The Road to a 100 and 2001 build thread
- Thread starter paulbgardner
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I recently got a 2000 LC and the bumper would fit in my plans. I live right next to you in Sierra Madre, are there any shops in our area that you would recommend for general maintenance?
paulbgardner
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- #225
Steve Lam at RPM auto in Monrovia is the only place I take my trucks. He is a cruiser fanatic. Let me know if you want to meet up
Thanks for the recommendation. I'd like to meet up and take a up close look at your cruiser and learn about our cars. It's amazing how well built these cars are but seeings that my baby is 17 years old (180K) I know that there will be some things that need to be worked on. My kids are on spring break next week but I'll PM you the following week and see if you have time for a meet up. Cheers!
I'm new to the cruiserworld and live in Pasadena too. I second meeting up to learn a little more about them and checking out your beautiful build.
Awesome build thread. I bought a 2001 LC with 130K on the odo a couple years, basically identical to yours. I'm continually impressed by the truck and love how solid and capable it is even it its stock form. It's nice to be able to see the changes to the vehicle as it were my own illustrated in this thread. I'm pretty early on in the stages of modifications, and the plans for those are minimal but your progress and logic from start to tires is very similar to mine. Other than tires I'm trying to keep my truck a sleeper - so to speak. Without sounding condescending to anyone, I'm trying to go the opposite direction of the overland crowd. Taking on the less is more approach... I've modified Toyota trucks in the past and always swore I'd keep my next truck as close to stock as possible in order to lean on the Toyota dependability both on and off road. We'll see how that pans out.. the first true upgrade (tires) are occurring this week just in time for desert weather. Followed closely by brakes and springs. Cheers!
Does your wife's truck still have the stock torsion bars? I ask because I'm attempting 2860's with front torsions. stock bumpers and eventually an rtt.
Love your thread I have it bookmarked and use it for as much info as possible.
paulbgardner
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- Thread starter
- #230
Thanks. Looks great. I just did the 2860's with front torsion re-index last night and looks good.
That should work great. You don't really need the OME torsion bars until you start adding a lot of weight. Like a front bumper, winch, skids, dual battery etc.
Yep, installed everything last night and it feels good up front. The rears are a bit stiff right now but as soon as Tepui restocks the tent I want, it'll go up top and feel good. I went full blow on my 80 last time with arb front, slee rear bumpers but this time around I'm keeping it simple (famous last words)
I had the rear springs collecting dust because I didn't know if I could get the truck to level out...but thanks to this thread and the photos of the wife's truck I finally installed them.
I had the rear springs collecting dust because I didn't know if I could get the truck to level out...but thanks to this thread and the photos of the wife's truck I finally installed them.
paulbgardner
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- Thread starter
- #234
The latest addition to the truck has been an Autohome Columbus Variant Large RTT and some custom brackets for mounting the awning with the RTT.
paulbgardner
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- #235
I wasn't able to get the correct standoffs for the tent to mount slightly above the roof rack and leave the right amount of room for the awning so I had to use Yakima crossbars with the labrack crossbar bracket and then machine a custom spacer to lift the tent a bit higher. It is not ideal but it works. It has a bit more flex than I would like to have in the setup.
paulbgardner
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- #236
The Columbus Variant Large is big enough to sleep all four us. it is not spacious but it gets the job done. The RTT got us out significantly more in 2017 than any other year. I was particularly able to go camping with just me and the two kids super last minute many times.
paulbgardner
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- #237
Give the tent is super ridiculously wide I had to re-think how to attach the awning. I had to space the tent high enough to give me room between the bottom of the tent and an open rear door for the awning to live and deploy. Thankfully I have solidworks and a sheet metal shop down the street. Some quick measurements got me to a custom bracket in a few minutes.
With the roofrack I also got the mounts for a larger lightbar.
With the roofrack I also got the mounts for a larger lightbar.
paulbgardner
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- Thread starter
- #238
The blueridge overland loft was an AMAZING addition. This one thing revolutionized the interior storage. It got all the kids jackets and blankets in cold weather up off the floor.
It’s cool your building around needs. It’s what I’m doing also. We have a pop up that was given to me and took a while to get livable. But I always thought it be nice to have a RTT for those quick weekend trips. What model RTT did you use?
Great build btw!
Great build btw!
paulbgardner
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- #240
Thus concludes this build. We have enjoyed this truck and have made it everything that we needed for the period of time we have owned it. I have always viewed any vehicle as a tool and to get the job done you need the right tools. For the past 6 months or so i have been pondering what my next move was going to be....start a new truck build, continue with this one, get into a trailer, etc etc. As a growing family of four it has become really clear recently that we are outgrowing the 100 series. We need the ability to bring bikes, paddle boards, surfboards, kayaks, snorkel gear, etc. Without a change we can't do any of that stuff long term as the kids get older. We recently sold our second 100 series and bought a Land Rover LR4 (my wife wanted a more modern but still capable 4x4). With that purchase and the Audi A3 etron I am driving that left this truck sitting in the driveway more than being used. So after lots and lots of deliberation and discussion over many months we finally have decided to sell this truck and get a Patriot X1 GT camper trailer with all the goodies and pull it with the LR4. I am not such a fanboy or brand loyalist that I can't see past when it is time to re-gear and think about the longer term plan.
This forum has meant the world to me. It has been the source of a wealth of information and has set me up with many long term friends and adventure partners. So thank you to everyone that has chimed in on this build, posted useful information on other builds, and especially those that have become good friends that I talk to every day and use as a sounding board for crazy decisions like this.
This forum has meant the world to me. It has been the source of a wealth of information and has set me up with many long term friends and adventure partners. So thank you to everyone that has chimed in on this build, posted useful information on other builds, and especially those that have become good friends that I talk to every day and use as a sounding board for crazy decisions like this.
