THE ADVENTURE TANK
A LEXUS LX450 TAKES ON THE GLOBE
A Lexus LX450 Takes On The Globe
Ryan Huff and Lee Whay Pasek met hiking in the summer of 2000. They haven’t left each other’s side since, and continue to adventure in the outdoors together. They discovered the overland community in 2011, while attending one of the very first Overland Expos in Arizona, and early Overland Rallies in California. They were instantly hooked on vehicle-based adventure travel.
The Overland Expo community, its people and their stories of adventures around the globe were enthralling. The classes and workshops got them excited about skills and adventures they hadn’t ever thought of needing or dreaming of. Since this early introduction to the overland world, Ryan and Lee Whay have traveled around the globe by vehicle, mostly in their trusty ‘97 Lexus LX450.
Building A Home On Wheels
Ryan and Lee Whay had owned a few fourwheel drives, but nothing ready for off-road adventures with interior living accommodations. They jumped all in with the purchase
“THE OVERLAND EXPO COMMUNITY, ITS PEOPLE AND THEIR STORIES OF ADVENTURES AROUND THE GLOBE WERE ENTHRALLING. THE CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS GOT THEM EXCITED ABOUT SKILLS AND ADVENTURES THEY HADN’T
EVER THOUGHT OF NEEDING OR DREAMING OF.”
of a ‘97 Lexus LX450, which they built-out for global travels. The vehicle is basically a super comfortable and well-appointed 80 Series Toyota Land Cruiser.
They purchased the Lexus, which they nicknamed the ‘Adventure Tank,’ with nearly 200,000 miles on the odometer. High mileage meant the vehicle was inexpensive to purchase, at only $5,000. Ryan and LeeWhay wanted to rebuild everything before their worldly travels anyway, so they saved the money up front and poured it into the build with a full refurbishment. That included things like all fluids, rebuilt axels, a new head gasket and more.
The first modifications they made, after the refurbishment, were the ones that everyone should do first, suspension and tires. First up was a 2.5-inch lift Old Man Emu suspension package. Heavy-duty springs allow for more cargo capacity while upgraded shocks are
better suited for continuous use on rough terrain. The modest lift allowed for a bit of extra clearance and the ability to fit larger tires, without adversely affecting the driveline and road handling characteristics. They ran on 33-inch BFG KM2 mud-terrain tires for many years, but switched to 33-inch BFG KO2 all-terrains for better performance in the snow, longevity and road manners.
The 4.5L straight six in the heavy Lexus isn’t known for good fuel economy. It gets around 11 mpg, when built up like the Adventure Tank. Since Ryan and Lee Whay wanted to be able to go on remote self-supported trips around the globe, they needed to fit an auxiliary fuel tank to get more range. A 28-gallon Long Ranger long-range fuel tank, combined with the stock 25-gallon tank, gives them a range of around 550 miles.
The exterior of the vehicle was fitted for gear hauling duty and protection. First up was a ARB dual spare tire carrier rear bumper. They
“THEY PURCHASED THE LEXUS, WHICH THEY NICKNAMED THE ‘ADVENTURE TANK,’ WITH NEARLY 200,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. HIGH MILEAGE MEANT THE VEHICLE WAS INEXPENSIVE TO PURCHASE,
AT ONLY $5,000.”
wanted the peace of mind of two spares when on remote adventures. Next was an ARB front bull bar, which was essential for protection from animal strikes, especially kangaroos in Australia. No winch was installed, however, in order to save on weight and provide space for recovery equipment and tools. A Front Runner roof rack was installed as a platform to carry MAXTRAX, Hi-Lift, shovel, firewood and as a mounting point for a Hannibal self-supporting awning.
For even more capability from the Land Cruiser-based Adventure Tank front and rear ARB air lockers were installed. A small ARB compressor was installed under the hood for locker activation, while an Extreme Aire compressor was mounted to the frame rail for quick and easy tire inflation. After a few years of use the Lexus was also re-geared with 4:88 gears. This was to better handle the load of the trailer and larger tires, and something Ryan and Lee Whay wish they had
done even sooner.
Interior comfort, for both driving and living, was improved with extensive sound deadening and insulation throughout the vehicle. A modest sound system along with iPad and iPhone mounting points up front upgraded the navigation and entertainment package. Custom rails mounted inside the vehicle in the rear cargo area provide a place for a bunch of small custom Mole packs, for gear storage of toiletries, electronics, personal items, and so on. The rear tailgate was also upgraded with a Wagon Gear hatch system, which allows the utilization of the interior volume of the rear tailgate.
