Builds Thed's Mod Journal ('22 GX460) (1 Viewer)

[Thed351W]

So here I am with the new car. It's a '22 GX460 I picked up on 10/30.

Here are the plans (in no particular order, updated 5/17/23):
-Third Row Delete
-Air Compressor
-Lift
-Larger Tires (275/65R18 for now)
-Victory Blitz front bumper w/ winch
-SSO Rock Sliders
-Hitch
-360* lighting (Partly there)
-Fridge and inverter with aux battery and solar power
-LFD Crossbars
-OVS TMBK RTT
-OVS 270* Awning

Further down the line (when things get stupid):
-4.56 re-gear with lockers (can someone please make 4.30's!?!)
-17" wheels and even larger tires (maybe 295/70R17?)
-BMC
-Rear tire carrier, looking at the JW Offroad carrier
-NYTOP Hybrid bumper/hitch
-Upgrading the on-board air system with a tank after I move the spare

My general thing is that you don't need to spend out the bunghole on mods to achieve what you're looking for. All it takes is some patience and creativity to achieve similar (or better, depending on use case) results and products, at a price that doesn't always break the bank. That doesn't mean that I'm going to be loading this pig up with crap off of Wish, but I won't be splurging on items if there's a more reasonable product at a more reasonable price. Most of the components that I've rounded up are products that I have experience with and that I know to be genuinely good products. That is, until things start to get stupid.

For now, here's a pic from delivery. There will be many more in the coming weeks. I'll be busy, to say the least.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

So here I am with the new car. It's a '22 GX460 I picked up on 10/30.

Here are the plans (in no particular order):
-Fridge and inverter with aux battery
-Third Row Delete
-Air Compressor
-Lift
-Larger Tires
-Victory Blitz front bumper w/ winch
-SSO Rock Sliders
-Hitch

I have either ordered or received all of the parts needed to do all of the above, and I'll be tackling them as I find the time. The only item on the list I haven't ordered yet is the Blitz bumper, just because it's a tough pill to swallow and I'm waiting for a few answers from customer service.

My general thing is that you don't need to spend out the bunghole to achieve what you're looking for. All it takes is some patience and creativity to achieve similar (or better, depending on use case) results and products, at a price that doesn't break the bank. That doesn't mean that I'm going to be loading this pig up with crap off of Wish, but I won't be splurging on items if there's a more reasonable product at a more reasonable price. Most of the components that I've rounded up are products that I have experience with and that I know to be genuinely good products.

For now, here's a pic from delivery. There will be many more in the coming weeks. I'll be busy, to say the least.

First mod. Delete that stupid bow.

 

[Thed351W]

First mod. Delete that stupid bow.

The salesman told me that he was going to make sure that I have it since I'm the exact opposite of most Lexus customers. I'm not the most, lets say, groomed man on the planet. I could feel the looks I was getting every time I stepped in there. Then again, I intentionally go in to dealerships to looking a little trashy on purpose, just to lure the cool salesman. It almost always works. Ratty boots, Kansas Jayhawks t-shirt, and some stained jeans is how I picked it up.

BTW, those ****ers cost like $1800.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

I'm not the most, lets say, groomed man on the planet. I could feel the looks I was getting every time I stepped in there. Then again, I intentionally go in to dealerships to looking a little trashy on purpose

Kudos!! That’s a great tactic. I do this but for a different reason. Never judge income based on how someone looks. LOL Good sales people will approach, bad and lazy ones won’t. It’s funny the last time I bought a new car I was well off financially and had an over 830 credit score and yet no one wanted to talk to me. I had to go to the managers desk and proceeded tell them these facts and asked for the newest sales person they had. I hope those veteran sales people learned a lesson when I bought something that wasn’t cheap.

 

[Meat Head]

Very nice! Looks a little familiar. Picked ours up on the 20th. I will be following your thread to see how yours progresses.

 

[Thed351W]

Very nice! Looks a little familiar. Picked ours up on the 20th. I will be following your thread to see how yours progresses.

Claret Mica FTW! This color just hits different in the sun. Do you plan on doing anything to yours?

 

[Meat Head]

Claret Mica FTW! This color just hits different in the sun. Do you plan on doing anything to yours?

It is a great color. Well, I had planned on lift, 33’s, gears, ARB’s, armor, but now we are kicking around leaving it unmolested for a long term daily driver and picking up another Wrangler as toy for off-road needs. Going to think about for a bit. Watching your’s grow may sway my decision, lol.

 

[Thed351W]

It is a great color. Well, I had planned on lift, 33’s, gears, ARB’s, armor, but now we are kicking around leaving it unmolested for a long term daily driver and picking up another Wrangler as toy for off-road needs. Going to think about for a bit. Watching your’s grow may sway my decision, lol.

