Build R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build

[xychromosome]

This post is not GX related and may be deleted, but that's okay. But it’s 100% Toyota related.

This is a shout out to Matt Yeomans and Stacey Tourout, creators of Toyota World Runners YouTube channel. They have a great Youtube channel of off adventures and building off road Toyotas. Two years ago (I think, 2 years?), they had to build a mid 1970's Toyota Chinook onto an 80 series Landcruiser frame, and drivetrain, then outfitted it for overlanding in only 100 days! I think they had sponsors dates to meet for their year long trip from their home in B.C. Canada down to the tip of Chili, where he finally proposed to Stacey.

This couple LOVED Toyota trucks, ALL kinds. Pickup's, Taco's, all years and models of Landcruisers, etc.

On 07 Aug 2025, while off roading a trail in their local mountains, the somehow lost control (maybe slipped off?) the ledge and to a ~650-foot tumble to the bottom. This was a section of the trail where there were no trees or other obstacles to stop their roll to the bottom. Matt was dead at the scene, while they found Stacey with severe trauma and died later at the hospital.

For some reason, I've been very moved by their deaths. My wife and I loved watching their videos, the builds, the year long trek down through South America, their trek through New Zealand, along with other off-road adventures and builds. We watched their entire journey from B.C. (Canada) down to the tip of Chili. They made an amazing log of their adventures. Watching this made us feel like we knew them, personal friends. It was everything from watching them get up in the morning someplace in South America, start brewing their morning coffee, then sit outside and look at some amazing views of where they just camped at the destinations they chose, all the way to when they cooked their day’s end meal. After that trip, then they went to New Zealand, purchased a 4x4 Hilux, did a simple overland build and traveled New Zealand for a couple months, almost ALL off road.

This couple had sooo much energy, love of nature, love of off roading, and LOVE of each other!

They were just in the middle of a completely frame off restoration of the Chinook with a new motor, and all kinds of mod's to make it even more capable when this tragedy happened. If you have time, please go check out their channel, ToyotaWorldRunners on Youtube. You will truly enjoy their adventures.

Prayers and comfort to their families, and most of all Cheers to Matt and Stacey! I know how much you both enjoyed a good beer.
The joy you both brought to this community will be sorely missed.

Saw this while looking at their videos on youtube. Sad stuff. I am envious of their zest for life and can do attitude. RIP.

 

[Rednexus]

Saw this while looking at their videos on youtube. Sad stuff. I am envious of their zest for life and can do attitude. RIP.

I watched a few of their videos as well, certainly heartbreaking. Another non-automotive guy I used to watch - the Desert Drifter - was also killed in a car accident after coming back from a hike. Certainly quite sad .

 

[r2m]

Time for new batteries. It's been just about 8 months after the warranty finished up on the Odyssey's (4 year warranty), kinda sucks...
I've been thinking about lithium batteries and moving away from the dual Odyssey ODS-AMG42 (PC1200) setup I've had for the last 7 years and going with just one huge lithium.
I'm looking at these two:

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DTYRJV6Y/?tag=ihco-20
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D4J6QFP8/?tag=ihco-20

I'm leaning towards the LiFePO4, Group31 as that should fit nicely in the same space as BOTH of my Odyssey batteries. And to boot, it weighs less than 25 lbs.
Each one of the Odyssey battery's weight a whooping 39 lbs, time 2! That's almost 80 lbs sitting over my right front fender!
Plus the cost is real close to the price of the lithium battery, and I'll only be buying just one.

Both these batteries look to be "plug-n-play", considering they're lithium. No need for extra electrical components. With the LiFePO4 being so large, it will provide me with a lot more amp hours for my fridge, all night, dispersed camping. Presently I have run my engine about 15 minutes in the evening to ensure the batteries are charge for the night, then run them again in the morning to make sure the aren't run down.
Any thoughts and/or comments/reviews would be greatly appreciated.
We have a trip to northern California in a couple weeks and need to get this done soon.

 

[xychromosome]

Time for new batteries. It's been just about 8 months after the warranty finished up on the Odyssey's (4 year warranty), kinda sucks...
I've been thinking about lithium batteries and moving away from the dual Odyssey ODS-AMG42 (PC1200) setup I've had for the last 7 years and going with just one huge lithium.
I'm looking at these two:

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DTYRJV6Y/?tag=ihco-20
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D4J6QFP8/?tag=ihco-20

I'm leaning towards the LiFePO4, Group31 as that should fit nicely in the same space as BOTH of my Odyssey batteries. And to boot, it weighs less than 25 lbs.
Each one of the Odyssey battery's weight a whooping 39 lbs, time 2! That's almost 80 lbs sitting over my right front fender!
Plus the cost is real close to the price of the lithium battery, and I'll only be buying just one.

