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this is an excellent list of suggestions, tyvm. I asked them about roof racks after the fact and retrofitting sounds like a pain in the rear end, so we'll probably just pay for that. similar deal with the awning mount - enough stuff changes or gets reinforced to seem like a good idea. they can do a 5lb propane tank on the barn doors (which we're probably gonna do in the tailgate delete configuration) so that seems like an interesting option. i've done a fair bit of carpentry, woodworking, and plumbing poo poo on our own house (& have a master carpenter/contractor/luthier father-in-law) so we're currently planning a massive self-own amount of internal buildout for habitability, so the counter is a pass. likely gonna kinda sorta copy-paste one of fourwheelcampers slide-in layouts - not like theres a ton of room for layout cleverness in a truck bed anyway i was concerned about headroom (i'm 6'6") but apparently in the stock configuration it's like 7'5" and holy cannoli that sounds incredible
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Oct 8, 2021 23:54
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Well I finally went and did it. After camping out a bunch and threatening to put drawers in the 4Runner I placed an order for a pair of ARB roller drawer roller floor modules which are scheduled to ship in December. I had been holding off because we sold our old ‘pickup’ Dodge Grand Caravan and the 4Runner kind of took over the materials hauling and remodeling debris hauling away responsibilities. It’s okay at it but the cargo area is smallish and high off the ground. Now that our bathroom project and 1000lbs of tile and flooring is complete I am comfy with making it more camping friendly at the expense of raw hauling. I’m going for a 37” wide by 33” long by 8.75” high module made up of two drawer boxes and I will fab up wing inserts to make a pretty transition to the wheel arches from plywood and commercial carpet covering. This will allow me to stow recovery gear in one and weekend warrior camp stuff in the other. I plan to engineer a way to make them removable in an emergency but realistically once they’re installed they’re probably never coming back out again. The goose gear plate has embedded m8 threaded nutserts so I’m thinking countersunk or pan head m8 bolts plus lock washers will do the job. Wish me luck?
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Oct 9, 2021 09:27
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Bloody posted:this is an excellent list of suggestions, tyvm. I asked them about roof racks after the fact and retrofitting sounds like a pain in the rear end, so we'll probably just pay for that. similar deal with the awning mount - enough stuff changes or gets reinforced to seem like a good idea. they can do a 5lb propane tank on the barn doors (which we're probably gonna do in the tailgate delete configuration) so that seems like an interesting option. Please share pics of your camper. I've looked at that same manufacturer several times now. Just can't quite pull the trigger with my current Tacoma - not sure the longevity of a short bed, manual transmission gas burner for me. EDIT - RE: options IMO I would look at having a giant lift up hatch in lieu of barn doors. You couldnt mount the propane bottle or a spare tire like the barn doors, but the rear hatch door would make an instant 6'ish awning. Vampire Panties fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Oct 9, 2021 |
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Oct 9, 2021 23:40
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Compliments on the thread title change  Arishtat posted:Well I finally went and did it. After camping out a bunch and threatening to put drawers in the 4Runner I placed an order for a pair of ARB roller drawer roller floor modules which are scheduled to ship in December. I have seen a ton of people with DIY drawer setups but actually seeing the ARB in person I think those are the best. You will have such a nice machine to get out and explore/camp! When I finally fixate on a vehicle I am going to keep forever I will probably :yeet: all my money at it and make it exactly what I want. The LX 470 is excellent - but it is not the car I want to do that with. I have done many rounds of mental gymnastics while waiting on these old Toyotas out of Japan. The more I look at the Surf the more I love it. I am a little worried it is going to get here and I am going to have a hard time selling it. I am considering keeping it, making that an off road fun haver. Selling the LX, sell the Prado, sell my wife's Flex and get her a 200 like I have been wanting to. Then I can have the Surf as the run about, the 200 can pull our teardrop camper and the M3 will continue being the M3. That could all change once I drive the Surf though. Everyone I have shared the pics with have all said how undeniably cool it is, and I agree. I got some dock pics and the burple colored decals make me want it. I can see the small tear in the drive seat bottom but that should be easy enough to repair.      It looks super clean:   and the tires seem to be really new and nice looking. I am hoping I can throw these on the Prado when I get it and put some of the correct BFGs to give it The LookTM See the port album here: https://imgur.com/a/HvCcQie I am not particularly excited about the idea of more torsion bar front suspensions but I will see how it goes when I get it in hand.
