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The_Oregonian’s ‘02 Build Thread


The_Oregonian
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On 11/30/2020 at 11:07 AM, RainGoat said:

Can you PM me a link. I prefer RIGd => Wilco => Detours in that order. If I can’t find a used one for a reasonable price, I would probably buy what you did as I want it for Tire/HiLift/RotoPax & Wilco has the best price/utility ratio new. I would probably use a different plate relocator as I’d like to have something with an LED that I can just keep in place with or without the swingate - possibly a ladder mount for the 4Runner.

 

Forgot to mention PM sent...
 

Totally agree on that order too. Would have love a RIGd but it was cost prohibitive for me.

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On 11/30/2020 at 8:37 AM, The_Oregonian said:

I can appreciate that.

 

I also thought long and hard about this, and debated trying to track down an OEM tire carrier as well. My situation is that I don’t have a garage or even driveway and live in a neighborhood in the city. I decided I didn’t want to struggle drill into the body of the car out on the street as cars are passing by and my neighbors are walking the dogs.. Particularly in the middle of the rainy season here in the Pacific NW. This seemed like the best solution for me at this time. Not only that but having the option for bolt-on rotopax mounts for spare fuel was appealing as well and with the OEM mount you’d be talking about custom welding etc which is out for me. You’re mileage may vary.

 

Note as well the price was not over 1k - more like $750. On top of that since this is a relatively universal product I figure I can easily sell it for not a big loss if I decide to go a different direction in the future.

You're totally right. I hadn't thought about the resale value on it. Surely some Toyota guy will be all over it when it's time to let it go and it'll sell quickly. Like @RainGoat mentioned he has towndawg to help him with his build, just like I have hawairish to give me a hand, which I am super grateful for. I think if we didn't have these pathfinder masterminds able and willing to help, we'd be screwed and our builds wouldn't be where they are today. Again, I respect you decision and hope it works perfectly for your needs. I am hopeful that when this pandemic is over, the SW guys can get together for a PNW trip and it would be great to meet you and everyone else up there.

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2 hours ago, R50JR said:

You're totally right. I hadn't thought about the resale value on it. Surely some Toyota guy will be all over it when it's time to let it go and it'll sell quickly. Like @RainGoat mentioned he has towndawg to help him with his build, just like I have hawairish to give me a hand, which I am super grateful for. I think if we didn't have these pathfinder masterminds able and willing to help, we'd be screwed and our builds wouldn't be where they are today. Again, I respect you decision and hope it works perfectly for your needs. I am hopeful that when this pandemic is over, the SW guys can get together for a PNW trip and it would be great to meet you and everyone else up there.


Thanks bud!

 

And yeah that would be awesome if you guys can make it up here! I know @PathyDude17 isn’t too far away either :) 

 

Ive always wanted to explore AZ as well!

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Thanks bud!
 
And yeah that would be awesome if you guys can make it up here! I know [mention=41900]PathyDude17[/mention] isn’t too far away either  
 
Ive always wanted to explore AZ as well!

Az is real dusty and fun. Raingoat can attest to the dust. I was out there this past weekend running some blm trails. The sandy washes are definitely my favorite part.


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  • 4 weeks later...

Quick update. The Wilco dual rotopax bracket, license plate relocation bracket, and rotopax pack mounts, fuel cans, and a water can came in a couple of weeks ago. Finally had time and good weather today to mount them up to the Wilco Hitchgate:

 

EEvBUyP.jpg

 

FYRfYFz.jpg

 

jVgjHvj.jpg

 

The next project will be to figure out a way to wire in some LED bolt lights I got to use as license plate lights. Anyone know a good way to get some wires inside the cargo area from underneath? May have to drill but we’ll see...

 

Also got a chance to head up to Mount Hood for a little snowshoeing last weekend. First chance to try everything out in the snow. There wasn’t a ton of snow until the last 1/4 mile or so on dirt roads but these tires seemed to hook up very well and there was almost no slipping. So far very pleased with the build and looking forward to more winter outings in the next couple of months! 
 

2nchdt6.jpg

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2 hours ago, The_Oregonian said:

Quick update. The Wilco dual rotopax bracket, license plate relocation bracket, and rotopax pack mounts, fuel cans, and a water can came in a couple of weeks ago. Finally had time and good weather today to mount them up to the Wilco Hitchgate:

 

EEvBUyP.jpg

 

FYRfYFz.jpg

 

jVgjHvj.jpg

 

The next project will be to figure out a way to wire in some LED bolt lights I got to use as license plate lights. Anyone know a good way to get some wires inside the cargo area from underneath? May have to drill but we’ll see...

