It’s been two years since I purchased and upgraded my Lexus GX 460 for overland travel. I’ve learned many things along the way, learned many new skills, made mistakes, learned from them and now have a few thoughts to share with you. If I were back at day 0, what would I want to do differently after 2 years of building and using my overland rig?
- Install amber roof rack lights instead of white lights.
- Most people naturally turn to white lights – it’s what we use in our homes and why shouldn’t we use them around the campsite or on our overland vehicles? Well, in most parts of the world flying insects are a very real nuisance, especially at night around bright lights. Making it worse – flying insects prefer white lights over other colors like amber or red. For this reason, you should consider using amber lights since they attract fewer bugs. Red lights avoid light blindness but make it difficult to see most things around camp.
- Check out our video on the Prinsu Designs Lexus GX Roof Rack
- Install the winch on the CBI bumper before installing the bumper (afterwards was much harder)
- I was so focused (and excited) to install my CBI Offroad Fab Lexus GX Stealth bumper that I dove right in, getting the bumpers cut and the bumper installed as quickly as possible. Then came time to install the winch… oops. I ended up having to partially remove the bumper to install the winch before permanently attaching. To my credit, the bumper didn’t come with instructions so I couldn’t read ahead to see the order of installation. But it certainly would have been easier to install the winch first, then attach the bumper to the vehicle.
- Check out our installation video on the CBI Offroad Fab Lexus GX Stealth Bumper
- Use heavier gauge wire on scene lights… they get warm after several hours of use
- Using the proper gauge wire for your particular application is critical for ensuring your electrical devices work without melting wires or causing a fire hazard. LED lights use very little electricity… but over several hours they can still heat up.
- Using the proper gauge wire for your particular application is critical for ensuring your electrical devices work without melting wires or causing a fire hazard. LED lights use very little electricity… but over several hours they can still heat up.
- Use lots of silicone on roof/windshield trim pieces… would save me from replacing them… twice
- LED light bar and LED scene light wires run down each side of my windshield channel. To install them, I removed the trim pieces, laid the wires into the channel, and reattached the trim pieces. However, the wires keep the trim pieces from seating as normal, leaving just enough room for wind to remove them pieces from the vehicle and launching them into the stratosphere at highway speeds. After purchasing replacements, I used a significant amount of silicone at three key points to ensure they no longer fly away.
- LED light bar and LED scene light wires run down each side of my windshield channel. To install them, I removed the trim pieces, laid the wires into the channel, and reattached the trim pieces. However, the wires keep the trim pieces from seating as normal, leaving just enough room for wind to remove them pieces from the vehicle and launching them into the stratosphere at highway speeds. After purchasing replacements, I used a significant amount of silicone at three key points to ensure they no longer fly away.
- Loctite the roof rack bolts so they don’t come loose from vibration
- Driving on rough, dirt roads and trails brings with it increased vibration that can cause bolts to come loose. I occasionally find myself tightening the roof rack bolts and realize now that I should have used Loctite when assembling it the first time.
- Driving on rough, dirt roads and trails brings with it increased vibration that can cause bolts to come loose. I occasionally find myself tightening the roof rack bolts and realize now that I should have used Loctite when assembling it the first time.
What might I change?
- Increase suspension lift by .5″ (no more than that though)
- If you watch the video below, you’ll understand that I wanted to keep my Lexus GX overland rig very daily driver friendly including the ability to get in and out of easily, fit in my home and work garage, and not overly impacting mpg. After having driving several offroad trails I think another .5″ of suspension lift would be helpful. That said, I would not go beyond that for the aforementioned reasons.
- Purchase the Luxury model vs Premium (I go back and forth… maybe on my next GX)
- I chose the Lexus GX 460 Premium for my overland rig because I knew:
- I wouldn’t be paying for equipment that would get trashed during a suspension lift installation such as airbags for the variable ride suspension. I also wouldn’t have to shave off airbag mounts from the frame.
- The Lexus GX Premium would come with real leather seats (important to me) that are comfortable, attractive, but weren’t so soft that they would easily tear as the ones in the Luxury are.
- However, Luxury options I miss are speed sensitive volume and options like crawl control. These are not mandatory, nor required, for overlanding but they sure make life a little bit easier!
- I chose the Lexus GX 460 Premium for my overland rig because I knew:
Tell me in the comments – what would you change about your rig now that you’ve built it and used it in the real world?