My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[Allof75]

Congratulations on the locker!! I'm extremely envious right now :drool:

As for the compressor, maybe you could mount it into the storage cubby on the bottom of the load floor in the back? That would be easy to insulate from the noise and heat, and it'd still give you easy access to the compressor should it need to be serviced. Plus I think there's a drain plug already in there which would be perfect for running the air lines, and it's close to the rear diff. Just a thought.

Coming along beautifully as usual!

 

[Lecoq]

Awesome update! I'm not sure what you paid for the compressor but since you're already dropping a significant amount of cash on this mod, I would suggest getting the CKMA12 compressor I got. It'll cost you a bit over $100 more and you'll have the ability to air up your tires as well. The mounting on the compressor on the inner fender wall like I did is probably the easiest and best location. If you need some pointer I'd be happy to help.

Looking forward to a review on the locker. It's on my list of things to get this year. Glad to see I'm not the only one

 

[stioc]

Nice work stioc. I've been following your build for a while now. Good choice with the locker.

Re: compressor placement, the best spot I've seen is here:
View attachment 144300

Image taken from Wiz' install thread here: http://pcoa.org.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7068

To me, it's a great use of dead space. If you were to go to the bigger ARB compressor, you'd end up with a neat integrated system that can run your locker as well as air up your tyres.

I'm tempted to put a Lokka in the front of mine since it's such a cheap upgrade, but if you're going to lock the rear then an airlocker is the only option worth considering (IMHO).

Cheers,
Matto

Thanks Matto! I appreciate the info and your interest in the build. You guys in AU have some nice Pathys- definitely a lot more aftermarket parts for them than us.

The Lokka is a great alternative for the front diff especially with manual hubs- I may go that route in the future myself.

Congrats on the locker!

So you decided to get the ARB compressor after all, huh? It's a pretty compact little unit. The small size of the new compressor gives you quite a few options.

You could consider installing it inside the rear quarter panels, either above the left rear fender, in front of the storage bin, or in the cavity behind the left cargo panel as indicated above by Matto. At one point in the life of my Pathy, I had an Airlift air-suspension compressor stuffed into the cavity above the right rear fender.

The main disadvantage of installing the compressor in the cabin is the noise you'll hear when activating it, and that you'll need to run some extra tubing to the exterior for the air locker solenoid vent, which can sometimes eject traces of gear oil. In fact, you might even consider relocating your MV50 to that area, provided there's room there.

Alternatively, you could consider building a bracket to mount it in front of the wiper motor, or behind either front fender liner, just in front of the door hinges. You might need to remove the fender to access those areas, though.

Thanks XPLORx4. I did go with the compact ARB compressor to make the installation easier as it comes with everything I need in the kit. Frankly I wouldn't have saved more than $100 if I were to collect and piece together all the components to make the MV50 pull the double duty. I also wanted to keep the two air sources separate. I would like to plumb the second port on the ARB for airing up in case my MV50 dies on the trail. I wouldn't want the tiny compressor to be airing up tires regularly though.

Thanks for the alternative locations, looks like I have some more options yet. I guess I'll need to spend one afternoon (where does the time go?) and try the aforementioned locations to see what makes the most sense- and is the easiest I was really hoping to get it all hooked up before my trip to Indian Pass (closer to Yuma, AZ) this weekend but alas I'll have to go without the locker.

 

[stioc]

Congratulations on the locker!! I'm extremely envious right now :drool:

As for the compressor, maybe you could mount it into the storage cubby on the bottom of the load floor in the back? That would be easy to insulate from the noise and heat, and it'd still give you easy access to the compressor should it need to be serviced. Plus I think there's a drain plug already in there which would be perfect for running the air lines, and it's close to the rear diff. Just a thought.

Coming along beautifully as usual!

Hey Allof75, thanks and believe me I've drooled over many worthy trucks here on ExPo for years. I'm just grateful that I'm able to tailor mine for my needs and vision. I'll tell you though you can get by without a locker for a long time. I only got it because at this stage there's really not much more that I 'need' for the truck...just a few things that would be 'nice to have'. The Pathy's do great offroad as-is with just a tire change.

The load floor cubby may be too shallow for the compressor but I'll have a look- thanks for the idea!

Awesome update! I'm not sure what you paid for the compressor but since you're already dropping a significant amount of cash on this mod, I would suggest getting the CKMA12 compressor I got. It'll cost you a bit over $100 more and you'll have the ability to air up your tires as well. The mounting on the compressor on the inner fender wall like I did is probably the easiest and best location. If you need some pointer I'd be happy to help.

