Build R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build

[r2m]

I've now read your entire build thread .

Good stuff thanks for posting everything! I've bookmarked a few other 470 builds that look worth reading.

my 2022 build out plans: Fridge, Dual battery, OBA, and awnbrella

the not fun but have to do stuff: timing belt and CV boot.

Will probably do all this in the next 3 months or so. Then enjoy for the next year and probably do rear tire in 2023.

I'm torn on under armor. Don't have any now. I keep thinking to myself, "how necessary is it really?". If we hit a rock does it *really* protect the part??

Great stuff!
Do you mean, "... a few other 460 builds..."?
Per your last comment, YES, coming down hard on a rock WILL crack/puncture/rupture your trans, oil pan, gas tank, etc.
Yes steel skid plates are probably best, but also heavier. More towards rock crawling and harder wheeling. I opted for aluminum since I don't really do any rock crawling. They offer me all the protection I'll probably ever need. And yes I've banged them a little, but not much.
If you're new to off roading, you'll be surprised when on a trail you hit a bump and spring up all of a sudden and then come down on something hard, with a real hard BANG! And you never even saw it on the trail! Trust me, this does happen. The security of not having to be towed/pulled out of the middle of nowhere to a street so a tow truck can take you the rest of the way home to deal with a 4 or 5 figure damage bill is well worth the time and money for skid plates.
I probably would not do anything worst than fire roads without under armor protection. But that's me.

 

[staffaction]

Great stuff!
Do you mean, "... a few other 460 builds..."?

no, we have a 470 (2004. bought it a year ago with 58k miles. Flew to LA from Phoenix to buy it . ), so those are the other build threads I'm going to focus on. But the trucks are close enough I think a lot of the ideas and mods are interchangeable.

re: skid plates. Ok thanks for the good word on that. I'll have to add that to the list. we've done some crawling in Sedona and there are definitely rougher/rockier trails in the Phoenix area. Nice thing is, I can do the installation on those I imagine.

I'm just getting into HAM now, studying for the test.

That car radio seems pretty heavy duty. Would you mind sharing why that one? (I'm planning on my first being the $30 baofeng starter after I pass) and also, what resources have you found helpful to learn more about HAM and practice once you were lfcsend?

 

[r2m]

Regarding HAM, yes I'm licensed, but I'm not one of those people who sit in a basement or shed in the yard rag-chewing all night long to people in Australia and other parts south of the equator.
I took the test for two reasons:

1. I'm in the Army and I'm the OIC (Officer in Charge) of the S6 (comm's) unit for the 40th I.D. We use HAM handhelds a lot on our field exercises. Since we're reservist, we don't often get the Sincgars radios so we use HAM, which if it all goes to HAM is probably what most civil and military will be using. Yes many of the soldiers use the Baofeng's. Cheap and easy to use.
2. So I can be legal when I'm off roading with our club or if an emergency I can properly identify myself and actually sound like I know what I'm doing!

I have my mobile (the radio mounted in the vehicle) because it's 50 watts and has a much further range than any 5 or 8 watt handheld. BUT, I also keep a handheld in my glove box. I use that in case I ever need to hike out and leave someone in the vehicle, we can communicate. Also I use it often when caravaning with other vehicles, I'll let them borrow my handheld so we can keep in constant contact without having to be on the phone all the time or constantly calling back and forth.
For the handheld I also have a 12 VDC cigarette adapter/battery eliminator so if we're doing a long drive the person borrowing the radio doesn't have to worry about a dead battery in the radio.

Because these Baofeng's are so cheap, Christmas 2020, I gave one to my daughters fiance and my wife along with a battery eliminator and magnetic external antenna. She keeps hers in the glove of her little 4x4 Taco for when we're both on the trail in our own rigs.
If you are just going with a handheld for now, definitely get a battery (12 VDC) eliminator and a magnetic mounted external antenna. Even though the handhelds are limited to 8 watts, it will greatly extend your range!

Hope this all helps.

 

[TLar25]

Regarding HAM, yes I'm licensed, but I'm not one of those people who sit in a basement or shed in the yard rag-chewing all night long to people in Australia and other parts south of the equator.
I took the test for two reasons:

1. I'm in the Army and I'm the OIC (Officer in Charge) of the S6 (comm's) unit for the 40th I.D. We use HAM handhelds a lot on our field exercises. Since we're reservist, we don't often get the Sincgars radios so we use HAM, which if it all goes to HAM is probably what most civil and military will be using. Yes many of the soldiers use the Baofeng's. Cheap and easy to use.
2. So I can be legal when I'm off roading with our club or if an emergency I can properly identify myself and actually sound like I know what I'm doing!