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Oct 12, 2021 23:05
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I had a 14k mile 2.4 turbo surf and someone put gas in it at US port I assume and it ruined the engine. It was absolutely beautiful and black. I traded it for a nightmare of a cruiser but it’s all over now. I have CONTENT to add to this thread but not ready yet. Soon. SH everyone will want your Surf. Make that money. They are obviously tighter quarters than the LX. But absolutely more visceral
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Oct 12, 2021 23:13
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everdave posted:I had a 14k mile 2.4 turbo surf and someone put gas in it at US port I assume and it ruined the engine. It was absolutely beautiful and black. I traded it for a nightmare of a cruiser but it’s all over now. I remember reading about that in the Imports thread. What a suckfest. Small updates: This weekend I finally got around to removing the AHC pump and reservoir. The guy I sold my accumulators and fixings to from the original AHC was promised this piece. A combination of  and lazy meant I never got around to it. Fairly easy and done in like 25 minutes. Texted the dude, he has not come to get it yet but was stoked about it. Now to dive into something different that I know everyone wants, ~Furd content  On a drive home after visiting a family member who had a litter of puppies I felt the unmistakable grind of brake pad backing plate against rotor. Right side, but not sure if rear or front. It was a Friday night so I knew exactly how that Saturday would be spent. Inspection on the discs from the outside showed me nothing so I started at the front, 85K miles and original brakes meant it could be those. I found a healthy amount of brake pad left and rotors with hardly any lip. I am quite impressed actually. It was then I noticed something that seemed out of place.  So that is a support for the axle half shaft out of the front diff before the double flex CV joint. It bolts into the engine block. See that lonely bolt just hanging out doing nothing? It has a shorter friend that usually resides above that totally left the part. This would have probably also bounced but the turbo manifold physically wouldn't let it. https://imgur.com/81Tif5B (link to imgur short video) How long has this been like this? How did this happen? What the actual hell? The car hasn't pulled funny and I haven't heard any weird noises but still this was a little concerning. The car has had some warranty work done, the power takeoff unit (think transfer case for AWD cars) was replaced under warranty but that was a few years ago. Before freaking out I decided to call and talk to a service adviser at the dealership that did the work. I asked if when the PTU is replace if the CV axles are removed. He confirmed with a tech that they are indeed removed. I of course just attempted to tighten the bolt but I found that it was both lefty loosey AND righty loosey even with my fingers. So that would mean it is on the dealer BUT chances of them giving a single crap seemed low after explaining what I was looking at. They said "they would look at it, and bring it by on Monday" Honestly I knew it wouldn't go anywhere. Fuming at the thought of my engine block possibly (probably?) being stripped out that was the moment where I definitively put this car on a timeline. I did go to the dealer Monday to source a new set of bolts. They surprisingly had them in stock, and they were $5.  Install was pretty easy. I found the upper bolt had thread. Went ahead and put on some blue thread lock to make sure it would get the job done. Still annoyed at the lower bolt I decided to take a chance and do it right. After examining and considering how much it would be to remove stuff so I could get that lower bolt out of the bracket I found it would be pretty easy by removing these two lower nuts it seemed like the carrier bracket would separate in two pieces  The trial worked out. Somehow that Grade 8.8 bolt was totally knackered but the engine block was fine. I didn't bother looking up torque specs being past feeling on this one. A little blue thread lock later both bolts were snugged down and I emotionally feel better. For imports? No updates. I emailed yoshi to see if there was any other steps waiting on me before they get on a boat and the answer is no. Seeing them this calendar year seems less likely. Totally a bummer because in my brain the Surf is perfect and I want to keep it. Depending on how awesome it is I can see myself keeping the Surf, selling the Prado, Lexus, and Flex. This will leave us without a family hauler but that would likely end up being a 200 series Land Cruiser/LX 570 (shod with BFG KO2's) that would also be a much more effective tow vehicle for the Bean trailer. Helping fuel this lusting for my Surf I had a visitor at work today; McStephenson stopped by in his very cool HiAce Super Custom Limited fresh out of the radiator shop.   In person this thing was so impressive and I think I will try to find one at auction to bring in because they are too cool. If you haven't yet seen his thread, you should go encourage him to  1994 Toyota HiAce Super Custom Limited- The Battle Van Cometh
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Oct 22, 2021 01:13
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I just had a good crawl around the new LC300 at a 4wd show... They dont impress me in any way shape or form coming from a 100. Hell, from behind they look like a Hiace with extra doors!