Looking forward to a review on the locker. It's on my list of things to get this year. Glad to see I'm not the only one

Thanks, I did think about getting the larger compressor but decided to keep my tires/locker comp separate, mainly because I already have a good tire compressor and two just for some redundancy. The locker compressor is very small, you can get an idea from the 10mm socket that's next to it. It's unfortunate there's not a good place under the hood even for a small compressor though. If you have any close up pics of where/how you ended up relocating the cruise-control that would be very helpful, thanks!

I'll post a review on the locker when I get a chance to use it but as many accounts as I've read and heard from people I have yet to find anyone that said buying a selectable locker was a mistake Or maybe no one wants to admit their expensive mistake haha. Your truck's coming along quite nicely, can't wait to see the RTT and what else you do with it.

 

[XPLORx4]

He zip-tied it upside-down to the AC condenser hose:

 

[stioc]

Very creative and I like the special touch of a zip-tie as opposed to a duct tape :elkgrin: I may have to copy it.

May be it's just me but my engine compartment looks a bit more packed?

 

[XPLORx4]

Yeah, your VQ's intake is a lot bigger! And your P/S reservoir is in a different place. You still might be able to fabricate a bracket to suspend the compressor in front of the wiper motor. Or, maybe it will fit beside the brake booster?

But seriously, see if you can fit it in the left rear quarter panel behind the cargo panel. It's a really small compressor!

 

[stioc]

But seriously, see if you can fit it in the left rear quarter panel behind the cargo panel. It's a really small compressor!

That's my thought too even though it'd be easier to run wires in the engine compartment. I'm not too concerned about the noise because I don't expect to run it for more than 20secs at a time and probably only a couple of times on a typical day.

 

[Lecoq]

Thanks Xplor.

Looks like you have room on the driver side inner fender beside the firewall.

 

[stioc]

Thanks Xplor.

Looks like you have room on the driver side inner fender beside the firewall.

I'll take a close up of that area next time but there's very little room due to the fuse box and the brake lines etc. I think I'm going to go with the rear driver-side fender pic per Matto's pic. I won't be able to get to it for a week, may be two.

 

[stioc]

Switching gears a bit- my 3 day trip this weekend is coming up fast and due to the timing I'll be leaving Fri afternoon after work. This means arriving late and setting up camp in the cold and dark. That wouldn't be the first time but I figured since I'm going solo this time maybe there's a better way than setting up and tearing down the tent 4 times. Allof75 built a platform so I thought maybe I could reconfigure the inside a bit and see if it'll work with my storage platform- which serves as a valuable stowage area for lots of things so I didn't want to remove it. So I got home after work, measured the inside, found some scrap wood laying around and went to work. About 40 mins later (with a finish nailer LOL yeah I'm lazy) I had a sleeping spot inside the truck that I'll just leave setup throughout the weekend (bungee the sleeping bag to it). As an added bonus I get a nice tent light and a pretty good view through the windows. Now let's hope I don't see a figure peering at me when I wake up in the middle of the night :yikes:

Shot from the rear passenger door (looking ahead).

 

[heehawhardy]

This is one awesome shot! Love the buildup

My favorite pic of the truck to date.

 

[XPLORx4]

Did you remove the rear seat bottom cushions?

 

[Lecoq]

Looks good. Although it's too narrow for me, I move a lot when I sleep.

 

[stioc]

This is one awesome shot! Love the buildup

Thank you! The photo credit goes to 'SSSTFire'.

Did you remove the rear seat bottom cushions?

Yes, the bottom cushions were a bit too high and they're only held by two 12mm bolts so it took all of 2 minutes to remove them. The sleeping platform doesn't have enough bracing (for lateral movements) or wood screws to serve long term but I'm hoping it lasts this weekend and I can improve it when I have some more time. The good thing is that it's only a 4ft long plywood and weighs maybe 20lbs with the feet attached to it so it can be taken out and stored pretty easily and may come in handy on the future solo trips. Maybe even when it's just me and the gf since we have the roof rack to store stuff on.

Looks good. Although it's too narrow for me, I move a lot when I sleep.

I hear you! I'm the same way but the scrap plywood was all I had to work with last night. In fact, if the plywood was any shorter I would be packing the tent as I've simply run out of time. I'll only have an hr on Thu night to load up the water, food and clothes and then it's showtime.