My new vehicle: 2005 Nissan Frontier

[articulate]

I was a hair premature, but here are the updates.

Water tank is installed under the bed of the truck, and I have the hoses in place.

I used high pressure hose for the supply line, and a smaller 1/4" line for a breather tube. The drain has a simple threaded plug. A large 1-1/2" hose connects to an awesome marine-style fill thingymajig. I went to the boat store in Tempe and the guy there pointed me to it:

I don't have the dual battery completed, so I haven't hooked up the pump yet. Although I do have the following:

• Battery Manager system and relay from wranglernw.com
• Optima Yellow top battery
• Aux. fuse block (that cool thing Flying Wil has in his thread)
• Heavy duty battery hold down (that cool thing Scott displayed in his thread)

The rear bumper was a necessity for two things:

1. Rear recovery points
2. Somewhere to put the spare tire

And as a bonus, I no longer have a chrome bumper and now sport a more macho, tough look. My lovely date-for-life is modeling it here:

I didn't realize the light was so poor on the bumper, but she came out pretty good. She came out to the garage to ask me if I was done yet...as you can see, she was ready to "go out." I wouldn't miss a chance to go into public with her, so the tire had to get into place later. The bumper will hold a jerry can as well.

I learned to never underestimate the utilitarian value of a ratchet strap or two from the famed Mario Donovan. I was able to employ two of them (straps not Marios) to raise the 200-pound bumper into place with ease:

A couple of cotton rags prevented the hardware from scratching the paint.

Whew! It's coming along.........

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's Exactly where I would put the water tank!!!!!!!!!

Underneath!!!!!!!!!!

My only wish is that I would have such a lovely Model as YOU!!!!!!!!!.........hehe


Aloha! ................Mark

 

[datrupr]

Looking very good Mark!!!! Now, with that chrome rear bumper gone, what are you gonna do with the HUGE chrome Front bumper?? Keep us posted, this is a fun thread.

 

[Scott Brady]

Awesome stuff Mark! Thanks for keeping us up-to-date.

That truck is going to look wicked with the swingout spare... :clapsmile

Edit: Oh, and if you want some help building a skidplate for the water tank, let me know.

 

[david despain]

fantastic! what rear bumper did you use or did you build it yourself? looks fabulous

 

[articulate]

David -
I did not build it myself. I haven't a clue about welding....although I did learn a little.

I purchased it from Kennesaw. They do have some poor reviews on service and quality, but I was unaware of that until after I spoke with the owner and made the order. I'll admit that there are some flaws with my bumper, but Kyle was good to work with. I told him I had a deadline, and he met it. And it's a heavy duty and well-built bumper.

I have a feeling my swing gate was the first he made for this new model Frontier. My tire mount was welded too low, and the lug studs were a perfect 1" off. I couldn't get my tire on. Even if I could, it covered my license plate. I cashed in a favor with a co worker and had the mount cut off an re-welded in the proper place after I made a new plate with the correct spacing between the lug studs.

Also! The mounting plates that bolt to the frame have an issue. They are 1/4" thick and need to be drilled. That's no so bad. This is bad: the holes have to be 5/8" diameter and done by hand - that's not only a **********, but it's also dangerous. There's a slim chance any mortal like me could get that bumper up on a drill press to poke those holes. Between rests and drilling sessions, it took me about 4 hours to get those 6 holes in there.

I lost about 8 pounds that day.

That gas can is a fine Scepter unit I procured from our very own Mario of Adventure Trailers.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[erin]

Very sweet set-up Mark. Glad to here I'm not the only one who hates drilling big holes in thick steel, so much fun!

Any ideas for a front setup yet?

 

[The BN Guy]

Mark looks sweet!

I just finished the main modifications to my rear bumper now just need to tie up some loose ends, buy some steel for the swing gate and I'll slowly be catching up to ya!

 

[articulate]

Very sweet set-up Mark. Glad to here I'm not the only one who hates drilling big holes in thick steel, so much fun!

Any ideas for a front setup yet?

You know what helps drill those holes? Margaritas.

On the front......yikes. A big winch-style bumper (like the ARB Bull Bar) seems to be the most "practical" idea, with the exception of the added weight. I don't think a pre-runner style unit would be appropriate for my truck.

I'm going to sit tight before doing anything to the front bumper.

Mark looks sweet!

I just finished the main modifications to my rear bumper now just need to tie up some loose ends, buy some steel for the swing gate and I'll slowly be catching up to ya!

Excellent! Can't wait to see it. Is your entire rear bumper home brewed, or are you adding a swing to some other manufactured aftermarket unit?

Thanks for your interest boys.
Cheers,
Mark

 

[The BN Guy]

Well, the stocker went as I was buying it...the second was custom built and that's what I'm building onto. I am still trying to decide which type of swing gate to build. One similar to yours or one like Scott's.

 

[SinCity4r]

Do you plan on fashioning a skid for the water tank? It looks like it could be in the line of fire.

Nice bumper!

 

[articulate]

Do you plan on fashioning a skid for the water tank? It looks like it could be in the line of fire.

Nice bumper!

Oh yeah, skid plate for sure. Scott posted earlier that he'd help me out with that.

The tank sits higher than the spare tire did, though. I took that shot of the bumper pretty low to the ground to help show the tank (doesn't it look cool?), and consequently it appears to be hanging lower than it really does.

The plastic they make the tanks out of is very flexible, and I believe it would take one hell of a hit to make it fracture, shatter or crack. Theories and experiences are different animals, so we'll see.

Either way, a skid is important and coming soon.

 

[Mlachica]

After seeing your thread about your mexico trip I had to come check out your mods. Awesome truck Mark, I like it! You're hooking things up quick :victory: Your website is great too, I've got a lot to read and browse through

On a side note, my brother-in-law's name is Mark Stephens

 

[articulate]

After seeing your thread about your mexico trip I had to come check out your mods. Awesome truck Mark, I like it! You're hooking things up quick :victory: Your website is great too, I've got a lot to read and browse through

On a side note, my brother-in-law's name is Mark Stephens

Many thanks! I didn't see your post until now, sorry about that.

Oddly, I got an email from a Mark Stephens in Ireland once also.

The mod game is far from over, too............. :Wow1:

 

[articulate]

Uh-oh..............

We've got trouble brewing, boys and girls.
:gunt:





Yeah, uh-huh. It appears I've wasted some time on the internet this morning and found this:

ARB has released the bull bar for D40 Nissan Frontiers/Navaras. The refined craftsmanship, design, fit-n-finish of ARB products is not easy to argue with. I don't know, though, if these are available in the U.S. yet.

Bolting one of these on the truck would have the emotional equivalent of going out with that hottie you drooled over in high school but never had the gonads to speak two words to her.

Should that not be enough of the fun news, TJM has released their fording kit (s-n-o-r-k-e-l) for the Nissan D40 Frontier/Navara as well:

Again, I don't know if these are hitting the U.S. market anytime soon. But this makes interesting news nonetheless.


Mark