Out with the old, in with the slightly less old

[Homefryy]

I have loved my 96 XJ and the places it has taken us but with 2 large dogs (85lbs & 105lbs) it has been feeling too small. I love taking people with non-capable vehicles and out of town friends that come to visit out to show them what the less traveled areas of Utah have to offer. With me, my wife and the two dogs in the XJ taking a passenger or 2 with us wasn't an option and even without anybody extra we would have to pack things in pretty tight when going on trips. We also watch dogs for some extra money on the side and having a 3rd dog at our house meant a weekend camping trip wasn't on the table.



I warned my wife when we got a 2nd dog that it might mean I get to get a Land Cruiser. After a year and a half with the 2nd dog it finally happened.

Brought this home last week. 2000 LX470 with 203k miles. It has a 2.5" Old Man Emu lift and 285/75/R16 KO2s. The lift and tires only have 10k miles on them. It spent its life in Texas until just over a year ago when the owner moved to Utah and has zero rust.



I know there is a lot of info out there on 100 Series Cruisers but would love to hear any advice or suggestions on owning and building this up from the RME crew. You guys guided well on the XJ build.

In the short term I want to get this thing protected with rock sliders and skid plates. Right now I am leaning toward sliders from Bump It Off Road (mostly due to cost).
I don't think bumpers are in the cards right away but I might be able to trick my wife into pushing for a rear bumper with tire carrier solely because she has grown quite fond of the trasharoo.

Its a big change going from the bare bones XJ with all manual windows and locks and zero cup holders to the luxuries of the LX470.

 

[johngottfredson]

I would skip the rear bumper if possible. I had the slee rear on my '99 100, and for my '06 I thought about getting one, but price is crazy for those rear bumpers, and the inconvenience is real, so it should only happen if you rock crawl enough that the armor is actually necessary, or if you upsize the tires to 35's and need the full size spare.

 

[I Lean]

I would skip the rear bumper if possible. I had the slee rear on my '99 100, and for my '06 I thought about getting one, but price is crazy for those rear bumpers, and the inconvenience is real, so it should only happen if you rock crawl enough that the armor is actually necessary, or if you upsize the tires to 35's and need the full size spare.

UNLESS you want extra fuel where the spare tire used to be. Otherwise I'll agree with the above. (and I have a Dissent rear bumper on my 100, one of the easiest swing-away carriers to live with)

Extra fuel is a game-changer on these things.

 

[Rot Box]

Nice 100! You’ll like it a lot I think 😎

I had very few complaints with mine. It was build like a tank, super reliable and crazy good in the snow.

I had a coil pack fail and went from cutting out randomly to completely failing within like 25 miles or so? I’d carry a spare and the tools to change one. Mine also had a lot of miles on it so ymmv.

Fuel range was another complaint I had but I think two 5gallon jerry cans would have been just fine. I struggled with where to carry them as I didn’t want to add a swing out bumper for weight and cost reasons.

Keep us posted with your adventures it think you’re really going to like it especially when it starts snowing.

 

[DAA]

Almost forgot I had a coil burn up on mine too (actually, my daughters now, but...).

Only real problem we've had with it. Well, except for electrical stuff that's always cropping up, but it's an LX, it has too much electrical stuff and I don't bother trying to fix it if it doesn't prevent it from running.

- DAA

 

[Homefryy]

I would skip the rear bumper if possible. I had the slee rear on my '99 100, and for my '06 I thought about getting one, but price is crazy for those rear bumpers, and the inconvenience is real, so it should only happen if you rock crawl enough that the armor is actually necessary, or if you upsize the tires to 35's and need the full size spare.

UNLESS you want extra fuel where the spare tire used to be. Otherwise I'll agree with the above. (and I have a Dissent rear bumper on my 100, one of the easiest swing-away carriers to live with)

Extra fuel is a game-changer on these things.

These are good points. I'm definitely not going to be spending the money on a rear bumper any time soon. I do like the idea of having jerry can storage on a swing out but I have some good ideas for a roof rack where I can put jerry cans when necessary. A bumper is a lot of weight and cost that would be good to do without.

I hope the range on the LX isn't any worse than the XJ and I didn't need to carry extra fuel on too many trips with that. I think the only ones were I actually needed extra fuel were the Mojave Road and a Death Valley trip.

 

[Homefryy]

Nice 100! You’ll like it a lot I think 😎

I had very few complaints with mine. It was build like a tank, super reliable and crazy good in the snow.

I had a coil pack fail and went from cutting out randomly to completely failing within like 25 miles or so? I’d carry a spare and the tools to change one. Mine also had a lot of miles on it so ymmv.

Fuel range was another complaint I had but I think two 5gallon jerry cans would have been just fine. I struggled with where to carry them as I didn’t want to add a swing out bumper for weight and cost reasons.

Keep us posted with your adventures it think you’re really going to like it especially when it starts snowing.

I am already planning for spare coil packs. I might just replace them all now plus carry a spare so I hopefully don't run into any issues.

I'm definitely looking forward to driving the LX in the snow. The XJ with original BFG KMs and a lunchbox locker in the rear didn't inspire a lot of confidence driving up the cottonwoods to ski in the winter. I never had a problem but it made me a bit nervous on slippery corners.