My Xterra overland rig- leeloo

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utspoolup

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I have been looking to get something more outdoors/ off road/ and funner than my current cars, so I started where many look, Jeeps, but after driving a few and seeing the prices, and seeing issues others were having I started looking at something else. That something else was Toyotas, I was torn between the 4Funner (what I call all 4runners) and the Taco. But again, price was exaggerated in my book. I have seen a few years old go for 3-4K less than brand new, and brand new was higher than I wanted to spend now. Then I was out with my daughter Christmas 2013 and leaving Toys-R-Us and seen a built up 2nd gen X sitting in the parking lot, I just stood outside checking it out for a bit. After doing some research, seeing several on the road, talking to a few owners, no one had anything bad to say about them. Then I saw the prices, off road reviews, drove a friends, and available options, I knew what I was going to get. Thing was, if a manual was available I wanted it. So I started looking and making a game plan. The one I seen had Shrockworks armor and I knew I wanted it as well, so I bought the entire X package suit, since I heard stories of wait times, figured this would devote me and give me a head start so I didn’t have to wait as long once I found my X. Then Gobi had the sale last fall with the rack, ladder, and accessory for just the price of the rack. Figured, WTH, I’m building an overland rig so the rack would be a welcomed piece when out and about, plus we all have seen Mr. Overland Bound praise the Gobi rack... Then the team at Nisstec had a sale going and had OME springs in stock, so I pulled the trigger on the Radflo extended travel setup. And still I did not have my X. Just been putting the crates/ boxes in the garage until I found my X since manuals are still hard to locate with what I was looking for.

On Presidents Day 2015 I just arrived at work and put my Honda in park when the entire car is engulfed with steam. After doing @ $2,000 of maintenance in the last year to it (timing belt, exhaust, head gasket, resurface head, radiator, all hoses, etc) and seeing this new coolant issue, I lost it. Took off of work and had the car towed back to JMAC for repair of heater core and started calling around for X’s, found a 2015 Pro4X, manual, with everything I wanted. I went to check it out. The dealership wanted just under 29K for it, and it was her first real test drive (4 miles on the clock). A few hours later, it was mine. Got it home, and started the work. Day 1 already had the shrockworks sliders and rear bumper mounted, by that weekend, the front bumper and Gobi rack were mounted. Due to the added weight I was already hitting bump stops on a truck that did not have a thousand miles on it, so I was glad that I had already purchased the Nisstec lift kit since many parts were backordered. Already knowing what I was going after, I ended up pretty much finishing the rig 2 months after buying it, and before its first oil change. Fast yes, but I was almost a year into researching what I wanted. As you can see, the truck is still a project in work, but for the short period of time it has been owned, it has been transformed into an overland rig of fun for the road less traveled.

Her name – Leeloominai Lekatariba Lamina Tchai Ekbat De Sebar, AKA “Leeloo”….. Milla Jovovich, from the 5th element, Supreme Being “Perfect”. Plus the rig and her are both hot!

Suspension/Tires/Wheels:
- Level 8 Bully Pro, 16x8.5 wheels
- Goodyear Duratrac 285/75-16 tires
- Radflow Extended 2.0 coilovers, 650lb springs
- SPC control arms
- 1” top spacers
- Cam bolts
- Radflo 2.0 rear shocks
- OME HD leaf pack
- Nisstec adj shackles
- PRG 3* shims.
- Nisstec extended brake lines

Performance:
- XTP intake mani spacer
- Airflow snorkel
- Volant intake
- Volant snorkel adapter
- Amsoil 75W140 rear diff, extra fluid due to shimming
- Rear diff breather extension

Interior/Storage:
- Raingler Large Ceiling Net
- Raingler 1” Cargo Net
- Raingler Divider Net
- Garvin Rear Rack
- Weathertech, front and rear
- Rex rug mod
- Action packer and Plano cases for interior/ exterior organization