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Oct 22, 2021 05:58
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Ferremit posted:I just had a good crawl around the new LC300 at a 4wd show... They dont impress me in any way shape or form coming from a 100. Hell, from behind they look like a Hiace with extra doors! It looks like poo poo. Toyota just won't give up on the no-bumper giant grille thing. Even on a truck. Doesn't matter, we're not getting it in the US because SUVs don't sell here. Or at least overpriced Toyota ones, apparently (seriously, that's the justification Toyota is making. Somehow, they can't sell an SUV in sufficient numbers in the United States of Truckamerica
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Oct 22, 2021 19:00
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It has absolutely nothing to do with not being able to sell SUVs or the Land Cruiser here
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Oct 22, 2021 19:26
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I appreciate the thoughtful explanation.
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Oct 22, 2021 19:45
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Long time no post. I think the last iteration was the fall trip where I blew the torsion bars mounts off the control arms. I worked on the truck over the winter and did other poo poo and started going hard on adventures ocne the salt was gone. One of my trips in the spring was 5 hours one way to check out an abandoned hotel. I showed up and the place was gated but two dudes were building a shed at the gate. I offered them beer to let me wander around and promised not to cause trouble.   The pics from that adventure are on my more private social I tend to enjoy more these days. And the last clean pic.  About an hour from home in the middle of a 3 lane highway at dusk doing 80 I hear a loud bang and then thump thump thump.  I pull over and had no idea what the gently caress happened. Did a cooler fall off an RV, did something get kicked up from under a car? The front end is destroyed and I had no idea how. I was ready to rip the front end off and keep driving when I saw coolant leaking. Game over. Two Hispanic dudes come running up the break down lane pointing and waving in Spanish and considering all I remember is asking for beer, burritos, bathrooms, and no venga en mi boca there was a bit of a language barrier. They eventually pointed this out:  Yeah I hit a deer at 80 and shot it across two lanes. So I get it towed, get a police report, call my insurance. "oh you're calling about a what? a 1999 toyota? how many miles? 238? Oh yeah we're going to total that probably." gently caress that and gently caress that bitch on the phone. I call the tow company and they agree to release the truck to me. I tow it back to my shop in my state and over an hour away and get the adjuster to come look at it. I wanted to have the adjuster there in person so I could ridicule their estimate. No I don't need 4 hours of wiring, those are the loving hot and ground for the fogs I can do that in 10 minutes, Yes the winch is worth this much, No I'm not buying a loving 300 dollar grill from Toyota are you high? The guy realized pretty quickly that if he played ball and gave me what I wanted, he could have a VERY quickly closed claim AND I was prepared to be a gigantic pain in the rear end as I had a shared google spreadsheet where me and my friends where preparing a list of comps and I think we got to like 60+ trucks in the sheet. These stupid trucks are now like hens teeth, you can't junkyard them and everything is spendy because hurr durr land cruiser golden truck. A local yard had one and even though rusted the gently caress out it was in their 1%er section they had to pull the parts for you and charge new prices on. gently caress that. I'm not buying all this loving expensive poo poo for a stock front end. 50 dollar ebay grill, depot one piece headlights, OEM trim fill thing, and a bumper. I wanted a more minimalist bumper but EVERYONE was sold out. Dissent was my #1 for aesthetics but I didn't like how the guys 200 series ate a deer and it didn't save as much as I would have liked. Victory 4x4 was sold out. Heading to the shop to start the tear down and one of the other guys there had his 80 parked next to mine.  The ARB is timeless and I went home after taring the front end off and looked at countless ARB 100 series pics. It would do. I called the local jerk off overland supplier and they had no 100 series bumper leads but would get me an ARB "eventually" with no shipping if I picked it up in a tax free state. Okay gently caress it insurance is buying me an ARB and an entire front end and another loving entire truck. (more on that later). Get the thing in for tear down:  the frame was good. It needed the cooling system replaced and the rad support/front fascia is complete moved all the gently caress around. Time to pull it out:  Closer after initial pulls:  Deer hair still stuffed in the bumper cover:  In the right country after the first pull session:  Bent and ripped apart a body mount:   More alignment and tweaking:  Drift stich and backing plate the stock cover because I'm not stupid and the loving bumper isn't going to come in before the two or three events I need the truck for, I'm used to being disappointed in life by now and planning accordingly:   More alignment sessions and using the factory headlights/spares plus new OEM trim filler piece:   Dump in the entire rock auto cooling system:   Despot one piece headlights:  Good enough:  Carnage:  Head to NH to be lead recovery truck at a race in NH with ChrisGT working the event:  I made my friend jump in to help with course setup and he wanted to puke going over some of the yumps and banks. Then I ran recovery in a bigger event this summer I've been normally racing for years:  Motronic and I squadded up:  And after doing some other racing events still had time to stretch the trucks legs out and go on adventures:  And finally the loving bumper came in:  Whole again: 
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Oct 23, 2021 00:36
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Slow is Fast posted:"oh you're calling about a what? a 1999 toyota? how many miles? 238? Oh yeah we're going to total that probably." gently caress that and gently caress that bitch on the phone. There's a very specific tone they use when they spit this poo poo out. I loving hate it and it's the biggest reason why my C10 and Opel are insured on Hagerty, and I wish they'd cover the TJ too.
