Backcountry Vehicles

Miss Buffalo said:
It's time to get my XTerra ready for some real back country trips.
It definitely needs a 3 inch body lift this summer,skid plates, and the running boards must go.
Any recommendations for a good reliable place? I'm willing to drive for this to the Salt Lake area if there is someone really good.
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This would def be the best place to pick up Nissan suspension parts. https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/
Getting it installed is a beast. I got quotes for my 04 Frontier, 3" BL is going to take a shop about a good 6-8 hours. The 2" I heard is a lot easier and can be done in one's driveway.
 
A 3" body lift? That's just too much BL, in my opinion. If you need 3" for tire clearance, you really need to start thinking about some suspension lift. Don't know what is available/possible for the Nissan but something like a 1" BL and 2" suspension would likely yield much greater and safer utility and performance than a huge body lift. I'd hate to be sitting on a 3" BL in a hard collision. And while it makes room for tire clearance, it does nothing to increase ground clearance of other components. Just my opinion.

Agree strongly with adding skid plates! I skid plated my Jeep first thing, before doing any lift or bigger tires. And those skid plates have been very used and abused, glad they are there!

- DAA
 
The most recent addition to my Jeep...

An LED flood lamp mounted on a telescoping pole to provide area lighting for camp chores and cooking after dark. It's in the collapsed lowest position in this picture, but extends up a couple feet to get the light well above head/eye level.

_MG_6433W.jpg



Being an LED, it's only 18 watts, but really lights up the area very well. Better than the 200 watts worth of halogens it replaced.

20130328_Project_LED%20Pole-151.jpg


- DAA
 
DAA said:
. Don't know what is available/possible for the Nissan but something like a 1" BL and 2" suspension would likely yield much greater and safer utility and performance than a huge body lift.
- DAA
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is it worth just to do a 1" lift?
I need to have a closer look on your recommendation with lift and suspension. Eventually just the suspension?
I definitely will get the skid plates first that's for sure.

And wow, that light on your truck is absolutely awesome!!
 
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I just picked up on this thread-I'm going to be in need of a new vehicle sometime, one that does enormous city mileage and backcountry as well so these recommendations are great. My Ford Escape has 291,500 miles on it and counting (yes, I bought it new) and has been to some places in Utah that no 2WD has any business being, so for now I'm going to stick with it as long as it's still as happy as I am to go on the next road trip.:cool:
 
I have the same xterra Ms. Buffalo. I plan to put the rock bumpers on both the front and the back this summer. Also found some killer roof racks. I will be using this supplier, a few freinds are supper happy with them.

http://www.shrockworks.com/
 
Miss Buffalo said:
is it worth just to do a 1" lift?
!!
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I think so. Again, need to stress that I'm not familiar with Xterra's and what is available for them. But a 1" body lift has some definite positives while avoiding the definite negatives of bigger body lifts. For one thing, it's cheap and provides good tire clearance for the money compared to suspension lifts. For another, it does so with less raising of CoG (center of gravity) than doing all suspension lift, since it isn't moving the entire chassis, just the body. And lastly, it allows you to use less over all suspension lift. In this case, probably not more than 2". Which is a pretty big deal. When you start going big on the suspension lift, you start to stress all kinds of drivetrain components but especially drive shafts and CV joints (on an IFS rig). You run the risk of nasty vibes and short service life of components. Ride quality usually suffers to a noticeable extent unless a very expensive and complete lifted suspension system is installed.

So, one way of looking at a small body lift combined with a small suspension lift is that by combining them you get the benefits of both, while mostly or entirely avoiding the negatives associated with going big with either body or suspension lift.

Getting long winded, so I'll wrap up. But short version, my opinion, yes a 1" BL is certainly worth doing - depending on your ultimate goals and purposes of course.

Skids first is just plain smart!

- DAA
 
Nurrgle said:
I have the same xterra Ms. Buffalo. I plan to put the rock bumpers on both the front and the back this summer. Also found some killer roof racks. I will be using this supplier, a few freinds are supper happy with them.

http://www.shrockworks.com/
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You need to post a pictures after your XTerra has the new rock bumpers :)

Roof racks is something else I have to consider for the future. Especially when I have friends and camping gear in my XTerra.
I did it last months with 3 extra persons and camping gear to Toroweap and basically every part of the trunk was filled.
I will have a look on this link the next few days.

DAA

thanks a lot for your insight and thoughts.
It's definitely very helpful for me and one of the reasons I asked here first before I do something I will later regret.
I'm really grateful.
This forum really rocks. Whatever you want to know there is at least someone who can help.
 
DAA said:
I think so. Again, need to stress that I'm not familiar with Xterra's and what is available for them. But a 1" body lift has some definite positives while avoiding the definite negatives of bigger body lifts. For one thing, it's cheap and provides good tire clearance for the money compared to suspension lifts. For another, it does so with less raising of CoG (center of gravity) than doing all suspension lift, since it isn't moving the entire chassis, just the body. And lastly, it allows you to use less over all suspension lift. In this case, probably not more than 2". Which is a pretty big deal. When you start going big on the suspension lift, you start to stress all kinds of drivetrain components but especially drive shafts and CV joints (on an IFS rig). You run the risk of nasty vibes and short service life of components. Ride quality usually suffers to a noticeable extent unless a very expensive and complete lifted suspension system is installed.
So, one way of looking at a small body lift combined with a small suspension lift is that by combining them you get the benefits of both, while mostly or entirely avoiding the negatives associated with going big with either body or suspension lift.
Click to expand...

Bingo! It'll be less expensive to do a 1" or 2" BL with a 1 or 2" SL, and it will also cause way less stress on your drive-train. Here's a pic of my old 00 Jeep Wrangler with 6" lift , man did I love her, but she was so expensive. Great for anything I wanted to get on or go over, but knowing that I had that much more clearance made me push it to the limits, which equaled around $3000 in repairs one weekend.

Jeepy.jpg
 
Well, I did it... I peeled off all the stickers, got it shined up and just posted my trusty Taco for sale.

Debating between the following for it's replacement.

2013 Tacoma TRD Off-Road but with a sleeker shell and rack for kayaks. Maybe a few other little accesories
2013 Tacoma Limited same as above but upgrade the springs and shocks for off-road goodness. Still no lockers though...
2013 Tundra - killer deals on them right now with the ugly 2014 redesign coming soon

Decisions, decisions...

She was a good little Taco.
tacoma-for-sale-16.jpg
 
langutah said:
If Tacos are your main replacement choice why sell this one?????
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It's got like 52k miles on it! :) I find with the Tacos, they hold their value so well that it's pretty economical to only drive new ones. After 4 years and 50k+ miles, mine still books for a few grand less than I paid for it. And given the remote places I take it, and how anti-auto repair I am, it's nice to have something pretty new.
 
52k miles in four years? Slacker! My Xterra I just traded had 162k in 8 years!
 
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