My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[stioc]

The latest trip report and some more pics here: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/85137-More-than-I-bargained-for?p=1193465

Yes, I removed the lights, I didn't like the look. Now I have two unused Hella's for sale

 

[drbandkgb]

Save up and buy a light bar (LED) damn things are like the sun...

 

[stioc]

Time for a small update. Ever since I got the roof rack I felt it didn't quite look right sitting high on top of the bow style factory cross bars. The gap between the room and the rack was larger than the height of the rack itself and it made it look weird. I've been racking my brains for a while now trying to find an alternative. The older Pathfinder bars sit slightly lower but still too high for a sleek/think rack like the Rola Vortex, same for the Thule/Yakima stuff not to mention how expensive the stupid towers are from these two companies. I finally realized that I'd have to fab something up myself. The plan was to use rectangle tubing somehow bolted to the factory tracks. I found that along with the cross bars I also had sliding hooks which use little feet to grab on to the factory track. I figured these hooks were good for at least 25lbs of loading...but I wanted close to 200lbs so here's what I came up with.

I've got a total of eight feet holding the roof rack on top of the the Thule load bars (cut to width). I found the load bars on Craigslist for half the price of the new ones and cheaper than what I could get the tubing for myself.

I'm very pleased with the results, the rack is on solid and looks 100x better now- I can finally sleep now and move on to other things.

Speaking of other things I bought a hi-lift jack and the lift-mate attachment for it. There are still a few more accessories I'd like to buy but man it's one of those things where the entry price is cheap but pretty soon you realize you need a whole bunch of other stuff to take full advantage of it. However, I'm put off by how bulky and heavy it feels. I tried holding it up next to the rack to see if I should mount it there and man it's a pain to lift it up over your head. As cool as this tool is (and dangerous) it sucks how awkward it is, I'm not sure if I want to carry it on the roof rack. I keep thinking if I'm ever involved in a wreck that things going to hurt someone bad.

On a more positive note I passed my HAM radio exam so I'm officially 2M capable. I bought a cheap hand-held unit for now which should work for the occasional simplex 2M communication when I'm out with those who don't use/like CB.

 

[Allof75]

Very nice update!
The rack mod looks great- much cleaner.

How do you plan on mounting the Hi-Lift, on the rack? Also, what do you plan on using it for? Hand-winching? Because the direct lifting function itself doesn't seem to be too effective on our Pathy's, considering the plastic bumpers. Will you lift from the hitch? Or does this mean some sliders are in order?

P.S. I'm really envying your lift in the garage! I just know that would make so many projects easier... Lucky you!

 

[stioc]

Very nice update!
The rack mod looks great- much cleaner.

How do you plan on mounting the Hi-Lift, on the rack? Also, what do you plan on using it for? Hand-winching? Because the direct lifting function itself doesn't seem to be too effective on our Pathy's, considering the plastic bumpers. Will you lift from the hitch? Or does this mean some sliders are in order?

P.S. I'm really envying your lift in the garage! I just know that would make so many projects easier... Lucky you!

Mounting the Hi-Lift is the million dollar question or as my gf always says 'don't worry, you'll find something else to worry about soon enough' I over-analyze everything. If the hi-lift weighed 10lbs I'd definitely mount it to the roof rack, it looks cool and perfect there away from the lower parts of the truck which may be burried in the sand etc when you need the jack. But being a 35lbs of heavy hunk of metal I don't feel comfortable mounting it to the roof rack. In the event of a crash or a rollover it could do a lot of damage and for that same reason I don't want it inside the truck either. So the best place would be a swing out carrier on a custom bumper. However, since I don't have one of those the best place I've come up with is the rear hitch with a custom mount so it's at bumper height and in the crash crumple zone. I see GoWesty.com has one and it's cheap enough to not build my own but I don't like how the tongue of the jack faces downward which makes the departure angle worse- I've scraped the rear hitch a few times climbing out of gulleys etc. So it'll probably be a custom mount on the hitch.

Hi-Lift is one of the most useful tools to have if you learn to use it right. It can be used for winching though it's slow and painful when used that way but it's better than having nothing when you need one. On a stock truck you can use the hi-lift in two ways, one is with the Lift Mate attachment which lifts at the wheel. This is a preferred way of lifting in most offroad situations so you're not lifting on the body where the suspension travel can take a while to fully extend before the wheel actually lifts...in some cases you run out of the length of even the hi-lift jack. The second place is the rear hitch reciever.