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Oct 23, 2021 01:09
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IOwnCalculus posted:There's a very specific tone they use when they spit this poo poo out. I loving hate it and it's the biggest reason why my C10 and Opel are insured on Hagerty, and I wish they'd cover the TJ too. I want them to cover my lexus as well, but according to the rules you have to have at least one "daily driver", but as it turns out my daily driver is now a collectable car as well- maybe if I bought my wife a new car and insured it with a family policy...
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Oct 25, 2021 08:20
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LobsterboyX posted:I want them to cover my lexus as well, but according to the rules you have to have at least one "daily driver", but as it turns out my daily driver is now a collectable car as well- maybe if I bought my wife a new car and insured it with a family policy... Hagerty was a pain to deal with when I first used them, they didn't want to insure me because my daily was 15+ years old at the time. Worth comparing the restrictions but check out Grundy as an alternative, which reminds me I need to compare and up values again.
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Oct 25, 2021 10:31
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Yeah I wanted to insure my Delicas and one classic place was insanely high - higher than normal full coverage and the other was insanely cheap. Got all approved and then wouldn’t do it because of the age of my other vehicles. All pretty ridiculous. Say what you will but at least Progressive doesn’t blink when I throw JDM stuff at them monthly.
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Oct 25, 2021 14:51
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NitroSpazzz posted:Hagerty was a pain to deal with when I first used them, they didn't want to insure me because my daily was 15+ years old at the time. Worth comparing the restrictions but check out Grundy as an alternative, which reminds me I need to compare and up values again. Interesting you had that take on them, my experience with them has been nothing but pleasant. When I was shopping around for a collector car insurance, they were the only ones that would allow me to do normal things with my cars - I had JC taylor for awhile back when I was younger, but it was a hold over from my dads ages old policy - Hagerty was the only one that said it was ok to drive my cars to work, get groceries and just basically use them as normal cars, which I'm sure not too many people searching for classic insurance do. I pay less than 600 bucks a year for all my old bullshit cars... As things move on here, I'm getting more worried about my LX which I have insured with Allstate (because I have my home policy there as well) - I think my LX has gained at least 10k worth of value since I got it, at least thats what I've been watching cars similar to mine sell for. I'd just hate to be in a position if anything happened to this thing for Allstate to throw this thing away because its a 16 year old used SUV
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Oct 25, 2021 20:21
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Yeah, I'm all in on Hagerty because at the time they were one of the only classic insurers who would even touch an under-25 driver. I haven't updated them on what my daily driver vehicles are since I got the policy, and at the time one of those was an '88 Volvo. The TJ is acting as one of those daily-driver vehicles right now, though 'll probably end up buying a commute-specific car whenever I get dragged back to the office. At that point I'd be able to put the TJ on classic insurance but they specifically won't insure anything modified for off-road use. I'd settle for a plan where they only pay out if it's a total loss (theft, etc).
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Oct 25, 2021 20:30
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Hagerty ftw imo. I've come full circle and am now looking at a 98 lx, had two questions for y'all 100 series owners: Do you proactively rip the ahc stuff out and replace it with normal shocks, or wait for it to fail? One of the trucks I am looking at is stuck in normal. And I got a very random single clunk out of the front left tire region going around a corner on the test drive, not sure if it's something steering rack related (rack is leaking but wheel feels ok?) or maybe just some suspension bushings. Anybody experienced something similar? I started off looking at dirt bikes two months ago and now I'm like 'i probably need a third 4wd' so we will see where my little collection takes me...
