Nd4SpdSe 2001 Frontier turned Expedition Trailer - "The Frontrailer"

[Nd4SpdSe]

The next day we had plans to meet up with the girlfriend's cousin at her 2nd cousin’s new cottage. Fred would follow me for a while. We followed the country roads to eventually stop at a Canadian Tire to get some parts in case the camping pot didn't hold. We then kept going but split once we got to the highway; Fred continued southward while we were going eastward. Back with the Xterra after a little over 100 miles I could smell bearing grease as the front hubs were getting hot, but the (gen1) Xterra used free-running hubs that locked up while the gen2 Xterra and it`s cousins Frontier and Pathfinder`s hubs are always connected. I suspected by they never got hot from a better hub and bearing design to always be spinning, especially being equipped with an AWD-like “Auto4x4” mode. I just made sure to keep it light on the throttle when turning as I didn’t want to strain the front drive unnecessarily as it was currently my lifeline, but in all honestly, the truck didn’t care and drove without issue even with a trailer in tow. On the highway I tried to keep speeds reasonable and go on the slow side of the flow. As things were going well, we still decide to meet up with her cousin visiting her 2nd cousin and see their new cottage. Unfortunately, the campground that the cousin was at was full and wasn’t accommodating to allow us to share a site like initially planned. Not being able to reach any of them we decide to make our way on our own. We went to scope out a spot nearby on iOverlander but it was too short for a trailer. We then saw and reserved a night at a 4-start campground down the down and was actually very happy with the quality and the services and for the price. Went into down to get an extension cord before they closed, took a dip in their heated pool, got some firewood and enjoyed our evening.




The next day we would slowly trek home, leaving before the rain came. Then I parked the truck in search of a new rear driveshaft.



The driveshaft issue took a while as I was sourcing options. It seemed complicated and discouraged by the local big name driveshaft shop to do steel. RockAuto also have some aftermarket options. I decided to go the cheaper route in the meantime and found some on car-part.com. I found out about 2.5hrs out and went there the following Friday as I finish at noon. They pull the truck around on the lift I noticed it had no motor or transmission. They had the front steel shaft up front but told them that wasn't it. They store they had it but alas we didn't find it. I did leave with some rear CV axles and cup holder inserts that I didn't know I was missing. I found another and did the same but it was 3hrs away, but indeed had it. Now having it in hand I wanted to get the U-joints changed before installing them. I ordered the U-joints Monday and dropped them off the Tuesday at a garage I normally deal with. They were busy but said they could maybe do it. Thursday evening I get a call saying the U-joints aren't right and wont fit. I go over and they don't fit. They also normally deal with the CarQuest that I got them from and called to confirm. The garage with a caliper in hand really confirmed that nothing in the CarQuest system, despite listing the being compatible, was not. I then asked them to check for that of an Armada and indeed that one looked to fit. We we`re planing on going to the girlfriends 2nd cousin to finally see their new cottage and surprise the niece and nephew with their Minis as they were celebrating the nephews birthday, finishing those up at 1am aligning the headlights on the street. The next morning I had to attempt and learn to do U-joints myself. I'll say I messed up the needle bearing on one and the remove of the second one didn't go well as I had installed the grease nipple on the wrong side. I went back to get another set. Those ones I installed successfully, after having learned by sacrificing two...it would of been cheaper paying the garage to of done them for me, but now I know. It also frustrates me that I try to delegate to save on time and it always backfires, so it all comes down to me to do it all. It`s when the girlfriend came out to complain about it being 3pm and taking too long while I was getting ready to bolt it back into the truck. It's also then that she decided to start to pack. No comment. In the end we didn't even sleep in the tent so didn't even need to take the truck as room had opened up in the basement bed. Oh well.

