Airmapper's Daily Driver Build

[Airmapper]

Username: Airmapper
Year: 2011
Make: Nissan
Model: Xterra
Trim: PRO-4X
Transmission: 6 speed manual
Color: Super Black

Current Mods:

Blacked out front grille (Plasti-dip - permanent painting probable.)

Removed Mud flaps

Added laptop mount (8-12-12)

Plasti-Dipped rear bumper.

Diff breather mod (11/4/12)

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's
265/75/16 Load E (Installed 1/18/13)

CB Radio Install
Midland 75-855 & 3' Firestik II
(Currently removed until more suitable mounting can be arranged.)

Insert style roof rack build (Summer 2014): Link to thread

Still mostly stock, but I'll slowly build it as needed. As long as it's my Daily driver it will be only mildly modified. I think I'll be heading toward an Expedition/Overland type vehicle rather than a highly modified wheeler.

I might even think of a creative build name one day.

Photos:

Dealer pics:

​

As it is now:

And the master photo album, which will get updated with new pics as soon as I take them is always here:
​

Airmapper's 2011 Xterra PRO-4X Photo Album​

Thanks for looking.
​

 

[Airmapper]

Reserved 1

 

[Airmapper]

Reserved 2 (last)

 

[Macland]

I'm excited to see where you take the build man.

 

[TN4x4Xterra]

Nice mod list.

Don't forget the DepHep rack if you want something to hold your stuff on top.

www.hepsdesigns.com

 

[granitex]

Stock is always a good place to start, you don't have to fix something that a previous owner did.

 

[Xterradude05]

Looking good. I tried to find one just like this when I bought mine but had no luck.

 

[drbandkgb]

Nice... and you bought the King of Xterra's

 

[yellowbug]

I like black for some reason. Guess I am tired or the bright yellow. I looks good man. I am excited to see it modded!!

 

[Airmapper]

Thanks guys! Will be starting out small, be nice to have a clean slate for a change.

 

[gorillamel]

What kind of kayak do you have and how many? Quite a few members here have kayaks and use their X's to transport them (myself included).

 

[Airmapper]

What kind of kayak do you have and how many? Quite a few members here have kayaks and use their X's to transport them (myself included).

I have a 12' Perception Patriot, a rec/fishing design, and a 9' Mainstream Streak, also a rec boat. Usually I just take my 12' kayak. Them being a bit wide makes them harder to easily accommodate, but I have got both on my last SUV, the X is bigger but also taller, I figure the X can handle them fine but I'll have to put a little more umph into shoving it up there.

 

[Airmapper]

Installed my laptop mount today, had it in my previous vehicle and it was a universal type mount. Managed to get it in and it not interfere with seat operation. Should work with or without a passenger, but looks like it's going to be perfect with the seat folded down.

I have a USB GPS cord, primary use for the laptop in the vehicle is moving map navigation. I need a cable for the AUX port so I can run sound from the laptop and hear the voice directions from the nav software.

I also have a USB OBDII cord, haven't tried hooking them up yet, the OBDII port location on the X isn't ideal and my plug isn't exactly low profile.

It detaches at the mounting point, so the whole mount can get stowed and the boot stays on the seat bolt, so it is quick change.

The head is like a standard tripod mount, and can accept cameras and camcorders, but vibration is a big issue. You can preload it against the seat to help with that but it still comes through in the video.

 

[Macland]

I'm jealous of your fold flat seats. Those things are handy. That mount looks like it'll do really well.

 

[J Everett]

For your OBDII cable, the connector slides out of the mount underneath the dash. You can plug in your USB adapter to it and zip tie the whole thing further under the dash. I use to do that with my Garmin EcoRoute adapter, so I wasn't constantly banging my knee on it.

I like the laptop mount. Is it a RAM mount?

 

[Airmapper]

For your OBDII cable, the connector slides out of the mount underneath the dash. You can plug in your USB adapter to it and zip tie the whole thing further under the dash. I use to do that with my Garmin EcoRoute adapter, so I wasn't constantly banging my knee on it.

I like the laptop mount. Is it a RAM mount?

Cool, I'm going to try that with the connector.

It's not a RAM brand, although if I were to get a new one I'd definitely get RAM. It's a cheap off brand mount I found, works well enough no more than I use it, rarely get it out, but it's really handy. Been having bad luck with my computers, 2 of my larger laptops died and I'm actually using the 10" netbook as my main PC now.

I'm going to have to find some better software, would like some topo maps in real time and be able to see some OBDII data on the road as well. I used to mess with it a lot, but I'll have to get my head back into some GIS stuff. Really need a full 15" laptop for that though, 10" is better than a handheld unit, but not that much better.