 

Also got a chance to head up to Mount Hood for a little snowshoeing last weekend. First chance to try everything out in the snow. There wasn’t a ton of snow until the last 1/4 mile or so on dirt roads but these tires seemed to hook up very well and there was almost no slipping. So far very pleased with the build and looking forward to more winter outings in the next couple of months! 
 

2nchdt6.jpg

If you remove the plastic tray/storage compartment underneath the floor mat in the cargo area, there should be a rubber boot in the floor pan that has the wiring for the trailer hitch wire harness if you have the tow package from the factory. I used that rubber boot to route wires from my backup lights in the rear bumper and into the cab of the vehicle. Then seal it off with some silicone so water doesn't intrude.

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22 minutes ago, 02_Pathy said:

If you remove the plastic tray/storage compartment underneath the floor mat in the cargo area, there should be a rubber boot in the floor pan that has the wiring for the trailer hitch wire harness if you have the tow package from the factory. I used that rubber boot to route wires from my backup lights in the rear bumper and into the cab of the vehicle. Then seal it off with some silicone so water doesn't intrude.


Perfect! I figured there must be a way in but this will save me some time.

 

Thanks!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

So I did a thing with the second stimulus money, and got a new Apple CarPlay capable head unit. Went with a Sony XAV-AX5000 off a recommendation from another guy in a local overlanding group.
 

I completed the install today and am pretty pleased with the results. I have 21st century tech now, and the sound quality is significantly improved over the factory unit. 

 

WQEBsIo.jpg

 

The nice thing, and one of the motivating factors is that Gaia GPS works with CarPlay which should come in handy while off grid..

 

pvUuhd5.jpg


I also went with a backup camera. I couldn’t really get perfect placement for the camera with the Wilco spare tire carrier back there, but I mainly wanted to be able to see where my tire and hitch/shackle were if I’m in a tight space. Ended up placing the camera where most new factory cameras would go. Again the view isn’t perfect but it’ll get the job done...

 

mkcpgPP.jpg

 

rVPfFaZ.jpg

 

It was a total pain running the camera wire through the hatch and through the rubber conduit that connects the body to the hatch wiring but I got through it.

 

 

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So I did a thing with the second stimulus money, and got a new Apple CarPlay capable head unit. Went with a Sony XAV-AX5000 off a recommendation from another guy in a local overlanding group.
 
I completed the install today and am pretty pleased with the results. I have 21st century tech now, and the sound quality is significantly improved over the factory unit. 
 
WQEBsIo.jpg
 
The nice thing, and one of the motivating factors is that Gaia GPS works with CarPlay which should come in handy while off grid..
 
pvUuhd5.jpg

I also went with a backup camera. I couldn’t really get perfect placement for the camera with the Wilco spare tire carrier back there, but I mainly wanted to be able to see where my tire and hitch/shackle were if I’m in a tight space. Ended up placing the camera where most new factory cameras would go. Again the view isn’t perfect but it’ll get the job done...
 
mkcpgPP.jpg
 
rVPfFaZ.jpg
 
It was a total pain running the camera wire through the hatch and through the rubber conduit that connects the body to the hatch wiring but I got through it.
 
 

Turned out great! I recommend using gaia on the HU around town before getting out on a trail. My kenwood also has CarPlay but the app on the HU is not very useful. I added an 8” samsung tablet strictly for nav.


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6 minutes ago, R50JR said:


Turned out great! I recommend using gaia on the HU around town before getting out on a trail. My kenwood also has CarPlay but the app on the HU is not very useful. I added an 8” samsung tablet strictly for nav.


Sent from my Pathfinder

 

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up!

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I’ll be curious to see how Gaia works for you on a head unit. I’ve used it about 3 years on an iPad. I’d recommend Gaia but the download limitations on MapBox products are very annoying. The biggest PITA to any of my trips is downloading maps for off-grid use.

 

Here’s just one thread that talks about the issue - it’s unclear to me how this will impact a head unit.

 

https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360000809607-Can-t-download-MapBox-Streets-HD-map

 

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4 hours ago, RainGoat said:

I’ll be curious to see how Gaia works for you on a head unit. I’ve used it about 3 years on an iPad. I’d recommend Gaia but the download limitations on MapBox products are very annoying. The biggest PITA to any of my trips is downloading maps for off-grid use.

 

Here’s just one thread that talks about the issue - it’s unclear to me how this will impact a head unit.

 

https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360000809607-Can-t-download-MapBox-Streets-HD-map

 

 

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up, and I'll do my best to keep everyone posted there. I'll definitely play with the app on the head unit before trying to rely on it while off grid. 