I'm leaning towards the Harrop E-Locker out back. For now I'm just putting 32's on the factory wheels since it's going to be a quasi-daily vehicle. 32's and a slight lift are all you really need to run most trails out here in NC.

 

[jdam]

It looks great! Kinda wish I didn't have a black one.

I'm also interested in the Blitz bumper. I'm not a fan of the huge ARB style ones but want the utility of slightly better clearance, recovery points and winch mount. My only concern is movement. It looks like there isn't much clearance between the body and the bumper. Can't wait to see if you proceed with it!

 

[Thed351W]

It looks great! Kinda wish I didn't have a black one.

I'm also interested in the Blitz bumper. I'm not a fan of the huge ARB style ones but want the utility of slightly better clearance, recovery points and winch mount. My only concern is movement. It looks like there isn't much clearance between the body and the bumper. Can't wait to see if you proceed with it!

I, too want something a little more subtle than the big bumpers. The Blitz has easier cuts, an access hole to get to the winch clutch, a cutout for a light bar, and IMO looks better than all of the other options. I was planning on using door edge guards along the lip of the cut bumper, to clean things up and to make sure nothing screwy happens with rubs.

 

[Thed351W]

Now I know that these aren't the "sexy" things, but some might like to hear about it.

First, I found a USB-A to USB-C cable that has been working well with Android Auto that fits in the cubby with the lid closed. I have a Moto RAZR, so I am actually able to close the lid with my phone plugged in.

Amazon product ASIN B01MZ8RA3A
Next, the Husky liners fit like a dream and are much cheaper than the Lexus all-weather mats. Made in America with a lifetime guarantee, to boot. A little bit of time in the sun will make these form perfectly to the surroundings.

Amazon product ASIN B00BB1UMEG
As I was putting the liners in, something sweet came in... I'll start tackling this later today.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Now I know that these aren't the "sexy" things, but some might like to hear about it.

First, I found a USB-A to USB-C cable that has been working well with Android Auto that fits in the cubby with the lid closed. I have a Moto RAZR, so I am actually able to close the lid with my phone plugged in.

Amazon product ASIN B01MZ8RA3A
Next, the Husky liners fit like a dream and are much cheaper than the Lexus all-weather mats. Made in America with a lifetime guarantee, to boot. A little bit of time in the sun will make these form perfectly to the surroundings.

Amazon product ASIN B00BB1UMEG
As I was putting the liners in, something sweet came in... I'll start tackling this later today.

These Husky liners are ****ing awesome. So pleased with mine.

 

[Thed351W]

I tried tackling the lift. Let's just say I chickened out. For reference, I'm actually a diesel technician. Wrenching is my career. This isn't even the first time I've done a lift on this platform, either. I've done lifts on a FJ Cruiser, Tacoma, and 4Runner.

But I've never messed with KDSS. I need to do more research to see how not to screw up the system, because my usual way of lifting these has gone out the window. I put it back together before any trick-or-treaters started roaming about.

However, when I had the wheels off Amazon stopped by and dropped off my Curt hitch. Talk about a one-minute install. They even included the spacer plate!

 

[Thed351W]

This little guy was waiting on my door step when I got home, the Viair 350C. I'm not going to be running air lockers or power tools, however I still wanted the 100% duty cycle that this provides. Drawing less than 20 Amps was also nice, and the size of the compressor wound out being perfect. For now I'm just going to be using this to air up tires, but eventually I want to find a place to put a small air tank. But for now, just mounting it would do.

For location, I looked squarely at the huge opening between the brake booster and the fuse box. There was a little module in the way, after searching the part number I found out it was the air injection control driver. I didn't have a problem relocating this part since it is not connected to any safety systems. After unbolting the driver and seeing how perfectly the compressor sat in there, I was hooked.

I bent the locating tab in for the driver bracket and drilled a hole a few inches away to a spot where the wiring would reach comfortably and not rub. Grabbed a M6x1.00 nut to go with the factory bolt to secure it to the inner fender. I nestled the compressor in there, center punched, and drilled out three 1/4" holes, the fourth hole was a hole that the factory drilled. Bolted her down and test ran it, flawless. The fuse panel had to be unbolted and moved over a little bit to access the screws, but that was really the hardest part (which isn't hard at all). I used some dielectric grease on all of the bolts to prevent rust. Seriously, dielectric grease is worth its weight in gold.

The factory cover even fits back on for a stealthy look.

If you couldn't already tell, I was well out of daylight. I'll leave the plumbing and the wiring for another day, because I'm going to do this the hard way.

 

[jdam]

I assume you're taking the control unit from a smaller handheld and using it to make it a set and one-touch deal? Set pressures to 28 or whatever with the auto cutoff, but with the VIAIR.

 

[Thed351W]

I assume you're taking the control unit from a smaller handheld and using it to make it a set and one-touch deal? Set pressures to 28 or whatever with the auto cutoff, but with the VIAIR.

