My 2001 Pathfinder (R50 ) mild/budget build

[Allof75]

Nice. The extra lighting makes driving at night that much more enjoyable.

Btw, does that trailhead close at a certain time? I'm always out of luck trying different entrances at night.

Nope, no gates anywhere but the side trails and on the forest roads back in the canyon. I've never seen any of them closed.

 

[stioc]

Looks like I'll be heading to Death Valley in a few weeks. It's not often that I need to carry extra fuel but DV trips often require it even if it's just for the peace of mind. In the past I've carried the extra fuel on the roof rack but 65-70lbs of fuel up high isn't the best place for it, besides I also have a storage box up there now that carries some extra recovery gear leaving no room for fuel cans. I could carry it inside but again I'd rather not even with the RotoPax which aren't supposed to leak fumes. So I decided to build myself something similar to a drop-down spare tire carrier that plugs into the hitch receiver. The drawback of course is 3" extra overhang for the departure angles and the inability to use the receiver hitch as a recovery point without removing the carrier. I figured I could live with that at least until/if I build a rear bumper and tire carrier. Took me a better part of the day (about the extent of my attention span for a project). The only thing I haven't quite figured out completely is a light for the license plate.

Should also be convenient to fill up and use vs. when I had them strapped to the roof rack. What do you guys think?

 

[mortonm]

Those are 5 gal each?

Looks like a pretty slick way to carry the fuel. If you get stuck or it's affecting your departure angle it can come off in a matter of seconds.

 

[stioc]

Thanks, that was my thought...removing it should take about 2 mins.

Those cans are 3gal each - good enough for about 75miles.

 

[crismateski]

get a small piece of aluminum angle the length of the plate so you have a little "roof" then pm me your address and I will send you some LED to put on it (I can get scraps from work) It will be more than enough light

 

[mortonm]

No different than having a couple bikes on a hitch rack, actually better clearance than that out back.

Pathfinders and Xterras/Frontiers should have come with that extra capacity from the factory. I have 75 L now and I would love to have closer to 100 L (26/27 gal)

 

[Dmski]

This is exactly what I've been considering since a full rear bumper is so expensive (building or buying). Plus I think its just as easy to pull off for tow points and what not. Depends on how often you get stuck I suppose. Let us know how it handles the DV punishment. Sounds to be a sweet trip! What was the end cost of materials if you don't mind me asking?

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I like it. Nice and simple!

 

[Allof75]

Looks good, I like this solution to the lack of gas tank size, and DV is somewhere you absolutely need extra fuel for. Would you mind grabbing a close up picture from the side, so we can see the mechanism you used?

 

[Shanfari]

Nice work, stoic! They look good there

 

[stioc]

get a small piece of aluminum angle the length of the plate so you have a little "roof" then pm me your address and I will send you some LED to put on it (I can get scraps from work) It will be more than enough light

Sweet, thanks Cris! I'll send you a PM. I believe I have a LED light left over from my motorcycle tinkering. I was wondering how I would run the wires for it since this is a removable setup so I figured that out today. I spliced into the running lights and made the end easy to plug/unplug and tuck it away when not in use.

Nice work, stoic! They look good there

I like it. Nice and simple!

Thanks guys!

No different than having a couple bikes on a hitch rack, actually better clearance than that out back.

Pathfinders and Xterras/Frontiers should have come with that extra capacity from the factory. I have 75 L now and I would love to have closer to 100 L (26/27 gal)

I don't often need the extra range but yeah 26/27gal is about perfect and it's exactly what I get with the added 6gals. However, it could be worse like the 4Runners of the same era which I think only have a 16gal tank.

This is exactly what I've been considering since a full rear bumper is so expensive (building or buying). Plus I think its just as easy to pull off for tow points and what not. Depends on how often you get stuck I suppose. Let us know how it handles the DV punishment. Sounds to be a sweet trip! What was the end cost of materials if you don't mind me asking?

Looks good, I like this solution to the lack of gas tank size, and DV is somewhere you absolutely need extra fuel for. Would you mind grabbing a close up picture from the side, so we can see the mechanism you used?

OK guys, I'll let you in on my secret...the carrier is really a $35 harbor freight bicycle carrier there goes my plan for selling these for $200 a pop and retire in 5 years :costumed-smiley-007

I modified it to carry the gas cans but also kept it functional for carrying the bikes too. I welded on a plate to mount the Rotopax mounts and shortened the hitch receiver end - originally it stuck about 6" out of the receiver and would've made the departure angle unmanageable. So total cost about $35, some scrap metal and a little welding.

As for using it for recovery I could rebuild one with a pass through receiver hitch but that would've required more time and money sourcing material. As an option btw one could buy this well made one from CBI offroad for about $350 http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/produc...products/fold-down-tire-carrier-premium-model

 

[Weekender41]

OK guys, I'll let you in on my secret...the carrier is really a $35 harbor freight bicycle carrier there goes my plan for selling these for $200 a pop and retire in 5 years :costumed-smiley-007

I modified it to carry the gas cans but also kept it functional for carrying the bikes too. I welded on a plate to mount the Rotopax mounts and shortened the hitch receiver end - originally it stuck about 6" out of the receiver and would've made the departure angle unmanageable. So total cost about $35, some scrap metal and a little welding.

As for using it for recovery I could rebuild one with a pass through receiver hitch but that would've required more time and money sourcing material. As an option btw one could buy this well made one from CBI offroad for about $350 http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/produc...products/fold-down-tire-carrier-premium-model

You welded that gusset?? Holy crap mine look soooo bad compared to that! haha that idea is really awesome though. A couple people have been looking for a way to mount more gas. Quick question, how much do those rotopax 3gal packs weigh empty or filled? The jerry cans I am mounting are quite heavy...

 

[stioc]

No the gusset was part of the carrier and came that way, welding though is like anything else the more you practice the smoother the welds. I used to be on Hobart/Miller forums and there were some people that welded machine-perfect regardless of the angles. It takes me about 30mins to an hour of on/off welding before my welds start looking smooth for the quick stuff I just make sure the weld isn't too cold and call it good.

The 3gal RotoPax weighs about 4-5lbs empty (each).

 

[Allof75]

OK guys, I'll let you in on my secret...the carrier is really a $35 harbor freight bicycle carrier there goes my plan for selling these for $200 a pop and retire in 5 years :costumed-smiley-007

I modified it to carry the gas cans but also kept it functional for carrying the bikes too. I welded on a plate to mount the Rotopax mounts and shortened the hitch receiver end - originally it stuck about 6" out of the receiver and would've made the departure angle unmanageable. So total cost about $35, some scrap metal and a little welding.

I knew it, I was just going to mention harbor freight, and then didn't want to look like a chump. :sombrero: Looks good anyway man.

 

[stioc]

One more project got finished this weekend...an aux pusher fan. It's wired to turn on manually if needed otherwise automatically at 188F and off at 165F. It's a small 9" fan so I'm not expecting miracles but it should help some when idling or crawling the trails. I can always swap it for a larger and higher CFM fan later.