RainGoat

I only know the ‘07-‘09 well & no problems there. They changed tranny to 7spd in ‘10 but I haven’t seen anything on MDXers where I’m pretty active. The 1st Gens stopped on ‘06 & they are everywhere in the road with like 250+ miles on them.

If an RDX fits your price point & size, it’s hard to beat a Honda for reliability. I don’t know RDXs but 1st & 2nd/3rd Gen MDXs last forever. They also perform well & handle remarkably well. I expect the RDX is similar though they have terrible looking & great looking years.

Keep us posted as to how long until they need replacement. I doubt their lifespan would be long here in the PNW whereas they might go for a handful if years in CA.

Wow! $7K in Central MO, that’s ambitious.

I’ve hauled river & sea kayaks for decades. All you really need is 2 bars & cam straps. I used to set my load bars at the farthest forward & rearward (the ROLA is close to that though I don’t think the curved bars are as good as straight). I’ve hauled two 16’ boats all over the country & on week long trips through rough AZ backcountry. I strongly recommend cam straps over ratchet straps. The key to cam straps is to stop after driving 10-15” & give them a tug to get the last slack out of them. They’ll hold immense weight in lumber & high resistance items as well. The problem with ratchet straps is their mechanical leverage can give you too much pull & damage your truck or what your carrying - they simply aren’t necessary. I’ve definitely seen people do damage with them.

Just as an FYI if you go for replacement, I think it was@Astrorami who trialed one of the eBay units & found it lacking. Should be an easy thing to grab from a JY.

That sure was a quick run. I hope you pointed the owner in NPORA’s direction (or was it a dealer trade-in, if so, you should have left a NPORA message in the glovebox or just inside the owner’s manual).

While I’ve never needed one for a vehicle, I’ve used them on fires I’ve run across at least 3-4 times. That & water of course. Honestly, it’s sobering that I’ve come upon fires that just got started that often. Culprits: vehicle exhaust on dry brush, trailer chains & poorly extinguished fire rings.

Are you sure that’s not a model?

I would definitely recommend JY OEM. The OEM is particularly robust with the part pictured below & two lateral arms reaching quite a bit forward on the frame/unibody. Holes should be prethreaded & I was able to put mine off & on without moving anything else. I recently took mine off after 15 years, with countless bangs & it came off & went back on with ease (I did use anti-Seize this time but didn’t when I initially put it on)

I think it’s a 198/T10 bulb. With regard to the directions above, that’s a 2000 SE, there are some variances (‘03-4 & QX4s) so yours might vary slightly.

Those are some great pics! Good looking truck for sure.

Really like those classic round lights!

Sounds great!!

Is that a Pioneer AVH-X391BHS ?

Oh baby, that’s muddy. I’ve almost always been there in the dry & have even turned tail & ran to AZ, NV or CA if it’s wet, so it’s interesting to see all that mud. Have you needed the recovery boards yet?

Keeping your hands dry with latex gloves is a pro move! I’ve started grabbing my wife’s gardening work pads & it sure is better if your on your knees for a bit.

After playing around with it, we’re going to adapt a horizontal carrier. The vertical carrier would work but the top third of the HiLift sticks out from the trucks profile & I’m worried about it catching branches. In a Jeep it sits behind their square silhouette but the taper on our trucks, which works so well to fit it n tight spaces, just doesn’t offer it protection. I definitely don’t want to lever on the swingate.

Tomorrow I’m checking Hi-Lift mounting on[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] rig. I’m mocking up a horizontal carrier which I’m dubious will work because of the handle. When it doesn’t he’s going to weld on a vertical Hi-Lift carrier from a Jeep just lateral to the Jerry can carrier. It should look something like this: Really, just welding two bolts on in the same area or bar adapted mounts could work too though with welded bolts I’d worry about fatigue over time.

Breather extensions are important for your diffs, tranny & TF case. While electrical is important, water in the air intake will ruin the engine. Snorkels are also useful at elevating the air intake out of heavy dust.

Patches are definitely all the rage. They have the advantage of portability. Personally I like the classic oval with NPORA inside it.

It is form fitting, clean & lets you run the illumination for the plate from the existing plate lights. Also, you can remove your swingate temporarily without having to redo the plate lighting.

I’ve been present for the installs so far and have witnessed the little tweaks made as@TowndawgR50 goes along. He then applied those finesse adjustments to the first rendition. I’m next up and excited but not anxious at all having watched how nice it all comes together.@TowndawgR50 &@hawairish really are committed to quality work.

I expect you are correct on all accounts.

I have run across a couple of their products on US trucks locally & have inquired of the owners when they bought it, how was the experience & how was the fit. So far, a couple good reports - no negative. Definitely keep everybody posted. There’s been alot of talk about rears but the only recent ones I can recall are[mention=38818]MicahFelker[/mention] &[mention=36148]hawairish[/mention] custom jobs. If[mention=36148]hawairish[/mention] put a beveled corner on his & offered it, I think it would be a tough product to beat! However, I would imagine that’s a long way off, if ever, given the other projects they have underway & the low hanging fruit yet to be grabbed-so I wouldn’t hold my breath. I also think the very low price, and relative ease, of retrofitting the swingate makes it a low demand item (“ease” of course said by someone who has watched[mention=37543]TowndawgR50[/mention] do it twice (plus his own) & with at least 2 still to go).