Casper's Xterra Build

[Casper]

So, I have done a few new things since my last post. I do not have pics of all of then yet. I will post the ones I do have.

First, I got a Gobi rack. I have to say that pics do not do this rack justice. It is very well built. I don't have the lights yet, but they are coming soon.
Second, I picked up a snorkel. his is the longer one from safari snorkels. Instal was a pain in the butt, and is not done yet. I still have to finish the fab on the intake conection.
Last, not the truck, but the trailer. I finally got around to getting my propain tank mounted. I had a shop in Reno (Totally Off Road) modify a power tank bracket to fit the propain tank. I then mounted it to the passenger rear side of the trailer. This way I can hook it up to my stove and have a light. Now on to the pics.

 

[taco2go]

Nice setup with the tank- does it have a support at the bottom as well?

 

[Casper]

Nice setup with the tank- does it have a support at the bottom as well?

Thanks, and yes. The botton plate does not cover the entire bottom of the tank since it was made for a 20lb powertank. It does cover enough. After I installed it I stood on the tank and mount to see just how stong it was. And no, I do not have any pics of that since I was on my own.

Casper
:wings:

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Welcome Aboard!!! :beer:

Can't believe I missed your first post Josh! Really enjoyed meeting you and Porthos at the Pyramid Lake run and checking out your great set-up. Glad to see that you finally licked the propane holder, lookin sweet!:26_34_3:

 

[Casper]

Hey Andrew,
It was good to meet you as well. Hopefully we can go on another run sometime. As for the tank mount, I think it came out good. Just wish it hadn't taken all summer to get it finished.

Casper
:smiley_drive:

 

[Willman]

Welcome to the ExPo!!!!

Love you rig and trailer!!!

Can't forget you pup too!!!!

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Good looking Xterra!

The cargo nets in the X, are they the ones from AC? How do you like them?

You said the snorkel was a pain to install. I havent heard of (which doesnt mean much) Safari Snorkels. There is an ARB snorkel available, right?
Looks good on the X regardless.

Scott

 

[Casper]

Wow, it's been awhile since I have updated this. (Kinda forgot about it) I have done quite a bit to the X over the last year plus. I will try to update everything over the next few days.
First, LaOutbackTrail. The nets you see are "Raingler" pet barriers. I now have two over them. I have redone my passenger area. The rear seats have been completely removed to make way for a custom platform for Porthos.

On top of the platform is a ¼ rubber matt that runs all the way to the rear on the X.
On top of that is a 4-inch thick dog bed for Porthos.

Right behind the front seats is a Raingler Pet Net I installed. This is to keep Porthos from coming in the front.

More to come.......
Behind Porthos is a second Raingler pet net. This is installed to both keep Porthos out of the tool storage area, and to keep tools out of Pathos’s area should something bad happen.

Well, might as well move to the cargo area from here. Rear storage has a roof mounted Raingler net that holds some basic stuff I like to keep in the X “Just in case”. Blanket, spare cloths, sleeping bag, 100’ of rescue rope, and walking stick.

I have an Engle 15 mounted on the left side for trail drinks and lunches. The right side has a 10lbs CO2 tank and fire extinguisher. In the center is a simple box I made to hold the ramp Porthos needs to get in and out of the X. Under the box I keep my tools, recovery gear and spare fluids. The fluids are kept in a plastic battery box incase they leak.

 

[Casper]

On to the front interior.
The basics are an Alpine head unit, Polk Audio speakers all around, Infinity 800 watt 4-channel amp. Below the head unit is a small switch panel I made. To the left of the head unit is my Cobra 75 CB, to the right is the control/display for the National Luma dual battery setup.

My first GPS was a Garmin iQ 3600 (still have this one as a backup) (Sorry, no photo of that one yet.)
Second GPS was a Compact Armada running Garmin GPS 18 with a USB puck antenna. I got this because I wanted a bigger screen to view the maps on. This is mounted on a homemade mount.

Worked pretty well with two major drawbacks. First it takes up WAY too much space. I can’t have a passenger when it is in the cab. Second, while the big screen is nice it sucks in the sun. Thus I can't read it on bright days. I was going to mount it under the passenger seat and find a monitor to mount somewhere but I could not find the right size monitor at a good price. So, thanks to lots of web searching I found the perfect solution.
Third GPS EEE pc by Asus running the above software. Much smaller designed “netbook”. Fits perfectly in the cab and still has a bigger screen then any hand help gps units.

I used a RAM mount to mount it to the dash.

So far I love this setup. I may have to add a small plate to help support it, we shall see.
In the front of the cab I also have a Scangauge II, Sirus satellite radio, Cobra 75 cb, homemade switch panel, fire extinguisher, and mag-light.
(photo to be added when I find it)

Casper

 

[Casper]

Let see, one to the outside of the X.
Roger Brown Sliderz.

I chose these for a few reasons. First, I just don’t like round tubes for sliders. At some point I will use them as a step and since I am not the most graceful I will end up falling on my ***. Second they stick out farther than most of the others I’ve seen. Third, for the price they can’t be beat.

Gobi Ranger Rack. All I can say about this is “Hell Yea”. Build quality is perfect.

With the shovel/axe mount

And the Highlift mount.

I have the rear ladder option (it doesn’t normally have a license plate mounted to it. I will explain that a tad later)

Casper

 

[Casper]

Roof lights are Lightforce 140’s. I chose them because they are adjustable from flood to spot. Just spin the lens (like a mag-light)

On to the rear bumper, it was a standard Calmini with a tire carrier.

While this worked, it is the only Calmini product I have never been very happy with. First, because of the latch setup, second because it only holds a tire, third because with the trailer I tow (more on that later) I can’t open the swing arm when the trailer is attached. So it was time for a change.

I took the idea from a LC bumper I saw. First we moved the swing point out to under the taillights.

We then mirrored this to the other side.

Then we made two swings that meet in the center of the bumper and latch together.

One side holds the spare tire.

The other holds two scepter cans of fuel or water.

This now allows me to open the swings and rear hatch with the trailer attached, and now you know why the license plate is mounted to the ladder.

Casper

 

[Casper]

More to come in the next few days. As you can probebly tell, the tires are a tad bigger. This last winter I did a MAJOR change to the entire front and rear suspention. I need to write that part up and take a few photos of it. In the mean time I hope you have enjoed the update. Feel free to ask any questions you have about anything.

Casper
:smiley_drive:

 

[ZooJunkie]

Josh! Nice truck. I'll trade you my two little dogs and my Trooper for your spare tire? See you soon up in CampWamp!

 

[Creek]

I'm really diggin that rear bumper setup Josh! Nicely done!!!

 

[02TahoeMD]

Sweet!

Thanks for updating your build. Great job. Subscribed! :lurk: