Warmachine - 2018 Nissan Titan Pro-4X Overlander / Camping Build

[derekjhunt]

Howdy folks,

A couple months ago I became rather obsessed with the functional aspect of many of the overlanding builds, so the quest to find a vehicle was rather short - a Toyota Tacoma. I spent a month or so trying to find a used one and I couldn't bring myself to buy one at the asking prices, eventually I ended up at the Toyota dealership and after going around in circles, gave up mainly due to the poor rates on the financing side. I was pretty much set on a new F-150 when my buddy told me to check out the new Titans. Definitely felt like I could get more for my money and the warranty sold me on the vehicle. My decision was going to be pretty quick as I have a trip scheduled for late August, with my 13 year old Son, to go from Connecticut to Seattle, Washington and back again over a couple weeks.

So last week, I sold my trusty, tuned 2012 Audi A6 Prestige and purchased a 2018 Nissan Titan Pro-4X build with the intention of turning it into something that I can actually use around the house, but also take advantage of the capabilities and enjoy the outdoors a bit more.

So far, my plans are:

• Radio Communications install - ICOM 5100A
• Roof Top Tent
• Decked System for the bed
• Maybe a pull out camp kitchen type thing.
• Some sort of rack for the truck bed.
• A tablet system for APRS, Radio Management and/or Map management, as well as road entertainment (games, movies for my Son)
• No major suspension, or bumper mods for the first year or so.

Should be a pretty fun journey.

- Derek

 

[Gotta Love It]

Great looking truck! That was actually the color I wanted until I ended up getting my white XD at a local dealer who had the best price in at least 5 states and the color has really grown on me. I have been driving my old Titan since early 2004 and it has been a great truck! I’ve got some pics of both in another thread that I started recently.

If your truck has the utilitrack in the bed you have lots of options to bolt things on there. Spring nuts for unistrut fit the track and from there use your imagination. Bike racks, overhead racks, fishing pole holders, etc. are all easy to install. Since you’re a ham, I used the track to mount both 2m and HF antennas and they performed well. I even managed to make a contact in Australia with the MFJ Hamtenna. I mounted a Yaesu FT857 under the passenger seat with the display in the overhead sunglass holder. Just open it up and the radio display flipped down. Ran audio through the truck speakers using the auxiliary input.

Sounds like you’re planning for a little more extensive setup than I’ll do (at least for awhile) on the new truck. That decked system looks nice. I’m going to try to stay fairly modular and flexible and set the truck up differently for whatever I happen to be doing. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing your progress and getting ideas.

 

[Ovrlnd Rd]

While mine's a 2015 I love my Titan. I will say that the Decked system is my FAVORITE upgrade. It will stay in this truck as long as I own it and any future truck will get one immediately after purchase. Also Decked as a company goes above and beyond with customer service so I can't say enough about them and their product.

 

[derekjhunt]

@Gotta Love It - great idea about using the utilitrack for antennas; I didn't think of that at all

@M1078 Glad to hear that the Decked system is worth it, mine should be here next week!

 

[Obrianmcc]

Just installed the Decked Drawer System in my Frontier .... so far very impressed.

 

[derekjhunt]

Started the ham radio install this week. I spent some time trying to figure out the best place to punch through the firewall. I settled on the the same channel as hood release.

I punched some fish tape through without too much trouble.

I taped off the antenna coax and power to pull back through. This proved to be a bit finicky, partially because I left the original connectors on. Once I cut those off, I had to bend a loop at the end of the fish tape to be able to pull it through.

I installed the cable with a PowerWerx fuse adapter with Anderson PowerPole conenctors. The original Icom cable had bare connectors had those fuse connectors on this side and that's when I realized that side should have been attached to radio side and pushed through. Doh! This was my first mobile install, so a rookie mistake on my part.

I crimped a set of APP connectors on the remote end

Unfortunately, the Icom side had a the original connector
https://imgur.com/Twd3wJe

I'll chop that off and and replace with and a PowerPole connector as well.

I was short on time, so I installed the Comet Antenna Mount (CP-5M) and wrapped it up.

A did a quick power on test and everything tested proper.