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Oct 26, 2021 05:15
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I'm in the minority because I actually love my AHC - if it did fail on me, I'd probably shell out the bucks to fix it (knocking wood) It's proved itself to be useful for me time and time again. Never had the clunk even on my moms 300k mile 2000..
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Oct 26, 2021 06:16
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I did a bunch of research on these six years ago before getting distracted by first 4runners and then importing 4wd hiaces, so I forgot most of what I'd learned. If you had an lx ahc system that's stuck in normal mode with the light flashing, would that worry you? Or would you just say screw it and keep driving it? Wondering what the likelihood that the system will collapse is. I got underneath and took a cursory look at the accumulators and such, and while there's definitely some rust down there (nothing like the rust I grew up with in the rust belt) I don't see any major issues. Guy selling it says he thinks it's just a relay, but he's not very mechanically inclined. Truck's got drat near 300k miles on it but I have the service history for the first 200k and it's very good. No idea what's gone on since then, other than a teenager/college kid owned it after the original owner.
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Oct 26, 2021 15:34
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That was a nice post SlowIsFast, it sucks you hit a deer but it's satisfying to see one post with so much work done. Somewhat Heroic - I'm just catching up, how many LC and related variations do you have now? My buddy had a RHD Skyline (before the feds impounded them) and it made going through a drive-through a pain but luckily the local In-n-Out has a split window system so you could choose to have the cashier on your right side. I got my CBI covert bumper installed finally:  It gives the front a decent amount more clearance while providing some protection if I do bump into something (it's subtle but that's steel tubing running beneath the lower white parts of the front fascia). The problem with getting a newer model with all the bells and whistles is there are a ton of breakable yet expensive parts in the front bumper (three cameras, proximity sensors, even the Lexus emblem in the grill is $370 instead of $40 because of the pre-crash system). It's strong enough to have recovery points built-in too, which is nice because otherwise that's just one more thing I'd have to add. It also greatly improves on Lexus's trend of making all their grills bigger and bigger every year, which I'm not a fan of. I probably should have purchased a winch and had it installed at the same time but I figured I'd get one for xmas. It'll be less labor since the shop won't need to do all the cuts again, but he'll still need to drop the bumper to install the winch. The guy who runs the shop also said he'd prefer the bumper without the plastic rubber trim that's meant to hide uneven cuts as they take their time and make their cuts look very good. Judging from my slider install they are very good at cutting nice and neat, so whenever I put my winch on I'll get that piece removed. I still need a lift, wheels, tires, some skid plates, and a spire tire carrier, it's like a never-ending money pit but I think once I get those taken care of I'm done. I was going to bring it out to the local off-road park to try it out but the shop said my water pump was very slightly weeping coolant and I also have a whine that increases with engine speed but is not steering related so I'm going to get that taken care of at the dealer (under warranty) before I go beat on the truck.
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Oct 27, 2021 22:47
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I have no idea how people with multiple kids fit everything even in these large SUVs, but my GX was absolutely packed full when I did a short vacation recently. Part of it is bringing baby stuff like a stroller and pac'n'play, but my wife also travels with a ton of stuff. I had to fit our comically huge Berkey water filter along with things like a Vitamix, kettle, etc (not for me, but not really negotiable so they're coming either way). I have a roof bag which works pretty well but can be a pain to use at times. It's looking like I'll be doing some more road trips in the future so I broke down and bought a ROAM 95L case: I knew the dimensions when I ordered it but now that it's here I'm kind of surprised just how small it is. Definitely not fitting my 1 piece motorcycle leathers in it, but I think my wife's various appliances should fit in there. I didn't think I'd care either way about the gas struts but they are pretty nice when you're messing around with stuff on top of an already tall vehicle. I'm torn on how I want to mount it, I went ahead and ordered some mounts from Sherpa that are T shaped pieces of metal that go through the handle area then screw into the roof rack. That makes it easy to put it on and take it off, but also fairly easy to steal as there are just four bolts. I debated buying some security bolts but that's still not ideal. A better way of doing it to drill holes on the inside of the case and stick carriage bolts up from the rack into the case, then add a nut. That's supposed to be fairly weather proof, and as long as your case is locked it's harder to steal unless they just cut the locks. Usually I'll just be bringing the case and everything in it inside when I get to my destination, so I think the Sherpa mounts make the most sense for now and it lets me be lazy about measuring and drilling.
