richard310's 04 Xterra

[Longrange308]

Its not durability, its the fact that they want control over all smog devices on all the cars since the clean air act..

Aftermarket hi-flow cats will do the same job as an OE cat, while outperforming it in flow. You can also get spiral wound cats that are as durable as they come, much more so than OE.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Just do what I do...









Don't live in California.

No emissions testing here. No catalytic converter required.

 

[steve c]

You're famous! Featured on the Trasharoo Facebook page

 

[Dmski]

Now that is a sweet photo! Rig is looking awesome as usual!

 

[richard310]

Man, I haven't updated this in awhile...

Testing out a RTT at Thomas Mountain this past weekend. I've also got MOLLE window panels installed on the rear windows, just awaiting to get pouches to organize my tools and recovery gear to clean up the cargo area. There's also a 32" LED light bar sitting in the garage to replace my four roof lights. I'm also looking at a shorter amber LED bar to replace the bumper lights.

 

[Allof75]

Looks great! How'd the mounting work on the stock rack?

 

[FJRanger]

Looking good Richard!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Looks like a great little trip! I like the "RTT". I've always liked how you can use those double tent cots as roof tents with minimal work. How'd you like it?

I really like those detail shots you did with the old wood. Looks nice.

What LEDs are you looking at? I've seen the ExtremeLED bars up close, and for the price I can't imagine beating them.

 

[zelseman]

RTT looks great! Have you ever felt the need to move up to 33's? It seems like you and I do the same type of overlanding and I'm about to need a new set.

 

[richard310]

Its not durability, its the fact that they want control over all smog devices on all the cars since the clean air act..

Aftermarket hi-flow cats will do the same job as an OE cat, while outperforming it in flow. You can also get spiral wound cats that are as durable as they come, much more so than OE.

Just do what I do...









Don't live in California.

No emissions testing here. No catalytic converter required.

I wouldn't be so hesitant on getting it done if the labor wasn't so intensive nor the "cali-spec" cat was so expensive. Finding an entire day to allocate to swapping out the manifold cat is a tad difficult to do right now. As long as the cat behaves like a cat and does its job, I could care less if it's a cali-spec or not. All that is is BS anyways.

You're famous! Featured on the Trasharoo Facebook page

Now that is a sweet photo! Rig is looking awesome as usual!

I'm surprised myself to see that on their FB page. I guess they snagged it off the AAV site.

 

[richard310]

Looks great! How'd the mounting work on the stock rack?

I only spent $20 and went super ghetto on the mounting with four 3-4" hose clamps on each side; since I am only testing it out right now and don't want to spend the budgeted $100 in clamps. The tent's footprint fits right within the OEM roof rack, leaving it pretty snug once clamped down. No lateral or vertical movement.

Looking good Richard!

Thanks Nathan!

Looks like a great little trip! I like the "RTT". I've always liked how you can use those double tent cots as roof tents with minimal work. How'd you like it?

I really like those detail shots you did with the old wood. Looks nice.

What LEDs are you looking at? I've seen the ExtremeLED bars up close, and for the price I can't imagine beating them.

The tent itself is very comfortable with the suspended floor and being up high definitely gives you a much different vantage point when you wake up. Only thing is getting on the ladder to step down. The attachment hooks are broken and need to be replaced with something beefier, which I can take care of if needed. The streamline shape of the tent really sells it for me. I might chop the folding legs an inch to drop it lower to the rack but overall, I'd say the tent might just stay on top of the rig, given the approval of the other half.

I got my light bar from a hook up through a friend, but for the bumper mounted, I'm looking for an amber bar. I do like the options Rigid offers, but I still cannot justify the mid-pricing of it yet. $50-75 less, yeah I'll consider it. I'm still hunting for a good one. I'll check out ExtremeLED units.

My trusty old D80 is still clicking away. It's in desperate need of a cleaning and service though. I've definitely put it through its paces since I've picked it up. I've been looking at the FX D600's... but maybe not for awhile. I can't drop that kind of change on photography yet.

RTT looks great! Have you ever felt the need to move up to 33's? It seems like you and I do the same type of overlanding and I'm about to need a new set.

Thanks! I never felt the need to size up on the 32's. For what I do, I never needed the 33's and I can't imagine the further reduction in MPG and extra stress on the motor. It's just not worth it. It might make the rig look cooler filling up the wheel wells, but I've spent enough on these tires already. Keeping the MPG adequate is starting to show more and more with these additions.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I only spent $20 and went super ghetto on the mounting with four 3-4" hose clamps on each side; since I am only testing it out right now and don't want to spend the budgeted $100 in clamps. The tent's footprint fits right within the OEM roof rack, leaving it pretty snug once clamped down. No lateral or vertical movement. The tent itself is very comfortable with the suspended floor and being up high definitely gives you a much different vantage point when you wake up. Only thing is getting on the ladder to step down. The attachment hooks are broken and need to be replaced with something beefier, which I can take care of if needed. The streamline shape of the tent really sells it for me. I might chop the folding legs an inch to drop it lower to the rack but overall, I'd say the tent might just stay on top of the rig, given the approval of the other half.