Both these batteries look to be "plug-n-play", considering they're lithium. No need for extra electrical components. With the LiFePO4 being so large, it will provide me with a lot more amp hours for my fridge, all night, dispersed camping. Presently I have run my engine about 15 minutes in the evening to ensure the batteries are charge for the night, then run them again in the morning to make sure the aren't run down.
Any thoughts and/or comments/reviews would be greatly appreciated.
We have a trip to northern California in a couple weeks and need to get this done soon.

Looking forward to the discussion on this topic!

I like the option with BT, as you could monitor them as needed. I recently picked up a Lifepo4 100Ah battery for running my accessories (the 'mini' versions are super compact and have come down in price a lot!) and also got the appropriate charger, which for these types of batteries need 14.6V. Do you need to add a booster to your alternator in order to properly charge them?

 

[llm]

Time for new batteries. It's been just about 8 months after the warranty finished up on the Odyssey's (4 year warranty), kinda sucks...
I've been thinking about lithium batteries and moving away from the dual Odyssey ODS-AMG42 (PC1200) setup I've had for the last 7 years and going with just one huge lithium.
I'm looking at these two:

1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DTYRJV6Y/?tag=ihco-20
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D4J6QFP8/?tag=ihco-20

I'm leaning towards the LiFePO4, Group31 as that should fit nicely in the same space as BOTH of my Odyssey batteries. And to boot, it weighs less than 25 lbs.
Each one of the Odyssey battery's weight a whooping 39 lbs, time 2! That's almost 80 lbs sitting over my right front fender!
Plus the cost is real close to the price of the lithium battery, and I'll only be buying just one.

Both these batteries look to be "plug-n-play", considering they're lithium. No need for extra electrical components. With the LiFePO4 being so large, it will provide me with a lot more amp hours for my fridge, all night, dispersed camping. Presently I have run my engine about 15 minutes in the evening to ensure the batteries are charge for the night, then run them again in the morning to make sure the aren't run down.
Any thoughts and/or comments/reviews would be greatly appreciated.
We have a trip to northern California in a couple weeks and need to get this done soon.

I'm not an expert by any means, but know that lfp typically will not be able to charge at or below freezing temperatures. Not ideal for cold locations. Some have built in heaters to enable cold weather charging, but ones linked do not.

 

[Hiluxforever]

I'm not an expert by any means, but know that lfp typically will not be able to charge at or below freezing temperatures. Not ideal for cold locations. Some have built in heaters to enable cold weather charging, but ones linked do not.

Some of the betters ones should have BMS that manages temps with a heater.

As mentioned, you really need this for it to be a functional replacement in one of our rigs.

 

[r2m]

Looking forward to the discussion on this topic!

I like the option with BT, as you could monitor them as needed. I recently picked up a Lifepo4 100Ah battery for running my accessories (the 'mini' versions are super compact and have come down in price a lot!) and also got the appropriate charger, which for these types of batteries need 14.6V. Do you need to add a booster to your alternator in order to properly charge them?

I have a 240 amp Tucson Alternator (2013 Lexus GX460 4.6L V8 Alternator | Tucson Alternator - https://www.tucsonalternator.com/search/2013/Lexus/GX460/Show%20All/4.6L%20V8/Alternator/) and a booster. On my OBDLink phone app, the battery is usually charging between 14.6 to 14.8 volts. So it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[r2m]

I'm not an expert by any means, but know that lfp typically will not be able to charge at or below freezing temperatures. Not ideal for cold locations. Some have built in heaters to enable cold weather charging, but ones linked do not.

Not sure where you're at in So. CA, but we're just in San Clemente. We'll often get temperature variances of as little as 5° F between the high and lows over a 24 hour period. Never below 50° F, when it gets that cold we have to bring out ALL the warm cloths!!! And never above 90° F. Okay, on very rare occasions, maybe once a year, the weather will draw a little above or below said temps.

But we do have a place in South Lake Tahoe and do annual trips there in the winter for skiing. But compared to most locations north and east of us, Tahoe weather is rather benign. I could never imagine being able to toss up the contents of a cup of boiling water outside and have it fall as snow dust.

Although, that doesn't mean I don't have some concerns about cold on lithium batteries.
Question: If it's already charged, example: from a long drive up into the mountains (say, Tahoe??) in the winter, the battery should be 100% charged, correct? Shouldn't it hold a charge for days till I start 'er up again? Once up there, we don't usually drive a lot. Skiing is just out our door.

