🛠️ Member Build Overtrail Upgrades (3 Viewers)

[Bluegill]

You both recommend dropping the spare tire down?

No need to, unless you long for company while under the truck.

 

[Bluegill]

DId you spring for the Lexus Windshield warranty? I ended up buying it for OEM replacements for the first 5 Years. With my luck, I won't crack a windshield until 6 years in.

No, I have full glass through State Farm. I had a crack in the upper right corner for a year before a windshield finally came available in November of last year. I got it replaced, then it cracked again a week later during a freak hail storm in late November.

 

[YellowLab]

It's been too long since I've done something interesting to Junior, my GX550. It seems like I've been waiting a year and a day for my Camburg Upper Control Arms. I waited a little over 3 months with promises of any week now and I cancelled my order when they finally said 8 to 10 more weeks. I scheduled my King suspension installation at Westcott Designs for their first available date, January 26th. I'm going with Icon UCAs which Westcott has in stock. That was easy. On another note, my December 1st order of a 6-pack of Camburg "King blue" stickers arrived yesterday. How ironic.

Anyway, tonight I was tinkering, as my wife says, and I finally finished my new shovel mounts for my roof rack.

After my December to Remember adventure in the new mud pit at my favorite local camping spot, I realized that I need a good shovel that you can actually dig with for a good amount of time without breaking your back or making your hands raw. I have carried my father's US Army-issue folding shovel for over 30 years but it's more suited for digging fire pits and single-serving field latrines. Since I'm not a $300-super-off-road-overlander-Armageddon-spiked-razor-sharp-shovel-zombie-survival-tool kind of guy, I looked for a useful and somewhat classy alternative. After far too much research, I settled on the Kent & Stowe border spade which is a quality 41" long English stainless steel spade with an ash handle. Two requirements were stainless steel and a wooden handle with a real hand grip. I hate the simple straight handles that dig into your palm with any amount of real work. I'm not a soft hands guy but I also don't dig holes for a living. I found this fine English tool at Walmart online, of all places. $92 shipped to my door. Only £39.99 on Kent & Stowe's UK website which is about $54 but then you have shipping and import taxes on top of that...a few clicks on Walmart's website and it appeared on my doorstep.

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I chose this shovel size and shape because it's good for swiping sand away in a rowing motion as you're on your knees by the truck, such as scooping sand and gravel away from behind the tires. The size (blade is 9" long x 5.5" wide) is good for moving some material but also not so big that you're trying to move too much weight with each scoop. Same for mud. You can cut in manageable scoops instead of trying to move a 40-lb clod of wet mud with each scoop.

In keeping with my quest to keep my roof rack as low-profile as possible, I didn't want to bolt on a shovel mount that stuck up a few inches, thereby losing my garage clearance. I also don't really have clearance on the side of my low-profile rack to strap on a shovel without hitting the body of the truck. Most shovel mounts from the Armageddon crew are also nearly as expensive as the $300 Armageddon shovels. I figured I'd just be throwing the shovel in the cargo bay with all my other junk and then I had an idea.

Years ago I bought a couple of folding & locking hinge mounts on Amazon for some long-forgotten truck-related project. These look like the same brackets. They sat in a little box on the back of my workbench forever. A couple months ago I cleaned off my workbench and I relocated them. As I lay awake in bed one night at about 3:00 AM thinking of stupid random things like mounting a shovel on top of my truck, I remembered these hinges. The next day I had to tear apart the garage cabinets to find them because of course I forgot where I put them. Then I spent a good 2 weeks moving the project forward in very small increments, as is my way.

I found the perfect rubber mounts at Harbor Freight (Vehicle-Mount Rubber Tool Clamp). $2.99 each. Take that, $250 Armageddon zombie apocalypse shovel mount companies. I had to use my Dremel to cut down the flanges on the hinges to clear the roof when folded, and also cut down stainless steel bolts to fit just right in the hinge and in tracks on my rack and into the Harbor Freight rubber clamps. I removed a cross bar to get the bolts all in the proper places on my workbench, reinstalled the cross bar, and it works exactly as designed.

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Next updates to this page will be the Vulcan Series 2-1/2 IN to 3 IN 304 Stainless Steel Axle-Back Exhaust System that JoeMing posted over on the Modifications page. Then it will be King suspension time! And then in February the Beatsonic Sigma Amplifier that we've all seen on the Modifications page. The reviews were so good that I dropped the $800 on the amp.

Ah yes I bought the smashing Kent and Stowe shovel from across the pond. It is a splendid contribution to my kit for overloading adventures without the bollix of a larger blade. They did bang me for about 100 quid and have no idea why I suddenly needed yet another garden tool - but it looks spot on.

 

[Bluegill]

You shall be pleased with ye old spade. I used mine for fire duty a weekend past. It performed admirably.