I have my mobile (the radio mounted in the vehicle) because it's 50 watts and has a much further range than any 5 or 8 watt handheld. BUT, I also keep a handheld in my glove box. I use that in case I ever need to hike out and leave someone in the vehicle, we can communicate. Also I use it often when caravaning with other vehicles, I'll them borrow my handheld and we can keep in constant contact without having to be on the phone all the time or constantly calling back and forth.
For the handheld I also have a 12 VDC cigarette adapter/battery eliminator so if we're doing a long drive the person borrowing the radio doesn't have to worry about a dead battery in the radio.

Because these Baofeng's are so cheap, Christmas 2020, I gave one to my daughters fiance and my wife along with a battery eliminator and magnetic external antenna. She keeps hers in the glove of her little 4x4 Taco for when we're both on the trail in our own rigs.
If you are just going with a handheld for now, definitely get a battery (21 VDC) eliminator and a magnetic mounted external antenna. Even though the handhelds are limited to 8 watts, it will greatly extend your range!

Hope this all helps.

Hey, my national guard unit falls under the 40th I.D. small world.

 

[staffaction]

If you are just going with a handheld for now, definitely get a battery (21 VDC) eliminator and a magnetic mounted external antenna. Even though the handhelds are limited to 8 watts, it will greatly extend your range!

Hope this all helps.

thanks a ton for the advice!

 

[r2m]

Hey, my national guard unit falls under the 40th I.D. small world.

Maybe I'll see you sometime at JFTB, Los Alamitos!

 

[TLar25]

Maybe I'll see you sometime at JFTB, Los Alamitos!

Probably not! My contract is up the end of this year and they're talking about barring us from reenlistment if we don't get the covid injections, and even if they don't go through with that I think I'm feeling ready to get out anyways.

 

[r2m]

Probably not! My contract is up the end of this year and they're talking about barring us from reenlistment if we don't get the covid injections, and even if they don't go through with that I think I'm feeling ready to get out anyways.

Good on ya if you decide to get out. But either way thank you for the time you spent protecting our country!
Even though I'm still active, I still, very much appreciate everyone else who is also active.

 

[TLar25]

Good on ya if you decide to get out. But either way thank you for the time you spent protecting our country!
Even though I'm still active, I still, very much appreciate everyone else who is also active.

Likewise to you Sir!

 

[r2m]

A buddy of mine in our 4x4 club is an avid diver (SCUBA) and aside from being in our off road club he's also in a dive club.
So the short story is that he's the one in his dive club that handles all the donations which can range anywhere from dive suits to tanks, regulators, etc.
He will then sell them and the money goes into the dive club's kitty.
This is what he hooked me up with for $120 (actually he only wanted a $100 but I gave him an extra $20 for his club since this was such a great deal).
It's all old school but the 75 lb tank is 100% VIP and hydro tested. Again, the regulator is old but in perfect condition, same with the hose and quick release. He even added in a locking Schrader valve chuck! Take this on trips when I need to quickly fill my tires or assist someone further than the hose on my compressor will extend.

 

[offroad47]

I can definitely feel the difference in ride quality, but as far as mileage, not sure yet. Since these are a wee bit larger I have to readjust my calculations.
These new tires are 12.8% larger than stock so when I'm doing 55 MPH, my real speed is 62 MPH.
I was used to running an even 10% factor for my speed, now it's a little more difficult. I may even print out a small chart for standard speeds, e.g. 50, 55, 65, 70 MPH's and keep it on my dash.

How are the tires doing ? I really like that size.

 

[r2m]

How are the tires doing ? I really like that size.

I'm still getting some rubbing pulling in/out of driveways at full lock. And as mentioned above, I've removed all the front fender liners and pounded the heck out of the bead weld. I have not had a chance to see exactly where that little bit of rubbing is coming from, but presently, it's live-able but not sure how it'll be on the trail. Haven't had a chance to do any wheeling with them yet.
But the wife and I definitely love how much more quiet they are!
MPG is taking a wee bit of a hit, but to be expected. But I didn't by the GX, build it and add oversize tires because I was concerned about better gas mileage!

 

[offroad47]

 

[staffaction]

View attachment 2633458

How did you attach your awnbrella pipe/tube to your roof rack? And do the ends slide off or screw off?