Needing some time off to R&R, I went down to visit my parents (alone) for the week. I did some work including changing out the defective display on their 2014 Mazda3 to that from a 2017; higher solution and looks physically better. Also got the Android Auto upgrade done as well as Auxito LED high and low beams, all stuff they asked to get done. The Pathfinder I replaced the Metra contol module as it died a week after installing it. Unfortunately it was bought as a mis-list on Amazon for C$150 but they don't exchange, they refund, and had since jacked the price to C$650, so I bought the one off of Cruchfield for C$550, which is it's regular, common price. Not cheap, but honestly always well worth it to remove that antiquated radio. The update on the Metra kit gets the temps working in Celcius but I lose the MPG counter and outside temp reading. While it's setup for metric now, the TPMS is in kPA, which is annoying cause we use PSI. Canada is a mix-match of units. I also wired up the dual battery MPPT solar charger. The factory Bose amp was removed back in spring to make way for it and a microamp for the factory sub, but the amp isn't wired up yet. I also made some more permanent switch for the electric lockers. I also wanted to work on my mini server to get my VPN working properly to get around the Netflix household sharing limitation.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

Next step is back to the trailer, or more specifically, the RTT. The girlfriend had a rebate this year on items for outdoor activities, which included camping and tents, so this was a good opertunity to replace my aging tent from 2008. I've been hesitant on replacing it as I find the material quality doesn't match up with what I had and that they're much more transparent for letting light get in. I have been looking for the last few years but saw nothing I liked. the 23Zero was a contender but I heard that the LST layer peels off with time. I have deal with Go Xplore for other products and have even talked to him in the past about. He's an RTT from back then and knew what I'm talking about. I figured I'd shoot him a message and ask, saying that I'm serious about a new tent but concerned about the materials. He had invited us over to test a combination of materials over a worklight to find a good combo, He was concerned about a dark outside color raising the temperature inside the tent. He also had an order going out in the new few weeks and would be the time to get it for this summer. We went and found a combo that we liked. It was also on his new model tent that had so many featured that I wouldn't have to modifty a thing. What I wanted this time around was the overhang with annex entry but also go a bit wider with a queen-size bed. We placed the order end of April and after it arrived, he sorting his priority orders, along wit our schedule, we went to pick it up at the end of August. What I also wanted to do was see if his regular tent's cover and fly would fit on my old Titan Winch RTT. The cover I replaced only a few years ago but I overpaid by getting it done at a shop that specialised in covers for RVs and boats. The way it was made it left holes in the corer that is what likely allowed the mice in to make their nest.

As always, the night before, we moved the RTT from the trailer to the truck. This was the first time mouting it on the Pathfinder and required longer bolts but also longer brackets because of the rack. The trailer looked odd but it was necessary. We arrived, installed the tent and got the walk-through on how it works. We can close the tent with the annex attached. The annex is also a 4-wall with side entries and the planis to rotate the changeroom so that we can have access from the annex. It blocks light better then expected and actually better then my old tent which was an unexpected surprise.









And the old tent we indeed compatible with GoXplore`s fly and cover did fit. I was and still am unsure with what to do with the old tent. I was thinking of renting it out or lending it to family and friends, but do I want to deal with that? Without a new fly and cover it felt like it was a waste to throw it out. We did have a plan to go camping with the niece/nephew but that got denied. So far it's up for sale but with no rush. It also includes a winter fly that was never used as the Webasto does an amazing job. The ARB annex will be exchanged for some batteries from my buddy Fred. The pictures included are from the ad and I remove the GoXplore logos as to not misrepresent the tent as being something it's not. I've ad many people ask about it, some seemed serious, but to this date it's not yet sold.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

