Land Cruiser 300 Overland build on 37″ Tires and 6″ Lift

Throughout the years we have featured probably every Land Cruiser model possible, starting from the old-school FJ40 up to the 80, 100, 200 and finally the 250 Series — but there is one model from the global market that we couldn’t get our hands on for quite a long time – the modern flagship, triple-locked 300 Series.

When I stumbled upon this lifted 300 on massive 37-inch tires and fully loaded with overland gear, I realized immediately that it’s the perfect candidate for such a long-awaited feature on Offroadium.com. Luckily, its owner, Yu-san, was glad to share some information about his awesome build and provided a deep dive into the parts and upgrades he installed on it over the years to take the off-road capabilities of this incredibly remarkable model to the absolute maximum. Read on as we uncover why the 300 stays true to its roots, and what mods you really need to fit it with 37s.

Key Mods:

• 6″ Lift (2″ OME suspension lift + 4″ Body lift)
• 37″ Tires and beadlock rims
• Full overland setup with roof top tent, awning & swing out carrier

Technical Feature of the LC300	Factory Specification / Detail
Chassis & Architecture	TNGA-F Modular Ladder Frame: Hydroformed body-on-frame construction, shedding 200 kg while increasing frame torsional rigidity by 20% compared to the LC200.
Ground Clearance	235 mm (9.25 inches) in factory trim.
Off-Road Geometry	Approach Angle: 32° Breakover Angle: 25° Departure Angle: 25°
Wading Depth	700 mm (27.5 inches) factory rating.
4WD System	Full-Time 4WD with a 2-speed transfer case (high/low range) and a Torsen limited-slip/locking center differential.
Differential Lockers	Triple Lockers: Front, Center, and Rear electronically selectable mechanical diff lockers (Standard on GR Sport trim).
Suspension Architecture	Front: Independent Double Wishbone Rear: 4-Link Rigid Axle with coil springs
Off-Road Electronics & Terrain Tech	E-KDSS (Electronic Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System), A-TRC (Active Traction Control), Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), Crawl Control with Turn Assist, Multi-Terrain Monitor (MTM) with Under-Floor View
Wheelbase & Track	Wheelbase: 2,850 mm (112.2 inches) Front/Rear Track: 1,667 mm / 1,668 mm

The Build

Suspension

The owner of this white Land Cruiser 300 Series decided not to settle with stock and prepared it for serious off-roading. Throughout multiple phases of the build it went through a couple of suspension setups, with the latest being a 6-inch lift achieved with the help of the tried and tested 2-inch Old Man Emu (OME) suspension lift kit paired with a tall 4-inch body lift by Roadhouse in Saitama.

On an IFS truck like the 300, suspension lift past about 2.5–3 inches dramatically changes the CV and steering angles, while the E-KDSS hardware tightens that limit even more. That’s exactly why the suspension lift remained at civilized 2″ while the rest of the height improvement came from the body lift.

With an ARB bumper up front, an AFN carrier and a 37-inch spare out back, and a tent on the roof, that add lots of weight, the owner had to use the OME springs with heavy-duty rate (anything softer would be sitting on the bump stops when fully loaded for a trip).

Wheels and tires

Getting them cleared with upper control arms and E-KDSS sway bar links at full lock was an offset problem rather than a lift problem, so cutting the inner fenders was inevitable.

Exterior

Though, ARB doesn’t make a hoop-less bar for the 300, so the owner decided to cut the loops off a standard one, filled the welds and sprayed it in Raptor Liner. The good thing is that the airbag-compliant mounting system remained untouched underneath.

Massive color-matched 60mm fender flares draw all the attention from the sides and perfectly clear the 37″s. Except for being cool and protecting the body from dirt thrown up by oversized M/T tires, they also make this LC300 road legal by providing sufficient coverage (Japan’s Shaken inspection is pretty strict on this matter).

The overal height gain on this rig jumped at abou 8 inches if you count the tires so getting in and out of it can become a real problem. That’s why the owner has installed a set of side steps that also protect the rocker panels from minor trail damage.

Overland gear

Up top sits a Rhino-Rack flat platform carrying a Free Spirit Recreation roof top tent and a Rhino-Rack 270-degree Batwing awning, putting the bed off the wet ground and wrapping covered living space around the whole driver’s side, so camp goes up in minutes wherever the trail ends.