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Nov 8, 2021 20:10
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Has anyone used Smittybilt Defender roof racks or their brand rooftop tents? Reviews seem to be good...going back and forth whether I want to get a huge rack and tent for my Delica or keep it completely stock...the Thule tents look nice too. I would prefer a hardshell tent but don't want to spend that amount...
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Dec 2, 2021 04:26
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I was about to post in the 4x4 thread, but - i just got back from a night out using the smittybilt RTT, and (at least for me) its a dead end and I'm going to be selling it ASAP. I should throw out the caveat that I'm middle aged, pretty lazy, and also hurt myself in an electric bike crash about a week ago, so my tolerance for physical activity and movement is extremely low. My specific issues are maybe because its a Smittybilt, but I kinda think these problems are endemic to RTTs - Performance loss was HUGE. at least 3mpg hit, plus constantly flooring it and oaring through gears. I have a 2019 tacoma V6 which had zero problems before I added it - Its a PITA / time consuming to set up and break down. I think this is more specific to the Smittybilt, or any of the vinyl covered RTTs, but the mechanics of undoing all the straps, unzipping the cover around the entire tent, and then getting the tent unfolded is actually a decent amount of work, and involves a lot of stepping up/down on my truck tires... its a little detail, but very annoying. Collapsing the thing is worse, because the tent has to basically be slowly lowered while the tent material is physically shoved into place. Last night I was trying to do this in the dark, and the zipper to the cover got caught on the tent material. Zipper was completely bound and the tent cover made odd flopping noises on the way home. Seems ok but I haven't pulled it all apart yet. - Its not very comfortable. Going up and down the crappy ladder sucks, I have a dog and getting him up and down the ladder extra sucks. The base felt secure, but not very stable so the dog sorta hated every moment up there. Ultimately, the tent designer made a bunch of sacrifices w/r/t the tent being one cohesive piece so that all the hinges and stuff would work. What this means is that there are a bunch of fiddly nylon/velcro flaps that go over all of the hinges. These holes in the tent let in a lot of noise, light, and dust. Ultimately, I put down a deposit on a GFC camper this morning
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Dec 3, 2021 00:52
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Vampire Panties posted:I was about to post in the 4x4 thread, but - i just got back from a night out using the smittybilt RTT, and (at least for me) its a dead end and I'm going to be selling it ASAP. This is absolutely golden real world experience! Sorry you hated it but I imagine I would to - so you’ve basically turned me off of it. My Delica folds out in the rear to a huge bedding area anyways - unless I can find a deal on a hard top instant up and down tent I am passing. Sounds like a big annoyance and my van would take a much bigger power sap than your Tacoma
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Dec 3, 2021 01:59
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Nothing about sleeping in a van is improved by trying to do it on the roof. Roof tents are for vehicles where you can't physically lie down inside.
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Dec 3, 2021 02:11
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ryanrs posted:Nothing about sleeping in a van is improved by trying to do it on the roof. Roof tents are for vehicles where you can't physically lie down inside. Thankful I thought it through more and got some feedback
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Dec 3, 2021 02:27
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Vampire Panties posted:I was about to post in the 4x4 thread, but - i just got back from a night out using the smittybilt RTT, and (at least for me) its a dead end and I'm going to be selling it ASAP. Yeah, but you didn't get eaten by lions, right?
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Dec 3, 2021 02:40
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casque posted:Yeah, but you didn't get eaten by lions, right? Nope! No lions at all  Just this monster and a lot of hopping mice  Also you can see one of my Rigid knockoff amazon special scene lights died in the hour or so between pics.... I'm disappointed that I have a defective one so soon, even if its an amazon special. Not sure if its worth a hundred bux a pop to upgrade to Rigid.
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Dec 3, 2021 03:26
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The description of packing up the RTT sounds exactly like packing up the pop up trailer we used when I was a kid. Definitely a chore.
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Dec 3, 2021 03:52
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Full disclosure: it takes me 30-45 minutes to pack or unpack the minivan, which I need to do when switching between traveling and sleeping modes. It's not convenient. I don't know exactly how long it takes, because I never do it in a rush. I will partially unpack, cook dinner, then finish converting to sleep mode after dinner. It's not a hardship, but it's an annoying chore, for sure.
