Hi From Northern Vermont

[Glenlivet]

Old fart retired from the Marine Corps, then retired from second career as an epidemiologist. I do long distance motorcycle travel with my dog, Glenlivet, in his custom sidecar. We've passed through the southwest before, but by the time the snow and ice here melts it was always too hot to linger out west. I've always wanted to explore the region in more reasonable temps, so I bought a 2010 Xterra S.

The plan is to trailer our sidecar rig out west next April while Vermont is still snowbound, leaving the Xterra and trailer with a friend in NM after boondocking a bit in southern Utah, then following the moderate temperatures till July, at which time we'll meander back south through the Rockies, load up the trailer and drive home across the hot and humid plains and Midwest.

I figure 5,000 miles on the Xterra and 12,000 miles on the sidecar by the time we get home.

Pete
TravelsWithBarley.com

 

[TheCrabby1]

Sound's like a plan Make sure to read up on S.M.O.D. and a few smaller thing's to keep the X going strong !! Plenty of good reading and advice on here

 

[maillet282]

Welcome from somewhere in the world that’s not home

 

[TerryD]

Welcome from Virginia!

 

[General_Tarfun]

Welcome from Georgia!

 

[Fromfrontier2Xterra]

Welcome. The most important thing first, let's see the doggo. Then the X.

 

[xyoverland]

Welcome from Virginia. Always wanted to spend some time up in Vermont.

 

[Glenlivet]

 

[Glenlivet]

Welcome. The most important thing first, let's see the doggo. Then the X.

By popular demand.

 

[Glenlivet]

Sound's like a plan Make sure to read up on S.M.O.D. and a few smaller thing's to keep the X going strong !! Plenty of good reading and advice on here

That's the first thing I checked for. Looked fine, but as a precaution a new radiator was the first part I ordered!

After the radiator is replaced I'll drive it a bit and see if the suspension components ought to be replaced before towing my rig to Utah and back. The total weight of loaded trailer is just under 1400# with a tongue weight of 125#, so OEM ought to suffice unless it hasn't been replaced yet.

Other than replacing ALL the fluids my plan is to run the front end partway up the steep embankment at the end of our driveway, chock the rear wheels, and spend some time underneath cleaning and inspecting. I still have some POR-15 so will use it to slow down the inevitable corrosion.

Thanks all for the welcome!

Pete

 

[General_Tarfun]

That's the first thing I checked for. Looked fine, but as a precaution a new radiator was the first part I ordered!

After the radiator is replaced I'll drive it a bit and see if the suspension components ought to be replaced before towing my rig to Utah and back. The total weight of loaded trailer is just under 1400# with a tongue weight of 125#, so OEM ought to suffice unless it hasn't been replaced yet.

Other than replacing ALL the fluids my plan is to run the front end partway up the steep embankment at the end of our driveway, chock the rear wheels, and spend some time underneath cleaning and inspecting. I still have some POR-15 so will use it to slow down the inevitable corrosion.

Thanks all for the welcome!

Pete

With that year the suspension is probably a bit worn by now, if you just needed beef it up you could use something like a Hellwig Lp-15 to beef it up a little more. That tongue weight is pretty light though so you might be ok with it as is. Really just depends on how worn out it is, the factory leaf springs are pretty weak from the factory so I wouldn't be super surprised if it was bottoming out decent amount.