Electrical:
- ARB CKMTA12 mounted to side of Garvin rack, 1 gallon Helix tank under truck
- ARB 50qt fridge
- Rigid E2 40” combo mounted to Gobi Rack
- Diode Dynamics Luxeon LED fog light housings
- Diode Dynamics XP50 back up LEDs
- Diode Dynamics SMF6 LEDs in the front and middle interior lights
- Diode Dynamics SMD12 board LEDs rear cargo light
- Schumacher Solar controller
- Powerfilm solar panels, in GHB
- OTRATTW switches
- Muvi K2 cameras, pair, one mounted to windshield behind mirror, other can be clamped or mounted various places
- Upgraded battery terminals
- Uniden Pro 520Xl CB

Exterior:
- Gobi Ranger rack
- Gobi Ladder
- Gobi rack attachments
- Offroad Gorilla hood strut kit, in transit
- McMaster Carr, 200lb lift gate struts
- Viggs hood blackout, in transit
- Trasharoo
- Dual 4 gallon Rotopax fuel cans, on the lower part of Gobi rack
- Overland bound emblems, pair
- Various decals
- 2005 grill assy
- Vanity plate Utah “OVRLNDX”

Armor:
- Shrockworks Front bumper
- Shrockworks rear bumper with tire carrier
- Shrockworks Sliders
- Shrockworks Engine, Transmission, Transfer Case, and Fuel Tank Skids
- ARB M226 diff cover
- Boulder Iron Worx Rear Shock Skids

Recover/Safety:
- Ramsey 9500UT winch
- Amsteel winch line
- Factor55 flatlinkE
- Shrockworks AL Fairlead
- Factor55 Hitchlink 2.0
- 3X Crosby shackles, in recovery kit
- 4X Rugged Ridge shackles, mounted to bumper
- Ames D handle shovel, Gobi rack mounted
- Husqvarna 26” axe, Gobi rack mounted
- Hi-Lift Extreme 48”, Gobi rack mounted
- Lotus Development Slider attachment
- HiLift off-road base
- ARB recovery kit
- ARB tire repair kit
- Staun Tire Deflators
- Craftsman compact tool boxes, pair with tools under rear seat
- Sven saw, 26”, under rear set
- NOCO Genius boost jump box
- Upgraded First Aid Kit using Voodoo tactical deployment bag in factory location
- Get Home Bag (GHB), could live out of it for 3 days if needed.
- Hill People Gear Serape in roof net (sleeping bag, blanket, cold weather gear, etc, one of those things you will always find a use for)
- Cold weather gear, extra as needed, in roof net or GHB
- Mounted XD45C (carry) and locked-up Ruger GP101 357 (back country)

Removed:
- Mudflaps
- Front and Rear sway bar

To-do list:
- Magnaflow Exhaust
- Bully Dog Tuner (when they come out for the 2015)
- Dual battery mod
- Dep Hep Molle Panels
- Install rest of stuff sitting idle in garage

Current


Misc photos









 
Last edited:

TxTerra

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Thats a sweet lookin X! glad to see it modded out already that quickly. Youre going to love that truck

good luck on your travels
 

maktruk

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Nicely outfitted X. We decided to start outfitting the Frontier because of the Pro-4X package. We bought the X new in 2012 and wheeled it hard a couple weeks a year since. Both vehicles are trail-ready off the showroom floor. I call 'em my little billygoats.



I have a hidden winch mount on order from RockyMtnX on TNX. I have this in my toolroom begging for a home:



Also waiting to install my 50w PA horn when the front end gets ripped off...

Oh yeah, these guys are begging for 12v too. Hungry little buggers...



I really need to find an economical rear bumper with tire/jack carrier. The spare under the bed and the trailer hitch really kill my departure angle.
 

TxTerra

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hopefully Insain fab gets their act together from the group buy back in jan. Im excited to get mine. i havent heard anything bad about their work or bumpers. might want to check them out. Hefty fab, shrockworks, rlc have good reputations as well.
 

utspoolup

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If your local to utah Ill sell you my Shrock so I can get a Maxterra rear.. being able to hold the shovel/ axe, 10 extra gallons of liquid and extra lighting makes it well worth it in my book. Nothing wrong with the shrock, just want more carry capacity and to support a local vendor who is a great guy and builds great stuff. Like mentioned earlier, shrock has a wait, usually decent, but they do make nice stuffs, as evident in my build selections.

