Nissan Xterra?

Fathead · Dec 20, 2004

loco said:
Well - I will say that the 3/4 ton powerstroke I had got the best mileage. I don't need a dually, but would like to have another one. They are pretty reliable, even for a Ford. I have bashed those much harder than I would a toyota or nissan. That said, people in Houston buying them is the reason I can't afford one. King Ranch sming ranch, I wonder if they even have any of those. I didn't know many ranchers driving stuff like that. Financed farmers, yes. Ranchers, no.

You're right on all counts there. With both our vehicles paid off and in the 90,000-mile range, another purchase is tempting. However, the money our neighbors are willling to plop down on unnecessary metal is keeping us out of the "bigger and better" game.

To their credit, a lot of the Ford SDs in my 'hood are driven by contractors, or guys who pull boats or hunting trailers. King Ranch, however, is a colossal-scale male version of a Coach bag. The one contractor I know who drives a King Ranch F250 only takes it onto gravel lots. But he has the dough and he has to show everyone in the 'biz that he is on top.

The only ranchers I know are so old they shouldn't be driving, but they do. . . old 1/2-ton 2wd pickups.

Fathead · Dec 20, 2004

SkaredShtles said:
My guess would be Texas.

I think that Texans would want that.......

-S.S.-

My guess is that coachbuilders who want to sell to high-end limo services would want that (and get it). . . I think the rental biz is feeding that industry. I'm sure there are a few folks that actually want to own stretch SUVs, but I think the point, either way, is to have a moving stage where you sip Cristal and Hipnotq and make a spectacle of yourself. Any Texans who want that are certainly not alone in that proclivity.

-dustin · Dec 20, 2004

on my street (in Fredericksburg, not Austin), the inventory is comprised mainly of family sedans, or 2wd trucks. my neighbor drives a double cab 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4, but that's his work truck. does highway construction, or something. he's only home on the weekends. we have our fair share of F350 King Ranches, or Platinum Editions, 4x4 suburbans, but if you see them in town, they're generally at Ace, Parkers, pulling a trailor to the stock yard, or headed to a jobsite. typically on the verge of being brown, regardless of paint color, due to the dirt.

i guess in Fredericksburg, more people who drive the badass trucks actually use them for work, rather than family transporters.

i can think of one that is only used to pull a boat on occasion. it's a blue/green Ford F250 Super Duty 4x4 ext. cab, short-bed with a Ranch Hand replacement front bumber/grill guard, replace rear bumber, and tool box (all have been sprayed with that Rhino Liner), and some 32" Goodyear AT/Ss. it is soooooo sweet. the guy who drives it is handicapped, though, and i don't really understand why he wanted a truck like that. he was in a boating accident that took his wife about 12 or 13yrs ago. tried to save her from getting caught in the propeller of a boat, and got caught himself. since then, he's put on a good amount of weight, and has mobility problems.

Curb Hucker · Dec 20, 2004

that 350 is nice, but I take even more pride in killing the environment with my Chevy. 2500HD with an 8.1l Vortec V8 with the non-towing gearing. I'll go through 1 tank of premium every 2-4 days :drool:

and tires every few months. Thats probably why this thing stays tarped in a garage only to be taken out on nice warm weekends :thumb:

snutty · Dec 20, 2004

N8 said:
Cool.... Toyota had this as an option for the 4Runner back in 1996.

they have had e-lockers in toyotas longer then that... land cruisers had them pre 96

snutty · Dec 20, 2004

luken8r said:
why no love for jeeps? my GC gets 22mpg on teh highway and about 17 in boston. it shuttles my bikes, camping crap, dog, people, etc wherever we go. and good luck taking your xturd on some of the trails my ZJ goes down. both the 4.0 and 4.7 are rock solid and theres a huge aftermarket for engine parts and any number of lifts from 1" to 7"+ if youre into that sort of thing. you can probably get a 02-03 for around 15k and an 04 for under 20k.

dont break ur dana 30 axel

Tom Church · Dec 20, 2004

Yeah...thats the weakness of many SUV's...weak Axles...I'm looking for either an old CJ5 with a Dana 44 conversion or one of the CJ7's that came with the Dana 44.

They do make a conversion for the old CJ5's and for the CJ7's with the AMC axle that is basically just the axle shaft itself that slides in, in place of the old one.