My inverter needs to go in next to power the laptop. Been checking out builds on that, looks a little more in depth than my Escape, it had a cubby hole made for my inverter it seemed.

 

[Airmapper]

I think someone wanted honors of first sticker, so I gladly obliged :smiley: :

I also had this lying around, planned it for the Bronco but couldn't find a good spot. It needed to go on the X, it's actually been to LBL.

 

[yellowbug]

That's an awesome sticker

 

[drbandkgb]

Looking good sir... Glad XN could be the first

 

[Airmapper]

Well I didn't like the back end not matching the front end, so I Plasti-dipped the rear bumper. I'm not a big fan of that silvery color anyway. I want a Maxterra bumper so I think of it as temporary.

I also discovered in my first off road trip I not only scraped the trailer plug, it actually broke. It's been a while but I didn't notice the crack until I was down there taping around it. Dumb Nissan for sticking it there...... and it looks like it will run me $60 to replace it if I decide to. It's not hurt functionally so I'm leaving it, but when I get the new bumper one day I'll probably want to get one that isn't broken. (And won't get hit again once it's in a better location.)

 

[drbandkgb]

Yeah this is one of those what was Nissan thinking areas...


Digging the dip man!

 

[gorillamel]

Before I got my tire carrier bumper, I plasma cut a hole in my OEM rear bumper to relocate the trailer plug-in so that it was not so low and subject to being ripped off (which I basically did to it). If you feel ambitious enough, maybe that might be a temporary fix until you get the aftermarket bumper you want. (And peace of mind.)

 

[Airmapper]

Maintenance day today.

New oil, Mobile 1 full synthetic.
New oil filter (Nissan)
New air filter
Removed the wheel locks, before they keep ME from removing the wheels. (Don't come steal my wheels please. )
Gave it a good washing.

Going to start researching for new fluids in all the drive line bits, axles, t-case, and trans. 30k is fast approaching and I got to set a baseline so I know where all this is since I got it used. I tend to go overboard on fluids anyway, I got like 4 quarts of Royal Purple waiting for something to go in already.

 

[Airmapper]

One mod off the list, the rear diff breather extension is done.

Went without a hitch, although I'm worried about a few things, I think I'm mostly just paranoid.

Here is the fitting I got, the often mentioned part number it never hurts to repeat (see red circle.) Ordered it from my local Nissan dealer, was about $7 with a clamp I didn't use. (Get it without the clamp if the they suggest one, it's too big.)

A stop at Advance Auto and I had the rest of the parts I needed, I got 13ft of vacuum hose, and cut a few feet off in the end, and this little fuel filter to keep stuff out of the tube:

The stock breather valve came out okay, it was tight but broke loose fairly easy. (I love working on a newish vehicle for a change...) I cleaned around the threads with a stiff brush, but it was still a bit dirty once it was out. Instead of trying to clean it with the fitting out, I got the new one in before cleaning it further. I had left my new fitting in the freezer overnight, several folks claimed it was difficult to start, even with freezing, but in my case it went in easily.

Here is the old stock breather valve, I feel better with this off there:

And the new fitting installed:

I went for behind the passenger tail light for my breather, it was easy to get to. Water does drain in this area so I looped it over so the filter points down, a fuel filter should prevent water passing through, but in this position I doubt much will get to it. Routing the hose took some thought. There are handy pairs of holes in the frame rails that make excellent spots for zip ties, I left plenty of slack for axle travel and possible future lifts, but you have to watch that it does not want to interfere with the brake lines or leaf spring area.

I'll check over it again after driving with it a while to see if any issues arise. I did test the axle travel in a ditch and it appears to have plenty of room to move without binding.

 

[drbandkgb]

Very nice man

 

[J Everett]

I also discovered in my first off road trip I not only scraped the trailer plug, it actually broke. It's been a while but I didn't notice the crack until I was down there taping around it. Dumb Nissan for sticking it there...... and it looks like it will run me $60 to replace it if I decide to. It's not hurt functionally so I'm leaving it, but when I get the new bumper one day I'll probably want to get one that isn't broken. (And won't get hit again once it's in a better location.)

If you don't want to spend another $60, there's this little how-to I did.

 

[Airmapper]

Don't know i you would call this a mod, or a tool, but the day before my latest camping trip I hooked up the camper to bring it up for loading, and when I attached the 7 pin trailer wiring connector, well the stock position of the plug-in was not ideal, and basically I could not make a right turn with it plugged up without damaging something.

