richard310's 04 Xterra

[richard310]

That looks awesome! Question though, do you ever worry about people breaking in to your car with all that stuff out in the open? Looks awesome though... man my xmas list is growing.

Unfortunately I worry every time I leave my car parked overnight anywhere, even in my neighborhood, which is probably the safest place I've ever been (of course, nowhere is safe). There just isn't any good place to put things like this nor is it easy for quick detach. With limited space and all the little cubby holes occupied, it is where it is. Having a high profile vehicle alone, is bad already. I mean, all the bolt-ons we do to our rigs whether it's outside or inside, can be taken off, with the time and the right tools. Does that mean we take preventative measures and detach everything whenever we park our vehicles overnight? Some may, some may not. I highly doubt most people do. I hide or take with me high valued objects of course, but the radio's belong in the truck.

By the way, the Lowrance is staying indoors; only comes out on trips. That's just too big an item to leave out in the open like that.

 

[zolo]

What are you using the Lowrance unit for?
As there are no real good land based maps to load on it will you simply use it as a track log?
I've owned 2 in in the past and found them great but with the limited maps it was a giant GPS that was very limited on land.

 

[richard310]

I'm going to try to use it as a Nav and positioning unit in case we get lost. I'm going to see whats currently available as far as maps are concerned and test it out to see if it fits my needs. If it doesn't, I'll be sticking with paper maps and learning the area of where I'm going beforehand. With me, once I go to a place once, I'll remember how to get there without guidance unless I'm drunk and passed out in the passenger seat.

 

[richard310]

Finally got new rubber. I had all five tires switched last night to Cooper ST Maxx Load Range E in 265/75-16. (All for a whopping $950 mounted and balanced) It feels really nice to have some fresh rubber on the road and not have a massively dented wallet, even though there's a small dent in it already. It's unbelievably quiet and smooth for now, but I'll be testing them on the Death Valley Trip next weekend.



Next on the list is an ARB awning and yes, a Hi-Lift jack I still have not gotten yet.

 

[mortonm]

We need more pictures !

 

[richard310]

My lame camera phone sucks so it will have to wait until I get home (hopefully there's enough sunlight left) to use my camera.

I ended up caving in and ordered from Sierra Expeditons: an ARB 1250 awning with front wind guard, and also ordered a HiLift and mounting brackets for roof mounting. I'll be making my own L-Brackets at work to mount the awning.

 

[stioc]

Great choice on tires!

 

[richard310]

Great choice on tires!

Thanks I'll be able to test them out this weekend at the Death Valley trip and see how they do. Coming from BFG AT KO's, those will be my benchmark.

I saw your thread of your MT's for sale. Any luck selling those? And what did you replace them with?

 

[skibum315]

Awesome to see the Lowrance getting some love ... for maps, check out the stuff that Steven at Rugged Routes (http://www.ruggedroutes.com/ - yes, the same Steven as from Rugged Rocks) is doing with Lowrance. He's turning into *the* guy for Lowrance on-land stuff, and while the cards are pricey, they're not out of bed with the cost of other 'pre-made' GPS map cards.

 

[richard310]

Awesome to see the Lowrance getting some love ... for maps, check out the stuff that Steven at Rugged Routes (http://www.ruggedroutes.com/ - yes, the same Steven as from Rugged Rocks) is doing with Lowrance. He's turning into *the* guy for Lowrance on-land stuff, and while the cards are pricey, they're not out of bed with the cost of other 'pre-made' GPS map cards.

I've checked out rugged routes and will be inquiring to see what kind of support they have for the older unit I have. I hope their topo maps they sell will work with the 480c as it only mentions compatibility with the latest generation. I've already done a firmware update thus far and am hoping there's more support. Looking around online, there doesn't really seem to be a good aftermarket support structure unlike Garmin units.

 

[Longrange308]

I looked into the Lawrence units quite a bit, and while they are probably the most rugged and dependable units out there, I will likely just end up with a Galaxy TAB mounted on my dash for expeditions with MotionX maps downloaded for my entire state (yes, I will dedicate ALL the memory to maps) Its just hard to beat the flexibility of the tablet/phone navigation options right now. Of course, I usually have printed paper maps and a compass with me as well as a SPOT GPS locator.. I still take no chances.

 

[Longrange308]

Oh, and CONGRATS on the tires.. I hope they treat you as well as they have treated me. They have been indestructible thus far over all the deadfall, sharp rocks and thorny bushes out here, at full street pressure (37 psi).

 

[richard310]

Death Valley Trip sneak peak



More to come later!

 

[stioc]

MOAR! Where did you go in DV?

 

[richard310]

Finally have some time to post up pictures!

Here are the rest of the images and the thread of the trip: (I'm too lazy to narrate)

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/130321-Fall-2014-DV-trip/page2

Day 1

On the way to Shoshone












Ibex Spring