RainGoat

That’s good to know. While I really like the stock LE wheels, I don’t want to remove my fenders & I don’t want the wheel to stick out past the fender - I like driving with windows open & don’t need to eat the dirt, plus it’s miserable on a camping trip when you lean up against a filthy truck. @02_Pathy (man, I just can’t get that to link) did a fantastic fender trim job that looks stock for all intents & purposes but his truck still gets pretty painted with mud.

Okay, I have to admit I’m not entirely clear on the last sentence. I’m inferring from that comment that your 3”SFD gives you more ground clearance than a 4”SFD would. I’ve kind of picked up on that before from your comments & don’t really get it. I believe you chose 3” over 4” purposefully and I’m curious as to why. Quite honestly, I expect I’ll care more about your rationale than I will about pure lift height.

Pines to Spines Offroad. They’re getting ready to do the first fittings & trials. Your patience will be rewarded by a better product.

The Afton Cyn water crossing turned me around when I was last there as I had my ex-Brother-in-law’s Sequoia borrowed from CO Springs (feeling a little better about it as we put 4,000 mi on the truck after Afton Cyn). There’s a nice little camping spot tucked into the NW side of that first outcropping W of the Kelso-Cima Road and a surprisingly pleasant BLM campground up in Mid Hills-ours had a great Western panoramic view.

Is this the brother we met when you visited? You are an AWESOME brother to tackle that big of a project for him. Kind of looks like a Pines to Spines Delivery Vehicle to me (eh[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention]?) Honestly, that would be a fun roadtrip!

Wow, it’s kind of weird to see that much snow in PDX (I realize it’s not quite PDX, but still!)

Yeah, working on a Toyota is interesting. I find myself repeatedly surprised at the things that are present in my 2002 LE but NOT in our 2018 T4R Offroad Premium. Some of it is just stupid, petty stuff (like how the QX4 had remote rear window release but the Pathy didn’t until ‘03) but others just leave me scratching my head (why is the T4R’s rear diff without ANY breather extension & located 1/3rd of the way DOWN from the top of the differential). I thought the TLCs were supposed to be the king of durability & field serviceability (at least pre 100 series) so it’s sad to hear it’s not.

I think you’ll like it. Attachment to the X will be the kind of mounting he’s used to doing.

I put on the Rola rack last weekend (shout out to 02_Pathy for the write up on how he did his. I added some 1/2 aluminum blocks to get the height I needed so the sunroof would clear. Exactly what I’m doing! Curious how many conduit clamps did you use?

I dealt with Brandon a year and a half ago. My R50 was actually going to be his template until my engine died & I met TownDawgR50 & decided I’d follow his lead. Brandon was pleasant & easy to work with even though we never finalized things. I would be most interested in how this mounts to the R50’s unibody as that’s the real crux in an R50 bumper. Coastal Offroad appears to have alot of experience with fairly hardcore 3rd Gen T4Rs. Also, since you’re a Washingtonian, you could arrange to just pick it up in S Vancouver. Are you considering this for your new X?

Lived - PHX, ~2003-05. Just going down memory lane on IG during the winter lull.

I just posted some old pics of me on a 4 day off-road trip in AZ with 2 sea kayaks on my roof. (raing0at on IG). You can see the simple mounting I did with my load bars & cam straps. After the 10 minute shakedown retensioning those things stayed on like glue, despite seeing some fairly rough terrain & alot of miles. I literally have decades of experience doing this with canoes, river kayaks, & sea kayaks on assorted cars with Yakima bars & trucks. Despite potential concerns, I’ve never seen hull deformation in these thermoplastic boats, even with up to a week strapped down tight in the AZ sun. I do like the cam straps with pads under the mechanism for my boats & these days there are even locking straps - I always used a cable lock through the locking loops on the boats & under my bars.