I knew I needed something like this: LINK But I didn't have time to wait for it to arrive if I ordered it. So I called my local NAPA, (I have their number memorized, as all gear heads should) and asked if they had one. They said, no, but I got all the stuff you need to make one. So off I run to pick it up. In the end I came out ahead doing it this way, I have a total of about $30 in it doing it myself as opposed to $36+shipping, and waiting a week to get it.

I'm sure most auto parts places have these, but here are the NAPA Part Numbers:

755-1527 (Trailer side plug in.)
755-1526 (Truck side receiver)

I don't have the Part number, but you can get the necessary trailer wiring in any desired length, it contains the 7 internal wires for a nice clean install. I used 3ft and seem to have plenty of length without even using the trailer side wiring.

Now you have the parts, all you have to do is put them together. One wire is a heavier gauge than the rest, I used this for the electric brakes. Other than that I used them in the orientation that they came out of the main wire with. As long as they are hooked up the same on both ends, it works, no technical color coding necessary, just get everything put together in order, then start to attach wires and make sure both ends are oriented correctly in relation to each other, they have alignment notches, and I pre-connected them during assembly to match colors, and checked continuity after I was done.

And once you get them all wired correctly, put the ends back together, tighten down the screws, and you have something like this:

Now I can pick up any 7-pin trailer and not worry about my oddly placed connector leaving me short of hooking the lights up, at least until I get a custom rear bumper and don't need it. (A 7 to 4 pin adapter is probably in order next.)

 

[Airmapper]

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 265/75/16 Load E installed today.

I'm so glad to be rid of those junk OEM Rugged Trails.

 

[Macland]

Those look so good, I'm definitely getting duratracs.

 

[drbandkgb]

Looking great

 

[drbandkgb]

We have to fix this issue...

 

[Airmapper]

Oh the shame! Did you notice I didn't put that one up here, I didn't want to rub it in...:sorrymate:



Is this one better?

 

[drbandkgb]

Oh the shame! Did you notice I didn't put that one up here, I didn't want to rub it in...:sorrymate:



Is this one better?

You can post newX logos here We are just happy to be the one site that response to most of your posts

No really that would look awesome In a Dark grey

 

[Dephep]

nice, liken the duratracs.

 

[Airmapper]

I know some are very private about their medical records, but I'm scientifically minded and won't mind if you see my lab results, for the greater good of course.

I've been curious about oil analysis for some time, finally did one. I was pleased with the results. There were a few items of note, but I'm a bit suspicious it's an attempt to keep me interested in future oil tests, I don't know, but I'll look into the suggestions.

The X had a change at the dealership when I got it, don't know what they put in it, but it should be all gone now. I ran high mileage oil in it one round, it was handy at the time, and the only difference I know of is a heavier additive package, so that might have skewed the results. I since changed that out for the extended performance blend, which given the metals in the report I have low wear and low contaminants, so I'm assuming I could stretch them out a bit longer if I wanted, but I'm still going to keep it under 10k, as opposed to the 15k it says it is good for. (I also used a extended performance filter.)

 

[drbandkgb]

I like this... Still way above my head

 

[Muadeeb]

The copper could still be some break in wear, but you're a little high on mileage for that. Other possibility is a piece of dirt got wedged in somewhere and is working or has worked itself loose.

They've seen thousands upon thousands of samples, so if they are not too concerned, then if accept it and send another sample at your next change.

Sent via wild ferrets on crack

 

[Airmapper]

Thanks, I'm not overly concerned. I'll probably send another sample in the future, so I can see if it hangs around then. That reminds me, I do need to check my coolant, but I did have a high additive package oil in there, so I'm not thinking the sodium sounds too far out.

 

[Xado89]

For not being a true MT, duratracs are a beast. They make almost every ride I see look like a monster. I'm determined those will be my next tire. Ride looks good man, I can't wait to see where you go with it, on the trails and in the build!

 

[Airmapper]

I'm now CB equipped. Got my mount secure so it sticks up going down the road, and did a bit of tuning. Nice low SWR on the lower end, probably could do a bit better, but ch19 is at about 1.2

I'm running a Midland 75-833 hooked to a 3' Firestik II

I found some guys talking on a channel that were mentioning they were at places I knew, so I asked for a radio check. I believe it had to be a base station that pulled me in hailing from a city 20 miles away, and another individual said he was about 15 miles away and could pick me up.

The mount isn't quite as clean looking as I had hoped, I may work with it more later, but for now it works. It tips over so I do not have to remove it to get in the garage. My original intent was for it to be pressure sensitive and tip over on it's own, but I didn't get the right tension and a Firestik is a lot heavier than I had imagined, so it just has a locking mechanism to hold it vertical now.

I'm really pleased how the CB fit into the center console box, perfect. I also like this model for being able to swap out to my Bronco.