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120 2003-2007 as overlanding vehicle??

Nvg

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Jun 5, 2017
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netherlands
hi readers,

Ive been lurking on this page for a while now, and decided to make my first post
My name is Niels, from Holland, 37, and planning to do the panamerican highway in a few years. We'll need to outfit the car, and save up some money before we leave, since we'll sell our house, and raom off for a year at least

Since the 120 will be my dialy driver until we (my girl and me) leave, and probably afterwards as well.
Ive been doing some research on this matter, but info is thin.
Why this car; diesel isnt cheap in holland, nor is road tax. This rules out the much betterknown 100 series, because that one will be about €2000,- per year more expensive.
From what l read so far, the 120would be capable enough to drive through the americas.
Besides a suspension upgrade, winch and some fuelfilters to cope with the high sulphur diesel in latin america, what upgrade ls would you recommend?

All info, tips, tricks and advice is more than welcome.

Thanks in advance
Niels
 
Welcome Niels.

The 120 would be capable for the panamerica. My advice would be to keep light and try to stay with standard Toyota parts unless you planning a lot of offroad. Too many people massively overload their vehicles for overlanding and then wonder why stuff breaks.
 
Welcome Niels.

The 120 would be capable for the panamerica. My advice would be to keep light and try to stay with standard Toyota parts unless you planning a lot of offroad. Too many people massively overload their vehicles for overlanding and then wonder why stuff breaks.
Thank you.
Im not planning on extreme offroading, but it should be capable to go off the tarmac. Hence the suspension and probably lift. Also some decent tires, underbody protection. Im not really looking forward to diff locks etc...... still in doubt for one of the Arb sahara bumpers. To go with the winch. We would just like to camp in places most other wouldnt or couldnt.
Sleeping will be in a roof tent of sorts......
Probably an added storage for fuel will be a good idea too.
 
More ground clearance is probably more important than the suspension lift to be honest, but you often need the lift to fit bigger tyres giving the increased clearance.

My truck only has standard Toyota shocks and springs, the shocks have done 80 000 km with no problems and the advantage of being able to get replacements easily anywhere. It also has BFG All Terrain tyres. I've never felt the need for a big lift but will be uprating the suspension before my next trips. I've also got by on standard ground clearance with careful driving although theres that occasional lapse in concentration and you hit a bump hard.

When you are planning keep in mind the overall weight. ARB bumpers look very nice as does underbody protection but its all heavy stuff. Think about what else you'll take, work out a maximum spare fuel, water and food load and then it'll help with suspension choices etc.
 
Thank you.
Im not planning on extreme offroading, but it should be capable to go off the tarmac. Hence the suspension and probably lift. Also some decent tires, underbody protection. Im not really looking forward to diff locks etc...... still in doubt for one of the Arb sahara bumpers. To go with the winch. We would just like to camp in places most other wouldnt or couldnt.
Sleeping will be in a roof tent of sorts......
Probably an added storage for fuel will be a good idea too.

The stock 120 is very capable offroad. I would recommend going out with a couple of people, a few times, on different surfaces. You will be surprised how well it does.

Tyres will typicallymake a huge impact. Get new ones, bed them in, but get ones suiteable for your trip. In sizes you can get and replace easily if needed.

Look at the differences between the lc3/lc4 and lc5. The lc3 has easier to road-side fix suspension and will likely have more lockers. Atleast in the UK all these 120s were sold with the center lock (other than the lc2).

W.r.t protection.. the 120 already has a sump guard. Its not bad. Just make sure its in a good condition. You might want to get some more plates under there; again depends on where you are going.

The 120 has basic, good enough, recovery points. You might want to think about that a bit.

The ARB like bumpers are a whole conversation in itself.

Have you actually bought your truck yet?
 
Hi Niels,
Last year at the annual overlanders treffen near Antwerp, I talked to a belgian family who drove to Mongolia and back in their 120.
A family of four, roof top tent on the truck and the trailer.
Afaik they only had to do minor repairs on the trailer and none on the truck.
They might be a good source for information.
If you want more info, look at http://forum.overlanders.be/index.php?sid=c308dd5831617729b9b6932181c5c1ec. If you pm 'stonne', the moderator, he'll know who this family is and where to find them.
Good luck!
My 2 cents : keep it as light as possible.
 
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Thank you for your input so far.
I decided to do some homework before actually buying the truck, and they come for quite the price. A nice one with low mileage will do €17-20k (some£15-18)
For my intended use, maybe the Arb Bar is overkill. Looks good, but adds a lot of weight.

