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medici

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  • Your Pathfinder Info
    2007 Pathfinder with minor lighting/tube mods. I realize the new generation Pathfinder isn't as off-road-capable as the pre-2004 models, but I'm not a hard-core rock-climber. I stick pretty much to easy terrain, sand, a little mud, and shallow water.
  • Mechanical Skill Level
    Wrench And Socket Set Mechanic
  • Your Age
    40-45
  • What do you consider yourself?
    Weekend Warrior
  • Year
    2006

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  • Website URL
    http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/nn183/markm866/MyTruck/

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    New Jersey

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  1. :worthless: Come on, don't keep us in suspense! Pics of the install, if you have them, would be nice, too!
  2. According to Rancho's documentation, you need the following parts for the Ranch lift: Two Rancho RS999790 QuickLift front coilover shocks at about $200-250 each. Two Rancho RS999312 RS9000XL rear shocks at about $100-125 each One pair Ranch RS70077 rear spacer blocks at about $65-90 per pair Optional: Rancho MyRide wireless shock adjustment controller to adjust shocks from inside your vehicle, if desired, at abround $250-300. Mikey: Did you gain any suspension travel? Have you done any off-roading since installing the kit??
  3. Indeed, there is an OME lift for the R51. Several guys on thenissanpath.com have installed it successfully. The major obstacles are a.) fitting the springs on the coilover shocks and b.) getting the alignment within factory spec afterwards. Unfortunately, it seems people have only been getting between 1.5 and 1.75" of lift, which in my mind isn't enough to justify the effort and cost. As for the alternative, Calmini, that $1,600 is just for the drop-down parts; you're still looking at replacing the OEM springs and shocks when you're done. And I'm not sure I want to drive a 2005+ Pathfinder with 5" lift unless I widen the stance a bit. I am looking at putting together my own lift using Rancho shocks, OME springs and Total Chaos UCA's. I'm hoping to get 2-2.5" lift plus gain 2" travel front and rear for about the same price as the Calmini kit. My goal is to mount 33" tires, which in combination with the lift will give me a total of 4-4.5" elevation, 2" extra clearance and 2" extra wheel travel.
  4. Thank God you got out of that OK. I hope you got yourself checked-out for concussion, or at least are taking the appropriate precautions. Remember: If you feel light-headed, get a bad headache, or feel sick to your stomach, get yourself to a hospital. As for the truck, I'm not an insurance adjuster, but I've been involved in quite a few wrecks. :wink: Unless you can find a Pathfinder with a blown engine to do a full body swap, that truck is done. Certainly, any insurance adjuster is going to write it off as a total loss it as soon as they hear "roll-over." Next, do you have collision coverage? If so, then you should be in OK shape, in spite of what the insurance company phone-monkey told you. You had a collision, not a mechanical breakdown. Normally, if your truck won't start it's a mechanical breakdown, and in those situations without roadside assistance you're on your own. But when you have a collision, your collision coverage kicks-in, and if your truck is undrivable, the collision coverage should handle towing to the nearest certified repair facility. Your policy might also provide an allowance for you to rent a car while yours is being repaired, (or in this case, until they pay-off on the total loss), but even if it doesn't, your insurance company should be able to get you a discount rate on a rental. While most (all?) collision coverages exclude damage caused by off-road activities, your pictures clearly show you were traveling on a graded road, which means it also is probably on the state books as a road and has a name or number. So while the road wasn't paved, it still counts as a road and your wreck should not fall under the "off-roading" exclusion. After all, you weren't rock-crawling or mudding at the time of the wreck. So, as long as you have collision coverage, I suggest you call-back your insurance company first thing in the morning and get someone on the phone who has a clue. Make sure you tell them you were in a collision, don't just say "I need a tow." When talking to them, make sure you write down the first and last name, or name and employee ID, of each person you talk to and what they said. Be polite but firm. Remember, this is why you paid for your insurance, you had an accident, you are not trying the rip them off. If you don't get the answers you like, call back and speak to someone else. Make sure you are talking to someone in claims -- not just a customer service/call-center person. If you still aren't being taken care of, ask for a claims supervisor (not a call-center supervisor). HINT: If the person you're talking to sounds like they are not in this country, you are not talking to someone who can help you. Finally, post the name of your insurance company here and a log of who you talked to and what they said. Make sure they know you are doing this. I work in the insurance industry, on the IT side, but there's a chance I might have or be able to find a contact to help you out if your insurer is not honoring the terms of your policy. But in any event, we'll all learn whether or not to do business with your insurance company in the future.
