 1 AWG wire that goes to the breaker switch continues on to the rear for all the power supplies in the rear.
5. Just ground. Straight to the frame or body.
6. Fuses. I think they may be for either the lights on the rack or for my function panel that's next to the steering wheel for my lockers, compressor, and lights. I don't quite remember right now.
7. Battery isolator.
8. More ground. Doesn't matter if it connects to the other battery negative or again just to the frame and/or body.
9. All that is what Lexus puts on the stock battery, e.g. starter, accessories, and everything else that you would see on the positive terminal of your battery if you look under your hood now.

I'm going to get someone to fab me up a tray for my 2012. I can let you all know how it turns out.

 

[r2m]

Thank Chris for posting!!

 

[lugueto]

Beautiful rig! I'm now wondering if I can fab myself a 2nd battery mount in the stock battery location of mine (not a GX)

One comment, however, you antenna location will have severely diminished performance. I'd recommend fabbing a mount to raise it above the spare tire. Performance will be greatly increased, I experienced this on a Prado and raising the antenna above the spare tire worked wonders.

 

[r2m]

Beautiful rig! I'm now wondering if I can fab myself a 2nd battery mount in the stock battery location of mine (not a GX)

One comment, however, you antenna location will have severely diminished performance. I'd recommend fabbing a mount to raise it above the spare tire. Performance will be greatly increased, I experienced this on a Prado and raising the antenna above the spare tire worked wonders.

Absolutely agree that the antenna could be mounted in a higher location and would yeld better performance.
The reason it's there are several fold, first: the mount was already provided by MetalTech on the rear bumper; second: I like the height so I don't have to worry about parking garages, car washes, and any other low hanging branches, etc.; third: It is primarily used for when we're off roading with the club since nobody uses CB any longer in the 4x4 community. Even with it in its current location, I can still hit all the local repeaters where I live. Not sure how large the HAM community is Caracas, but there are quite a few here in California with a lot of mountains loaded up with repeaters.

So, if I may ask, what are you building? A 4R?
Also, regarding the battery setup, I did a much simpler setup when I had my 100 series Landcruiser. If you go to this link: Dual Batteries
and scroll down to #13 post, you'll see a post about how I set up my batteries. Because the Odyssey's are so short I need to use a 2x12 piece of wood (cut to whatever the length of the two batteries together are) to raise them up to about factory level. I then used what some people call "plumbers tape", basically metal strap with holes in it. I then strapped that under the factory mounted battery tray and around the batteries and used a turn-buckle to hold them all in. Nothing ever budged and it worked great! I know it's a little hill-billy, but since I don't have a box and pan brake to fab myself a nice battery tray, I had to get creative. The nice thing about the 2x12 piece of wood is that it's chemical resistant, does not conduct electricity, readily available and cheap!

 

[lugueto]

Well, we have very hilly terrain in the northern part of the country and very flat terrain in the south. Caracas is a valley (or a series of small valleys) so mountaintop receivers keep (mostly) everything covered as well. The real gain we saw was out in the bush where we needed simplex comms. With the antenna in the lower position, I could get 10 miles simplex maybe a little more. Up above the spare, I hit 10 miles crystal clear and went way beyond that. I remember contacting one time contacting a friend on a trip who was 25 miles away simplex perfectly clear. The difference was noticeable.

I see your point on clearance. I usually swap antennas. I have a cheap little 1/4 wave VHF for when I use the truck in the city and swap to a 4 foot antenna when travelling. Low hanging branches won't do much to a Larsen 2/70, but I do care for parking garages, carwashes, etc. As well. The only downside I saw was that, when I had the longer antenna above the spare, the car looked like a little RC toy with the antenna on lol.

My current vehicle is a Toyota Fortuner. It is basically a Hilux sans-bed. It shares much of the drivetrain with the 4th Gen 4Runner. I will have to measure to see if another battery will fit in there, even if its as tight as the setup on post #13. I can easily fab a mount for them, the problem will be finding those batteries down here. Might have to import them.

 

[r2m]

Here's a link to there batteries. I have the PC1200. But with this list you can see the size and CCA of each.

 

[r2m]

Camping and wheeling in Big Bear this last weekend with my 4x4 club!
Did a little damage, but HEY, that's what I built it for right?
Albeit, I may have been pushing it a wee bit trying to keep up Jeeps with 35" tires...
This first 2 pic's are at our camp site with the iKamper opened. My wife and I love this RTT!

This shot below is what's called the "Gate Keeper" to Holcomb Valley trail in Big Bear. Even the 35" plus Jeeps were having issues getting through this. I was the only one with minor damage.

Attacking the first part. (below)

Stuck here, had to have a pull backwards to realign. (below)

 

[r2m]

Finally making through! BTW, those MaxTrax work great!