I tried to have a temp setup by using 3M dual lock velcro, but we've been hitting the 90's here in CT and I was having a hell of a time getting it to sick to the inside of the cab.

I'm not sure where to put the radio base without drilling. I'm hoping to have this part wrapped up by the end of the weekend.

 

[derekjhunt]

Finished up the radio install. Initially I put it behind the rear, drivers side seat

but unfortunately, I ran out of power cable by about an inch or so and I decided it wasn't worth running four separate cable runs (power, speaker, mic and remote)


So I took the step and drilled it right underneath the steering wheel.

and used the icom mount in the center for now. I think I'm going to get a ram extension and figure out a way to mount it off of the flat tablet mount.

 

[Mo4130]

Looks good. I respect a man who is willing to drill into his brand new dash?. Did you get it tuned yet?

 

[slimshady218]

Looking forward to this one. The Titan will more than likely be my next purchase. I drove them all and the Titan just feels more like a truck and able to do truck stuff better than the others. On top of that, the warranty and the steep discounts put it above the rest.

 

[derekjhunt]

Looks good. I respect a man who is willing to drill into his brand new dash?. Did you get it tuned yet?

It was a bit nerve racking. Honestly, the truck is the second most expensive thing I've ever purchased (after my house), but I really thought about the core reason I purchased it (enjoyment) and promptly drilled the dash - and then messed up with hole <doh!>. That's ok, a slight correction and it's hidden from the eyes.

I haven't put an SWR on it yet, but I was listening to the local repeaters and and the traffic was very clear and strong. I was picking up lots of traffic from Hartford and New London. I'm really liking the Comet SBB-5 antenna so far too, however, there is a strong whistle with the mount and antenna. I may put some heart shrink on the coil and see if that fixes it.

 

[derekjhunt]

Looking forward to this one. The Titan will more than likely be my next purchase. I drove them all and the Titan just feels more like a truck and able to do truck stuff better than the others. On top of that, the warranty and the steep discounts put it above the rest.

Warranty sealed it for me. I'm liking the drive as well. Here's a nice benefit that goes unsung - the front seats recline flat. Like all the way down. So far the truck has exceeded my expectations. One negative, the turning radius is battleship level.

 

[derekjhunt]

I'm picking up the Decked gear tomorrow and I bit the bullet and ordered the Leitner Designs rack today, with an extra load bar for the tent. I'm still playing around with the Ram mounts. Currently I'm planning on a Surface Go tablet with the Maps Pro application and using the GPS from the ICOM ID-5100a, but I may switch that to a Android tablet for my upcoming trip.

 

[Mo4130]

It was a bit nerve racking. Honestly, the truck is the second most expensive thing I've ever purchased (after my house), but I really thought about the core reason I purchased it (enjoyment) and promptly drilled the dash - and then messed up with hole <doh!>. That's ok, a slight correction and it's hidden from the eyes.

I haven't put an SWR on it yet, but I was listening to the local repeaters and and the traffic was very clear and strong. I was picking up lots of traffic from Hartford and New London. I'm really liking the Comet SBB-5 antenna so far too, however, there is a strong whistle with the mount and antenna. I may put some heart shrink on the coil and see if that fixes it.

Excellent! Sometimes you gotta think big picture. I was the same way when I cut off half my front end for my bumper. I wouldn’t go back though. I love my setup. Where in ct do you live. I just moved from east lyme.

 

[derekjhunt]

Excellent! Sometimes you gotta think big picture. I was the same way when I cut off half my front end for my bumper. I wouldn’t go back though. I love my setup. Where in ct do you live. I just moved from east lyme.

Awesome! The bumpers would still make me nervous, I guess I'll find out next year. I'm in Middletown, but I love the East Lyme area (the Book Barn in Niantic is a treasure unto life itself). We try to head down that way once a week in the summer to Ocean Beach Park.

 

[kootenay]

Currently I'm planning on a Surface Go tablet with the Maps Pro application and using the GPS from the ICOM ID-5100a, but I may switch that to a Android tablet for my upcoming trip.

If you go this route let me know how it works. I have a Surface Pro, and love it but have not found a good mapping app for. The windows part and the lack of GPS seems to be the issue. I am trying to get it to recognize my Garmin through Bluetooth but no luck yet