Lil Toot Adventure Trailer
Ryan and Lee Whay decided on a pretty unique way of vehicle travel. They set up their LX450 as the primary indoor living space and sleeping area. They towed a ‘12 AT Overland Equipment Chaser trailer behind to haul a majority of the gear. The trailer was affectionately named ‘Lil Toot.’
Lil Toot, the AT Overland Equipment Chaser Trailer, with the AT originally standing for ‘Adventure Trailer,’ is a relatively lightweight and extremely capable off-road trailer. The independent airbag trailing arm suspension and Maxcoupler are designed to handle extreme off-road obstacles, long corrugated roads and be extremely stable carrying a load down the highway.
This vehicle living area and trailer gear hauling setup allows Ryan and Lee Whay to have a bed with relatively good headroom in the Lexus. A custom four-inch foam mattress replaces all the back seats. In order to maximize the headroom and sleeping area comfort, only some basic necessities, like toiletries and clothing, are carried in the Lexus.
The Lexus also hauled most of the off-road vehicle recovery gear, just in case the vehicle ran into trouble when away from the trailer. The trailer then hauled the camping gear, cooking gear, food, fridge, spare fluids, spare parts, water, axillary fuel, solar panels and more.
Overland Around The Globe
Ryan and Lee Whay have done extensive travels across the American Southwest, Mexico and Australia in their Adventure Tank.
Each big trip teaches them new things about how they like to travel, and improvements that can be made to their adventuremobile.
In 2011, they set out on their first big trip in the Lexus, which was to the deep and complex Copper Canyon in Mexico. This trip taught them that moving gear in and out of a vehicle in order to sleep gets old quick, hence why they soon purchased Lil Toot the trailer. On this trip, they not only got to experience being surrounded by armed soldiers, but also got to meet the famous Caballo Blanco.
In 2012, Ryan and Lee Whay took several trips to Baja Mexico with the Lexus. They had the Adventure Trailer at this point, which made gear storage and organization much easier. They visited really remote beaches along the Pacific side of the peninsula, where they saw few people, and no tourists, for days at a time.
Australian adventures in 2015 required the couple to ship Adventure Tank and Lil Toot across the Pacific. They spent a few months, and 6,500 miles exploring the vastness of Australia. They tackled two major overland routes on this trip, the Canning Stock Route (CSR) and the Simpson Desert Crossing. The CSR is 1,300 miles of super remote desert two-track that crosses nearly a thousand dunes. It only has one resupply point and took 21 days to complete. The Simpson Desert Crossing involves a more technical driving route, crossing another 1,000 dunes, but it only took 6 days to cross its 410 miles.
Current Adventure Status
Since 2017, Ryan and Lee Whay have been semi-retired, planning to work less and travel more. They have also sold off their trusty ‘Lil Toot’ Adventure Trailer, and mostly adventure in the Lexus. This, of course, meant they had to bring their gear storage into the vehicle, reducing the amount of living space. Ryan says he now gets to “snuggle with their
“SINCE 2017, RYAN AND LEEWAY HAVE BEEN SEMI-RETIRED, PLANNING TO
WORK LESS AND TRAVEL MORE.”
50L National Luna” 12V fridge.
Since they’ve been spending even more time on the road traveling, they have also been in search of a new vehicle with more interior living space and comfort. The first plan was to build out a ‘90 U1300L Unimog into a custom overland camper. While they purchased the mog, from their friend George Bull at the Unimog Center, they haven’t yet found the right camper solution for the build.
“THE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE WAS FITTED FOR GEAR HAULING DUTY
AND PROTECTION. FIRST UP WAS A ARB DUAL SPARE TIRE CARRIER REAR BUMPER. THEY WANTED THE PEACE OF MIND OF TWO SPARES WHEN ON REMOTE ADVENTURES.”
An interim solution has been the build out of a ‘18 144 high roof 4x4 Sprinter van. They worked with Van Compass to dial-in the suspension, fit bigger tires and add armor. Once the capability was sorted they moved on to outfitting the interior with a full compliment of living systems. An all-new S-Series interior system from Goose Gear was installed, creating a platform bed, seating area, storage and more.
The Sprinter offers great living accommodations, but is also a compromise in off-road capability when compared to the Lexus or Unimog. There is no perfect overland adventuremobile solution out there, but that isn’t going to stop the Huff’s from searching for that elusive unicorn. The search also isn’t going to stop them from continuing to adventure around the globe, in whatever adventuremobile they have.