🛠️ Member Build Overtrail Upgrades

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Notes for others that are going to install this steering wheel cover from Stickerfab:

See the photo below.

I started at the white arrow, got my rhythm down, and stitched over to the light blue arrow. Repeat for the other side, mirror image. You only use about a foot of thread for each side max. I spooled out a couple feet of thread and cut off more than I actually used. Tie a simple knot in the first black loop and then tie a simple knot at the last black loop.

After getting it figured out at the lower steering wheel portions (white to blue arrow), then I started at the RED arrow and went all the way across the top over to the yellow arrow. I spooled out about 3 feet of thread and again, only used about a foot-and-a-half or so.

Now look at the green arrows below. These are the tight corners and it gets a bit squirrely in these corners. It's like when you're learning about what a differential does and you learn that the inner wheel travels less distance than the outer wheel in a turn. If you keep going straight across from one black loop to the next, the outer black loops start to get way ahead of the inner black loops. You have to hold back and double-loop through a couple of the inner loops to keep it all even. Hard to explain but you'll see what I mean when you're doing it. The good thing is that you can un-stitch all you want if it's not lining up right. I unstitched a good 6-inches on the left side and paid closer attention the second time around. I'll post some photos of the corner sections below.

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One final note:

Every 5 or 6 or so stitches, you have to pull the past few stitches tight.

See the pic below:
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In this picture, I'm using the second needle included in the kit to pull on the already-completed stitches to pull them tight. Go back about 10 stiches and give them all a pull and you'll be surprised by how much slack you pull in. This keeps the overall stitching tight. And remember that you can reverse course and push the needle backwards through your already-completed stitches at any time. I got knotted up a few times trying to reverse course and I almost had to cut out the thread and start over.

I'm mailing my extra 50 miles of Army green waxed 0.8mm/150D thread to monkeeboi tomorrow. He'll use what he needs and then he's bound by the ancient laws of The Ladies' Sewing Circle to pay it forward and mail the spool of thread to the next guy who requests it. I received 284 yards of this thread for $8 and I used about 3 or 4 feet. I actually needed about 2 feet max. Let's keep it going.
 
Notes for others that are going to install this steering wheel cover from Stickerfab:

See the photo below.

I started at the white arrow, got my rhythm down, and stitched over to the light blue arrow. Repeat for the other side, mirror image. You only use about a foot of thread for each side max. I spooled out a couple feet of thread and cut off more than I actually used. Tie a simple knot in the first black loop and then tie a simple knot at the last black loop.

After getting it figured out at the lower steering wheel portions (white to blue arrow), then I started at the RED arrow and went all the way across the top over to the yellow arrow. I spooled out about 3 feet of thread and again, only used about a foot-and-a-half or so.

Now look at the green arrows below. These are the tight corners and it gets a bit squirrely in these corners. It's like when you're learning about what a differential does and you learn that the inner wheel travels less distance than the outer wheel in a turn. If you keep going straight across from one black loop to the next, the outer black loops start to get way ahead of the inner black loops. You have to hold back and double-loop through a couple of the inner loops to keep it all even. Hard to explain but you'll see what I mean when you're doing it. The good thing is that you can un-stitch all you want if it's not lining up right. I unstitched a good 6-inches on the left side and paid closer attention the second time around. I'll post some photos of the corner sections below.

View attachment 9323

View attachment 9321View attachment 9322

One final note:

Every 5 or 6 or so stitches, you have to pull the past few stitches tight.

See the pic below:
View attachment 9324
In this picture, I'm using the second needle included in the kit to pull on the already-completed stitches to pull them tight. Go back about 10 stiches and give them all a pull and you'll be surprised by how much slack you pull in. This keeps the overall stitching tight. And remember that you can reverse course and push the needle backwards through your already-completed stitches at any time. I got knotted up a few times trying to reverse course and I almost had to cut out the thread and start over.

I'm mailing my extra 50 miles of Army green waxed 0.8mm/150D thread to monkeeboi tomorrow. He'll use what he needs and then he's bound by the ancient laws of The Ladies' Sewing Circle to pay it forward and mail the spool of thread to the next guy who requests it. I received 284 yards of this thread for $8 and I used about 3 or 4 feet. I actually needed about 2 feet max. Let's keep it going.
I can't tell if this is being sewn on a Lexus or a one-off Rolls Royce; all we're missing is some Grey Poupon...
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I've installed the hinge covers today. I had no idea how ugly my GX was - until it became beautiful! They will write songs and poems about this. I left the doors open and little animals came to play in its beauty and aura. I told my wife "today - I did something for humanity." ....It's a shame she will never fully understand the significance.

The Before and After - think of your family before you say no....you too will be a better man for it. StickerFab products are made by angels!
 

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Cross-posting this info here so people can see something you'll need to do if you lift your GX.