The RTT stayed on the truck for several weeks in case potential buyers wanted to take a proper look at it. The trailer would get some modifications to accomodate the new tent as the cover rested on the back of the changeroom arm with it's bolts poking into it. Not a good way to start. The mounting arm will got reworked and fixed up a tad and we went out for a few nights camping at Lac Megantic. No pictures of the setup as apprently we only took video. The turned changeroom and enclosed awning was awesome together. Unfortunately on the way down the truck had an issue with the Airlift suspension. If you remember a while back that I removed the axle-back section that rusted off, well that caught up with me as the airline that was in the direction of the exhaust apprently got warm enough to fail. I got line from the hardware store as it does work, but also weaker and failed about 30 minutes into the drive back. The rear tires just rubbed the inner fenders half way down and all the way home. We had a surprise party for the girlfriend at a cottage on the weekend, so we went home and dropped off the trailer but left with the truck as it already had out sleeping gear, but even without the trailer it still rub the rear. It made me wish I had some spacers and if would of helped against them rubbing against the body.

After this trip I wanted to rerework the changeroom arm as I found there was clearance issues with how close it was to the bed and tent, worrying about damaging the tent but also caused some complications with the order and deployment of the RTT. I also picked up a new awning and sides on sale from Princess Auto thinking it was the same as the Sunday Campers I have. It's definitely inspired by it, but also a foot shorter and has some pros and cons to it. Either way, the car-jack awning extension system also failed a few years ago and it needed a whole redesign. I wanted something simpler, needed no tools, needed to tuck in during transport but it also needed to extend past the side of the trailer to allow the walls to drop down. After much time thinking and looking, running through ideas with Fred, then changing it as I was building it, so far I'm pleased with the outcome.









The turned change room also meant that I needed to improve the lighting situation inside. I mounted a channel for a 90 degree LED strip, but as I'm still waiting on the dimmer to arrive, that will be continued next year.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

With the rear suspension issue, it was the kick in the butt I needed to get that sorted out. With new air lines on the way, I did have the other pieces of the puzzle floating around since spring. I had a Supreme Suspensions 3" spacer to replace the 2" and I got some midly used Mevotech HD springs that should increase the payload without too much of a lift and allow it to stay within spec. The new springs also had a set of Airlift bags in them so I didn't need to remove and transfer mine over. The truck sent in to get aligned, the rear is barely within spec. The extra inch give the truck a much better look. Ironcially the extra lift made the rubbing on the front fenders worse. However, I can't wait to get sliders on the truck.





Following the lift and alignment, the weather was up and down that I decided to bring the RX-8 to it's winter storage, pick up the winter tires at the mother-in-laws and also test the new rear springs to see how well they handle the tongue weight of a u-haul flat bed. I can't say I'm disappointed and I think it looks more squatted because of the black on black shadow, but also that the step had been bend up slightly from off-roading. They're definitely a good upgrade for loads while still being soft. I also think my cheap Munroe shocks didn't like when the bags gave out. I might have to look at new shocks.




I should also note that the truck loves the 3.36 gears when towing. I notice both with the Frontrailer and the U-haul it's much happier in 4th gear and much less likely to want to downshift to 3rd.

I also wanted to give the truck some love before winter. There was a rust spot under the rear window that came and spread quick over the summer and figured it would get way worse over the winter. We got a warm spell and took advantage of that. Used a wire wheel and ended up finding more rust then expected under the moulding. I cleaned, etch then build primed, then painted the area. I build it up then let it sit for a few days, sanded it down flush to give a respray to blend it with the natural lines. I don't have a final pic but I'm very happy of the final result. There are small signs of overspray but you can't tell at all once the truck is dirty. If it holds up over the winter I'll give it a wet sand next year. There also a few spots around the chrome accent above the rear plate. It seems to be common and the one I first looked at did as well and should try to take care of it next year before it spreads. I also broke the rear wiper arm trying to remove it, despite it siting for a few days in PB Blaster. I still need to order a replacement.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

Just a little close out for now to say that I've caught up for all my major updates. I've been acumulating parts on sale at Princess Auto to replace the axle on my dad's utility trailer he gave me. The tires as badly cracking plus I bent a rim this yea. I got new (and taller) tires on roms but the axle doesn't use a standard bolt pattern. He's also been concerned about the weight capacity of that axle so I'll be upgrading to a proper 3500lb axle, plus adding trailer brakes. He built the trailer using I-beams (from/at work) so it's strong AF, plus he upgraded the springs years ago so it would be nice to be able to use the trailer to it's max potential.