 

[r2m]

Looking at my initial photos, I realized I had not updated the Awnbrella carrier. Just went out and took a bunch of photos and will explain.
This is how it looks from the side. Sorry about the glare but it's morning here.

Glued on the front cap as seen in the above photo.
What I used to mount the PVC pipe were three (very long) stainless steel adjustable hose clamps. I then used some white (maybe 1/2" - 3/4" diameter) electrical heat shrink tubing and measured the diameter around the PVC and cut enough heat shrink to cover that part pipe with the hose clamp that would showing. With white on white PVC pipe so it wouldn't look so bad. Better than just leaving the stainless steel straps showing. Below you can just see the adjustment screw in the very middle of the photo, tucked under the PVC pipe.

The back end of the PVC: since PVC caps are made to press fit with glue. I had to sand quite a bit so the cap would slide on/off easily. Then just used a simple latch with a selectable combo lock just to keep the honest, honest.

I know it's looking a little old, I should have used stainless steel for the latch and lock, but... next time.
My wife and I really love this setup. There's been a couple of times when we couldn't be by my rig for cover and used it free standing.
Hope this helps!

 

[r2m]

When I am attaching it to one side of my rig or another, I use these:
Amazon product ASIN B07PMC3T6ZThey are cheap and awesome! I'll attach 2 or 3 along one edge of the Awnbrella along with a few short lengths of paracord and tie it off to the rack.
If the wind should really kick up, I take a few more of those tarp clips along the opposite edge, some more paracode and stakes I keep with me and stake down. Then it's as sturdy or more so than any awning out there.

 

[r2m]

While we were up at Lake Tahoe, decided to venture onto the legendary Rubicon.

Okay, have to admit we only went as far as the "staging" area. This was a ski trip, not an overlanding adventure. But it was nice being on some snow over the trail!

 

[r2m]

This post will be a little review on spare tire trash bags.
If you have not had a chance to get one of these bags and you're usually needing a little more storage room, these are great! We use it all the time for our huge Teton queen size sleeping bag (never have used it for trash yet). It fits perfectly in the Trash-A-Roo and since the Trash-A-Roo is water proof, not really worried if we're caught in some weather when traveling. Also we love this Teton sleeping bag! Big and comfy!!: Amazon product ASIN B014KG7I6SAfter 3 years, the Trash-A-Roo bag that's been hanging off my spare tire finally gave up. The sun (UV) completely destroyed the top cover material as you can see in the photo below. The cover (flap) also doubles as a zippered pouch, but the outer material of the pouch shredded some time ago and now the inner material is gone, and this is what covers the bag. See photo below.

Not to fear! I purchased a new one! I wanted to try another product so after looking at all the reviews of several different manufacturers it came down to two, which are as follows:
Trash-A-Roo: 5.5 Stars with 1,995 reviews Amazon product ASIN B004RGSGKOAll-Top: 5.5 Stars with 440 reviews PLUS "Amazon's Choice" label. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VTNPFC7/?tag=ihco-20
The one thing I liked about the Trash-A-Roo was that the heavy canvas type material they used held up really well! I just wish they used the same material for the top cover (flap). That was the ONLY thing that deteriorated by UV and time.

The All-Top is almost the exact design, but doesn't have the zippered top cover (flap) appears to be the same material as the rest of the bag. If that's the case, then I expect this bag to hold up much longer!

Also, you don't have to have a spare tire to hang one of these on. You can loop it through the rear window and under the bottom of your swing out rear door. Then just close the rear hatch window on the straps. Jake McCurdy was interested in this at one time and asked me to try it out on mine, so I did and it worked great! Just wish I could find the photo I took of it for Jake!
Jake if you read this, can you post the photo??

So here are some photos for comparison:

New bag mounted.

 

[Bang Bang]

Nice. I’ve had an Ironman bag for several years and it has held up well. I guess I need to pull it off my spare so it doesn’t end up like your trash-a-roo. It’s easy enough to take on and off.

 

[r2m]

Quick question that I don't think needed it's own thread:
My moonroof opens about 80% then I need to push the button again to have it go all the way back. No problems closing, it'll close completely in one push of the button. One of our 100 series Landcruisers had something similar with the drivers window not closing all the way with auto close, it'd only close about 60% and then had to push the button again.

Is this normal for the moonroof? It's been like that from day one of ownership. Thinking if it's normal, the 80% open may reduce subharmonics in the back seats?

Any thoughts? Something wrong with my moonroof??