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Dec 3, 2021 03:58
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ryanrs posted:Full disclosure: it takes me 30-45 minutes to pack or unpack the minivan, which I need to do when switching between traveling and sleeping modes. I think I’ll just mount a cargo carrier on the roof and a basket as well. I have all that stuff anyways. I’d like a really nice full length form fitting rack for the Delica but ideal ones are $1800. In reality I have everything I need already just not the coolest stuff. Might invest in a quick setup and takedown tent if anyone had a $150-200 suggestion 
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Dec 3, 2021 04:37
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everdave posted:Has anyone used Smittybilt Defender roof racks or their brand rooftop tents? Reviews seem to be good...going back and forth whether I want to get a huge rack and tent for my Delica or keep it completely stock...the Thule tents look nice too. I would prefer a hardshell tent but don't want to spend that amount... https://youtu.be/zX1J9-KMVXE I have no desire to have a RTT and I liked this video. I think they paint a rosy picture of having one overall, yet it feels honest about the downsides. The caveat is you're not in your 20s like these boys. My style of camping often involves leaving camp for a hike or fishing and I dislike the idea of packing it all up for that.
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Dec 5, 2021 17:53
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StormDrain posted:https://youtu.be/zX1J9-KMVXE Yeah I saw and appreciated that series of worth it or not upgrades. I’ve ruled out a RTT 100% it just wouldn’t fit for my mild camping outlook. Right now I’m torn between spending $800+ on a really cool low profile rack for the Delica that looks amazing, or spending close to $0 and just using what I have but not looking cool. And let’s be honest looking cool plays a lot into this.
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Dec 5, 2021 17:59
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I’ve got an ARB Simpson 3 RTT and it legitimately takes me about 3-4 mins longer to set up than my mates swag and stretcher, and a chunk of that is because I usually crack a tin before I start
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Dec 5, 2021 23:55
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My thread feels abandoned but there will be exciting  updates because my Prado should be put on a truck tomorrow and be heading to me!MomJeans420 posted:I got my CBI covert bumper installed finally: Your build has been really great to watch. Everything has been really high quality and really thoughtful upgrades. A new set of wheels and tires will really transform the whole look. Roof tent talk I fully thought I had talked about my roof tenting experiences but I apparently did not. I will try to keep it brief: My first roof tent: ARB Simpson 3. I actually really like it a lot. Very comfortable, sturdy and spacious. The windows and zippers are the best I have seen. Smooth and rugged. TONS of airflow. It will get plenty breeze through with the windows opened up. It stays pretty cool even in direct light and I think that has to do with the shade of the flies over the windows. Doesn't leak a drop and I have had it in some pretty heavy rainfall. Comfortable mattress and sleeps two adults plus one kid just fine. It is extra long so you can either have a bunch of space at your feet or at your head. The negatives: Setup is really easy. Yeah it involves climbing on tires. The ladder isn't as sturdy feeling as I would like. The take down? It is a process. The more I have done it the faster it gets but the job still sucks. You have gotta stuff it all just right. Trying to do that on top of a Delica van? Or a truck with a topper? That would suck rocks. A half rack on a truck would be fine. The Lexus was a little bit of a pain. Honestly it was just as easy for me to climb on top of the truck and get it all tucked in and stuffed in. The thing just looks tough too.   I listed it for sale but couldn't bring myself to do it for some reason. I am still undecided.  The Bean was much better suited for a hardshell just so that the cover wasn't draped and hanging against the side of the trailer (and subsequently a door). It is much easiest to get set up and take down because I can't exactly climb on top of the trailer. iKamper gets all the YouTube and instagram cred. Overall I am happy with it, but there are a few things the ARB does far better.   The iKamper is no bullcrap a 60 second setup. Two latches undone, push up. Grab the strap to pull it out and then the super sturdy and LONG telescoping ladder drops down effortlessly. Take down is extremely fast too. I would say I can have it all done and stuffed in five minutes. I do not care one tiny bit for the windows in this. The zippers are not nearly as good as the ARB. It gets H O T as balls in the daytime with the sun out. There is just not the same kind of ventilation. In spite of all the reviews people have said I don't find the mattress particularly comfortable and I am not a heavy person (~180 pounds). I might swap out the mattress this year. I know it will outlast the ARB purely on the hardshell system alone. It is very sturdy and HUGE. Our family of 5 could probably sleep in this just fine. As it goes we usually just have two in there (usually one parent + one kid while other parent and two kids are in the Bean). It is staying because the setup and takedown is so good. It is heavier than my ARB by probably forty pounds or so but that is not a deal breaker because it is mounted to the Bean and will not go anywhere. I love the roof tents. I have joked on the AI slack about it being the equivalent of a race car bed and a tree house so that makes it a really fun and unique experience. I find them comfortable enough that I don't think I will ever sleep on the ground again. I am not "old" (about 37) but I am also not young (three small kids have aged me).
