Builds "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build and Fabrication Thread (5 Viewers)

[Rednexus]

It's pretty darn close to dialed now. I got a new set of isolators and cut 1 less ring off of them, and added a set of Apache Off-Road 1/2" coil spacers to the top of the springs. Rake measurements are below:

Hitch Load	Airbag Pressure (psi)	GX Rake (inches)
Empty	0	0.5
Empty	35	1.5
Camper	35	0.0

In the future, I'll probably swap the 1/2" spacers for 1" spacers, so it has 1" of rake unloaded/0 psi in bags, and is 0" rake loaded/25 psi in the bags. This will give me a little more wiggle room if there is more stuff in the camper or if I'm pulling something bigger like my tractor (5K+ on a trailer).

Also, the Anderson connector seems to be working from a driveway test. With the fridge and fridge fan running on DC and the GX hooked up and idling, I have 12.8V at the camper battery. It drops to 12.4V if the GX is unplugged. So I'm losing around 0.6V (4.5% voltage drop) from the GX alternator (~13.4V), but 12.8V should be plenty to keep the fridge cold all day. Hindsight 20/20, 8 or 6 ga wire for the Anderson would have been preferable to keep the voltage drop down.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

I need ChatGPT to summarize and answer questions about your build! Lol

I’ve been following for a while, but I don’t remember all your mods and sometimes I’m like what components he’s running in the rear suspension?

What gears did he go with? What wheels and tire package? What shocks he’s got? What battery?

Anyways…I need ChatGPT to summarize my own build too. So many big and little changes.

 

[Rednexus]

I need ChatGPT to summarize and answer questions about your build! Lol

I’ve been following for a while, but I don’t remember all your mods and sometimes I’m like what components he’s running in the rear suspension?

What gears did he go with? What wheels and tire package? What shocks he’s got? What battery?

Anyways…I need ChatGPT to summarize my own build too. So many big and little changes.

Considering the build has been going on for 5 years now, and has gone through many iterations, it's easy to to .

 

[Rednexus]

And we are back! We left Missouri at the end of June and did a two-week trip through Yellowstone, Glacier, and the Black Hills, pulling our TrailManor camper with the GX. Total driving was around 4,800 miles with a full 3,600 miles of that being loaded with the camper. This was a family vacation - not a wheeling trip - so the GX was in tow-mode and the vast majority of the miles were on pavement.

It was an exceptional family vacation (including our kids who were flat-out awesome through two device-free weeks). In terms of the rig, a summary of what was good - and not good - is listed below.

The Good

• 4.56 gears! These moved into the "best mod" category for the rig, due to:
  • The rig pulled the camper 75 mph, in 5th gear with the cruise on, without issue. With 3.73s, it would constantly cycle between 3rd/4th/5th, making cruise control unusable. Considering our longest tow day was just shy of 800 miles, being able to use cruise makes driving less fatiguing.
  • We did three substantial passes. The worst was Homestake Pass (west into Butte, MT). I put the GX in 3rd gear, locked the TCC, and had no problem pulling it at 55-65 mph (~4,500 rpm), at half throttle. All others were no problem at all, and I didn't hold up traffic.
  • Towing fuel mileage was ~11 mpg on the interstate at 75 mph, 12-13 mpg at 65-70 mph, and up to 14 mpg between Dubois WY and the middle of Yellowstone NP (~50 mph average). This is the same as the rig got with 3.73 gears.
• CSF Radiator! My engine temp never got above 203F towing the passes, and my trans never exceeded 200F. Great mod.
• New PX6. It's way less buggy than my old one was, although it did require a anti-glare screen cover so I could see it while wearing polarized sunglasses.
• New camper fridge wiring! The fridge stayed nice and cool on tow days with 12.8V being fed by the GX alternator. Glad to have that issue "fixed".
• Mechanical condition of the rig. Taking your family on such a long trip, with an 18-year old rig with 190K+ on it, pulling a camper, is a bit of a tall task. The GX never let us down and happily labored away the whole time.

