Builds "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build and Fabrication Thread (7 Viewers)

[Rednexus]

Drawers and sleeping platform are unboxed and ready to start finish work (will be at least a few weeks due to some work travel). I really like the overall design concept. The construction, materials, and details are all pretty good. Finishing, as of now, will include staining the rear vertical items (ends of the box and drawers) to match my rear door table (which is close-ish to the OEM wood stain) and then spray everything in a few coats of polyurethane. Then make a removable "mat" for the top of the drawers and the sleeping platform out of boat carpet (already purchased and similar in color to the OEM carpet). I actually really like the sandalwood/beige/maple OEM Lexus interior and want these drawers to fit in with the rest of the rig.

 

[NMCamperLX470]

Drawers and sleeping platform are unboxed and ready to start finish work (will be at least a few weeks due to some work travel). I really like the overall design concept. The construction, materials, and details are all pretty good. Finishing, as of now, will include staining the rear vertical items (ends of the box and drawers) to match my rear door table (which is close-ish to the OEM wood stain) and then spray everything in a few coats of polyurethane. Then make a removable "mat" for the top of the drawers and the sleeping platform out of boat carpet (already purchased and similar in color to the OEM carpet). I actually really like the sandalwood/beige/maple OEM Lexus interior and want these drawers to fit in with the rest of the rig.
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Nice! I ended up ordering these ones with the pre-coated black bed liner about 4 weeks ago.
Excited to see how yours turns out!

 

[Rednexus]

My GX, for around a year now, has had an annoying squeaking/rubbing noise when going over bumps (worse after off-roading). I finally figured it was just my polyurethane sway bar bushings or the shock shafts, and finally decided to spray them with some PB Blaster to quiet things up. Low and behold, my prebuilt Ironman front coilovers both had slightly bent coil springs (driver's side was the worst) that were contacting the shock body. I installed the coilovers as-shipped and haven't adjusted them at all. Did some reading online and others have had this problem; apparently Ironman had a bad batch of coils but replaced most front coilovers under warranty. I love the lift otherwise and sent in a warranty claim - we will see how it goes with it being honored.

 

[aztoytec]

Looks like they are leaking too

 

[Rednexus]

Looks like they are leaking too

I doused them pretty good in PB Blaster yesterday, thinking the noise was the shock shaft going into the body, so that's the oily stuff at the bottom. They didn't have any evidence of leaking before I sprayed them. The PB made the noise go away as the shock body is now lubricated against the coil

 

[Rednexus]

Test-fit the SHW drawers today. They fit really well and have plenty of room for sleeping. The platform will only be used when camping and stored outside of the GX otherwise. I started sanding them today and hope to stain them over the weekend.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Test-fit the SHW drawers today. They fit really well and have plenty of room for sleeping. The platform will only be used when camping and stored outside of the GX otherwise. I started sanding them today and hope to stain them over the weekend.
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Very nice!!

 

[Rednexus]

A few minor updates:
1. Ironman is sending me new front coilovers! Good to see them stand behind their product without having a big fight over a warranty replacement.
2. Upgraded to a new 255/75R17 Kenda Klever A/T spare tire on a takeoff OEM 5th gen T4R steel spare wheel. My old spare was ragged, throwing a TPMS light monthly due to a slow leak, and the OEM Lexus wheel used a different type of and socket size of lug nuts than the other four. Not the best situation, epically with my wife driving the GX when I'm out of town, so I wanted both a new tire and one that could be easily changed by anyone. The inflated 255/75 about maxed out the OEM spare location in my GX, but does fit. The Klever seemed to be pretty beefy for the $150 price - I prefer name-brand tires but this should be more than adequate for a spare.

3. SHW drawers are sanded and stained. Still waiting to polyurethane them as the weather has been crap (high humidity and cool, which are both terrible for polyurethane drying). Picked the Minwax "Gunstock" oil-based stain, which is close-ish to the OEM Lexus stain, but a bit more red.

 

[Rednexus]

Merry Christmas!

Used our balmy 30F afternoon to install the drawers. I finally completed finishing them by giving every panel 2-3 coats of polyurethane, adding 6 stainless tie-downs to the deck, and cutting some boat carpet for a top mat. I also made matching carpets for the sleeping platforms, and attached them with some plastic headliner rivets. A local upholstery shop sewed the edging on all 3 pieces of carpet for $65.

These resulted in much more usable space then before. I was able to fit nearly all of my seldom-used emergency gear (recovery straps, axe, shovel, saw, jumper cables, rock hammer, etc) along the sides of the drawers. My other more-used emergency gear (tool kit, tire repair kit) and air up/down equipment took up less than 1/2 of a drawer, giving me at least 1.5 drawers to fill with trip-specific gear.

I still need to finish the attachment between the drawers and sleeping platform and make some kind of an organization system for inside the drawers themselves. I may also get a universal cut-to-fit rubber mat to protect the carpet when hauling firewood and other dirty stuff.

