Expedition Portal – Adventure Driven’s Overlanding Lexus GX 470
By ExPo Staff
Photography by Ross Addiego and Seth Jacobsen
Published on December 18th, 2014
Despite being one of the lesser known and used of overland platforms, it is nonetheless one of the most capable and desirable vehicles available in the U.S. The Lexus GX 470 just as it sits in stock form, is quite something to behold. When given the full overland treatment, as is the case with Adventure Driven’s 470, it is something downright spectacular. We take a closer look at their beautiful build and get a sneak peek at what it’s like to travel in a heavily modified GX 470.
Our Considerations for choosing and building the 2007 Lexus GX 470 as our next overlanding rig.
- Must be reliable, a good daily driver and capable of withstanding thousands of miles of extremely rough terrain, at least slightly luxurious for comfort, with heated seats and factory navigation a plus.
- Must comfortably carry four adults and gear for extended self-supported overlanding adventures.
- Somewhat small for tight trails.
- Strong brakes, knowing the vehicle will be heavily loaded.
- Must have stock lockers or have them available for installation.
- Must have space to install a water tank underneath, a water pump, air compressor, and a second battery. Space accessible to the driver for CB and HAM radios, buttons, trailer brake controller, gauges, and USB/charging ports. Must have room in the back for a fridge and anchor points, storage units, and drawers.
- Quality bolt-on suspension must be available. Capable of crawling boulders, handling washboard roads, taking big hits, occasional air time, and riding like a dream on pavement. Comfort similar to a “flying couch.” As riders of dirt bikes, sport bikes and horses, high performance and comfort were required.
- After much deliberation, the Lexus GX 470 with KDSS was chosen. A clean example was found in Phoenix, traded for a lowered BMW sports sedan, and driven home—earning the name Lexy during the drive.
- Devise a plan, overcome obstacles, and do what has not been done before to morph this luxury SUV into a comfortable, capable, reliable, high-flying, rock-crawling, people-carrying overlanding rig.
- After the must-haves were set and the vehicle chosen, additional needs and wants were identified: months-long living capability, hot water shower, a fully functional kitchen, rooftop tent, awning, roof rack, front and rear bumpers, winch with synthetic rope, recovery gear, all-terrain tires, skid plates, rock sliders, space for extra gas, bright lights, snorkel, and more.
And last but not least, a twelve-volt electric blanket outlet on the roof rack because travel doesn’t stop when it gets cold.
Lexy took a little over three months to build. After several Northern AZ shakedown runs, on June 18th, 2014 we headed to Baja Sur for a two-week, 2700-mile overland adventure. Afterward, we traveled to southern AZ for fast desert runs with friends and continued to the rocky trails and passes of the Colorado San Juan range. We lived out of Lexy for over two months, in extreme heat, high winds, rain, and snow. Over 10,000 miles later, she proved to be a capable, comfortable, and reliable overlanding rig. In Baja’s extreme heat, the air conditioner earned the nickname “The Meat Locker” from our backseat passenger who claimed to have “frozen kneecaps.”
2007 Lexus GX470 Sport, silver, 4.7 V-8 all wheel drive, KDSS, Navigation, heated seats, automatic 109,000 miles.
OVERLANDING GEAR
- Howling Moon Stargazer/Eezi Awn 1600 3 series
- Fox Wing awning and one extension wall
- Rhino Rack roof rack
- Synergy Manufacturing hot water shower heat exchanger
- 20 Gallon fresh water tank in the spare tire location with 12v pump and extendable hose
- ARB snorkel
- Three ARB drawers with sliding top surfaces
- ARB 12V air compressor
- ARB 82 quart 12v fridge
- Custom fold-down cutting board and utensil setup on rear gate
- Custom spice box
- Two Blue Sea power distribution blocks with 100 Amp breakers
- Overland Solar 95 Watt solar panel with quick connector
- SunForce 30 amp solar panel controller
- 5 gallon jerry can
- Cobra CB
- BlackBerry Bluetooth module
- Ultra Gauge
- Extra front, middle, and rear dual USB ports
- Trash-A-Roo for exterior trash storage
- IBS dual battery controller
- Twin Sears Die Hard Platinum batteries
- A shovel, hatchet, and machete
KC LIGHTS
- One 50” LED light bar, lights up the night so no elk, sasquatch or zombies can hide.
- One 20” LED Light Bar, this could be identified as overkill or back up, we choose back up.
- Two 4” LED front bumper lights angled to light the areas where we are turning.
- Eight Cyclone LED rock lights, no rogue boulders can sneak up on us out of the dark.
- Four side facing LZR LED Cubes on the roof rack, great for finding the perfect camp spot at night.
- Three LZR LED Cube reverse lights.
- Two Cyclone LED’s in rear kitchen/cargo area, so there’s no mystery bugs in the food.
DRIVE TRAIN
- All-wheel drive
- ARB air lockers front and rear, we couldn’t do without them.
- Nitro 4:56 gears get us up and over the roughest terrain.
- Cross drilled slotted brake rotors
- 4.7 V-8 Automatic
- Vented Diffs
- High output alternator
RECOVERY GEAR
- Come Up winch 9500 lb with synthetic rope
- Come Up recovery bag, doubler, tree saver, strap
- Come Up wireless remote winch controller
- Factor 55 front winch hook and rear receiver
- High lift jack and base for sand.
- Maxtraxx, these things have a lot of uses.
TIRES AND WHEELS
- Cooper Discoverer ST MAXX 285/655R18
- Fuel 18×9 wheels
ARMOR
- Budbuilt skid plates 4 piece kit.
- Metal Tech sliders
- Custom rear water tank skid plate
SUSPENSION
- ICON Stage 6 suspension system with 2.5 remote reservoir shocks with CDC adjusters.
- ICON Heavy Duty Expedition rear springs
- ICON rear pneumatic bump stops
- ICON can smooth out the roughest terrain no matter the speed, we love it.
BUMPERS
- Southern Style Speed front and rear bumpers with rear tire and jerry can carriers
FUTURE MODS
- Custom rear side and back windows grid stowage system
- Secondary front ICON shocks, yes, we want more air time.
- Longer roof rack
- Two more extension walls for the awning.
- HAM radio
- Now that winter is fast approaching we are excited to test the heater to see if it works as good as the air conditioner. We always find a good reason to go out and find adventure. We encourage everyone, whether you use a purpose built vehicle or your family car, break free of the norm, live life beyond the couch, go find your adventure.
Adventure Driven provides turn-key truck builds based on Lexus and Toyota platforms and also provides custom overland experiences to places like the Grand Canyon and Baja, Mexico. To learn more about Adventure Driven, visit their website HERE.
Featured Vehicle: Adventure Driven’s Lexus GX 470
Published by ExPo Staff on December 18th, 2014 — Tagged: featured, lexus gx 470
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