 

[GrantM]

I picked up my Overtrail here in Arizona on June 7, 2024. I had Westcott Designs in Phoenix install their preload collar lift kit, their full length modular roof rack, 17" Method 703 wheels (titanium color, +35mm offset), and Toyo Open Country AT3 tires size 35X12.5R17LT (load range C). I think it turned our great, the ride is great, feels nearly the same as stock, feels a little more supple or softer than stock, and it seems like I can feel a little extra weight or inertia with the wheels & bigger tires. The stock Toyo AT3s are 265/70/18 and they weigh 44 lbs each. The 35s weigh 59 lbs each. Not sure how much the stock 18" wheels weigh compared to the 17" Methods but I'll weigh a stock 18" wheel & tire and figure out the weight of the new Method wheel & tire.

Only other changes are a hood blackout that I had a local wrap shop make for me, a touch screen protector from OCD Plug which is definitely worth it (2024+ Lexus GX 550 | 14" Main Infotainment | Matte/Anti-Glare | Screen), and an iphone wireless charger mounted in that odd space beneath the 12-volt plug (Amazon.com). The screen protector has a bunch of bubbles in the photo below but they all went away after a couple days. There is now no glare or reflection on the screen and no fingerprints. I located the wireless phone charger in this spot so that my phone can sit there and charge and I can still see it if needed (I just used double-sided tape). My truck didn't come with the stock wireless charging pad - I checked into getting the stock charging pad but the tech guy at the dealer said they are way too slow and it's better to just use the USB plugs.

Next upgrades will be rock sliders that also have good running boards so my kids can better climb up into the truck. I have the stock rock rails which are worthless as a step. Westcott Designs is working on rock rail/running boards. There are a few vendors with them already available but I'll wait to see what Westcott has to offer. The Westcott roof rack is incredibly well made and surprisingly cheap at $995. The similar Prinsu rack is $1355 and the Dissent Offroad rack is $1799. I'm hoping that Westcott's sliders are more attractively priced. Dissent's sliders are $1795. NYTOP has sliders for $1400. I also have a 7-foot Ironman 4x4 shade canopy that I'll be mounting to the roof rack.

I do like the NYTOP front bumper at $1200 but I'm waiting to see what winch bumpers come available. I've been building and wheeling Land Rovers for the past 25 years and I like having a winch up front. I'll probably upgrade the rear bumper too but I don't want to get a swing-away tire carrier. I had one for the larger tires on my Land Rover LR4 and the swing-away is a pain in the ass. You end up not putting things in the rear cargo bay because it's a pain to use 2 hands to open the swing-away and then open the hatch. I'll be picking up a cheap Toyota spare wheel that fits the GX550 and I'll mount a cheap spare 33" or 34" tire on it and leave it underneath in the stock location (will have to see what will fit underneath). I'll be mounting an ARB compressor somewhere in the truck so maybe a 34" tire will fit uninflated or underinflated. I'll be selling the full set of stock 18" Overtrail wheels and tires. I also sold the stock Overtrail roof rails and cross bars to a guy with a new Land Cruiser that came with no roof rails or cross bars. The parts are interchangeable - I took detailed measurements of the mounting points on the GX and they exactly match the Land Cruiser.

edited to update Westcott's roof rack price to $995 (not $950)

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How are you liking the roof rack? I had their sliders on the 4runner I just traded in.

 

[Bluegill]

the rack rocks

 

[LC1958]

Looks great!

 

[YellowLab]

I don't think the spring bolts are anything special - I'd think that any auto parts store would have a generic set. Most I've seen are an actual BOLT with a fixed nut that is part of the bolt on one end instead of the setup being a pin or stud with independent bolts on both ends. I thought I was going to have to make a run to the store for the bolts but then I was able to break them free.

Mine broke free very easy - must be that damp and humid air in Phoenix that caused yours to be a pain. Did notice the gap between the factory flange and the AFE is huge - 1/4 - 1/2 inch even with two washers behind the AFE. Might go look for a single bolt option and use with the springs - but do not hear anything unusually noisy.

 

[Bluegill]

I've been enjoying the King suspension. Haven't been able to do much offroad driving yet but I've had a few jobs that have taken me out into the desert. I drove for a while with the shocks set about 10 clicks from all the way firm (there are 26 clicks total adjustment so 13 would be the middle between all the way firm and all the way soft). While offroad yesterday I adjusted to only 6 clicks from all the way firm. Makes a big difference. This thing handles almost like a sports car when you firm up the settings. There is virtually no body roll while cornering. I'm going to drive on 6 clicks for a while, then dip into the softer settings to try it out.

Today I installed my King front sway bar links. Not sure they are really necessary but what the hell. Next will be rear lower arms. In hindsight, I should have kept those nice anodized blue Camburg rear lower arms. Maybe I'll order them back.