Winter tires are on and the Frontrailer in winter storage. It had started to snow a bit but I had other priorities and the trailer can handle being in the snow. All the lines and hot water heater have been purged from water many weeks ago when the temps were closing into freezing temps overnight. What I did find interesting was using the lockers to back up the incline to connect the trailer. The back entrance for the garage is in grass. I had put it in 4-low to let me crawl slower to work my way up the hill and get the ball lined up. I was sliding quite a bit and needed to get some momentum to properly work my way up the bump of the half curb and back towards the trailer. I do LOVE backup cameras for connecting a trailer, even if the Pathfinder's camera is offset a tad. It was on the wishlist for the Xterra. I then remembered I had lockers so I engaged both. To my surprise it crawled up like I was on the dry. I know the benefit and the plan for the lockers is when flexing out the suspension and raising wheels off the ground, but I was not expecting such a difference with such a simple situation where I had no reason to believe it would be that beneficial. I'm going to really like these, but I have yet to try just a single locker as I've been in a more all-or-nothing situation/mentality. I've been told drifting in the snow with a rear locker is a whole different story, so I'll be sure to try it over the course of winter, as it's just begun

I did pick up a slim 32" single row light bar last week; a higher end "Strands Siberia SR" unit I bought at C$160 worth about $500. I wanted my front light bar to not pretrude above the rack but didn't take into account of the curve of the roofline and leaving a gap underneath. I'm quite happy with cheap bars and couldn't validate the price of a high end one, especially considering I'd have to go that route if I was halving my rows of LED to get the same output, at least. It's from a friend's friend closing up his install business due to health issues. He left the army to start his buisness years ago, so sad to see him need to close shop. That'll be a spring job because of the extra dual-color position light adding 2 mores wires into the mix.

I'll be confirming later this week about my appointment to get the exhaust done on the truck. The appointment is for the 17th but just want to make sure.

I've also potentially got a line on a gen2 Pro4x short bed, in black. Since getting the R51 I've been contemplating making a version 2.0, but a bed costs upwards of C$1500 on the use market. I don't like the idea of cutting up something at that price, plus I'd need axles and tonneau cover and would be starting from scratch. Mind you, I like that idea, so many things I've learned and would do better the 2nd time around and the improvements I could make using a gen2 bed which would give me some extra length and width while keeping withing the ratio of proportions the R51 gives me over the gen1 X. What currently drives me nuts on my current setup is that now the fuel filler necks are now on opposing sides truck vs trailer. Anway, I have a friend with an overland build Pro4X Frontier making a custom bed camper, so his bed would eventually be avaiable.

 

[BEEFY]

Good to see you back here and thank you for the catch up on your projects.

 

[Prime]

Glad to see you! Glad that Frontrailer is hanging in there. I want one. Haha.

Thanks for updating us on your current stuff. Good choice on the R51.

I didn't know that radio kit was a thing. It's super ugly, haha, but I get it. The factory system leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

Glad to see you! Glad that Frontrailer is hanging in there. I want one. Haha.

Thanks for updating us on your current stuff. Good choice on the R51.

I didn't know that radio kit was a thing. It's super ugly, haha, but I get it. The factory system leaves a lot to be desired.

Oh it's hanging in there, literally! It's been hard to validate making another one as it's been solid and reliable. It take a beating and keeps on going. I have no complaints about it, it follows me everywhere and with the V8 it just doesn't care that it's back there. Is nice and fun to have so much extra leeway when it comes to power. Even with almost 6000lbs in tow it's still got more to give. You can tell the Armada and Titan are good for 8500 and 9000lbs respectively. Part of me regrets that I never got to get an intercooler/megasquirt setup done on my gen1, but it was outside of my ability and no one was reliable enough to get it completed. I still need to get my 2nd SC and Laminova cores from the last guy that I contracted to do it back in 2020...