 

[Rednexus]

New ride for Mrs. Rednexus, after 10 months of waiting for a dealer allocation for a hybrid. Her Outback had been a great family car for nearly 9 years, we were just ready for something with more modern safety features and better fuel economy. Parked next to my GX, it's actually longer and wider! 100% Toyota family now.

 

[Rednexus]

Finished an organizational system for one of the drawers. It holds all of my tools, first aid, and cooking gear with room to spare. The whole other drawer is open for gear. I used corrugated plastic sheets from Amazon and Gorilla tape to make the divider boxes.

 

[redbub]

Just got back from our first real camper trip with the GX. We towed our TrailManor ~260 miles each way to the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. The camping weather was not the best (poured one day and chilly the rest) but it was good to leave the state. The GX did a great job with the ~3500# loaded camper and our family of 4. Plenty of power and stability, although the gas mileage was in the 11-12 range. I still want to do a 4.30 regear and upgrade the transmission valve body to further improve towing performance.
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Are those Longview mirrors? How were you able to fit them on there? I’m guessing they are the sequoia ones. TIA! Awesome build.

 

[Rednexus]

Are those Longview mirrors? How were you able to fit them on there? I’m guessing they are the sequoia ones. TIA! Awesome build.

Yes, they are 1st gen Tundra Longview mirrors. I have some info on how I got them to fit in the towing thread (note: it requires drilling and a heat gun). I've towed several thousand miles with them and still really like them. The only other change I've made was adding some adhesive backed foam layers inside the tow mirrors so they fit a bit tighter against the GX mirror.

 

[Rednexus]

Weekend camping and off-road trip.

 

[xcmountain]

Quick shot of the blacked-out lights and red D-rings (red spray paint and clearcoat on some HF Badland rights).

I'll snap a few more in other conditions with less glare. They are dark! Totally transformed the look of the GX. Actually a pretty easy job with a heat gun. Total cost was $55 for oven cleaner, prep spray, adhesion promoter, satin black paint, and a roll of new butyl tape (which I just used a few inches of).
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I was on the fence about blacking out my headlamps, with the light-colored truck. But I think it looks great on the dark-colored rigs.

 

[xcmountain]

Took care of a few lingering items from last weekend today.

The first order of business was installing a power steering filter, as I had noticed some metal flakes in my power steering fluid from last weekend (within the drain pan when I poured it out). Not sure if it was from the old rack or my pump, but at this point I'd prefer to have my old pump and new rack last as long as possible. I used a Magnefine filter and mounted next to the PS reservoir, on the low-pressure line, and wrapped the line around the reservoir. In the future I'll swap out the filter every time I flush the PS fluid (probably ever 30k or so).
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I mounted the filter on a simple C-bracket I made from some 1" steel flat stock. I painted it flat black, bolted it to the PS reservoir foot, and secured the filter with a hose clamp and piece of rubber.
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Next off was swapping out the clock spring from destroying one last weekend. I purchased a used OEM spring for $30 on eBay. The install was really easy, it's probably a ~20 minute job once you figure a few things out. Now my airbag light is off and my steering wheel buttons work again!
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And last was a zero point calibration (ZPC). My VSC had been acting weird since lifting the GX (it would kick in randomly around corners), and my VSC OFF lights had been intermittently on since getting an alignment on Monday. I used a few pieces of wire and twisted them together during the ZPC. It seemed to drive fine around the neighborhood; hopefully it stays that way.
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I still need to do the ZPC correctly, mine freaks out during U-turns but the gas pedal forces it off...... I think.

 

[Rednexus]

I was on the fence about blacking out my headlamps, with the light-colored truck. But I think it looks great on the dark-colored rigs.

They look great on GXs of any color and would fit your white GX well. Amazing how much better these rigs look after a full chrome delete.

Glad to see you are also rocking the Kazak GX470 grille! Love mine and they are super-unique.

 

[Rednexus]

Had all four seats, the steering wheel, and shift knob leather repaired by a local upholstery shop. The two front seats were rough (but not terrible), the back had a few minor nicks/tears. I was on the fence regarding the Lseat covers and fitment. This cost $325 (filling and sanding cracks, then re-dyeing everything) and took zero effort from me other than dropping off the GX, so I figured it was worth a shot relative to the effort of installing the Lseat covers.

 

[kody472]

Had all four seats, the steering wheel, and shift knob leather repaired by a local upholstery shop. The two front seats were rough (but not terrible), the back had a few minor nicks/tears. I was on the fence regarding the Lseat covers and fitment. This cost $325 (filling and sanding cracks, then re-dyeing everything) and took zero effort from me other than dropping off the GX, so I figured it was worth a shot relative to the effort of installing the Lseat covers.
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This is interesting. I'm curious as to how well this will hold up. I got a quote to just redo my steering wheel for $300 at Craft Customs in Dallas.

 

[Rednexus]

This is interesting. I'm curious as to how well this will hold up. I got a quote to just redo my steering wheel for $300 at Craft Customs in Dallas.

It's not perfect but far better than it was before. A bit of a gamble, but so are the Lseat covers.

$300 for just a wheel is crazy. I used a small little local shop that mainly does leather repair. You might want to get more quotes.