I got my light bar from a hook up through a friend, but for the bumper mounted, I'm looking for an amber bar. I do like the options Rigid offers, but I still cannot justify the mid-pricing of it yet. $50-75 less, yeah I'll consider it. I'm still hunting for a good one. I'll check out ExtremeLED units.

My trusty old D80 is still clicking away. It's in desperate need of a cleaning and service though. I've definitely put it through its paces since I've picked it up. I've been looking at the FX D600's... but maybe not for awhile. I can't drop that kind of change on photography yet.

I've always liked those setups to be honest. Cheap but very effective. A perfect DIY solution for rooftop camping. If I was you, I'd definitely try lowering it a little. It might help keep everything streamlined and keep you from getting into arguments with low hanging trees. I loved waking up and looking out the window from six feet up, it's such a cool experience. Do you have a good travel cover for it?

I have the D610, the slight upgrade from the D600, and it is an awesome camera. That sensor is just incredible and it's built like a brick sh!thouse compared to the entry level stuff. I can pull awesome amounts of detail out of it, and relatively low noise even up to 4000 ISO. The image quality you get from it is just awesome. I can't say enough good things about it. If you are looking at that kind of camera, I have two suggestions. If you're looking to get an FX camera, you can get into the D600 for cheap, but make sure you get one that has had the shutter replaced. The whole oil spot issue does go away after a while, but it's a pain to deal with. You can get good prices for those cameras. You could also look for a used D610. The other suggestion is to look at the D700. It's a really great camera, and the sensor is actually a really good one despite only having 12 megapixels. Really nice AF system on them as well. They give really good quality and full frame shooting for really cheap. Find a low shutter count one on eBay and fire away. Downside to them is they don't do video. But that's about it.

 

[richard310]

I've always liked those setups to be honest. Cheap but very effective. A perfect DIY solution for rooftop camping. If I was you, I'd definitely try lowering it a little. It might help keep everything streamlined and keep you from getting into arguments with low hanging trees. I loved waking up and looking out the window from six feet up, it's such a cool experience. Do you have a good travel cover for it?

I have the D610, the slight upgrade from the D600, and it is an awesome camera. That sensor is just incredible and it's built like a brick sh!thouse compared to the entry level stuff. I can pull awesome amounts of detail out of it, and relatively low noise even up to 4000 ISO. The image quality you get from it is just awesome. I can't say enough good things about it. If you are looking at that kind of camera, I have two suggestions. If you're looking to get an FX camera, you can get into the D600 for cheap, but make sure you get one that has had the shutter replaced. The whole oil spot issue does go away after a while, but it's a pain to deal with. You can get good prices for those cameras. You could also look for a used D610. The other suggestion is to look at the D700. It's a really great camera, and the sensor is actually a really good one despite only having 12 megapixels. Really nice AF system on them as well. They give really good quality and full frame shooting for really cheap. Find a low shutter count one on eBay and fire away. Downside to them is they don't do video. But that's about it.

It seems like a pretty good fit for me without jumping into the deep end with a CVT or Tepui RTT, although I'd love a Maggiolina.. If I get the green light from the girlfriend, I'll be making some modifications. The folding legs will be chopped down to improve the aerodynamics and the travel cover will be sent out to get re-done. I'm thinking of either Coyote Tan or a camouflage pattern to go with the whole theme I did run into some low hanging trees on that trip out and it did just fine. The cover is very heavy duty, similar to what the other RTT manufacturers use for theirs. And also I'll be picking up some insulated padding for the interior and refining the ladder attachment. Until then, a few more trips will be the deciding factor.

Thanks for the advice on the FX frames. I've been looking at the D600 and D700. Night shots are noisey and extremely poor with the D80 and the DX sensor. I'll be dealing with the D80 until timing and my occupation allows me to find one.


So I took off the Xoskel light bar and chopped down the tabs and re-used/re-welded the tabs to accomodate a 32" LED bar. If anyone wants a good deal on used HID lighting, let me know. You'll need to find a wiring harness though. Now the only windnoise is from the Oasis tent up top. It's hard to deduce if the MPG had improved/reduced since I swapped out a 4 large lamps for a taller RTT.

Quick cellphone pic:


I've been looking at Rigid D2 Amber Wide LED lamps to replace the two bumper mounted HIDs...so tempting.

 

[richard310]

Finally was able to snap some quick pics of the new lighting setup. I do need to re-aim the light bar higher though, just above the headlight cutoff to gain more distance. I'm going to stick with the bumper HIDs and aim them for a wider pattern for the peripheral deadspots. There's also just something about the round lights that look so classic. Best thing with this setup, no glare in the cockpit!

Lights off:




Headlights 9007 Nokya Arctic Yellow + 6" Rugged Ridge/ DDM 3000K HIDs




Roof Mounted 30" LED Light Bar Hybrid Pattern




All Front Lights On:

 

[Longrange308]

Looks good Richard.. Though if I were you, having those HID's pointed just at or in front of where your headlights are, I would raise the led bars beam up to reach out a bit further. It just looks like a bit too much light overlap for me.