I have wanted a Frontier for a while, and when my old SuperCrew Ford started to get tired, I started looking. I found this, a 2016 SV Crew Cab Shortbed, locally, with 55k miles on it. Its one o f the umpteen million former rental fleet trucks that you see everywhere, but it was clean, and priced right. My primary use for this truck is hunting out of, and backwood exploring. No real overlanding, but I like to turkey and coyote hunt some pretty wooly stuff, and the farther in I can drive, the farther in I can walk. As such, this truck wont see much incredibly extreme terrain, but will get beat on pretty good.
I knew I wanted a mild lift, but didn't want to break the bank..After some looking and research, I ordered a Rough Country 2" Spacer and Shackle lift. Yes, I am aware of the downfalls to this type of lift, but I think for me, it will be just right. I had a set of 265/70-16 Kelly Edge A/Ts mounted, which gave me a bit of height. I have never run a Kelly, but so far they seem to be working pretty well. I am used to a mud tire, so any all terrain will take some getting used to.
Next, a winch was non negotiable. I kept my Warn VR8000 I had on my F150, and although its their bargain winch, its been bulletproof for years. I didn't really need a full replacement bumper, nor did I want to spend that sort of money. I am not, and never have, cared for receiver mounted winch setups. I chose to go with a WAM Wincher, with impact wings and shackle mounts. This is an incredibly well made product, and they have their design down, the fitment is superb.
For lighting, I purchased a kit from Rough Country which placed LED cubes in the OEM Foglight holes. These brackets are designed to work with the factory crashbar behind the bumper, and the WAM mount does away with that. A little brainstorming, and the mounts work just fine with the WAM mount. The WAM Wincher comes with two light tabs, and on those I put a pair of HELLA 700FF floods. In the rear bumper, I installed flush mount LEDs from Amazon.
Its not nearly as involved as most of the rigs on here, but for my needs I think it will work out great. There are more things I would like to do, like pick up a cab height camper for more secure storage, some rock sliders, etc...but for now, turkey season approaches, and we are ready!
I knew I wanted a mild lift, but didn't want to break the bank..After some looking and research, I ordered a Rough Country 2" Spacer and Shackle lift. Yes, I am aware of the downfalls to this type of lift, but I think for me, it will be just right. I had a set of 265/70-16 Kelly Edge A/Ts mounted, which gave me a bit of height. I have never run a Kelly, but so far they seem to be working pretty well. I am used to a mud tire, so any all terrain will take some getting used to.
Next, a winch was non negotiable. I kept my Warn VR8000 I had on my F150, and although its their bargain winch, its been bulletproof for years. I didn't really need a full replacement bumper, nor did I want to spend that sort of money. I am not, and never have, cared for receiver mounted winch setups. I chose to go with a WAM Wincher, with impact wings and shackle mounts. This is an incredibly well made product, and they have their design down, the fitment is superb.
For lighting, I purchased a kit from Rough Country which placed LED cubes in the OEM Foglight holes. These brackets are designed to work with the factory crashbar behind the bumper, and the WAM mount does away with that. A little brainstorming, and the mounts work just fine with the WAM mount. The WAM Wincher comes with two light tabs, and on those I put a pair of HELLA 700FF floods. In the rear bumper, I installed flush mount LEDs from Amazon.
Its not nearly as involved as most of the rigs on here, but for my needs I think it will work out great. There are more things I would like to do, like pick up a cab height camper for more secure storage, some rock sliders, etc...but for now, turkey season approaches, and we are ready!