Tom

punkassean · Dec 20, 2004

Tom, you can upgrade the axle shafts on any truck. Be it keeping the same diameter & spline count and just upgrading the axle shaft material to 4340 or some other material, or by broaching it to accept larger diameter/higher spline count axles that are also usually better material. last option of course is to swap in entire new axle assembly's, typically Dana 44's or 60's but also sometimes ford 9"'s etc.

FWIW, the new Tacoma has 30-spline axle shafts and 8" ring gears front and rear this = Burly!

Tom Church · Dec 20, 2004

I also have to think about being able to parallel park in Richmond.......

The Xterra has the tightest turning radius of any vehicle I have ever owned. I can't tell you how many times I have turned that thing around in the woods when I have reached a dead end. Far better than my parents Jeeps (both parents own Cherokee's and my brother has a Grand Cherokee).

Tom

-dustin · Dec 20, 2004

my 99 Taco's turning radius is horrible. but i don't bust many u-turns. i can || park well, though.

punkassean · Dec 20, 2004

Turning radius is mostly related to the wheelbase. A std cab tacoma and a 4Runner have the same wheelbase (~104") going to an extra cab or double cab takes you up to a ~122" which translates into a huge loss in steering radius. I can easily bust a U in most any street but my friends Tacoma's w/extra cab's have to make a 3-point.

Wheelbase length affects cars just like it does bikes so the longer wheelbase will be more comfortable at speed but in turn it's a PITA to parallel park...

-dustin · Dec 20, 2004

you want to be the taxi? might as well wear a sign that says "hi everyone, i'm mike. i'm the DD." i forgot, not driving everyone around was such a nice added benefit after getting rid of my Jeep.

punkassean · Dec 20, 2004

the Inbred said:
you want to be the taxi? might as well wear a sign that says "hi everyone, i'm mike. i'm the DD." i forgot, not driving everyone around was such a nice added benefit after getting rid of my Jeep.

werd

so sick of being the one who drives by default since all of my friends have trucks.

-dustin · Dec 21, 2004

BigMike said:
This is getting closer......

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&paId=161156968&pageNumber=1&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=ascending&sortfield=PRICE+ascending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=51&leadExists=true&criteria=K-|E-|M-_47_|D-_433_|N-N|R-75|I-1|P-PRICE+ascending|Q-ascending|Z-22152&aff=national

i like that one. seems to be a fair price, if the body is in good shape.

oh, 8 records on the carfax report. hmmmm.....

in other news, i might be kicking a dead horse here, and appologize if i am, but from my experience, a truck is more versatile than an SUV.

Toshi · Dec 21, 2004

Tom Church said:
The Xterra also has a higher ground clearence than the GC does I belive. I can fit 32" tires with no lift and only a little bit of plastic trimming. And I run 31" tires with no mods.

the same holds true for the pathfinder (31" bfg m/t on mine). i don't get great gas mileage with the 31"s however: 17.5 mpg on the freeway coming home (oregon) from school (seattle) just now, but that's with a bristling roof rack and a heavy right foot. thank you, valentine 1 :heart:

Toshi · Dec 21, 2004

nope. less than 1% of my mileage. but i did buy an ORV permit for it, just in case

. off-roading competes for the same time as biking, so my only off trail excursion recently was driving around the (open

heh) gate up at hood river.

on my 2003 summer road trip i did go to several locations only accessible by "high clearance 4wd vehicle", in the words of the park service: williams ranch in guadalupe mtns natl park, and into the moonscape of capitol reef natl park (and below). capitol reef was a 60 mile off road trek involving a stream crossing (sorry for the pic quality, that one was with my phone!)

punkassean · Dec 21, 2004

BigMike said:
apparantly, the 4 runner doesnt come in a standard

4Runner's were available with "standards" (silly east-coaster's

) from '96-'99 or 2000 after that you could only get one w/a 4-banger. Damn shame I tell ya! They are rare but you can find them.

binary visions · Dec 21, 2004

Incidentally, that was a great bonus with my truck - I'd drive my own ass everywhere, and if I felt like taking one friend, I would. No, "Everyone pile into BV's car for the road trip! What's 'gas money'?"

Booker · Dec 21, 2004

BigMike said:
Which is another reason I am looking at SUVs. A Truck would be aweome, and very useful, but as said, I want to do some 4 wheeling, need to parallel park, and also need to be able to take 4-5 people when my vehicle is not crammed with biking stuffs.

