Mortonm's 2001 Xterra Build

[mortonm]

When in doubt give it gas

Nice score on those skid plates they seem to be nicely done with the lips bent longitudinally for increased rigidity. When are they going on?

Ill try and clean them up this weekend put a little paint on. There is no rush as I won't be needing them in the next couple of months anyways.

I have to replace a small section of my exhaust that I missed before. On the drivers side its about 18" long. The connection is leaking. I want to have it changed before I put the skids on, or I will have to remove the skids againt to replace the exhaust piece.

I am hoping before the new year anyways.

 

[Allof75]

Ill try and clean them up this weekend put a little paint on. There is no rush as I won't be needing them in the next couple of months anyways.

I have to replace a small section of my exhaust that I missed before. On the drivers side its about 18" long. The connection is leaking. I want to have it changed before I put the skids on, or I will have to remove the skids againt to replace the exhaust piece.

I am hoping before the new year anyways.

Let's just say a beached truck about 3 miles from anyone and a sunny 15* wasn't too fun. I got myself out, but it was a really close call, and a torsion bar scraper. Haha

Also, does that mean it's Magnaflow time?

 

[mortonm]

Let's just say a beached truck about 3 miles from anyone and a sunny 15* wasn't too fun. I got myself out, but it was a really close call, and a torsion bar scraper. Haha

Also, does that mean it's Magnaflow time?

haha no, I replaced most of the exhaust from the cats back already with a walker unit. I got it through the parts supplier my father in law uses (and they had it in stock) so it was dirt cheap. But it turns out that on the drive side there is an extra piece that I didnt realize was there when I ordered the parts.

im guessing you got to practice your shoveling skills?

 

[Dmski]

Nice find on those skids. Good call on the road too but that would be sweet if you had a winch or something to get you out.

 

[Allof75]

haha no, I replaced most of the exhaust from the cats back already with a walker unit. I got it through the parts supplier my father in law uses (and they had it in stock) so it was dirt cheap. But it turns out that on the drive side there is an extra piece that I didnt realize was there when I ordered the parts.

im guessing you got to practice your shoveling skills?

Let's just say I brought a new meaning to the term heel-toe. Basically just rode the gas and brakes on the Hemi until it dragged itself free. The duratracs earned their keep that day.

 

[mortonm]

Let's just say I brought a new meaning to the term heel-toe. Basically just rode the gas and brakes on the Hemi until it dragged itself free. The duratracs earned their keep that day.

haha awesome, any pics of this mythical Ram? we have all heard lots about but seen nothing

 

[Allof75]

This guy:

It's what I wheeled before the Pathy, and is my father's truck. Done Mojave Road, Anza Borrego, Calico, Yosemite, Big Bear (snow etc), Death Valley, and everything in between, it hauls home pretty much everything, and has pulled more than one Ford out of the muck.

Options Include: Hemi 4x4 with 3.92 gears and rear limited slip, Sport Package, Trailer Package, Powertrain Control Module upgrade, power everything, trailer brake controller, 5000lb firestone airbags in the rear, KYB shocks all around, Transfer skid, Flowmaster 50 HD muffler, AEM Cold Air Intake, spray on bedliner, SS nerf bars, leveling kit, 2009 Ram rims on 285/75r17 Wrangler Duratracs annnnnddddd that's it. Nothing crazy at all, but it's very capable, reliable, and overall a great truck.

Bought it for $12500 with 25k miles in 2008. Been a great weekend truck, and now has 68k miles.

 

[mortonm]

Awesome Ram, especially love the 17s and the 285 75R17 tires, 34s right?

My dad has a 2007 Sport, Red, 4x4. Still has the factory 20s with michelin LTX tires. Barely sees anything beyond a well graded dirt road though.

My grandfather was a farmer, and the little town near him had a Dodge dealer and that's it. So our family has been a dodge truck family since before I was born.

 

[mortonm]

Here are a few more pictures from Monday, and a better picture of the skids, should give you more of an idea how they mount up under the truck.







I also bought those LED lights yesterday. THey are definitely rigid duallys, the pig tail for the connector has rigid on it and the casing is exactly the same, with just a slightly different front faceplate.

They fit perfectly into the fog openings, with no cutoff of the beam, in fact the entire housing fits in perfectly. I will have to decide the best way to mount them, the stock fog mounting location is pretty rusty and I am not sure if bolting them to the plastic bumper cover is a good idea either.

I also need to decide if its a good idea to attempt to use the stock fog wiring and switch or just wire it up with the setup it came with, it looks pretty easy. Comes with the switch/relay, wiring as well as a inline fuse. The connection where the lights attach to the loom are waterproof, which is nice.

