Robert Bills
Explorer
I'm new to the Nissan forum on Expo, but have participated on the Expedition Trailer page for many years.
My 40+ years offroading has been primarily in a Jeep. Most recently I had a rockcrawler CJ-7, locked front and rear with 35s. However, as I've gotten older I've realized that my interests have evolved back to where they began - offroad expeditions rather than conquering extreme technical obstacles. So I sold my jeep and have been in search of a new ride.
Xterras have intrigued me since they were first introduced. More refined than a Jeep and reminiscent of a Discovery, they seemed to be to be the most reasonably priced all purpose, truck based expo vehicle currently on the market. So I decided I had to have one.
My parameters: a well-maintained bone stock, relatively low mileage Generation 2 with service records and no rock rash or other damage. It has always been my rule not to buy rigs modified by someone I don't know. There's almost nothing worse than modifications ill conceived or poorly done.
The last two months have been spent searching Craigslist, the Autotrader, dealer websites, dealerships and even mall parking lots in search of good candidates. I also had a friend in the car business search the auctions. Finally, last week, a dealership about 100 miles from my home in Shasta County, California took one in on trade that met all of my requirements. (Traded for a new Ford Fusion with better gas mileage.) Fortunately (for me), they didn't seem to know the difference between an X, S or Off Road and were motivated to sell.
It's now in my driveway, and will receive its first mod tomorrow - bypassing the radiator transmission cooler. After that I'm going to get some White Knuckle sliders and drive it with stock suspension for awhile to learn what it can do from the factory.
So, without further ado, here is my new (to me) 2005 Xterra Off Road:
And my '46 Bantam T3-C "expo" trailer that I bought the X to tow:
Let the fun begin!
My 40+ years offroading has been primarily in a Jeep. Most recently I had a rockcrawler CJ-7, locked front and rear with 35s. However, as I've gotten older I've realized that my interests have evolved back to where they began - offroad expeditions rather than conquering extreme technical obstacles. So I sold my jeep and have been in search of a new ride.
Xterras have intrigued me since they were first introduced. More refined than a Jeep and reminiscent of a Discovery, they seemed to be to be the most reasonably priced all purpose, truck based expo vehicle currently on the market. So I decided I had to have one.
My parameters: a well-maintained bone stock, relatively low mileage Generation 2 with service records and no rock rash or other damage. It has always been my rule not to buy rigs modified by someone I don't know. There's almost nothing worse than modifications ill conceived or poorly done.
The last two months have been spent searching Craigslist, the Autotrader, dealer websites, dealerships and even mall parking lots in search of good candidates. I also had a friend in the car business search the auctions. Finally, last week, a dealership about 100 miles from my home in Shasta County, California took one in on trade that met all of my requirements. (Traded for a new Ford Fusion with better gas mileage.) Fortunately (for me), they didn't seem to know the difference between an X, S or Off Road and were motivated to sell.
It's now in my driveway, and will receive its first mod tomorrow - bypassing the radiator transmission cooler. After that I'm going to get some White Knuckle sliders and drive it with stock suspension for awhile to learn what it can do from the factory.
So, without further ado, here is my new (to me) 2005 Xterra Off Road:
And my '46 Bantam T3-C "expo" trailer that I bought the X to tow:
Let the fun begin!
