richard310's 04 Xterra

[richard310]

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.

That's the plan for the LED light bar. Agreed its too low. The HIDs I kind of want a bit higher and wider but just underneath the LED bar. I want to make sure there's limited overlap for minimized hotspots.

I still want to add some sort of lighting to fill in between the side rack lights and forward lights. It's hard to discern what's around a tight bend when everything's being thrown forward and to the side. I may be looking into some smaller flood pods on the front corners to utilize the second switch on my dash. Maybe Rigid Dually's or something similar.

 

[richard310]

 

[wreckdiver1321]

That lighting is looking really nice Richard. Sounds like you need to use up the fog light holes

 

[Longrange308]

Agreed about the bends being dark. That's why I ultimately went with one 20" bar and 2 8" bars on either side. I keep those at 45* to the left and right, respectively. Really helps with peripheral lighting. You could pick up a couple of 4 to 6 led pods and mount them on the bumper, or the rack, in a similar way.

 

[richard310]

Agreed about the bends being dark. That's why I ultimately went with one 20" bar and 2 8" bars on either side. I keep those at 45* to the left and right, respectively. Really helps with peripheral lighting. You could pick up a couple of 4 to 6 led pods and mount them on the bumper, or the rack, in a similar way.

I do like your setup just for that problem. Possibly later down the road I'll pick up those pods, but for now I've got a much higher priority over everything else so all my hobbies are on hold for the time being.

Wreck, as much as I want to use the holes and mounts on the bumper already, my bumper shifts around too much from excessive vibrations and screws/tabs coming loose. I'd rather mount to a more hard surface like the bumper lights. Those are right into the bumper support. I'll most likely keep them up high on the roof rack light bar. More spread and distance than down low.

 

[richard310]

Hitched onto a trip with GooseGear over to Big Bear this past weekend for a short getaway. I was extremely happy as Deanna finally had time to join in. We hit the road Saturday morning to meet up Brian and the gang who had arrived the day before. We found camp at Yellow Post 29: A nice little settlement atop a small hill along the ridge at the end of FS-2N11. Many rock croppings for climbing and windbreaks, and plenty of shade. We then dropped off a few items to mark camp, and headed down into Big Bear to check out the lake and relax a bit before heading back up. The lake levels were low with mucky and smelly shorelines; the north side of the lake was dry as a bone. After hanging out on the lake edge, we headed back up to do some light trail run and exploring as neither of us had been in that particular area. Ends up there was a mountain bike race being planned that weekend, and many mountain bikers were already riding the course. Encountered a small photoshoot on the way back to camp as well. I don't recall the roads we took but 2N10 was the main road in and out. After some breathtaking views and smooth fire roads, we headed back into camp and setup for dinner and a peaceful night. Sunday was a bit of a late morning, but luckily we didn't need to rush out. We were debating whether or not to run Clarks Grade, but time and a deadline wouldn't allow for it. We decided to take HWY-38 back home. On the way out of camp, we actually were driving the actual mountain bike course, encountering participants either coming head-on or flying past us on the trails. Felt a bit awkward but we had to get out. Overall a wonderful trip to get away from work for a night. Thanks for having us again Brian!

Checking out the mucky shoreline:

























Exploring the area off of 2N10 (turned into a light photo session):

 

[richard310]

Wonderful views:



The gang:





One of many closed gates... quite saddening as we had to turn around a few times.



On the way down the valley, HWY-38 on the opposite ridgeline













Flowers were in full bloom, made for a colorful drive.









Back at camp checking out the immediate area, climbing on rocks, and enjoying the sunset:

 

[richard310]

Of course, the obligatory shot



A few night shots to what the D80 can muster up with the small DX sensor...







One of many overhead commercial airliners









Packing up on a leisurely Sunday morning and taking the opportunity for some photo-ops:

 

[Longrange308]

Such a beautiful area, too bad its dying from a such an extreme lack of water..

 

[richard310]

Such a beautiful area, too bad its dying from a such an extreme lack of water..

Indeed it is... Although the hillsides are decently green, just looking at the lake levels are quite discerning. Even though we really live in a desert environment, the recent weather here in the past 5 years has changed dramatically. I can't imagine what the South Bay will look like in another 5 years. Lucky for you, you're up in better climates...

On the other hand, fortunately, there were a good amount of folks up in the area doing touristy things and quite a good amount of campers/wheelers as well. Obviously not as much, but it's still good to see people heading out to the area. There's also quite an increase in Pinzgauer's in Big Bear... I believe I saw about 5-6 of them scattered around the lake. I want one now.

 

[richard310]

So I finally had a friend at work tack up a quick weld job to replace the silly ratchet tie down holding the spare tire swing out from moving while in motion. I ended up using a double latch system to replace the original single latch. I used the Double Locking Pull Action Toggle Clamp from McMasterCarr rated at 720lbs here, on the end of each swing arm. I was debating of going overkill with the 2000lb rating, but decided it unnecessary and over budget. Using two 1"x1" steel square tubing side by side (couldn't find 1"x2"), we attached the clamps to be on the same level as the bumper and welded them in place. This turned out to be the ticket to eliminate the fore-aft movement of the carrier. I'm quite pleased with the simple design and we'll see how well this system will hold up on trail and over time. If you ask me, this is how the securing of the swing arms should have been done: attach each arm to the bumper, not to itself. The original clamp is still welded in place. I may be grinding that off sometime this week or I may keep it on there as a 2nd level of security, as I haven't decided yet.

Excuse this silly camera phone quality pictures:

 

[RobRed]

No Molle rack on the hood?

Looking good.

 

[richard310]

No Molle rack on the hood?

Looking good.

Thanks Rob!

Unforunately, I don't have enough MOLLE pouches... :sombrero:

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Hey Richard! Looks like a great trip, and as usual great pictures. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. You're really lucky to be able to get out and explore with all these great people in the industry.

 

[Bretthn]

Awesome build and pictures.