For whats it worth i have, dozens of times, hauled 4-5 people, 4-5 DH bikes, and enough luggage and gear for a week trip, on 8-12 hour drives up into the mountains, without a problem in my truck. I have a 4X4 2003 Nissan Frontier, Crew cab, long bed. Even my 6'+ friends don't really mind riding in the back seat.
IMO i can haul the same number of people as an SUV and carry 5 times as much gear. The only major draw back, is my truck is pretty long, it is a pain in the ass to parallel park in the city but i still manage and i show no love for the bumpers when turning around in tight wooded 4x4 trails.

Seriously, take a good look at crew-cab trucks, (either the Tacoma or Frontier) just make sure you get the long bed version of either.

-dustin · Dec 27, 2004

oh yeah, i just remembered something.

recently, Toyota sent out a flyer, snowing off the new Tacomas. in the big picture, they show a red one muddin' in some thick mud.

well, 6 months after i got my Tacoma, some friends and i went to the ol' mud pit and tore **** up. first and only time i ever did that. 4 months later, i started having issues with light bulbs going out in my truck, rather rapidly. took it to Toyota, and they told me the cause of the faulty converter (which lead to lights prematurely going out) was because...............

i took my truck out in the mud. i thought the guy was joking. he wasn't.

within a month, that "manager" was no longer employed by Toyota. as a matter of fact, in the 5 years i've had truck, that particular dealership has gone through 4 managers.

manziman · Dec 27, 2004

nice dude, that thing is friggen awesome! good purchase! How much out the door?

Toshi · Dec 27, 2004

BigMike said:
I think I found my car........ I walked out on the deal today though. Hopefully the same price will be there tomorrow....................

sweet. an SE, eh? :thumb:

Jeremy R · Dec 28, 2004

This is an interesting thread. I have always been a Toyota fan. I drove a 91 4-runner into the ground putting over 200,000 miles on it. But I just don't like their newer stuff. I tried to like the new Tacoma, but it just looks weird to me.
Then, I saw the New 05 Nissan Frontier in person. Hands down, the best looking truck I have ever seen. And size wise it seems to be about perfect for what I was looking for. Basically, it looks like a mid size version of the Titan except with cleaner lines, and without that chrome piece on the front.
It has a wider stance than the Tacoma, and a V6 putting our 265 Hp/ 284 torque. That is more than a lot of V-8's.
It was love at first sight.

Now I can't put down the brochure.
Looks like I might be eating Ramen noodles again. :nope:

SkaredShtles · Dec 28, 2004

BigMike said:

You bought a *PINK* Pathfinder?!? :think:

Ummmm..... congratulations?

-S.S.-

Toshi · Dec 31, 2004

BigMike said:
I like that picture

Do you off road much?

time for a second pictorial answer since i took it out to the dunes yesterday :thumb:

manziman · Dec 31, 2004

Toshi said:
time for a second pictorial answer since i took it out to the dunes yesterday
"Your grandmother took a spill at the dunes today...broke her coxic"

SkaredShtles · Dec 31, 2004

Toshi said:
time for a second pictorial answer since i took it out to the dunes yesterday

<snip>

Ummmm...... those actually look like roads to me...... :confused:

-S.S.-

Sherpa · Dec 31, 2004

manziman said:
Toshi said:

"Your grandmother took a spill at the dunes today...broke her coxic"

Click to expand...

Why was Grandma at the sand dunes?

Nissan Xterra?

Monkey

Monkey

boring

I am an idiot

Monkey

Monkey

Monkey

Turbo Monkey

BrokenbikeMike

Monkey

boring

Turbo Monkey

BrokenbikeMike

boring

Turbo Monkey

BrokenbikeMike

BrokenbikeMike

BrokenbikeMike

BrokenbikeMike

boring

butthole powerwashing evangelist

BrokenbikeMike

butthole powerwashing evangelist

Turbo Monkey

The voice of reason

Monkey

boring

BrokenbikeMike

BrokenbikeMike

Stubby

butthole powerwashing evangelist

BrokenbikeMike

<b>x</b>

Michael Bolton

BrokenbikeMike

butthole powerwashing evangelist

Stubby

BrokenbikeMike

Michael Bolton

Basking in fail.