The Not Good

• Roads were great on I-80 through NE and WY on the way out, but pretty darn rough in MT and downright terrible on a back route we took through the NE Sand Hills on the way home (which had 100+ miles of broken-up expansion joints). This caused the following issues:
  • My Ironman rear coil springs showed signs of weakness by Butte MT and were shot by the Black Hills. The Ironman spring/Firestone bag combo worked great at 35 psi initially, but required 50 psi by the end, and was even then riding quite poorly. The backend is now saggy even unloaded. The rig will be getting some Dobinsons C56-677V springs as a replacement.
  • The aforementioned expansion joint torture in NE also did a number on our TrailManor. Several interior pieces broke, one of the latches stress cracked and ripped off, and it developed a serious tire vibration the second-to-last day (we limped it home - I'm thinking one of the tire(s) has a ripped belt). In addition to fixing the interior, it will get a set of M-USA Goodyear trailer tires. If we hit roads like that in the future, I'll stop and drop tire pressures and/or just drive super-slow.

 

[Rednexus]

^Sinks Canyon, WY. Hadn't been there since the late 1990s, and found it hadn't changed much at all!

^A short wheeling trail in the southern Wind Rivers. The rig seemed to flex better with the Sonoran Fabrication rear LCAs.

^Togwotee Pass. No problem buzzing up this in 3rd gear, and grade-braking down the west side of it into Jackson Hole.

^We did partake in some Yellowstone tourist craziness. We also saw a grizzly momma and cub in Grand Teton.

^Next to a German-plated diesel 80 in Yellowstone. While going over Dunraven Pass, we drove through a crazy mid-day sleet storm - the GX got covered and so id the road. A lot of people were climbing Mt. Washburn when this storm hit - pretty glad we were in the rig and not on foot, above the treeline, in a storm like that.

 

[Rednexus]

^We snuck into Henry's Lake, Idaho to nab another state.

^The North Fork Road and Polebridge are probably the best parts of Glacier. We also did Going to the Sun road, which was gorgeous, but totally packed even with timed entry. North Fork was much more chill and enjoyable.

^There was limited parking in front of the truck stop in Buffalo, WY, so I snuck in and parked with the big rigs .

 

[MrMikeyG]

I'm new to the GX and I haven't read your whole thread yet.
How have those All-pro sliders held up? In your recent pictures, it looks like you still have them? I wonder how different the 2003 frame rails are to your 2007?

How did the Iron Man fcp lift kit do?

For the wider audience; is anyone running a supercharger on a GX470?

 

[Rednexus]

- The All-Pro sliders have held up great....with one caveat. They are knee-high on my rig due to the lift and tires, so they've only had one minor rock hit in the 4 years they've been on there. So they've never really been stress-tested, but they are quite beefy and I'm sure they'd do fine. The rattle-can paint job on them lasted about Year 4, so I had them removed, blasted, and powdercoated earlier this summer. I think 2003/07 frame rails are the same, BUT these being 5th gen 4Runner sliders, you'll still need to drill and set around 14 rivnuts in the frame to get them to fit.

-The Ironman FCP kit has been a mixed bag. The front coils were saggy within 1.5 years of install, but they replaced them under warranty. I also got new UCAs from them (for free) as part of a NHSTA recall. Now, my rear springs are trashed at Year 4. The shocks themselves work great, however. If/when this rig ever needs new shocks, I'm going Dobinsons.

-I don't know of anyone who has a supercharger on a GX470, although I'd certainly love one.

 

[OG Zuninja]

Did someone say "supercharger"? Not my build.

 

[Rednexus]

Did someone say "supercharger"? Not my build.
View attachment 3951764

Now you are tempting me . In all honestly the rig has a lot of power with a regear - and my next mods will be a snorkel and bumpers/winch....but man a supercharger would be a great way to throw away $7-8K in pursuit of pure pleasure .

 

[OG Zuninja]

I haven't even begun to tempt. lol

Don't mind me. Just sprinkling a little chaos wherever I go.

 

[Rednexus]

I haven't even begun to tempt. lol

Don't mind me. Just sprinkling a little chaos wherever I go.

Since he's on 35s (which reduce dyno power), I'm betting he's making a lot more power than that! Maybe one day after some things are paid down .

Some more Ironman suspension woes from my trip....in addition to the rear springs becoming stress-fatigued - I noticed the front looked low too. Luckily I had taken all-around ride height measurements before the trip when setting up the airbags. Turns out I lost a full 1/2" of ride heights in the front! The only thing the front shocks were subjected too were some rough roads - all of the camper weight was sitting on the rear axle. The front springs are only 2.5 years old and should not have lost spring rate like that so quickly.

So, I ordered a replacement set of Ironman 3" front coils to match the Dobinsons rear coils which should bump me ~2.75" in the rear. These are probably the last Ironman products I will buy, unless I rebuild the FCP shocks in the future.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Would love to see, or more correctly hear a video of this supercharged 120.