2013 Nissan Frontier Pro 4X - Recomendations?

underpar24

New member
Hello All, I am new to this forum. I am looking for some advice and what I should do in order to make this truck a better expedition Rig. (Don't get me wrong, this truck has been amazing for the 2 years I have owned it but I am looking to take it to the next level) Also been looking for a soft shell camper for it. I have been unable to find one anywhere. All recommendations and ideas are much appreciated. I would like to make this something I could live out of for 3 months every summer. Here are some pics.
Truck 1.JPGTruck 2.JPGTruck 3.JPG
 

underpar24

New member
Today I ordered the parts below: After I posted this and started looking at more posts.

OEM Roof rack
2" Front lift (Leveling Kit)
Softopper for the bed
 

WKexpedition

Built, not bought!
Great looking Fronty. I love mine so far. I am also wanting to camp out of mine for extended time, but I'm looking for a hard topper so i can put my kayak up there. Keep an eye on Softopper, they are supposed to be developing some tent enclosure that works with their topper so you can sleep in the short bed. excited to see what they come up with.
 

underpar24

New member
Thanks!!! Great Truck, had it in Colorado for before I moved to Michigan. Never had an issue out there with it. I will keep an eye on their future developments. Thanks.
 

Radiation

New member
Rear axle vent mod. Costs under $25.
Failure to do it early cost me $600 for new seals and axle bearings.

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
 

justbecause

perpetually lost
what exactly do you mean by "live out of it" for an extended time? what are your goals and expectations? The only issues I have had with my 11 pro-4x over 3 years was the OEM battery and the crank position sensor died (leaving me stranded and waiting on a tow truck, it would have been a very very bad situation to be in off road.)
 

Apdl

Observer
I love these Pro-4X machines!

Looking forward to the progress and yest the diff vents are good and make sure you have underbody protection
 

JakeH

Adventurer
An ARB or Nat luna refrigerator should definitely be on your list. Finding fresh ice for the cooler gets old quick.
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Winches are great if you do a lot of offloading and find yourself getting stuck a lot or are in a hurry. I have had so far (knock on wood) great luck with using a high lift to winch out when need.

I would suggest getting heavier rear springs, like the old man emu if you plan on extended camping trips and going offroad. Mine sags pretty quickly and easily with the stock springs, and they are less then a year old. I know the truck is rated for 1100 pounds payload in the bed, but anything more then 800lbs and I am unable to go offroad due to ground clearance.
 

Xterraxplorer

New member
I used to have a long bed Fronty, and I had the high top camper shell. If you intend to live in it, build a platform for the bed with some sort of pullout to make up for the short bed. The best part of this is the ability to put your dirty stuff below you while you sleep. A cheap air mattress and a battery operated fan made it almost like home. I had a 10' X 12' tarp that I would use as an awning. Two sticks with nails in the end and a few guy lines kept it from sagging. Some soft tops, not saying the one you bought, had a tendency to leak over time and required a re-treatment every now and then. In my neck of the woods, mosquito netting was a must. I draped mine over the back glass and under the tailgate. Aside from that, I would recommend attaching a large hook to the end of a broomstick to fish out items that slide to the front of your bed. I had a blast with mine and used it year round. Happy trails.
 

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
These trucks are pretty darn capable right out of the box, especially with that rear locker. There's a lot of directions you can go with little mods and things to make the truck perform a bit nicer. Some of my favorites:

1 - Fridge. This does NOT have to be one of the super-duper fancy ARB, Engel, or National Luna fridges. They're great units, but several high quality fridges can be had for half the price. Indel-B (also known as Dometic or TruckFridge) can supply you with a really nice 40l fridge that has similar power consumption to the ARB/Engel fridge, and works just as well. The construction is very high quality. I personally have an Indel-B I got from Equipt. You can also pick up a Whynter/Edgestar fridge for even less money, down in the $400 range. They make pretty good fridges for the price, and there's lots of information about them and their performance all over ExPo.

2 - Air compressor. Even if you never do any heavy duty offroading, being able to air the tires down over washboards and crummy road conditions will go a long way towards retaining your sanity and improving your truck's longevity. When the road gets anything worse than a smooth gravel track, I drop to 25 PSI and it's smooth sailing.

3 - Lighting. If you travel through the backroads in any sort of wooded terrain at night, you know how dangerous deer, elk, or moose can be. Good auxiliary lighting can go a long way towards keeping you from accidentally smashing one. LED light bars are a good choice here because they send a really wide beam of light down the road, lighting up everything in the trees.

4- Suspension. I know you said you picked up a leveling kit, but something to consider, depending on how much extra stuff you're taking with you, is upgrading your rear suspension so it can handle more weight from extra gear. Some add-a-leafs and Bilstein 5100s are a good way to go here. They'll help your load capacity and smooth out the rear ride without blowing the bank on new springs.

Those things are the basic stuff I'd recommend looking at to improve your life of exploring. Obviously you can take it as far as you like, from simple and mild modifications to all-out crazy. Doing it your way is half the fun. :D
 

Mo4130

Adventurer
I would also add to that list some method of self extrication. Fwiw knowing how good maxtrax work I don't know in retrospect if I would gotten my winch. HOWEVER as long as I keep it greased and exercise it every 6 months it sure is nice insurance.


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mb1k

Observer
Today I ordered the parts below: After I posted this and started looking at more posts.

OEM Roof rack
2" Front lift (Leveling Kit)
Softopper for the bed

Would love to see pics! What color did you go with the Soft Topper? I have yet to see the blue and tan combination.
 

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