New product from Proud Rhino! The SYA Off Road Extension Kit

[garrett]

If I was doing it overseas...well that is hilux or LC territory just based off parts availability.

Want one? Selling six of them (and a Prado) in February. But must be on that side of the ocean. Have had them three years and have been stupid reliable. Two starters have gone bad out of those trucks in that time frame with significant amount of training.

 

[1920SF]

Want one? Selling six of them (and a Prado) in February. But must be on that side of the ocean. Have had them three years and have been stupid reliable. Two starters have gone bad out of those trucks in that time frame with significant amount of training.

I'm a sucker for the DC Hilux. Not the current generation, but the previous ones would be the only vehicle I owned if I could get one in the States without dealing with crap...I sure as hell am not living out here too long!

 

[garrett]

I'm a sucker for the DC Hilux. Not the current generation, but the previous ones would be the only vehicle I owned if I could get one in the States without dealing with crap...I sure as hell am not living out here too long!

We have one of those that we got from Greenland. I think it has 4.10s, but it feels lower. The last solid axle front and rear Hilux.

 

[D Chapman]

What is there really that can be done to "ruin" the lr3/4? What I'm getting at is there aren't really that many extreme modifications even available, therefor you'd have to try pretty hard to ruin it.
I suppose these bump stop extension are the first real crazy mod that could fall into the scope of your statement.

I was never a fan of the "rod mod" precisely because of what you just said. I did install the LLAMS electronic interface though because it sure is nice to fit into a garage when needed or gain more lift with a simple dial turn while highway driving is still kept at the factory height.

The LR3/4 does not need much, like I said earlier. It will never be a rock crawler and I could never see bouncing that heavy lug through what we did at the Pearls Pond days of MAR. It's not a great deep snow ride, either. It's more of a jack of all trades, master of none. The LR3/4 will preform better than most other 4wd's on the market in the same category, but it does not really excel at anything, even if you jack it up and put 35's under it.

I towed a boat about 3 weeks ago with a V8 4-runner 120 miles each way. By far the LR3, even with a 6cyl, tows better. And that's what I like about the LR3/4's - they're versatile. They're not great off-road and I don't think that sets the bar for a vehicle - even if Land Rover's heritage may sway that way. But I can jump into the LR3 and be comfortable camping in the woods, towing, going out to dinner, or driving across the country.

Of course, I like the woods. I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia so naturally a few mods to the Rover are favorable. But the LR3/4 does not need much to improve upon what is already offered from the factory. I'm not going to be doing the Camel Trophy in the LR3 and neither is anyone else. So making your LR3/4 bullet proof is silly to me. Bumper, winch, under body protection and maybe a roof rack and auxiliary lighting is all the LR3/4 really needs to improve its versatility off-pavement. If you were a fisherman in OBX, perhaps your requirements would differ.

What happens, though, is people get bored. They start adding lift rods, big tires, double spare tire carriers, swing away Jerry Can racks, motorized remote control spotlights, the biggest LED light bar they can find.... They fuck the truck up. Just because you can does not mean you should. I mean really, what benefit do 35" tires serve on an LR3/4? Why do you need three spare tires? It's like putting a 5" lift on a D1.

 

[jwest]

Yeah, I agree with all of that.

Well, I have to admit though, I love having the 2nd fuel tank, mostly out of convenience on the long trips where out west there is less station density. It's not that I 'need' 800 mile range, but 300ish can get a bit annoying when it feels like I can't chance passing up a station an have to blow another 20 min just screwing with that. I'd rather my pit stops be somewhere more interesting even if it's just a road side rest area. Jerry cans are also annoying and now I use the holder for water in 2 Rotopax if going camping for a while.

This of course requires a rear tire carrier but my rear tire carrier is oh so much much because it has a 2" receiver mounted into the end for a bike rack. This allows the whole damn thing, with bikes, to swing out and isn't using the towing mount which would be very much in the way of using the tailgate camping. I tried that first years ago. It sucked, plus it's then a terrible departure angle.

I don't have any aux lights because the main lamps are plenty but I do use a 2nd battery system to run the fridge and 12v sockets throughout. The 2nd air compressor I have under the hood is great for vehicle tires obviously but also for setting the bead on tubeless mtn bike tires.

I travel at stock highway height and do my best to retain as much factory handling as possible. With this in mind I would be interested in the idea of security provided by the bump stop spacer/extensions if they do not adversely affect the handling at highway height and speeds.

It would be pretty ironic if these units could somehow cause accelerated wear or stress on the air struts by causing them to sit in a more compressed position not originally intended by the engineers.