I would keep the lower LED bar, it should actually throw better light than the roof bar due to no hood reflection. Keep the small LED bar for travel at speed & the rooftop bar for slow crawling or campsite selection. You may find you don’t like the amber mixed with the white. I originally had amber fogs but replaced them with matching white as I found the color clash distracting while driving. That said, I was essentially always solo so I didn’t need them for dust or convoy lights. I’m putting some amber markers on this time for that purpose.

It was designed as a Nissan fob (the other side has an inset logo). There’s a 4 button version with the hatch glass release but I don’t have that on my ‘02 (‘03&’04 & QX4s do). One of my fobs was stolen & I replaced it with this one for like under $10. It was also specific for Nissan (& also came in a 4 button version). Programming the remote is super simple. There’s a little key turn, button pushing routine that does it. It’s so easy to find I never bothered to save it - just google it. The red is a little silicone jacket that I have on alot of my different keys, etc. They make them in red & other colored plastic casings as well. I’ve become a fan of high visibility on small things & it prevents scratches, doesn’t slide around as much & grips pockets etc - though that can be a plus/minus.

I’d say that turned out nicely! (I’m just not sure if you’ve got enough forward facing light on there ; )

Essentially all the key replacement & fobs have a little spot to put the chip. You don’t glue it, it just goes into a tiny compartment just like the OEM key. Here’s a picture, I bought it probably 8-10 years ago so I don’t think it’s still out there. I almost bought this funky stiletto fob but it was gone 8 years ago for sure. If you look at your OEM key you will see the little door where the chip is stored.

Honestly, after tires I think sliders are just about the most important thing because they can save you from incredibly difficult damage to repair at your rockers.

It’s pretty easy to get the chip out. I changed one of my keys over to a flip key. There’s no problem with aftermarket keys, it’s the chip that’s problematic (I have several keys without the chip just for unlocking & turning on accessories). If you can figure out a way to program a new chip reliably I’d love to hear it. You heard@TownDawgR50 & the stealerships here want about $200.

A new key will cost you less than $5 cut. Just be sure to remove the immobilizer chip if your truck is of that vintage.

Oh,@TowndawgR50 I remember that same fateful question from you & all the sadness that followed.

Welcome! Not to rain on the parade but make sure you get the power valves done. Not doing so can cost you an engine & it’s only about 2-3* labor for you or a mechanic. 100-150,000 miles is a common time for them to go wrong so don’t let the miles fool you. POWER VALVES http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/17104-threadlocker-on-power-valve-screws-pics/?do=embed

While I’m a NW booster for sure & use Les Schwab - their management is great, the work force less so. I police everything I have them do for me as it’s not done right 50% of the time. That said, I tell the manager, he looks frustrated (not at me), confirms what I said is true, apologizes, has them do the job right, checks it himself, apologizes again & comps all the labor or something else significant. It’s a pain but on one occasion I had Tire Rack tires mounted, balanced, etc. for $0. Also, pull your valve caps if you want to keep them. I appreciate the free flat repairs & double check any repairs done for me anyways.

Bolting for most sliders is fine - see virtually every 5th Gen T4R or GX470 slider. It also makes removing to repair & repaint easier. RROs mount, however, is a little problematic. [mention=36148]hawairish[/mention] had them on his truck when he bought it & showed me where it has flexed a little and deformed his pinch weld behind the front wheel well. (I believe his are also bolted by the way). Given how stoutly the OEM running boards mount, it’s odd that RRO didn’t just use those anchor points. Pines to Spines Off-Road (PSOR) are planning slider mounts to the OEM running board anchors. They plan them to work for generic sliders (a la[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention]) but should be modifiable to RRO’s as well. I hope they have them done by the end of summer but I have patience - I have a set of RRO’s with kickouts that I bought last May that are still sitting in their box in my garage.

Interesting, I’m from KC & would have figured people went to KC or St.L or Columbia. Those prices are Seattle like & usually it’s crazy here compared to back home on everything else.

That’s what I figured but I’ll still be here 5-10yrs from no so let us know when it gives out, miles & weather exposure