gwittman

That is awesome, the tents are not easy to come by especially new ones. I had to strip all the factory waterproofing off of mine because the previous owners ruined in by soaking it n some sort of solvent. I would be interested in the used tent if you do swap it out in the future, it is likely in better shape than what i have and i can't afford a custom one.
I will look into coating the hinges, it sounds easier than finding stainless ones and probably cheaper too. Thanks for that idea.
I found this when i was looking at replacing the latches, they are used a lot for other camper mainly pop-up tent campers. Look pretty similar, i just don't know if they are the correct size.
http://www.jrproducts.com/index.php?C=Hardware&P=Locks+and+Accessories&S=Camper+Lid+Catches
Cheers!

My brother worked for the company that made the Wildernest shell and assembled them. A few years after they quit making them, they had an auction on a bunch of left over stuff. He bought a couple tents from me and few other things. So I did have a replacement tent and still have one more that I can use when I repaint again. The old tent was still in good condition but had a little mildew in a couple areas. I ended up selling my original one to someone in Oklahoma for a fair price. He was very happy to get it because he had no tent.

I agree the hinges would be hard to find in stainless. I coated mine with a black Teflon coating that has held up pretty well. What I am going to need is the tie down locks on the other side. Mine are getting worn out and need to be replaced. I need to start looking for them because they will probably be hard to find.

That is awesome that you have had it for so long. Did you have a replacement tent when you first swapped it out? Do you have another one that you will be using this next time or do you have to have one made? I have not been able to find much as far as replacement tents and have seen a few custom made ones for that reason. I just got mine a few months ago and have only had the chance to use it a couple times but i do love it! I am in the process of switching the hardware out to stainless, but the hinges seem to be a PITA.

I bought the Wildernest in 89. It was ordered to match the color of my 89 STX Ranger that was white. In 02 I bought a new red Ranger and had the Wildernest painted to match. At that time I also installed a new tent and upgraded most of the hardware to stainless steel. The clear coat on the Wildernest is now coming off due to improper application of the two stage paint. I plan to have it repainted again before too long. I will probably install a new tent again when I do that and upgrade some more hardware. Mine gets a lot of use and I really like it.
Have you used your much?

Awesome WilderNest! I recently got one, i have it on my 99 Nissan Frontier. Did you paint yours red or did you buy it that way? Have you done anything as far as maintenance or restoration? Cheers!