 

[garrett]

The LED light bars are getting out of hand.

 

[Maximumwarp]

The LED light bars are getting out of hand.

I've got a pair of little Rigid D2s on the front of my truck, and they put out more than enough light. The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

 

[jwest]

I've got a pair of little Rigid D2s on the front of my truck, and they put out more than enough light. The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

I recently saw online, cannot find it now, a D110 with at least 2 light bars, 6 round lamps, and no less than 4 "Defender" on just the front view of the vehicle. I can't recall if it was for sale while I was digging around or just a forum. It was WAY over the top. Seems like it was Florida.

 

[gordonwh]

Given there's only 20mm or so between access height and the bump stop height, with these spacers in can you still get to access height? Or does the car bounce back into extended?

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[jwest]

That may be true or close at the front but the rear has more room to drop than 20mm for sure. The rear is at least closer to 40 lower than access but a quick way to check would be using an IIDtool:

1st set to "access" height.
Measure all corners.
Using IIDtool, purge system of all thus air dropping 100%.
Measure.
Do math.

 

[garrett]

I've got a pair of little Rigid D2s on the front of my truck, and they put out more than enough light. The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

I have the same set on my KTM and they make a huge difference. I run with the amber covers during the day and pop those off when I ride at night with high beams only. I have the LED conversion on the stock light as well.

Pretty sure those 5' LED bars are tacti-cool.

 

[D Chapman]

The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

Because they can.

 

[Mongo]

I've got a pair of little Rigid D2s on the front of my truck, and they put out more than enough light. The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

So they can see inside their Yeti coolers...

 

[gordonwh]

That may be true or close at the front but the rear has more room to drop than 20mm for sure. The rear is at least closer to 40 lower than access but a quick way to check would be using an IIDtool:

1st set to "access" height.
Measure all corners.
Using IIDtool, purge system of all thus air dropping 100%.
Measure.
Do math.

Done that when designing the lowering rods, and it's the front that's close. On my Sport it'll bounce back if it's 20mm or more below access height.

Cheers,

Gordon

 

[garrett]

I've got a pair of little Rigid D2s on the front of my truck, and they put out more than enough light. The light bars are meant for dudes doing 90 through the desert, I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

,,,

 

[1920SF]

We have one of those that we got from Greenland. I think it has 4.10s, but it feels lower. The last solid axle front and rear Hilux.

So you're sure we can't slap a Tacoma badge on it and sell it as an 02 Gen 1.5?

 

[jwest]

Done that when designing the lowering rods, and it's the front that's close. On my Sport it'll bounce back if it's 20mm or more below access height.

Cheers,

Gordon

Did a quick "test" just by hand with tape measure but it came out to -18mm F and -45mm R.

This is using the LLAMS tool from factory "access" height to lowest the LLAMS will do on a mid MY 2007 lr3. They told me that late 07+ will do a -30 drop by the dial but my dial only drops by -20 first and then the "red extra" button drops the remaining maximum amount it allows.

So, base line at access was 402 F , 430 rear center of wheel to underside edge of fender plastic. Measuring the same way next it was 390/420, then 380/385.

Being able to drop -45mm from access on the rear is what really helps with garages because that's the highest point, even on a stock vehicle.

With my Hannibal rack mounted and the rear 1.2M Hannibal awning, the highest point is the top of the arm pivot bolt. With the above drops, mine are just a bit under 80" . The garage is 82.25" at all points across it's double width.

It would be interesting to find out that with these bump stop spacers, I couldn't drop under 82" anymore... The rack itself would clear it but not the awning and the awning basically lives on the rack as an "all or nothing" package.

 

[MM3846]

I don't understand why anyone on the east coast needs a 54" bar on their roof.

Neither do I, and I have one. I use the amber 14" bar on my bumper a lot more.

 

[garrett]

So you're sure we can't slap a Tacoma badge on it and sell it as an 02 Gen 1.5?

That one can be sold here in the US. It's the latest Hiluxes that can't be. We posted a rather large bond when we imported them, so if they are not "returned" when we promised they take our big chunk of money. Everything else we have is legal and can be sold in the US. The new Hiluxes are titled, insured and registered in CT.

 

[1920SF]

That one can be sold here in the US. It's the latest Hiluxes that can't be. We posted a rather large bond when we imported them, so if they are not "returned" when we promised they take our big chunk of money. Everything else we have is legal and can be sold in the US. The new Hiluxes are titled, insured and registered in CT.

Not that I really want the answer...but is the Greenland Hilux a double cab diesel?

The new ones abound here in Abu Dhabi, and I saw them before I left the U.S. with certain...folks...they don't call to me the same way.