Rock rails from Land Cruiser first edition do not fit on my gx550 premium😵🤬

[Nebula'Nomad]

Hello everyone, I'm located in Orlando Florida and I've met up with another Forum member from the Land Cruiser forum, we met up yesterday and swapped out my roof rails and crossbars for his first edition Land Cruiser roof rack. Everything went smoothly with the roof rocks. Next we were swapping my OEM running boards for his Land Cruiser first edition Rock Rails. My running boards fit perfectly on his Land Cruiser but his OEM Rock Rails did not fit on my Lexus GX 550 premium the corresponding holes on the frame of my truck are there but they are not threaded so the 14 mm bolts used to attach the rock rails to the frame simply pop in the hole. The holes seem to be oversized versus what's needed to attach the rock rails to the frame of my Lexus. Has anyone else encountered this issue or is my truck a one-off defect from the factory? I've gone on Toyota's website as well as Lexus website and the part numbers for the driver and passenger side rock rails are identical. Am I missing something? Or does my Lexus require special Hardware?

 

[Jrox]

I suggest you take it back to Lexus and have them confirm.

 

[Nebula'Nomad]

I suggest you take it back to Lexus and have them confirm.

As of right now that is my plan. Trying to figure out if anyone else has had this issue or if I'm missing Hardware

 

[excited4downvotes]

Following for Lexus’s response but I would agree what I’ve understood is that Land Cruiser rock rails or even the OT rails do not fit the premium or lux

 

[Nebula'Nomad]

Well Lexus has confirmed that premium and luxury do not have the ability to have OEM rock rails installed as a simple bolt on. However the maintenance tech pulled me to the side and said that there is the ability to weld these directly to the frame and just like that The Rock rails will fit.
Not sure what i will do yet... not having any rock rails or running boards have grown on me

 

[REB27]

My wife has a Land Cruiser FE with rock rails. I have an Overtrail with running boards. Are they swappable?

 

[Nebula'Nomad]

My wife has a Land Cruiser FE with rock rails. I have an Overtrail with running boards. Are they swappable?

Yes they are interchangeable if you have a overtrail

 

[jagud09]

Well Lexus has confirmed that premium and luxury do not have the ability to have OEM rock rails installed as a simple bolt on. However the maintenance tech pulled me to the side and said that there is the ability to weld these directly to the frame and just like that The Rock rails will fit.
Not sure what i will do yet... not having any rock rails or running boards have grown on me

I'm in a similar boat. I have a Lux+ because we need a 3rd row and it was first available on the waiting list.

I'm still trying to make it as off-road capable as possible and just from the few mudholes I've dipped it in, those retractable running boards aren't gonna cut it . Did you find a solution to this? I just read your post tonight, so I haven't crawled under there to look yet, but is there any way to thread a nut/bolt arrangement on the backside of the holes? Some rock sliders would round out my "protection plan" for this dad-mobile/overlander.

 

[excited4downvotes]

I'm in a similar boat. I have a Lux+ because we need a 3rd row and it was first available on the waiting list.

I'm still trying to make it as off-road capable as possible and just from the few mudholes I've dipped it in, those retractable running boards aren't gonna cut it . Did you find a solution to this? I just read your post tonight, so I haven't crawled under there to look yet, but is there any way to thread a nut/bolt arrangement on the backside of the holes? Some rock sliders would round out my "protection plan" for this dad-mobile/overlander.

If you take off your automatic running boards, let me know I’d be interested to buy them off you

 

[REB27]

Yes they are interchangeable if you have a overtrail

Not doubting you but Lexus dealer/parts advised me at 5,000 mile service last week that FE rock sliders do not fit Overtrail. It was a question of first impression for them so not sure if they are correct….
Has anyone done that swap successfully?

 

[Nebula'Nomad]

Not doubting you but Lexus dealer/parts advised me at 5,000 mile service last week that FE rock sliders do not fit Overtrail. It was a question of first impression for them so not sure if they are correct….
Has anyone done that swap successfully?

No worries I completely understand your skepticism. But luckily for us that's what these forums are for. If you go on to the Lexus website and look at the over Trail Rock slider part numbers you can cross reference them with the Land Cruiser Rock rail part numbers and see that they are identical. Hopefully someone will respond on this thread with the information you're searching for and hopefully some pictures as a reference.

 

[REB27]

No worries I completely understand your skepticism. But luckily for us that's what these forums are for. If you go on to the Lexus website and look at the over Trail Rock slider part numbers you can cross reference them with the Land Cruiser Rock rail part numbers and see that they are identical. Hopefully someone will respond on this thread with the information you're searching for and hopefully some pictures as a reference.

Thanks! That is what Lexus Parts said they checked but, as noted, they didn’t strike me as 100% sure…..

 

[excited4downvotes]

Thanks! That is what Lexus Parts said they checked but, as noted, they didn’t strike me as 100% sure…..

My wife has a Land Cruiser FE with rock rails. I have an Overtrail with running boards. Are they swappable?

It’s 6 bolts per side, disconnect the harness on the OT running board and swap. Should take about 15 minutes.

So if you have access to both the OT and the Land Cruiser - why don’t you just give it a try?

 

[REB27]

Hate to admit it, but me and wrenches don’t mix…..

 

[jagud09]

Hate to admit it, but me and wrenches don’t mix…..

I believe it was Clint Eastwood that said, "Man's (Woman's) got to know his limitations."

No shame there! I've worked on various vehicle parks my whole life but I also knew the lift collars were beyond my abilities so I had a ship do it. Planning on doing the roof rack, bumpers, aux lights and light bar myself but we'll see

 

[JPE]

Hate to admit it, but me and wrenches don’t mix…..

If you did want to try it, just keep these words in mine from a fabricator friend of mine: "Tight is tight, broke it too tight."

 

[jagud09]

Westcott has told me that their sliders fit "all trim levels" but I just don't see how based on their install video. I sent CBI some pictures to see if theirs will fit, but I really think non-OT owners are SOL. There are some threaded holes on the frame, but not enough it seems.

I wish some of these sites would post their actual installation guide so I'm not having to estimate holes/attachment points.

All New 2024 Lexus GX 550 Rock Sliders by Westcott Designs

The Westcott Designs Rock Sliders for the All-New 2024 Lexus GX 550. Our sliders are laser cut, hand built, and hand welded which make them some of the best on the market.

westcottdesigns.net

 

[jagud09]

From CBI... there's hope! I've been corresponding for a while with the fools hope that they may have a solution and it sounds like they're at least trying! I'll be interested to see what they come up with. Fully accepting that bolt on sliders aren't REAL sliders but also realistic that I'm not looking to ride these suckers over REAL boulders either.

 

[REB27]

If you did want to try it, just keep these words in mine from a fabricator friend of mine: "Tight is tight, broke it too tight."

Had local Toyota dealer do the swap today. I can officially confirm the FE rock sliders and the Overtrail running boards are easily swapped. That has made both my wife (her’s is the FE and her girlfriends complained about the “climb”) and me happy (I had dealer delete rock sliders thinking I’d get them later from an independent fabricator but hadn’t found the right set yet).

 

[jagud09]

Local shop is offering to put "nut-serts" in those non-threaded holes to allow for rock slider attachment. I know that won't provide near the same protection as true sliders, but it's better than busting up the auto-steps. I'm gonna talk to them tomorrow morning and see if that's a direction I want to go.

Maintaining the realism that I'm not doing anything close to true rock crawling, but Engineer Pass and Black Bear Pass seem just challenging enough to require that protection.