Ramathorn15's LX470 build

[Ramathorn15]

Like this:

It has a bit of wobble if you pull on it, but from what I can tell, it all comes from the long length of the L brackets, and not because they are mounted to the factory rack.

 

[redman333]

I have seen a couple different style of stock racks.

1) like mine, 4 mounting posts, front mounts ends at front of rear doors.
2) 4 mounting posts, front mounts end at front doors.
3) What appears to be 6 posts (the middle ones might just be support and not bolted) and the front posts extend to the front doors, same as #2.

These are photos stolen from Mud:

#2

#3

I could use some clarification too. It seems all racks are the same for the LC/LX but the mounting locations are clearly different for the stock racks.

Never noticed that. When I get home I'm going to look at my setup now to see what I have. I've got an 04 LX with the rear ward rack as the factory setup.

 

[SS100]

Mine is a '03 Land Cruiser. The OEM has 6 mounting posts and all of them are bolted to the roof. Maybe the LX has some type of cap covering the captive nuts that would otherwise hold the center post?

 

[Ramathorn15]

Mine is a '03 Land Cruiser. The OEM has 6 mounting posts and all of them are bolted to the roof. Maybe the LX has some type of cap covering the captive nuts that would otherwise hold the center post?

That might be the case. I have yet to pull back the gutter plastic to take a look.

One thing though, your front most posts are above the front pass and driver doors. My fronts are above the back seat doors.

 

[Visceral]

There are a couple extra mounting points than what the factory LX rack uses. I think a total of four on each side. I bought a set of the AO rails and they use a total of three pairs of bolts on each side, but leave one stock pair open (I plugged them with some bolts I had to take out of the other unused mount point).

My AO rails and Yakima landing pads+skyline towers hold me walking around on the Yakima Megawarrior safari rack with extension. I use a total of 4 crossbars and 8 feet.

 

[redman333]

That might be the case. I have yet to pull back the gutter plastic to take a look.

One thing though, your front most posts are above the front pass and driver doors. My fronts are above the back seat doors.

I looked last night at mine. It has that gutter cover also. I didn't want to pull mine for fear that it may not go back in. Plus I have no reason to at the moment just curiosity. I'll probably pull it pretty soon though. Because now that I know about this it's going to bug me until I know what's under the cover.

 

[nnnnnate]

Can we get some info on those King springs? I'm wondering about cost, ship time, etc...

 

[Ramathorn15]

Can we get some info on those King springs? I'm wondering about cost, ship time, etc...

Bought the cheapest ones on ebay. They were something like $199USD with shipping. Took about 2 weeks to get to my door. I drove around with them at close to stock weight, drawers in, but 3rd row out and spare out, and they ride well. Theyre a bit more firm than stock but not enough to ruin the ride.

I need to get my techstream going on my windows 10 laptop so I can check my pressures. I took a before reading, but my old crappy laptop hard drive crashed while I was installing the springs.

I'm going to try and get that going this afternoon and will update.

 

[nnnnnate]

Do you by chance remember if they were the KTRS-79? I hadn't thought to check ebay for them, it looks like the price is still the same after accounting for high shipping cost.

Edit: nevermind, I found another thread that talks about the KTRS-79 springs. (Here...)

 

[Ramathorn15]

yeah, the KTRS-79's and I got them from spares box on ebay.

 

[Ramathorn15]

Got my Gamiviti rack installed over the weekend. I figured I'd share my experience with removal of the stock and installation of the Gamiviti.

Before:

I used an interior plastic pry bar to remove the stock end caps. The key is to pry the outside way from the truck then once the tabs on the outside pop, push the cap up and toward the middle of the vehicle. If you're not careful, it's easy to break the tabs that hold the caps on.

Once the caps are off, there's 2 bolts under each cap.

Then use the same prybar to pull the gutter railing out to reveal dirt and other mounting points.

I drove around for a bit with he stock rack off. I love the clean look of no rack, but it's not functional enough.

 

[Ramathorn15]

First step was to assemble the mounts. I went with the standard 6 mounts as I see no need for 8.

Here is how they assemble.

Front

Back

On the LX, your stock rack only uses 2 mounting points on each side. You have to remove bolts from the other available points in order to mount the new rack. You'll want to use 3/8" neoprene bonded washers for the mounting bolts in the locations where there is no padding under. Put the neoprene side facing down so it provides a barrier between the metal of the mount and the body of the truck.

You'll also want to use some rvt silicon or other form of sealant on the both threads. Some people go nuts with the sealant but the bolt threads alone will prevent water from getting into the headliner. The sealant ensures that there will be no leaks.

I used the forward most bolt holes, then in the middle there are 3 bolt holes on each side. I found that the forward 2 of the 3 were more evenly distributed. The rear used the rear most holes.