The rock sliders have been a consideration and most likely the next mod

 

[stioc]

Oh, the BendPak lift...thanks, it's been one of the best 'investments' for the garage. I have/had lightweight racing jacks, heavy duty long reach jacks, several jack stands etc that I keep hanging on to but honestly I haven't used most of them ever since I bought the lift in 2008. One push of a button and the car is up and secured in 10secs flat. No jacking up from multiple places, no placing of jack stands all over the place, no blessing the car before getting under it, no wondering if the car will get knocked off the jack stands while you're trying to undo the darned rusted bolts under there. For me it's been 100% worth the price If I had the room I'd get the two post lift which is even better...though requires a bit more care.

 

[Allof75]

Mounting the Hi-Lift is the million dollar question or as my gf always says 'don't worry, you'll find something else to worry about soon enough' I over-analyze everything. If the hi-lift weighed 10lbs I'd definitely mount it to the roof rack, it looks cool and perfect there away from the lower parts of the truck which may be burried in the sand etc when you need the jack. But being a 35lbs of heavy hunk of metal I don't feel comfortable mounting it to the roof rack. In the event of a crash or a rollover it could do a lot of damage and for that same reason I don't want it inside the truck either. So the best place would be a swing out carrier on a custom bumper. However, since I don't have one of those the best place I've come up with is the rear hitch with a custom mount so it's at bumper height and in the crash crumple zone. I see GoWesty.com has one and it's cheap enough to not build my own but I don't like how the tongue of the jack faces downward which makes the departure angle worse- I've scraped the rear hitch a few times climbing out of gulleys etc. So it'll probably be a custom mount on the hitch.

Hi-Lift is one of the most useful tools to have if you learn to use it right. It can be used for winching though it's slow and painful when used that way but it's better than having nothing when you need one. On a stock truck you can use the hi-lift in two ways, one is with the Lift Mate attachment which lifts at the wheel. This is a preferred way of lifting in most offroad situations so you're not lifting on the body where the suspension travel can take a while to fully extend before the wheel actually lifts...in some cases you run out of the length of even the hi-lift jack. The second place is the rear hitch reciever.

The rock sliders have been a consideration and most likely the next mod

Oh, the BendPak lift...thanks, it's been one of the best 'investments' for the garage. I have/had lightweight racing jacks, heavy duty long reach jacks, several jack stands etc that I keep hanging on to but honestly I haven't used most of them ever since I bought the lift in 2008. One push of a button and the car is up and secured in 10secs flat. No jacking up from multiple places, no placing of jack stands all over the place, no blessing the car before getting under it, no wondering if the car will get knocked off the jack stands while you're trying to undo the darned rusted bolts under there. For me it's been 100% worth the price If I had the room I'd get the two post lift which is even better...though requires a bit more care.

Seems like quite the predicament to just mount the thing. I'm in the same situation obviously, and that's the reason I don't think I'll buy one for a while. The Lift Mate seems like a good idea, but again that's just more $ to sink into a tool you don't even know where to put. If only there was a smaller/lighter alternative. I think in our local (desert) terrain I think a set of Maxtrax/Treds would be more effective, I know I certainly could have used some in a few situations.

And again, that BendPak lift is awesome! Reminds me of a friend of mine that had four Corvettes- a 91 ZR1, a 62 convertible, a 59 convertible, and I think a 63, all stacked up in his (tall) 2 car garage- two up top, and two below. Needless to say, it was a thing of beauty!

 

[stioc]

Seems like quite the predicament to just mount the thing. I'm in the same situation obviously, and that's the reason I don't think I'll buy one for a while. The Lift Mate seems like a good idea, but again that's just more $ to sink into a tool you don't even know where to put. If only there was a smaller/lighter alternative. I think in our local (desert) terrain I think a set of Maxtrax/Treds would be more effective, I know I certainly could have used some in a few situations.

Yeah I never really wanted the hi-lift in the begining either, I knew it was heavy/bulky and dangerous if you're not careful. I too had the MaxTrax and its cheaper knock off on my list of recovery tools. I figured between that a shovel and tire chains I was covered but then as I started going with other trucks, reading books, watching videos and doing research here and elsewhere I realized like it or not it's the swiss-army knife of the off-road tools. I have offroading books from the 70s and 80s to now and each one has dedicated chapters on its use. In the end it's one of those things you'd rather have and not need vs. the other way around. Without the LiftMate on our trucks the hi-lift is pretty useless from the lifting perspective so it was a must-have.