Could you please specify the years/models on de LC 3, 4, and 5
Been using google, but cannot find consistant answers. In mainland europe they only came out as the landcruiser 120 series from 2002-2009, without different names
It will be a lwb and auto for sure
Niels
 
Hi Niels,
Last year at the annual overlanders treffen near Antwerp, I talked to a belgian family who drove to Mongolia and back in their 120.
A family of four, roof top tent on the truck and the trailer.
Afaik they only had to do minor repairs on the trailer and none on the truck.
They might be a good source for information.
If you want more info, look at http://forum.overlanders.be/index.php?sid=c308dd5831617729b9b6932181c5c1ec. If you pm 'stonne', the moderator, he'll know who this family is and where to find them.
Good luck!
Thanks a bunch. This is certainly reassuring
Ive been reading 'the overlanders' Handbook'
And there is some sceptisism for newer cars with the Ecu and other electronics that can (easily?!) fail.
From what l learnt so far, the airsuspension on de deluxe models can be removed and replaced for 'normal' suspsension without to much hassle
Niels
 
In England the LC5 has the rear air suspension, LC4 and LC5 do not have a rear diff lock just centre and the ATRAC system. the LC3 comes with electronic rear diff lock.
 
In England the LC5 has the rear air suspension, LC4 and LC5 do not have a rear diff lock just centre and the ATRAC system. the LC3 comes with electronic rear diff lock.
Thank you sir.
So if l read this correct, it has to do with trimlevel, instead of buildingyear?
Which one would be the preferred differerential setup, considering a winchwill befitted??
 
hiya
Andrew st pierre white is currently releasing some videos from a trip in the US using a lexus gx470 which is the 120 basically. I currently have the lc5 and brought some aftermarket airbags from Australia with a 2" lift and tough dog shocks, they seem be holding up fine. my only gripe with the lc5 is the ac etc tied in with the sat nav unit so your kind of stuck with that.
also worth a read is pradopoint forums, good info over there.

Russ
 
It's not just the suitability of a particular vehicle model though. Preparation is key. There are those who venture out with badly prepared vehicles that subsequently break down because of a lack of basic maintenance and understanding of their vehicles. Performing daily routine checks is important too so that you can detect anything going wrong before it's too late.
 
my only gripe with the lc5 is the ac etc tied in with the sat nav unit so your kind of stuck with that.

Russ

I am also considering a 120 - am I right in thinking that poncy touch screen controls all air flow in the car? I had ideas of replacing it with an android stereo to get bluetooth and DVD/RearCam etc. Is that a no go with 120s then? if so, back to 100s!
 
I am also considering a 120 - am I right in thinking that poncy touch screen controls all air flow in the car? I had ideas of replacing it with an android stereo to get bluetooth and DVD/RearCam etc. Is that a no go with 120s then? if so, back to 100s!

Only the LC5 has the air con tied to the radio system, the LC3 and 4 don't. There are more than a couple of threads on here regarding Bluetooth/DVD/reverse camera installations in different models, if you use the search function you'll find all the info you need. I recently installed one in my LC4, not difficult.

Good luck!
 
Anyone care to comment on advantages of a 120 over a 100? I am a bit lost in all the spec differences and the variations you find on all sites which try and cover it all!
 
The only very big minus l found sofar, is the limited weight allowed on the roof.
Its only 80kg, instead of the 90's 200kg.
Anyonehave any experience with this regardibg the use of a rooftoptent, and the (obligatory?!?) roofrack??
The rtt is between 50-70 kg, and then the weight of a rack
Comments much appreciated
Niels
 
Are you sure those weights are correct? A lot of Europeans in Morocco with 120's overlanding with hardshell RTT tents. My frontrunner rack is 35kg.

Not sure if your on Facebook Nvg but if you are join the Overland Sphere Group and then they have sub groups for regional information. Theres a lot of people on the groups with a lot of experience. The Overlanding buy and sell group always has vehicles for sale in South America, interesting to see what people do for prep on their vehocles and the diversity of the vehicles that do the trip.

The majority are not overweight, over modified trucks
 
Anyone care to comment on advantages of a 120 over a 100? I am a bit lost in all the spec differences and the variations you find on all sites which try and cover it all!

Slightly off thread, apologies, but replying to joeyjune's comment above:

https://www.landcruiserclub.net/com...that-was-advice-to-come-back-required.147060/

Reading the above will perhaps confuse you more, then again it might also clear a few things up.

Nothing better than driving a bunch of different ones then making a decision. The diesel 120 came with various horse powered engines just so you know, with slightly different fuel consumptions! Surf autotrader.co.uk, you'll get the idea.
 
Are you sure those weights are correct? A lot of Europeans in Morocco with 120's overlanding with hardshell RTT tents. My frontrunner rack is 35kg.

Not sure if your on Facebook Nvg but if you are join the Overland Sphere Group and then they have sub groups for regional information. Theres a lot of people on the groups with a lot of experience. The Overlanding buy and sell group always has vehicles for sale in South America, interesting to see what people do for prep on their vehocles and the diversity of the vehicles that do the trip.

The majority are not overweight, over modified trucks
Thank you Mark,

Manual max weight on roof is stated 80kg
Since all the warnings not to have too much weight too heigh in the vehicle, lm just bening cautious before l buy a car

Thanks for the advice on the FB group
Will look into that one
 
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