I love the R51, and the V8 had been great. I've been no doubt using it to it's potential. It was also my dream to be able to tow my own cars with my truck and makes things easy for winter storage as it's about 100 miles away. I don't need to find a second driver, or even fun to chat with a passenger on the way up and back. The Xterra did everything I asked of it but realistically way overworked, but took it like a champ. While weighing over 5000lbs itself, it towed the <3000lb Frontrailer everywhere, 5000lb and 9000lb loads of stuff, but realistically I need more but don't want full size, and not a pickup person. Too bad SUV's like this don't exist anymore. The next one might have to be an Armada, or I VK Swap a late gen2 Frontier. That V6 Turbo Ranger is also an attractive option. We'll see if Nissan bring something to the table with the turbo-6 going into the new Armada, cause they dropped the ball on never doing a VK56 Frontier. They could of kicked ass long before any Raptors came out. No matter, I plan to keep this truck for another 10 years if I can.

I agree and don't about the radio. I thought so too for a long time until I got my own. I did contemplate going with a large screen Chinese Android unit but I figured it didn't give me what I wanted for the price. Honestly it feels F'N great to (finally) get rid of the old radio and have something modern with AA. Changing out the radio also have the Bose system new life that so far I might not change out the speakers.

What's interesting about this setup is that you can get a box (Naviks) that intercepts the signal of the OEM screen and will allow an HDMI input to feed it, and selected on a switch. There are also (more expensive) integrated Android boxes also. I did this as a poor mans Android Auto for the first few years. The plan is to connect a Raspberry PI to it, add a touch screen overlay and use this screen to control all my lights and some accessories. The lockers were supposed to be a part of it but may stay how they are. I also run a splitter and feel the rear (now defunct) DVD screen for movies. The Naviks even has an RCA input for a camera, on top of one tha my Kenwood will do as well. I want to use them for some off-road cameras, and a night vision front facing cam out be a dream goal. I've got the parts and a program done, with much help as I suck at programming, but still need to map out the outputs to control some SSRs. I had that part working but my interface and controls left much to be desired so now I need to work at merging the two together. Winter would be a perfect time to work on this, if I had a heated garage....

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

The winter went well, but stiff was done. The main Optima Yellow Top started to give me a hard time to start the truck when the cold hit. It was just 6 months out of warranty too. It never liked the V8 but it also came out of my Xterra and spent some time on a shelf, so unsure if that's the battery if the nature if its life but this time I decided I wanted to try an Odyssey. I got it shipped to my parents for it to meet me there for Christmas. I did require some modifications to my custom try as it was a tad wider, but it fits.

The truck also got a brand new 3" stainless catback exhaust. A few months later I already got a warning for the sound. He wasn't wrong, and I got two cats installed which did a good job as quieting it down externally, and got rid of most of the resonance inside the cab.

Unfortunately I put a severe dent in my hatch by lunging into a iced snowbank that wasn't as deep as I thought as the camera was showing the indent dug in from the commercial snowblower. I jut the brakes hard, but not hard enough. I'm unfortunately still driving around with a dented hatch as I can't find one that isn't undamaged, even if it's not color matched.

The winter was long and didn't want to spend. Was busy doing stuff for others like helping the haunted house move, the cat café projector install with it's own mount I made and the neighbour that had popup issues on his tablet and right after the smart doorbell decided to lose it's connection. All this between all the rain we got. It was always nice during the week but rainy and cold on weekends. I had a trip planed with a friend at the start of June but I wasn't progressing on the prep. The week of I took the Wednesday off, cause it was a beautiful day and hammered out a few things. I needed to finish welding and painting the shower/change room arm that I was working on last year to get it just right to clear the tent and the tonneau cover while having it sit right when deployed. As a recommendation from my buddy, I installed an accumulator to see if I could reduce my water usage by being able to reduce the minimum water flow. Made brackets to mount a 4" ABS tube to house my heater hose so it no longer gets crushed or the insulation eaten by mice. The truck got new Bilstein 4600 shocks to replace the Monroe shocks that were installed to pass inspection to get plated but failed when the airlines blew last year while I was towing the trailer, having just left for a camping trip.