I'll definitely figure out a way to carry it that makes me feel comfortable but as I said most people just mount it to their roof racks, they sell several different types of mounts for them too. Just that I'm not satisfied with what's available so far.

I haven't run into deep enough sand where I thought I needed the MaxTrax stuff, airing down and keeping the momentum up has always worked so far, the good thing is our Pathys are light so unless you're going to Pismo Beach and riding the sand dunes it should be fine.
[/quote]

And again, that BendPak lift is awesome! Reminds me of a friend of mine that had four Corvettes- a 91 ZR1, a 62 convertible, a 59 convertible, and I think a 63, all stacked up in his (tall) 2 car garage- two up top, and two below. Needless to say, it was a thing of beauty!

Checkout GarageJournal.com if you want to see some amazing garages and hardware...whenever I go there the wallet gets lighter in a hurry

 

[Allof75]

I'll have to look into the Lift Mate, but until there's a good mounting solution for the jack-no dice. So needless to say, I'm waiting patiently to see what you come up with.

Here's just one instance where the Maxtrax might come in handy. This is my buddy's Bronco, who found the only Mississippi Mud in all of Anza Borrego and took a swan dive. (though honestly it looked just like a little puddle)

Two hours of tugging and maneuvering some firewood under the wheels from the rear, and a tug from my Ram and we were back on schedule and made it to camp before sunset! I think some MaxTrax under the wheels from the rear could have expedited the process.

 

[stioc]

I'll have to look into the Lift Mate, but until there's a good mounting solution for the jack-no dice. So needless to say, I'm waiting patiently to see what you come up with.

Here's just one instance where the Maxtrax might come in handy. This is my buddy's Bronco, who found the only Mississippi Mud in all of Anza Borrego and took a swan dive. (though honestly it looked just like a little puddle)

Two hours of tugging and maneuvering some firewood under the wheels from the rear, and a tug from my Ram and we were back on schedule and made it to camp before sunset! I think some MaxTrax under the wheels from the rear could have expedited the process.

Nice Bronco! is it locked? I'm guessing not because I see two wheels on good solid ground. Looks like it's stuck pretty good there and yes MaxTrax would've probably helped getting it unstuck- it's still on my to-buy list which keeps getting longer. I'd love to have your personal review of MaxTrax when you get yours.

 

[Allof75]

It's his "baby" alright, now it has much more of a baja flair...but no it wasn't locked, though I don't think it would have made a difference- it was sitting right on the transfer case skid. Hopefully this picture will better illustrate the situation:

I'm looking into Treds lately, I saw them at the TJM booth at the Off Road Expo, and considering they told me $175 or so for a pair, I was ready to go. But unfortunately, they have to order another shipment from Australia, apparently they're testing the market. Which reminds me, I need to give TJM a call about that...
Should it work out and the stars align, I'll be prompt in posting a review up here, because chances are I may be one of the first ones to get them.
I'm thinking of a roof rack mount, where would you put yours?

 

[stioc]

OK, I know of TJM but what is Treds?

Yeah I'd definitely put the sand boards on the roof rack. I personally wouldn't leave any recovery tools mounted on the truck in the day-to-day driving though, it looks too poseurish to me

 

[Allof75]

These are Treds. I messed with them a little at the show. They seem well made, and TJM's reps said they can bridge and are UV stable in case they're put on the roof for a while. The main part I liked is they said the largest size was $175ish for a pair. Again, the only issue is if/when they import them.

 

[stioc]

Smittybilt has something similar to that and the MaxTrax. Though on ExPo the MaxTrax knockoffs are frowned upon because alleged they stole the design from ARB who spent the money on the R&D. My personal view on that issue is that if we allowed only one company to make one product because they invested in the products R&D and not just reversed engineered we'd all be driving the Ford Model A - so to speak

 

[Allof75]

Smittybilt has something similar to that and the MaxTrax. Though on ExPo the MaxTrax knockoffs are frowned upon because alleged they stole the design from ARB who spent the money on the R&D. My personal view on that issue is that if we allowed only one company to make one product because they invested in the products R&D and not just reversed engineered we'd all be driving the Ford Model A - so to speak

To me, if it's just as effective, and cheaper at that, I see no reason not to buy a competitor. Competition will keep them on their toes and hopefully keep their ego in check (here's looking at you ARB). Plus, who knows, maybe they're actually better.