Headlight adjustment

To adjust my headlights after modifications including the Westcott pre-load collar lift, I parked in a public parking garage with the headlights 20 feet from a vertical wall and I marked 44" on the wall with some tape. The driver's side headlight is set a bit lower than the passenger side from the factory and I kept mine that way. I assume the driver's side is a bit lower to account for oncoming traffic approaching on the driver's side in this country. I've always heard that 44" is a good height but mine were already right at about 44-45" so I adjusted mine down to about 42" above ground level (see the first photo below).

Even after I adjusted them, people still occasionally flashed their brights at me so I lowered them another inch or so.

To lower the headlights, look for the gray plastic bolt-head behind each headlight, about the middle of each headlight (see arrow below). There is also a second set of gray bolt-heads out towards the outer edge of the headlights but apparently these outer bolts are for side-to-side headlight adjustment (I haven't touched those).

I used my right-angle socket driver and slowly made a few turns on the bolt-head in a clockwise direction and you can watch the light creep downwards. A simple socket wrench will work too. The bolt-head is 8mm.

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Finally got around to dealing with my spare wheel & tire. I'm running 35x12.5R17 Toyo Open Country AT3s on the four ground tires and I still had the stock 265/70R18 on the stock Overtrail wheel up under the cargo bay in the stock spare tire storage area.

I bought a 4th Generation (2003-2009) Toyota 4Runner 17x7.5" wheel with a +30mm offset. These are a similar size to my 4 Method 703 wheels sized 17x8.5" +35mm offset.
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Not the most attractive wheel for my GX but it's a temporary spare, and now I can list all 5 of my stock Overtrail wheels & tire for sale...and end up giving them away for pennies on the dollar.

I mounted a 34x10.5R17 Toyo Open Country AT3 on the 4Runner wheel and it tucks up into the stock location perfectly.

Below is a comparison of the specs of the stock Toyo Open Country AT3 vs. the 34 vs. the 35. I realize that the 34x10.5 is not the exact same as the 35x12.5s on the ground, but it's close enough. Cue the experts that will say that I am going to ruin my truck if I ever have to ride on the spare.

Tire:diamwidthweightload ID load ratingload & speedtread depthmax inflate
265/70R1832.6410.744SL116T2756 lbs & 118 mph13.344
35X12.5R17LT34.512.559C111Q2403 lbs & 99 mph16.935
34x10.5R17LT33.510.655D120S3085 lbs & 112 mph15.665

Photos of the new spare:

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Finally got around to dealing with my spare wheel & tire. I'm running 35x12.5R17 Toyo Open Country AT3s on the four ground tires and I still had the stock 265/70R18 on the stock Overtrail wheel up under the cargo bay in the stock spare tire storage area.

I bought a 4th Generation (2003-2009) Toyota 4Runner 17x7.5" wheel with a +30mm offset. These are a similar size to my 4 Method 703 wheels sized 17x8.5" +35mm offset.
View attachment 9832
View attachment 9833

Not the most attractive wheel for my GX but it's a temporary spare, and now I can list all 5 of my stock Overtrail wheels & tire for sale...and end up giving them away for pennies on the dollar.

I mounted a 34x10.5R17 Toyo Open Country AT3 on the 4Runner wheel and it tucks up into the stock location perfectly.

Below is a comparison of the specs of the stock Toyo Open Country AT3 vs. the 34 vs. the 35. I realize that the 34x10.5 is not the exact same as the 35x12.5s on the ground, but it's close enough. Cue the experts that will say that I am going to ruin my truck if I ever have to ride on the spare.

Tire:diamwidthweightload IDload ratingload & speedtread depthmax inflate
265/70R1832.6410.744SL116T2756 lbs & 118 mph13.344
35X12.5R17LT34.512.559C111Q2403 lbs & 99 mph16.935
34x10.5R17LT33.510.655D120S3085 lbs & 112 mph15.665

Photos of the new spare:

View attachment 9834View attachment 9835View attachment 9836View attachment 9837View attachment 9838
Well at least now your a$$ will drag on the spare and not pull off the rear bumper covers.
 
I forgot they made Imperial size tires. That's the size I'll do all around if I go to 17s. Seems like 275/70r18 is still the biggest 18" that'll fit down there on the stockers.
 
I just replaced my stock tires last night after finally deciding to go with the Firestone Destination XTs in a 275/70/18. I did all 5 tires to have a matching spare, and i had them swap the unused Toyo spare to the spare for my Tundra, replacing the original 15 year old spare tire. Now I have a decent spare for the Tundra and the GX is rolling on nice new rubber. The stock Toyo tires were looking quite worn with only 14K miles on them. Also, the new tires are only 50lbs apiece, they ride really smooth, no power loss that I can feel at all, and no noticeable noise, even on the highway.

I also removed the air dams from in front of both tires and I like it a lot better without them. It was 3 10mm screws and 1 clip on each side, took about 2 minutes per side. I left the air dams in the center and bent them back a bit by hand, and they are almost unnoticeable now as they just blend with the skid plate.
 

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