Exactly. I had a Milwaukee tire inflator laying around. Decent little unit for something battery-powered, but I wanted something bigger and powered by the car.

However, the control panel is awesome. Set the pressure and wait until it cuts off. The panel goes up to 120 PSI, so I could still run a tank off of it.

 

[jiggletits]

So here I am with the new car. It's a '22 GX460 I picked up on 10/30.

Here are the plans (in no particular order):
-Fridge and inverter with aux battery
-Third Row Delete
-Air Compressor
-Lift
-Larger Tires
-Victory Blitz front bumper w/ winch
-SSO Rock Sliders
-Hitch

I have either ordered or received all of the parts needed to do all of the above, and I'll be tackling them as I find the time. The only item on the list I haven't ordered yet is the Blitz bumper, just because it's a tough pill to swallow and I'm waiting for a few answers from customer service.

My general thing is that you don't need to spend out the bunghole to achieve what you're looking for. All it takes is some patience and creativity to achieve similar (or better, depending on use case) results and products, at a price that doesn't break the bank. That doesn't mean that I'm going to be loading this pig up with crap off of Wish, but I won't be splurging on items if there's a more reasonable product at a more reasonable price. Most of the components that I've rounded up are products that I have experience with and that I know to be genuinely good products.

For now, here's a pic from delivery. There will be many more in the coming weeks. I'll be busy, to say the least.

Man this post is confusing. By your own logic you just overspent by about $30k on your vehicle. Why not get a 4Runner? Or a used GX? A 100k mile Toyota is just as useful and reliable as a new one. Yours is no better off road than a 2010 model.


Congrats on being cheap with modifications. Just think how much more you could spend if you didn’t buy a 2022. That thing probably dropped $15k in value the second you drove away from the dealer.

 

[Thed351W]

Man this post is confusing. By your own logic you just overspent by about $30k on your vehicle. Why not get a 4Runner? Or a used GX? A 100k mile Toyota is just as useful and reliable as a new one. Yours is no better off road than a 2010 model.


Congrats on being cheap with modifications. Just think how much more you could spend if you didn’t buy a 2022. That thing probably dropped $15k in value the second you drove away from the dealer.

Why hello there, Negative Nancy.

The decision to purchase a GX was simple: I didn't want a 4Runner. I wanted something a little nicer since it'll be street-driven 95% of the time. It's only going to be as capable as I need it to be to go camping in the mountains or relaxing on the beach, not a dedicated trail rig. And, using my own logic, I did buy the right vehicle for the job at hand. I was cross-shopping the Mercedes GLE (severely less capable), Land Rover Discovery (Ugly), and Land Rover Defender (that I absolutely love love love). What do all three of those have in common? While they are all newer and more luxurious, they are much, much more expensive. The GX is a straight-up bargain in the Premium trim compared to its actual competitors, not the mainstream vehicle it's based upon. All of that, while being just as or more capable off-road and just as comfortable on the road.

New vs. used is an argument that has been debated since the beginning of time. I don't buy used cars (except old F-100's, but that's a different scenario) mainly because of the usable lifespan of the vehicle. The 2010, 100k mile example you provided kind of illustrates my point. That is eleven years and 100k miles of usable life that I'll never see from every single component on the vehicle that has not been replaced. Yes it may be reliable now, but what about fifteen years from now? In 2035 would you rather buy a 2010 GX with 250k miles or a 2022 GX with 130k? I plan on keeping my GX that long, which justifies buying new for me.

Sorry I appreciate nice things and value. Don't be an ass.

 

[GrizzlyClint]

In 2035 would you rather buy a 2010 GX with 250k miles or a 2022 GX with 130k?

Which ever one has a more detailed service history and is in better mechanical condition.

I agree with the spirit of your post, I just think you’re not realizing the massive longevity and reliability of the GX. They are capable of 500-750k miles plus easy so 130k vs 250k and age isn’t that important honestly. My 2010 with 151k is in better shape than some newer ones I’ve seen and when I bought it with 134k last year it was competing against several that were much newer (2014 & 2016) and not in and good of mechanical condition. I would not hesitate to buy something older if it’s in better shape. I also don’t buy brand new much if I don’t have to but like you said that’s a timeless debate

Just to add I’d like to mention my 2008 GX470 with ~181k is in practically new condition minus the front seat leather. Mechanically it’s flawless. But I digress.

*edit*
Not being negative. Just adding to the convo. I like what you’re doing to your GX!

 

[jiggletits]

I’m totally being negative, but also realistic. Reminds me of the high dollar builds on Expedition Portal that never see more than gravel roads.

If you actually intend to use your winch, check out LFD offroad. They make similar minimalist winch bumpers that, unlike the Victory, aren’t stamped with gawdy logos and actually allow some access to the drum. Mine just shipped.