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If you need to download, my pearl of wisdom for Gaia is to load the Satellite layers separately as they’re the most likely to hit the cap. Also, if you’ve downloaded an area you’re unlikely to go back to anytime soon, at least delete the satellite imagery to give you more room before the 100K cap. If the download is hanging up for unknown reasons, it’s probably the MapBox cap. I wish they would just build into it a warning that said “This cannot be downloaded as it will exceed the MapBox Tile Limit”. It took me way too long to figure this out. I tend to aimlessly wander so I like having a large area in great detail.

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  • 10 months later...

Well it appears we lost almost a year of posts here so I thought I'd repost some of what I had done in that time just in case any of it will be helpful to anyone in the future.

 

U-Bolts for mounting X-Bull type traction boards to the SE Roof Rack. I added adhesive felt to the top, and shrink wrap to the bottom to help protect the rack:

 

wjdl2ZV.jpg

 

lUIJsIg.jpg

 

Installed Midland MXT275 mobile GMRS radio installed in upper-portion of the center console with supplied antenna on the roof (excuse all the dog hair in these shots):

 

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fgIesBC.jpg

 

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Short antenna from cravenspeed.com. I was tired of the huge factory antenna getting hung up on branches of narrow trails. This is listed on their site as a Nissan Frontier part but works great:

 

j8TUq6t.jpg

 

And some beauty shots C/O @PathyDude17 & @zakzackzachary & myself, as well as a video walkaround on Tyler's channel:

 

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cvxP7Gj.jpg

 

 

 

Up next is a set of skid plates & missing link that is on order from SF Creation...

 

Edited by The_Oregonian
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  • 2 months later...

Finally have a couple of new updates. 

 

Installed front & mid skid plates as well as a missing link from SF Creation. I had the front plate, and missing link powder coated by Steve, but left the mid in raw aluminum.

 

SMsP1sQ.jpg

 

M8ISYUZ.jpg

 

 

Also got a rear window molle panel that a guy who is local to me was fabricating and selling them in one of the Pathfinder Facebook groups. He sells them in raw aluminum, but I went ahead and painted them in rattle-can bed liner. Install was a bit of a pain, and made me wish I had an additional arm to hold the thing in place (he doesn't pre-drill the holes etc. so you have to mock it up etc.). Came out pretty good in the end though. 

 

MSB7x2C.jpg

 

mQOWDuk.jpg

 

krltZyC.jpg

 

aG7VRiq.jpg

 

I also got a gift certificate for Weather Tech for my birthday, and since I already have their mats and rear cargo liner I opted to try out their seat back protectors to gain some additional storage options. They are not cheap but as with all Weather Tech products they are made in the USA & are very high quality. They don't install the way that is intended on the seat bottom so I routed the straps underneath the brackets that bolt the seats to the floorboard, and it worked great.

 

iBFYkXg.jpg

 

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  • 10 months later...
On 9/28/2020 at 9:28 PM, The_Oregonian said:

After getting to know the car in stock form through this summer, doing a couple of minor mods (Curt hitch, interior LED’s etc), sorting out some overheating issues I ran into, and doing a ton of research here, Tyler’s YouTube channel, and some of the FB groups I started ordering parts for phase 1 of the modifications a few weeks ago.

 

Phase 1 - Step 1 - Spring Lift:

 

For the rear I decided on the tried and true 9447 springs.
 

For the fronts after some deliberation I decided I didn’t want to do business with 4x4parts.com given the shipping cost gouging, and general lack of transparency in parts sourcing. After some additional research,  and some feedback from fellow owners I decided on an off-the-beaten-path solution with Dobinsons front lift springs.

 

The Dobinsons seem to have similar specs to the OME springs, but others had reported about 2” of lift. Either way I pulled the trigger, and everything was installed today. 
 

 

rypF8JW.jpg


CdpGadb.jpg

 

tnpb7So.jpg

 

HYWpLoo.jpgAs you can see there is a little rake, however I figure once I get bigger tires with a full size spare out back, and load up with camping gear it should more or less even out. It’ll be interesting to see how it looks once everything settled a bit.

 

I only have about 2 miles on the springs so far but initial impressions are that it feels almost stock just higher. No joke - I was expecting it to be way stiffer than it is.

 

Up next are:

 

-Install Warn manual hubs

 

-Bilstein 33-185552 (backordered but should ship out this week)

 

-Pro Comp 15” steelies (also backordered) with a fun little paint project I have for them...

 

-31x10.5 Tires will be ordered once wheels are on the way. I’m leaning toward General Grabber ATX’s (with a $100 mail in rebate these will be cheap but open to suggestions)

 

More to come soon...

Hello there, greetings for PR 🇵🇷, we’re did you bought the 9447 springs? LR Direct?

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