Looks like I have some work to do...

 

[Slicky72]

Nice skids, those were a good find.

 

[Co-opski]

So our family has been a dodge truck family since before I was born.

My deepest condolences, it must be hard being born into a family like that. Glad you had the opportunity to work your way out from the despair of Mopar products. Just kidding you, I grew up in Ford country and my family 3 generations back all drove Chevys.

 

[mortonm]

My deepest condolences, it must be hard being born into a family like that. Glad you had the opportunity to work your way out from the despair of Mopar products. Just kidding you, I grew up in Ford country and my family 3 generations back all drove Chevys.

haha its okay, everyone has their preferences and these days its pretty hard to choose wrong.

All my work vehicles are Chevys (2500 HD trucks and vans and a suburban as well). My father in law is a die hard ford guy. If I were to buy a new full size truck, It would be a Titan anyways I think!

 

[Allof75]

Awesome Ram, especially love the 17s and the 285 75R17 tires, 34s right?

My dad has a 2007 Sport, Red, 4x4. Still has the factory 20s with michelin LTX tires. Barely sees anything beyond a well graded dirt road though.

My grandfather was a farmer, and the little town near him had a Dodge dealer and that's it. So our family has been a dodge truck family since before I was born.

Thanks, they're closer to 33" so there's actually no real speedo error. And yeah this one came with the 20s as well (part of the sport package), but after scraping them up one too many times, we sold them and helped pay for these new shoes. The rims were $100 for 4! Tires..... a bit more :sombrero:

haha its okay, everyone has their preferences and these days its pretty hard to choose wrong.

All my work vehicles are Chevys (2500 HD trucks and vans and a suburban as well). My father in law is a die hard ford guy. If I were to buy a new full size truck, It would be a Titan anyways I think!

Personally, if I had the capital to pick up a new truck, the Titan would frankly be last on my list. It's beyond outdated and outclassed by this point. I would have no hesitation in buying a new Ram however. Great mileage, lots of power, loaded with tech, and I think the best looking. A GMC Sierra would be second on the list.


PS Nice mods! Can't wait to see them installed!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I think the only pickup on the market I'd buy right now is a Frontier. I don't have any need for a fullsize (not that many people actually do), and almost everything else I have some sort of problem with.

The Titan is too old. The body on the Ram is made of tin foil. The Chevy/GMC offerings don't look so great to me. The Ford is well built, but those huge chrome teeth are disgusting. I think the new Tundra is half decent, but then I bought a Frontier because I'm not a Toyota snob.

It's a similar story with the smaller trucks. The Tacoma is too predictable, the Raider/Dakota is kind of ugly, The Canyon/Colorado isn't all that well built, and Ford hasn't even bothered to show up.

But then I'm kinda harsh when it comes to rating vehicles

Nice find on those skids! Those will come in handy I'm sure. They look pretty well designed. Are they pretty heavy? I'd be interested in seeing if they alter the truck's stance at all.

I'd be willing to bet it'd be pretty straightforward to wire those lights in to the stock wiring. It was pretty common for people to wire aux lights into the factory fog switches on their Discos in the Land Rover crowd. The look would be really clean.

 

[Allof75]

I think the only pickup on the market I'd buy right now is a Frontier. I don't have any need for a fullsize (not that many people actually do), and almost everything else I have some sort of problem with.

The Titan is too old. The body on the Ram is made of tin foil. The Chevy/GMC offerings don't look so great to me. The Ford is well built, but those huge chrome teeth are disgusting. I think the new Tundra is half decent, but then I bought a Frontier because I'm not a Toyota snob.

It's a similar story with the smaller trucks. The Tacoma is too predictable, the Raider/Dakota is kind of ugly, The Canyon/Colorado isn't all that well built, and Ford hasn't even bothered to show up.

But then I'm kinda harsh when it comes to rating vehicles

Nice find on those skids! Those will come in handy I'm sure. They look pretty well designed. Are they pretty heavy? I'd be interested in seeing if they alter the truck's stance at all.

I'd be willing to bet it'd be pretty straightforward to wire those lights in to the stock wiring. It was pretty common for people to wire aux lights into the factory fog switches on their Discos in the Land Rover crowd. The look would be really clean.

To be honest, I haven't witnessed a truly well built ford pickup since 1978 but that's just personal bias :sombrero: Rams are definitely my preference, great look, tons of power, and I think their steel is plenty thick :elkgrin:

And as far as the switch, you could always go with a 2nd Gen Xterra switch like I did:

It has a nice factory look, nice movement, and lights up with the headlights.