R00, coming along good and great combo. I can only support 2 cars with one payment, so in 4.5 years I can look elsewhere, but I hope to keep the X in the family after I get her done. My daughter is just turning 10, so maybe it will be her first rig..... See how she takes to it after a few years, but I'm loving it now. And hope to get her on more adventures with it, that's why we have these, to enjoy the outdoors and teach others to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors as well.

Thanks for the good words everyone. Hope to keep her building up well and enjoying the road less traveled.
 

utspoolup

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Added some photos of the new wheels (Level 8 bully pro) to the original post and this post. Currently heading outside to install a Odyssey 34R battery and a few other little things. If I have time I will finish the raptor mod to the front grill.


 
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utspoolup

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Battery is in, and I mounted the maxtrax on the spare tire for now until I build my bracket for the Gobi rack.

Still waiting on the hold down to come in but should be here before the end of the week, just in time for the local X club pony express run.


 

utspoolup

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Yes sir. I originally wanted both the pos and neg to use these terminals, they are referred to as "military style terminals". Google for your favorite source. But, as you are aware driving an X also, Nissan has the retarded fusible link bus bar deal that 90% of everything factory goes thru which utilizes a vertical mounting hole offset to the middle of a 2.5" wide box, IE not battery friendly. I originally was using the military terminal and then took a copper pipe coupling and smashed it flat via a 5lb sledge, then rounded the edges, and stuck it in a vise and twisted it 90* and covered the middle piece with some thick epoxy heatshrink to provide isolation JIC. The entire piece was about 2" long and twisting 2" of 1/8" copper 90* SUCKED BALLS to do, but this way the factory fuse terminal could bolt to it. But it was awkward and looked like piss (the fuse bar, not my copper bar, I still think it looked great). Plus I was worried it was going to snap off due to the fuse bar being 90% plastic. So I scrapped that idea and instead used a "marine style" terminal on the positive. This has a post that comes up vertically that the factory fuse think can bolt to directly, then I ran my 2AWG winch cable, and 4AWG accessory wiring to that same lug. Fits good, is solid, and I even managed to trim enough of the positive battery terminal boot so it can still fit, which is the only thing protecting the contacts on said retarded fuse bus bar.

The negative is still the military style post however, these use a separate bolt for the clamp and the electrical cabling. The bolt for the cabling is a 3/8 bolt, and it is easy to add on to. without loosing pressure/ torque on the clamp portion. Later I may get a wild hair up my rear and completely redo the fusible bus bar to get rid of it, but this is working for now.

The facotyr negative terminal a joke at best. If you pull it off and flip it over you will see the main issue. It looks like a lot of metal contact BUT it is a smoke screen. There is mostly plastic underneath. The metal is coming the plastic and there is only a band less than 1/8" around the terminal that is actually providing the ground path. I will eventually replace the wire going htru the current monitor that is approx. 8AWG with something in the 2AWG or 0AWG size. Likely will do this when the need to replace my alternator occurs. I will also upgrade the factory charging cable for more current as well. I like the new rugged rock/ DC power alternator but I think the voltage set point is too high on it. Oddly the DC power 250 and 270A alternators put out a correct 14.8Vdc. The Rugged Rock 180A is 15.2. Not sure why Steve did this, I would call and chat but I am buying other things for the X right now, but this is a project that is gaining speed with me doing the dual battery mod later this year if all goes well. I personally think the bigger 250/270 amp is way over kill and the 180 is perfect but I just do not like the voltage set point.

FYI for references.
https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/nissan-xterra-high-output-alternator-by-rugged-rocks-2005-2015-40l-v6-180-amp-p-60642.html?osCsid=07q5jrkru859ltur9rfgkq0rs1

https://www.dcpowerinc.com/high-output-alternators.html?make=Nissan&model=Xterra&year=2010&engine=4.0L+V6+VQ40DE
 
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utspoolup

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Thanks guys, it is coming along and almost done. Received the battery hold down in the mail. I however had to put it in all cat wampus since the washers were trying to worm their ways down the middle slot of the bandaid as the slot is larger. After seeing it like this, I think I like it more... but Offroad Gorilla did a great job making them still. Getting ready for the UXOC Pony Express trail run tomorrow morning. There shall be many photos.

 
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