Lexus Gx460 Overland Builds

For an SUV, the Lexus GX 460 is our favorite Toyota platform to build on. It’s North America’s version of the Land Cruiser Prado 150 the rest of the world knows well. The Prado 150 and Prado 120 have been a proven base for overland and off-road builds in places where capability and reliability are key.

The GX460 is the perfect platform for an SUV build. It is the perfect storm of luxury paired with off-road comfort and reliability and provides a rare but preferred body-on-frame setup. Combine this with the fact that they are readily available new, and used on the secondary market; we’re fans. To make it even better, companies have caught on, and there are plenty of aftermarket options to increase off-road capability and on-road driving comfort.

The GX 460 comes in 3 different package levels Base, Premium, and Luxury. All three levels have leather, heated and cooled seats, and other creature comforts. The base model is what we typically recommend since you don’t have to do a coil conversion, but all packages can be built on. 

You’ll spend a bit more with the premium and luxury packages since they come with rear airbags, and coil conversion will be needed. The conversion is not a big deal, and in the big picture, it’s not expensive. In the end, you’re not going to go wrong, and it’s up to you if you want a heated steering wheel, powered third-row seats, and blind spot monitoring.

Just like the 4Runner, the GX has plenty of aftermarket options available from start to finish. The 4.6 V8 doesn’t have the best fuel economy but provides plenty of power for an overland build. We mitigate the impact of fuel economy by adding an auxiliary fuel tank. 

All of our builds start with the suspension setup as the main focus. With a general idea of what you want as an end goal, we can get a pretty good idea of getting the suspension dialed in from the start. 

Although it is preferred to build all at once, most people build in phases. We tell each client that it is important to think about your end goal in phase I and plan accordingly for phase II or III. This will save you money and limit having to work twice, which can become capital-intensive. 

In Summary, We love the Lexus GX 460 overland build as even a daily driver to the point we’ll soon be building one as another company vehicle. It is a proven platform to build on, with plenty of aftermarket options for a quality overland rig. We have the go-to products that we recommend, from suspension components on up.

Our goal is to build an overland vehicle for our clients as comfortable and reliable as it came from the factory, and a lot of times, we can make it even better. As with every NOMAD build, each is built with a lot of input from our clients, so each build is very different. Feel free to reach out, and we would love to have you as a client and help build your dream rig!