I managed to get everything I wanted done and ready to leave Saturday, but my buddy did not. I wanted to GTFO and left anyway but ended up discouraged and slept in a truck stop parking lot as the rain that day just didn't let up until the morning. The next day I did a few errands and chilled at a Starbucks waiting for him to arrive. It was nice to just chill. The first stop would be at my girlfriend's cottage. We wanted to use her spot just to get up camp to sleep but she, being on maternity leave, was anxious to be social and came to see up, insisting to make us supper and breakfast. What a treat! That family is so nice!

The next day we did our groceries, first stopping off at a butcher shop she recommended and went crazy for their meats. We finished up at a regular grocery store, fulled up our tanks and reserves and hit the road. One last top off at La Tuque before hitting the forest road.

From there I let my buddy lead the way. Having done it once before I wanted him to take in the drive an I would follow in his dust wake.

What I didn't know is what the track he was taking was for the south road that enters Casey. The last time we took the north which I assume is the trail commonly taken, other then the main road now accessible since they opened a tourist base there, it also adds a 1-2 hours to the drive. Entering the trail we encountered a Ford Ranger all broken up.

And not much further down we see the entrance to the road is blocked by a down tree and still narrow with ones cut prior. Taking out the battery chainsaw we made and opening and went in. Little did we know it would be like this for the next 10 kilometres, clearing about two dozen trees while getting eaten by flack flies and would take take us about 2 hours to arrive. The trail was also significantly overgrown.

People ask me why I don't want to Titan/Armada swap the truck. This is one of the example on why....

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

We arrived and made camp. I started to gather wood to make a fire to keep the bugs away while my buddy worked on taking out the food. We decided after a long day that the steaks would be tonight. We enjoyed our meal, made our camp and went to bed. Around 4am we would get woken up by the constant sound of planes taking off and landing. Once we got up we say it was an agricultural sprayer plane. We got up and watch them for a bit, figuring there was more then one. We also some some small passenger plates take off and land, thinking it was a staff change cause it went quiet for a bit after. We did see a pickup truck drive up and down the runway after a plane that wasn't supposed to be there. We went on our day, working on our kit, getting firewood for the next evening, fighting with the black flies. My buddy forgot the C batteries for this new hot water heaters and worked on a bypass using a Milwaukee work light batttery and I wasn't feeling too hot and went down for a nap.

I woke up in time to watch a man walk towards us from that truck from earlier. I worked my way down from the tent. He was asking what we were doing here and said that this is public land and that we're camping. Our spot was at the edge right beside the trail/old road that lead out of the old airport via the north trail that we didn't take. He was saying they've been there a month and a a half for a 3 month rental of the airstrip to spray for spruce budworm. After seeing we're not causing any trouble he said it was ok that we're here and to just not drive on the runway, like the ATVs of earlier that he chased down. We told him we were leaving tomorrow anyhow. He did invite us over to check out their setup and later in the afternoon we did. He explaied the map showing their targetted aread. He had talked to his boss about us and neither of them could identify where their zone of responsibility and the limits of the airport actually where.

The next day we woke up to mosquitoes that managed to find their way into our RTTs.The plans didn't fly as they were calling for high winds. We packed up, cleaned up the site, burried the fire pit and went on our way. This time taking the north trail out. We saw an adventure bike leave by there yesterday and figured it would be an easier go then the south trail of the other day. The initial plan was to stop at an abandonned camp and stay there and fish, but we would of had to backtrack the south trail and potentially do more of what we did to get in. There was also the risk of being low on fuel if things didn't go well, so we decided that we're stop it here. He was also anxious to get back to see his new girlfriend. I didn't want to go home and planed to camp a night by myself. The trail was mostly clear. Cut down a dozen trees, half to be nice to clear the trail for others. The bugs also weren't nearly as bothersome. My buddy also showed me the power of a machete and now I want one.

