[caston]

I just got a new 2008 xterra, it was time to get rid of the explorer 2001 with 215,000 hard miles going into manhattan. My problem is the xterra being so tall there are some parking lots that I do not fit into. I had a home made rod rack on the truck that held 4 rods. I had it bolted onto the top on the truck. I am looking for something that would be easy to put on and off when I need it. I was able to put some bungi cords inside the truck for one rod for that before or after work run,but I would rather have something on top. any one have any solutions.
Thanks

 

[toyotaoffroad91]

you will have a couple options....
1 get thule/yakima mounts for your factory rails... use a hunter rack or something comparable..if security isn't an issue use the regular wall storage racks that they have at dicks or sports authority (unless you local B&T sells them) the mounts will stay on the rails for good but you can easily remove the rod rack...
option 2 is get rid of the factory rack and a yamima aftermarket rack with load bars...some of them have adjustable heights with the after market rack you may lower your clearance overall..
option 3 is to put a 2" lowering suspension kit or smaller tires (but you wont dont do that cuz thats just silly <--please dont do that!

or actually i just though of this is maybe you can make a 1 rod holder per side on the side of the horizontal rail...in otherwords you rod maybe ably to mount not on top of the rack but the side? i was gonna do this on the Fj but couldn;t get a secure bolt to go through the hunter rack so that got scratched.....
another way to go is get a rod rack and some nice zipties They can be reusable just undo them or cut em when you back from the beach..

This post edited by toyotaoffroad91 08:59 PM 05/01/2008

 

[spygull]

Rod racks

Caston; Good luck with the new rig. I just got a new Off Road Xterra myself. I built a four rod rack that mounts on top of the cargo carier with U bolts, It would be simple to attach it with wing nuts instead of the locking nuts that I used. The whole thing cost me about $40 for materials and about 4 hours shop time.

 

[toyotaoffroad91]

cool idea man...BTW what size u bolts did you use..do you know the diameter of the tubes?

 

[spygull]

U Bolts

They are 2 1/2 inch stainless u bolts, they have enough clearance to slip on some 1/4 inch shrink tube so you dont scratch the finish on the tubes.

 

[plugger]

xtera

Hey guys
Lets hear your experience so far with the new rigs, can you compare it to your last truck. My 12 year olD cherokee is just breaking in but the xetera is on my short list if and when i go new

 

[toyotaoffroad91]

plugger wrote:
Hey guys
Lets hear your experience so far with the new rigs, can you compare it to your last truck. My 12 year olD cherokee is just breaking in but the xetera is on my short list if and when i go new
get an FJ!!

 

[plugger]

fj

ok another real beach buggy
Lets hear what is good ..could be improved ETC..........

 

[toyotaoffroad91]

good
incredible 4x4 capable...e locker rear front ATRAC(acts like a front locker)
no carpet 0easy sand removal
water proof seats
tons of aftermarket acces.
good power 240HP
easy to work on
its a toyota

the bad
gas milage 15-22mpg
visibility- many blind spots but you get used to mirror real quick
windshield can crack easy its almost straight up..but get full glass coverage
not family friendly car seats etc.

 

[MaxKatt1]

In January I got $300 for my '01 Ford Escape that had 175k mi...and no reverse gear...from Car Cash in the city. Bought an '08 Xterra.

I too struggle with the rack issue. Those pipes on top don't fit the Thule ski rack I had. The rack has several ways to reconfig, but still can't accomodate the fatter cross pipe.

For rods, I'm thinking about just putting them on a pair of foam blocks I use for kayak and tying them down good with bungy.

I also Mt. Bike and road bike. My Escape could fit both cycles upright on a homemade rack I built. Interior clearance is lower in the Xterra and I can just barely wedge the bikes in there. Other than that I totally love it.

 

[nycbasskiller]

spygull wrote:
Caston; Good luck with the new rig. I just got a new Off Road Xterra myself. I built a four rod rack that mounts on top of the cargo carier with U bolts, It would be simple to attach it with wing nuts instead of the locking nuts that I used. The whole thing cost me about $40 for materials and about 4 hours shop time.


awesome!!!!!
awesome how do the rods stay put once you put them in and start drivin around? are those rod holder tubes from a tackle shop? or did you make your own tubes out of pvc?
I was looking to make something similar...

 

[spygull]

Rod racks

basskiller, Sent you a PM

 

[spygull]

Research

I looked at the FJ, the new 4 door Jeep wrangler and the Xterra. I liked the Wrangler for the cool factor.but the reliability history made me eliminate it. The FJ was nice but after driveing it and the xterra. I liked the way the Nissan handled a little better. I got the off road model. I had to go upstate to get it, none of the dealers on Long Island had one. 265 HP,Stability control, 4 wheel locking differentials, Bilstein shocks, crawl mode, auto throttle on hill decent. skid plates, 5000 lb tow capacity. great visibility, oversized tires with mag wheels, lots of goodies standard. and best of all , about $4000 less than the jeep or FJ.

This post edited by spygull 01:28 PM 05/09/2008