 

[Hiluxforever]

It gets quite cold in the Rockies in February at altitude. Very different scenario. Those are the trail runs that are bit miserable while doing them but oh so memorable afterwards.

 

[r2m]

If we do any trails up in Tahoe, so long as I'm driving and the motor's running, there should never be an issue. It should be plenty warm for a LiPo under the hood. Actually we've only done a very few trails up there, and only when we were up there either early or late in the season the the temps were a little milder.
It's when it's been sitting a few days, that I have concerns.

 

[Hiluxforever]

Yup. Would just be in a pickle if you needed to start it cold. A block heater would probably be sufficient to keep it warm in extreme cases.

 

[llm]

sounds like cold is a nonissue for you, except a few times each year. here was my though process-

discharge will not be an issue except for the most extremely cold places, but it’s more a matter of how much capacity does the gx use to start and how often will you be starting it (or running accessories) without charging.

lfp has a flat voltage “curve” from 100% to about 10%, so you have the voltage but might not have the capacity left if doing lots of starts. cold weather will also affect capacity.

after driving for 15 min, the engine bay will probably be warm enough to warm the battery enough, and allow for charging again.

i’m in san dimas and actually saw snow in our local mountains this morning after the rains.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

That's almost 80 lbs sitting over my right front fender!

whoa...

 

[r2m]

whoa...

Yup, those Odyssey batteries are very heavy.

 

[Rednexus]

Yup, those Odyssey batteries are very heavy.

I relocated the one in our camper to the back storage area, knocking off quite a bit of trailer tongue weight .

 

[r2m]

sounds like cold is a nonissue for you, except a few times each year. here was my though process-

discharge will not be an issue except for the most extremely cold places, but it’s more a matter of how much capacity does the gx use to start and how often will you be starting it (or running accessories) without charging.

lfp has a flat voltage “curve” from 100% to about 10%, so you have the voltage but might not have the capacity left if doing lots of starts. cold weather will also affect capacity.

after driving for 15 min, the engine bay will probably be warm enough to warm the battery enough, and allow for charging again.

i’m in san dimas and actually saw snow in our local mountains this morning after the rains.

When camping and pulling juice from the battery overnight, there are maybe one or both of our phones charging, which current draw is not big, and then our fridge. But with the fridge, the colder it is during the night, the less it runs, hence less battery draw, since we're in the RTT and the fridge is in the car. It's not like the fridge is in an RV where, the interior temp is kept constant for the occupants, the interior of my rig can freeze all night for all I care. So long as my wife and I are cozy in our tent!

 

[r2m]

I relocated the one in our camper to the back storage area, knocking off quite a bit of trailer tongue weight .
View attachment 4012126

If I had a good place in the back of the GX, I wouldn't mind having both batteries back there also. But since I don't have any kind of drawer system or raised cargo area, they're both relegated to the front left bumper.

 

[Rednexus]

If I had a good place in the back of the GX, I wouldn't mind having both batteries back there also. But since I don't have any kind of drawer system or raised cargo area, they're both relegated to the front left bumper.

Drawer systems are awesome! One of the best mods I've done for my GX.

Although, I only have one battery in the GX. Given that I routinely go to remote areas, I carry a NOCO 2000A jump box so that I can self-jump in the event that the battery gets ran down. I considered dual batteries, but the jump box costs less than my Odyssey AGM did, allowed me to ditch jumper cables from the rig, and is small enough to stash out of the way.

 

[r2m]

Drawer systems are awesome! One of the best mods I've done for my GX.

Although, I only have one battery in the GX. Given that I routinely go to remote areas, I carry a NOCO 2000A jump box so that I can self-jump in the event that the battery gets ran down. I considered dual batteries, but the jump box costs less than my Odyssey AGM did, allowed me to ditch jumper cables from the rig, and is small enough to stash out of the way.

I too keep a small portable LiPo jumper, similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/HPBS-Jump-Starter-Battery-Portable/dp/B0BPWZKFVV/?tag=ihco-20 The one I purchased is no longer on Amazon.
I've had it for 5 or 6 years now and one of the best things is if I should have to jump my car, after I use it and it draws down to 90%, I can just plug the USB charge cable in while I drive and charge it back up in case I have another issue.
Saved my butt a couple times and helped other out also! It is amazingly easy and fast to use. Takes all of about 90 seconds to pull it out from under my seat, pop the hood, attach to the battery terminals and then start the car. Easy-peasy

 

[Hiluxforever]

Same, its saved my but 3 times now.