There is this gorgeous spot I wanted to show him, that I've wanted to camp here and bring a canoe to fish. He aggreed.

What wasn't expected was the washed out section of the road nearing the end that surely wasn't there last time. It was a steep enough climb that we went out to take a look. Also being concerned on how soft it may be. I went up and engaged the rear locker just in case, having the trailer in tow. My buddy with his Frontier I got him to climb up on as much of an angle as I could as he was lower and has a longer wheel base. We both went up without a fuss.

We were told by the guy working at the airport that a girl came up crying a few days ago, saying her boyfriend was stuck. Apparently they were in a small SUV, but I have no idea where it could be. There was a mild stream crossing early on, then a split of 2 mud holes. I took the left one from memory of last time the right one being deep and rutty but they both looked equally shallow this time but didn't take a chance. This was less then 2km from the busy forest road but to see her do about 13km on foot for help didn't make sence to me, especially if you don't know the way as there's a few branch-offs, so I'm not sure. Anyway, getting back to the forest road, we crossed to explore the sandpit and make lunch.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

On the way back I follow my buddy as per but noticed I was low on power and had a hard time on hills and passing and only got worse as we went. Stopping before we hit the pavement to air back up I looked at my unsealed airbox and peaked at the filter to see it had crushed it on itself. Following all those miles and the airbox not being completely sealed (the seal for the tubing doesn't work well on the Z1 intake when modified for the V8, especially in combination with a Titan Nismo intake) had me suck in all the dust and had likely jammed the filter, which had it also cave in onto itself. Figuring I'd since it off didn't help the situation and only made it worse, causing it to hit a quasi-rev-limiter at 2200rpms. No matter, the Canadian Tire isn't far away. In the parking lot we quickly tested the truck without a filter to confirm that it was the issue and indeed it was. I got a replacement, we installed it and went on our way.

We stopped in St-Tite to change the remainder of the food. He went on his way home and I had a spot in mind. A hidden stop that we used back in 2018 to start an overland event trip, which was subsequently closed then reopened. I spend the evening largely bug-free with a fire and the sound of the river beside me. The place had signs for no ground fires but there is a "fire pit" on one of the far end site that people have made and is well used. I used that site and the already existing fire emplacement, but it also gives my the idea that one of those overland deployable fire pits isn't a bad idea for times like these.

Tempted to stay en extra day, I figured it would be a good idea to head home, unpack and ready for the crazy weekend volunteering at the Levis Family Festival that the Haunted House wasn't just taking part in, but was asked by the city and is now completely running as the other (main) organizers completely shiat the bed and didn't pay their bills since 2022. Pocketing the money? We can only guess....

