popeyerx

My Wife and I have made a couple of long road trips in our 2001 RX300 with minor issues enroute. Both trips turned out to be 15k plus round trips and thru all weather conditions. We were quite happy how it performed.

I feel there are many more to come and I am at cross roads to mod the RX or move across to the Tahoe. The biggest pros on the RX side is economy. The Tahoe gas consumption is 1.5% of the RX which levels off at 11km/1liter of Gas. So at the moment RX wins.

So the mod wish list is
- Dual Battery - this will enable us to operate misc items without jeopardizing the primary battery itself. Has some one done this?

- Luggage space -> I thought of a roof rack Box but my research on the forums do not recommend it as the racks are not meant to carry much load. In addition quick access to the box seems to be a issue. So I am thinking of a hitch basket (Security concerns) or in the worst situation a small covered trailer (Flexibility, speed, constraints etc.). Thoughts?

- We moved to a GROM for our listening pleasure, so that is covered

- Sleeping arrangements - in certain situations we want to make the RX sleep-able. We have tried the flight like chair sleeping but this is not comfy to say the least. I am thinking of a inflated mattress in the back with the rear seats folded. This inevitably begs the "where does all the luggage go?" Qs. Again thoughts?

- With Point 1 resolved we would like to use a heated blanket to keep the cold at bay in the night ...

- Fuel, the RX gets us 600km safely on a tank, but in rare cases this has been issue, depending on places where we have ventured. Any thoughts of extra fuel transportation, may the roof rack might come in handy for that with those slim line gas cans (used on Quads) ... again thoughts/ideas?

- Extra spare .. again for those rare occasions, I am thinking the roof rack.

- Weight issues with all this stuff? last few trips did not pose a issue but with extras it might tip the balance.

- Extra couple of fog lights or beef up the current fogs? are there options? any pics of extra lights?

Thanks in advance for pitching in with your thoughts (more heads are better than one)..

Pzindy

The Tahoe/Yukon and RX300 are really different vehicles for different purposes. I own a RX300, and while I do not currently own a Yukon/Tahoe, I have occasionally considered one. Pretty much for all the reasons you listed.

I do currently own a GM full size pickup (which is pretty much the same platform as the Tahoe). While it is not that difficult to find shops to work on the RX300, I feel I can honestly say that there is probably not a town in the USA where you cannot find someone to work on a GM pickup. This would be important if I were traveling a lot.

I really like my RX300, and I will probably get skewered for saying this on a Lexus forum. But reading your post my opinion is: Yeah the MPG sucks, but for your uses the Tahoe is a much more appropriate vehicle. It also has the added advantage of being able to easily tow a small trailer without worrying too much about the transmission.

Pzindy

Oh yeah...It is a whole lot easier to change the oil filter on the Tahoe.

(Sorry, couldn't resist).

fastnoypi

most of the mods you have mentioned seem to best suit truck purposed vehicles. However they are possible with some custom roof rails as the stock RX roof rails have a load capacity of 75# per my research.

With custom rails, you should be able to mount almost anything you want within reason. Even roof top tents.
Unless you are off roading, an extra spare will net you more mpg loss with the added weight. A road side assistance membership, a can of fix-a-flat and a small compressor would take up less space and be just as useful with a single full sized spare.

Consider a small rv generator and suv/mini-van tent for your power and sleeping needs.
Check out the YAMAHA EF2000ISV2, its great at our camping, tailgate events for small appliances, and very helpful when needing electricity around the yard when a cord just wont reach. Very quiet and uses little gas.

hypervish

Wow, 15k! Jeez, I thought my road trips at 3k miles were long! haha.

Remember adding anything on-top of the RX will affect fuel economy, so you may be inching closer to the Tahoe mpg. Be sure to take that into account.

salimshah

For long runs and vacationing, I highly recommend to rent a vehicle of the right features. Traveling with friends we have encountered couple of mishaps and had the vehicle(s) replaced overnight. Once the replacement was identical and the kids would not believe us that it is a different vehicle.

Salim

popeyerx

An update for anyone interested in the expedition topic - we did another approx 15k camp/drive across the north eastern Canadian provinces covering one stretch of around 450km gravel road with no services, Yes scary but the RX held up with only 2 oil changes en route for the complete trip. We carried extra gas and used a fully packed roof box and still got an average 11.4lit/100km. I contemplated the hitch box but eventually did not use it. On hindsight it was not required, we might load up 2 cycles in that space for the next trip. This was a pre-req / test run to our Alaskan drive plan sometime in 2017, if the vehicle holds up. She went thru the 300k (km) mark on our return. I was pretty impressed the way it held up all the way and the comfort level as we even slept inside it. Cramped but we figured how to be space efficient.

I found that i needed more lighting, especially to spot the darting deer/moose in dawn/dusk times, so a couple of additional drive lights are going in. Pics when i am done.

salimshah

Vehicle goes through more stress in city stop and go traffic. The concern is the consequence of break down and accidents.

Salim

JAB

If I were you and planning on those kinds of trips in an RX with that many KM on the odo, I would replace the rear-most coil-packs with new, and save the old ones in case a front-row coil pack goes bad. Travel with a pair of oil control valves. Knock sensors? Better hope you don't need them; too much work to replace.

popeyerx

thx for the advise.. will investigate ..
Crossing the 51st parallel

Australian

I hope you had a safe trip as older post.
I would have thought others may have suggested transmission cooler even if not towing.

popeyerx

@Australian, as mentioned earlier the test run thru the eastern provinces (Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador) was successful, still contemplating between the heavier, roomier Tahoe vs the RX for the long haul to Alaska ... time will tell. Trip planned for late mid-late summer to catch the aurora borealis.

salimshah

Just an opinion ... transmission fluid heats up when energy is intentionally lost in the fluid ... clutch action is happening .. While cruising, the torque converter is in lock mode. So if there is a lot of city driving then the transmission cooler would help. On the engine side, if you are driving through hot ambient temperature then the additional engine oil cooler can help and also larger radiator to keep the engine cooler.


Salim

tinybasket

What is the process you used to get a GROM in your car? I'm trying to add a Aux cord to my 02 RX300 and am lost.

bltkmt

Pretty easy install - lots of posts on the site. Adds bluetooth capability so you can stream music from your phone and get phone calls.