  5. OK, I got 'er done today. Unfortunately, the camera was on the fritz and I don't have any pix. But the install went just like documented on the TheNewX forum posting I linked to above. The only difference was I had to swap-in my mount and cable to continue to be able to use the traffic receiver. This was fairly easy -- I used a cigarette-lighter extension cable, spliced it into the supplied wiring harness, and then plugged and taped my traffic receiver cable into that and routed it up. The traffic receiver seems to work fine tucked-up under the dash. The documentation says this will work on any R51 Pathfinder from '05 to current.
  6. I need to add Skid Plates to by R51 2007 Pathfinder SE. I tried calling some local dealers to order the plates for a Pathfinder Off-Road, but so far they tell me they can't do it because my truck didn't come with them. I'm going to "negotiate" with the parts department at my dealer next week when I go in for service, but if anyone can supply me the Nissan part numbers for the following, I'd be very grateful. Rear-Engine Skidplate Transfer Case Skid Plate Gas Tank Skidplate Skid Plate Bolts Or, if you can point me at a website where I can order aftermarket skid plates, as long as they're not crazy expensive, I'll do that. Thanks in advance.
  7. Thanks for all the great suggestions. In regards to the laptop idea, that's how I started out about 10 years ago, with an IBM laptop, a Garmin eMap and Delorme software. But securing the laptop in a viewable location is tough, especially in bright sunshine. I've tried having my passenger (one of my kids) hold the laptop, but they complain after a while that it's hot and uncomfortable. A RAM laptop mount costs around $500 and gets in the way of the passenger all the time. And when driving on-road, well, using a laptop can be downright dangerous. The idea of custom-building something is interesting, but I don't have the time before this trip (4 weeks from now), and I think that would wind-up costing much more than the solution I've found. Here is what I learned: Nissan now makes a portable Navigation unit based on the Garmin nuvi 700-series unit, with an OEM housing that integrates into the dash. The housing replaces the tray (and lid, for newer Pathfinders) on top of the dash, over the radio. The housing can be closed with the GPS installed, hiding everything from thieving eyes. Nissan also sells a customized version of the nuvi 750, but this base model doesn't have bluetooth or traffic updates, and they've mod'd the software to prevent you from operating the GPS while moving (not a good idea, but that's what passengers are for). But any 700-series will fit in the housing/mount, and with a little modification, I'm sure I can hook-up the traffic receiver. The housing is Nissan p/n 999q5-ku001 and I just ordered from my local dealer for $110. I bought a Garmin nuvi 760 from Best Buy for $349. I'll have to do some minor mod of the GPS mount in the housing to accommodate the 760's traffic receiver (built-in to the power cord), but this should be simple. Garmin sells 1:100,000 topo maps on DVD for the entire US for $116.50, and 1:24,000 maps of US National Parks for the same price per region (East, Central, West). I'm going to order the 1:24,000 maps of US National Parks West, as this will cover 3/4 of the places I'll be visiting. Here's a picture of the setup from someone else's mod on another forum: Here's a link to the thread describing the install: GPS Mod on TheNewX forum. This looks like the ideal setup for me. The Garmin 760 has all the on-road features I want (street navigation, mp3 player, bluetooth, fm transmitter to broadcast through the factory radio) plus what seems to be good off-road capabilities. If anyone's interested, I'll post an update when I'm done.
  8. Well, the steps are still intact because I've been avoiding big rocks and logs. I'm afraid that without skid plates, bending/breaking something underneath is just too easy. Like I said before, all the stuff I put on can come off in a couple of hours and be re-used or sold. In fact, I usually take the rack off when I'm not wheelin to save a bit on fuel. Front recovery hooks and skid plates are the next two items on my list. We'll see where we go from there. IMHO, that's the only reason to buy an SUV. Otherwise, you're just driving an oversized station wagon. Thanks! And thanks to you Kiwi's, too. The company I work for has an office in Auckland (and a smaller one in Wellington). If I ever have to head out that way, I'll drop you a note and maybe we can get together.