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

The truck and trailer haven't moved much since the trip. I did work at fixing up the utility trailer my dad gave me. He built it years ago and didn't need it anymore and was taking up space in the yard, so it was either I take it or he sells it. I took it back with me the year before and last year it got roughed up a bit, My buddy dented a rim and the tire bead looks rough but held it. I ended up also denting it but it was done. The tires were now cracking from age. The issue with all that is my dad had built the axle using some tubing, which was strong, but what I/we thing were Dodge spindles, which he always had doubt to handle loads that the rest of the could. I picked up some taller tires on sale as Princess Auto to where the bolt pattern didn't match, to where no standard rims for a trailer would ever fit. So the better option would be to resolve the axle issue at the same time, and while I'm at it, I'm throwing on brakes. With the new axle being slightly wider, and my dad mounting the fenders to the top of the leaf spring plate was a good idea, but requires modifications to compensate. The fenders got some TLC. With the addition of the electric brakes, the wiring was completely removed and redone. it was was also loomed with a ground wire running through the entire harness and everything attaching to it, but a few chassis ground incorporated for good measure. My dad had made a quick-connect at the tongue since it was made to dump as well. I wanted to do completely away with that concept and made the hardness work with the dump pivot, which was at the end of the tongue, then ran the wire inside the tongue until it popped out at the front end. I'm definitely happy with the results and so is m dad. The dump never worked well as the trailer was too low, but with the taller tires, it works perfectly. Also the trailer having a lift, it sits nice and level with the R51 with a good amount of ground clearance. I'd like to give it a paint job and some other upgrades, but those will have to wait. The next day I used it to clean out 700lbs of metal stuff floating around, including a cast bathtub that the girlfriend bought and used for the haunted house a few years ago and I wanted it gone. The day after I found a local FB post for free wood, which was more then I expected and probably was a good 1000lbs. My body may of liked that as a few days later my left arm was on fire; my herniated disc flared up for the first time and I was off of work for a week, rolling in a ball of pain for the first 3 days. Then two weeks later the rear end snapped out on me in the RX-8, swung back 270 degrees and ended up merging on the highway, backwards. The assessment is still TBD but it might be a write-off. I don't understand what happened to be honest.

In all of this with some relevant news, is that I got an update from a friend, maybe more acquaintance in the local Nissan truck community as we're a small bunch. A friend went to an overland meet last fall that chatted with him as they both have Frontiers. He found out that he was looking at upgrading his setup and building an overland bed camper for his truck and that he would sell the original bed for cheap. He's been posting his progress and I got a message sooner then expected as it wasn't done, but he was moving to the building on the truck part and also wanted to clean that out as it's no longer officially needed and taking up space. The bed; a gen2 black Pro4X short bed. How convenient, and how could I pass this up? I borrow a trailer and a friend comes with for the 2.5hr trek. The bed is in significantly better shape then my gen1 bed ever was. Some minor surface rust in some spots underneath and one on the side of the bed that`s easy to fix up with sanding and paint. Tail lights included plus his Pro4X roof rack, but he kept the reverse camera; no biggie. I've got enough to do before the end of the year but I would really, really like to deal with the underside rust before winter and that'll be it until next year.

The probably-too-ambitious plan is to get it usable for fall 2026, but I also want to take my sweet time. Part of this, other then it matching, and the fuel filler necks are on opposing sides which is kind of annoying and the non-matching wheel-bolt pattern between truck and trailer, and the 2.5" wheel spacers I'd need to match the track width. This time around is that I know where I'm going and can do better the second time around. I can also correct some mistakes in it's design. Everything was done and invented, added and patched as I went. There are also some stuff like actually completing the floor since half was cut out from rust. That stops me from working on a kitchen system, but it's hard to validate taking it off the road for something that's relatively unimportant in it's function. I'll still use v1.0 up until I'm happy with where v2.0 is done and then make the switch. I do, really, really want to focus on a mint wiring and electrical setup. Mine's been solid, no lie, but I want it better, much better. I also want better integrated lighting and actually do my diff-alt setup and use the Pathfinder's 130A while the truck itself gets upgraded to a Titan 200A unit. I'll need to source the axle, cause yes, I'm sticking with the truck axle setup, but will look for a 3.69 from a manual. I already have the fuel tank, picked up from an R51 part out last year and I believe it's the same. I can't mount it cause it's too wide. It`s also longer, but less off an issue to modify the trailer to accommodate it. The utility track and the support for the gen2 bed will also open up more options for mounting and organizing. Also with the gen2 bed, I can go with 18" lifting actuators over the 12" that I have now. This means more height as the awning is short if a few inches, even with the new system. I might try to do a video series on it, for the fun. I like to document my projects and might also help me slow down and properly take my time on it.

 

[Prime]

Oh. shiat.

Frontrailer v2 is a go! I'm so excited.

I want to build one so bad.