Out back, you can spot the AFN heavy-duty bumper, which carries a high-clearance swing-out arm to mount the 37-inch spare, moving that weight onto the ladder frame instead of the rear hatch (it’s basically the only way to have the spare, as the tire that size simply won’t fit the factory under-body carrier).

Inside the cargo area, an ARB modular sliding drawer system keeps recovery gear, toolsets and a high-capacity power station sorted and reachable. Everything slides out at waist height, so nothing gets buried under the camp load — and the fridge and lights never touch the starting battery.

Along the front of the roof rack sits an eight-pod KC HiLiTES array on custom brackets, backed by amber four-LED grille markers for low-visibility running. An engine-bay switch panel feeds the aux circuits, turning night trails and Niigata snowstorms into something you can actually read ahead of you.

List of Mods

Suspension

• 4-inch body lift (Roadhouse) + OME 2″ lift

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Wheels & Tires

• Toyo Open Country M/T 37×13.5R17 Tires
• 17″ ROH Zullo beadlock Wheels
• 25mm wheel spacers

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Exterior

• Front bumper: modified ARB (hoop-less, Raptor liner coating)
• 60mm fender flares
• JAOS side steps

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Overland Gear

• Rhino-Rack flat base roof rack
• Rhino-Rack 270-degree “Batwing” awning
• Free Spirit Recreation roof tent
• AFN rear bumper with spare tire carrier, and canister
• ARB sliding drawer system (trunk storage)

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Lights

• 8x KC HiLiTES on the roof (custom bracket)

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Other

• JAOS muffler (exhaust)

Why the US doesn’t have the LC300

It’s worth starting with the fact that the Land Cruiser 300 Series is not available in the United States, due to a complex marketing strategy that targets the off-road enthusiast audience with the smaller 250 Series (also called the Prado on the global market) to avoid internal competition between these two models. In terms of the capabilities they are very close indeed – based on our off-road capability evaluation the LC250 scored 89 points out of 100 possible, while the LC300 – 89.2 (thanks to the slightly higher ground clearance in the stock form).

Compare both models side-by-side, as well as other Land Cruiser models here.

At the same time, people looking for a full-size Toyota platform are directed to either the Sequoia TRD Pro — which rides on the same TNGA-F frame and comes with everything one may need to tackle off-road trails — or to the Lexus LX600/LX700, rich with luxury features.

Alternatives on the US market

Based on its size and other characteristics, the 250 Series can be considered more of an LC60 spiritual successor, but it looks like the real full-size Land Cruiser is staying out of American reach (it’s sold across Japan, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and most of the rest of the world, just not in North America).

While the LX600 isn’t triple-locked, the LX700 in its Overtrail package, does have all the locking diffs, and it is formally the twin brother of the 300. But if you’re a brand purist and want to stay loyal to the Land Cruiser nameplate that stands for simplicity, ruggedness and reliability – there is no way for you to get the real thing like the triple locked 80 Series used to be back in the ’90s.

But it is what it is, and the market dictates its own conditions (apparently there aren’t enough die-hard Land Cruiser fans in the US for Toyota to justify its feasibility).

Is it better than a 200-Series?

Based on size and dimensions, the 300 Series is the real successor to the 200 Series that ended production for the North American market in 2021. It follows its principles in every possible way, with the platform keeping the same 2,850 mm wheelbase, but it ditched the fuel-thirsty V8s in favor of twin-turbo V6s.

And, they make more power and torque than the eights ever did! A 3.5-liter gas engine good for 409 hp and 479.42 ft-lbs of torque (650 Nm), and the 3.3-liter F33A-FTV diesel in this particular build, rated at 309 hp and 516.33 ft-lbs (700 Nm) from just 1,600 rpm.

It’s based on a similar but reimagined modular ladder frame, TNGA-F, which allowed Toyota to shave about 200 kg of weight instantly while adding roughly 20% more rigidity. It also features a new generation of electronically controlled KDSS suspension — E-KDSS — that allows the truck to disengage the front and rear anti-roll bars independently for maximum wheel travel off-road, then keep the body flat and composed once you’re back on pavement.

Final Thoughts

Yu-san did a great job of improving its off-road capabilities further with a safe suspension lift solution and massive 37-inch tires. Based on our off-road capability score, this build results in 70 out of 70 points possible, putting it at the top of the off-road build hierarchy.

It’s great to see that Toyota keeps the full-size Land Cruiser heritage alive with the 300 Series. Even though it’s not as widespread as the older generation models — mostly due to the steep price — it does work as the ultimate off-roader, with all three lockers available from the factory.