  9. I'm going to be spending several weeks next month traveling to places I've never been (or at least not for 20 years), off-roading on trails I've never driven in South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. I'm hoping to hook-up with some locals who know the area at each of my stops, but so far I haven't got much response to my inquiries. I've got the Charles Wells books where they are available, which provides waypoints for all the trails he describes. I have also ordered Delorme Atlas & Gazetteers for each state, and the NatGeop Topo Backroads CDs. But I want to spend my time driving, not orienteering. or playing with a laptop. I appreciate the suggestion. I was hoping to get a unit that was good at both. I'll be driving around 6,000 miles on-road, and expect to use navigation for that part of the trip. If you've ever gone on long trips, you know the benefit of integrating the MP3 player with the navigation unit, where the single device will pause the music so you can hear nav instructions, as opposed to separate devices fighting for attention. I was hoping to get by with only one device, but it seems I might need two. But in any event, I am definitely selling the TomTom and looking for a navigation unit that is at least a little better suited for off-road use. I guess nobody has looked at nav units this way, so I'll do some more research. Thanks for all your suggestions.
  10. I've had a Lowrance iWay 500c for 4 years. It's built like a tank, waterproof, has a huge screen and allows you to store up to 5GB MP3 files on the built-in 10GB HDD. The maps are very good, although 4 years out-of-date, and I've rarely come across a backroad, logging trail or jeep trail that wasn't represented. Unfortunately, I find no way to enter waypoints using longitude and latitude, so it isn't suitable for exploring many of the off-road trails I've found on the Internet and in some guidebooks. After looking at the available options, I purchased a TomTom 920T. This turns out to be a mistake. It is fine for navigating to a particular street address most of the time, and I can enter longitude and latitude, but it is quirky about how and when you can find certain waypoints, and its maps for off-road purposes are absolutely abysmal (doesn't even show major bodies of water). What I'm looking for is a unit that does an adequate job of street navigation, with a decent, easily-searched Point-of-Interest database, that has usable off-road capabilities and maps, and allows long/lat waypoint entry (among other methods). I would prefer a 4.3" wide color screen and the ability to store and play MP3's. Built-in FM transmitter (to play through the car stereo) and Bluetooth phone capability would also be welcome features. Hopefully, it does not need to be waterproof! Anyone have any experience-borne recommendations?
  11. Hi from NJ. I've had a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder SE for almost exactly a year. It's my daily driver (ouch, the gas prices!) and I go off-roading around NJ and PA about once every few weeks -- nothing extreme, mostly dirt/mud/sand roads, some shallow water crossing, and the occasional sand pit. I also tow a trailer for camping -- about 4,200 lbs fully loaded -- so with my two kids, the trailer and our gear, we give the 6,000 lb max payload a run for its money. So far, no complaints on the towing end, other than gas mileage (about 12), but I'm a little disappointed with the off-road capabilities of the R51. I'm leasing right now and, while I've got 2+ years left, I'm at the point where I need to decide whether I'm going to buy-out at the end of the lease or turn it back in. I've made a few mods - Aries Bull Bar, Sportsrack Safari Rack, Air-Lift rear, and lights, but everything I've added is easily removed and re-used later. But I really need to get some skid plates to protect the drive train and plastic fuel tank, and I am considering adding an OME lift kit, new wheels/tires and a Gibson tuned exhaust, and maybe a front winch bumper and winch. But additional mods probably won't happen if I decide to not buy-out my lease. In a few weeks I'm taking the Pathfinder, camper and kids cross-country to South Dakota (Badlands/Black Hills), Yellowstone/Grand Tetons/Jackson Hole, Moab and Estes Park/Ft. Collins, Colorado. I do expect to spend at least one day at each location off-roading (probably 2 or 3 days around Moab and in Colorado). I'm leaving on June 27th and figure it will take 3-4 days to get to Badlands. Then I spend 3-4 days at each stop (with a few 1-day stops in between). If you live in any of these areas and want to join-up for some off-roading, (easy to moderate trails), I'd appreciate the company. Anyway, here's some photo's of my rig:
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