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Dec 7, 2021 00:09
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I should state that my ARB goes over the back door- so I can access all three sides of the zip without having to lean over the roof and the cover just goes over the windscreen and doesn't get in the way of anything. Plus its really easy to get the cover on and off when you've got a tailgate to stand on like the 100 does vs the back door of a prado/GX
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Dec 7, 2021 09:21
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Ferremit posted:I should state that my ARB goes over the back door- so I can access all three sides of the zip without having to lean over the roof and the cover just goes over the windscreen and doesn't get in the way of anything. While I don't have a RTT, the tailgate of my 100 vs the rear door of my xterra are night and day. Loading and tieing down heavy kayaks I'll take the 100 every time, tailgate, big 5 spoke wheels, sliders, vs xterra with a dorky hatch, no sliders, and wheels I can't get a footing on.
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Dec 10, 2021 03:12
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Slow is Fast posted:While I don't have a RTT, the tailgate of my 100 vs the rear door of my xterra are night and day. Loading and tieing down heavy kayaks I'll take the 100 every time, tailgate, big 5 spoke wheels, sliders, vs xterra with a dorky hatch, no sliders, and wheels I can't get a footing on. Without doubt that’s the biggest mistake Toyota has made with the new 300 series- one piece lift up tailgate. It’s huge, it’s useless and it removes all the utility of the back of the wagon. I’m probably going to rip the carpet off my tailgate and get a piece of 316 stainless steel cut for it- then it becomes a food grade work surface I can both do mechanical repairs and use as a kitchen prep surface that’s not only sanitary but also heat proof
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Dec 10, 2021 10:01
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Ferremit posted:Without doubt that’s the biggest mistake Toyota has made with the new 300 series- one piece lift up tailgate. It’s huge, it’s useless and it removes all the utility of the back of the wagon. That's why I like the "barn door" on the GX - it opens to the side so I can just stand on the back of the car to access the roof rack. I can do it with the door closed too but it's even easier with it open. Ferremit posted:I’ve got an ARB Simpson 3 RTT and it legitimately takes me about 3-4 mins longer to set up than my mates swag and stretcher, and a chunk of that is because I usually crack a tin before I start I had to lookup swag and stretcher and crack a tin to figure out this sentence, but at least my guess as to crack a tin was correct. Somewhat Heroic posted:Everything has been really high quality and really thoughtful upgrades. I decided to make this statement not true by adding some $20 amazon rock lights to replace the puddle lights I lost when I installed sliders. With help from the AI tools thread I crimped on the OEM style weather pack connectors, made brackets out of tie plates, and got some light back. It's a lot brighter than before but I needed to have something for light as I already people that have trouble getting into the GX and it's not even lifted (my nanny is < 5' tall). https://i.imgur.com/lSMijjf.mp4 My 2017 GX with 65k miles has had an annoying RPM but not speed dependent whine for a while now, and my offroad mechanic noticed a slight weep from the waterpump when he was installed the bumper, so my GX is currently at the dealer getting a new water pump and alternator installed. Kind of funny timing as I was just telling my wife the GX was Consumer Reports most reliable vehicle (FWTW). I thought my pitbull had to have a very invasive knee surgery (she's already had one knee done) but I finally got her x-rayed and thankfully she just has some arthritis in her back and hips so no crazy surgery, which means I can go ahead and lift the truck now. For the life of me I can't get her to use the doggy ramp I bought but I can always just pick her up to get her in and out. I still have to figure out what UCA to get, I'd say 90% of the people on the GXOR facebook group use SPC and have no problems, but my offroad guy (specializes in 4runners) really doesn't like SPC so I'm looking at other options. Probably Icon's tubular UCA but I'm not sure yet, open to suggestions.
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Dec 10, 2021 19:11
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