Once I got the mounts on, I washed the roof. It might be the last time I could get it thoroughly washed. DO NOT WASH THE ROOF WITH ANY OF THE BOLTS OUT. IT WILL SOAK INTO YOUR HEADLINER.

I also used some sealant and gave it a good wax. Here in NM, the sun is brutal on paint and I know I'll probably never get another solid wax job on the roof.

 

[Ramathorn15]

Now the fun part. Actually putting the rack on. It's definitely a 2 man job getting the rack up on the roof.

Once you get the rack on, you have to line it all up which can be pretty tough. You have to consider front to back alignment, side to side alignment, and adjustment of the mounts to compensate for he arch in the roof.

Here is the mount adjustments I found worked best for me. I like to keep the rack as low as possible

If the lowest mount setting using the small adjustment bolt is 1 and the highest is 4:

Front mounts, 2
Middle mounts, no small adjustment bolts, large bolts in upper holes
Back mounts, 2

The back was about 1/2" high but I just put my weight on it and used the bolts to secure it down.

The front to back adjustment is dependent on your liking/set up. I got mine set as close to hitting my spoiler as possible.

Side to side can be tricky. I started with all the bolts in and loose. Then lined the front up and tightened the front bolts. Then I moved to the rear. The rear was giving me some trouble. I could line it up by hand, but when I let go, it would shift significantly. So I rigged up a strap to the GF car and used it to hold the rear in place while I bolted it all down.

The last step was to get the fairing on. The hardware kit came with 6 clamps and there's 8 holes in the fairing. I could only manage to get 4 clamps on. The holes in the middle seem very poorly placed as you can't get a clamp on the middle without off setting the whole fairing by an inch or so.

 

[Ramathorn15]

Also, if you're going to go buy the bonded washers, go to home depot. I went to true value, then Lowe's, then home depot. Turns out HD are the only big box in my area that carry the larger 3/8" ones. Turned a 15 min parts run into a 2 hour event.

 

[redman333]

Thanks for the write up. Very informative. Do you happen to have any more pics. Specifically from the rear trying to see the height from the bottom of the rack to the top of the roof.

 

[LEX]

Looking good. I did the same. Wash and a good coat of wax before I installed the Gamiviti rack and I also have a set of those plastic pry tools. Got the cheaper ones from eBay at around $2.99 shipped. I've used them on all kinds of odds and ends on my 100.

Everyone should own a set of those.

 

[nnnnnate]

I just did a parts run and found that 3/8" was to small. 5/16" ID seemed to fit though.

I'm just starting my install right now. Thanks for the pics and tips... I've been eagerly waiting for them.

 

[Ramathorn15]

Thanks for the write up. Very informative. Do you happen to have any more pics. Specifically from the rear trying to see the height from the bottom of the rack to the top of the roof.

Not sure exactly what you're looking for but hopefully these help. It's a little dark out.

I just did a parts run and found that 3/8" was to small. 5/16" ID seemed to fit though.

I'm just starting my install right now. Thanks for the pics and tips... I've been eagerly waiting for them.

Good luck man! It took me a while to get it lined up but I'm also a perfectionist and have to have everything measure perfectly true.

I also cut new slots in my gutter liner to accommodate the new mounts. I don't think I would do that again. I would just remove the liner and keep it off. The issue with new holes is that it will trap water between the gutter and the liner now that it's not sealed like it was with the stock mounts which have rubber feet.

 

[nnnnnate]

Thanks man, I got the towers on tonight. I did just rip out the gutter and the stupid plastic pieces in there to hold it in place. There is some adhesive still in the gutter from those that I need to try and clean out tomorrow. I still haven't washed it since getting back from my trip Saturday so I just wiped out the gutter and will give it a bath tomorrow. (thanks for that idea...)

I have the four towers per side so I will need some additional adjustment to get things lined up. I set the front two at the same level and see now that I'll need to either adjust up the very front one or adjust down the second but hopefully I can find some time to work on it more tomorrow.

 

[Ramathorn15]

Thanks man, I got the towers on tonight. I did just rip out the gutter and the stupid plastic pieces in there to hold it in place. There is some adhesive still in the gutter from those that I need to try and clean out tomorrow. I still haven't washed it since getting back from my trip Saturday so I just wiped out the gutter and will give it a bath tomorrow. (thanks for that idea...)

I have the four towers per side so I will need some additional adjustment to get things lined up. I set the front two at the same level and see now that I'll need to either adjust up the very front one or adjust down the second but hopefully I can find some time to work on it more tomorrow.

Are you sure? My front and rear are both set at the #2 notch counting from the bottom, up. The rear sat about 1/2 higher after tightening down the front, but it came down easily. The middles will probably have to go all the way down and not use the little bolt like I had to.