What to do first?

[Rickster131]

Hey All,

I'm new here and just introduced my self in the other thread. zer...age=3

I'm planning to do everything I can make my Xterra the best off-roader it can be. I just wanted to get your opinions on what I should start with first. Keep in mind I'm 16 (although I think you all will find me quite mature) with little knowledge in the area and a limited budget . I plan to have the truck for a long time and do just about everything with it. Thanks for any insight you guys are willing to give.

-Rick

[Nitewulf]

The best off-road tool you can have is a buddy to go with you in a seperate vehicle, never off-road alone. As far as modding your rig, it would depend on the situations you will put it in. Setting it up for rock crawling is far different than setting it up for trail riding or mudding. I am betting that if you look around the forum you will find a ton of guidance and alot of know-how. Build it according to the terrain you will be facing.

[Rickster131]

To be most realistic, I'll probably use it mostly for trail riding. I'll look around for some posts concerning that first, and go form there.

[Desert Rat]

What's your budget?

When I was 16, I'd have been happy to have anything with 4 wheels under it, even though I was working full time in the summers and whenever I could during the school year. Don't take this the wrong way, but chances are you don't have a lot of experience behind the wheel, and you should work on that first before deciding what direction to go with your truck. You'll learn the most about 4 wheeling in a relatively stock rig - wheel placement, approach and departure angles, and how to navigate rough terrain keeping all 4 wheels on the ground.

Once you've got a year or two of that under your belt, decide your budget and go from there. Xterras are fairly expensive to build up compared to some other vehicles, like jeeps. When you talk about adding lifts, you need to address steering. Do you want lockers? Body armor? Big bumpers? Winch? Bigger tires? Different wheels? Recovery gear? The price tags add up in a hurry.

Something else you'll want to do if you really want to get into off roading is to know your truck. Get an FSM. Do your own maintenance. Join a local club. Make sure you know how to fix things that break. Common trail breakage on an Xterra can include the driver side motor mount, tierod centers, hubs, halfshafts etc. Do you know how to replace that stuff? Do you have trail spares?

It's all stuff to think about from one old off roader to a young one.

[Nitewulf]

I agree wholeheartedly with what he said. It is wise to get very familiar with your vehicle before you start to play with it, as many of us that play off-road can tell you it really is easy for it to get exremely expensive in a hurry. If its your primary vehicle, and I am guessing it is, you need to be really sure you have it ready for what you are going to put it through. You need to get used to the center of gravity for your X, last thing any of us want to see is you on your side. (This was 20 years ago I learned this, but never forgot it since!) I do remember the excitement I had when I got my first 4x4, and how pissed off my dad was when I called him to come drag me out of a creek I tried to cross. He made me learn the hard way on how expensive it gets, I had to do chores to earn the money to flush the trans, diffs, rebuild kits for the front hubs, the oil and filters, all because I had too much excitement and not enough thought about what I was doing. Though his reply might seem a little harsh at first, believe me, he is trying to offer sound guidance. You have showed a great first step, you are asking those with experience that have had those, "hey yall watch this" episodes, that didnt go well.

Search for a local 4x4 club, many are around, and between them and us, we'll put you on the right path to alot of fun with your X. Just remember, you gotta pay to play, and it gets expensive quick.

[darinz]

Yeah as has been said, get out there use it, abuse it and break it. Until then you really don't know what you need to do to suit your individual driving style! It has taken me 8 years to get my truck to where it is now and I'm still changing things and learning more about it.Not having a budget means fitting the biggest rubber you can afford and then just learn from there.There is a simple key to getting a 4x4 going well. Judge everything to 2 simple rules. Clearance and traction. So tyres are the key to traction (to start with anywya) and then you need to keep the tyres on the ground. Which is suspension.HP etc only works once the first 2 have been sorted.Suspension is an easy one. The lower the truck is the better it will handle in all conditions. ie if 2" will do, don't go to 4". Cutting the guards to fit tyres is a far better solution than going 6" higher. Sure more lift equals more flex but flex is great for a ramp test but in the real world a locker will get you further than a huge RTI. You also need to realise that every mod you do is a compromise so you need to plan a lot and mod slow. If I had of just opened the cheque book 8 years ago I would have a completely different truck and it would have suited someone else.

PS Sorry for all those that spell things wrong I should said tires!!!