Posted: 11/10/2007 5:57:58 PM EDT
Coming back from camping and shooting this morning I nearly got side swiped by an idiot in a black Jaguar. I was in the number two lane staying with traffic doing about 75 mph. A red mustang was slowly passing me on the left when Mr. Jaguar comes up really fast - about 90 mph and nearly runs into the Mustang and cuts over in front of me and my big bad ass steel bumper. He came so close to hitting me that when he cut me off all I could see was the back of his trunk area - no bumper or license plate at all.  (objects in side mirror are closer and angrier than they look!) Other than that another beautiful trip. I took off work four hours early and jetted up into the high desert. The weather was beautiful with a high about 75 degrees and nice and frosty cold at night in the 40's. I brought my brand-new telescope out there to view the stars ... amazingly clear. Come morning I brought the M1903 Mark I out for a bit of .30-06 fun at 400 to 600 yards. I didn't hit my 18" rifle gong every shot but enough that I started to feel really good with those nearing 100 year old iron sights (and half that age eyes!). Felt good to get kicked in the shoulder with the old ought six caliber again. The bigger rifles are just so much fun. While plinking away from 600 yards at a target the size of the center of mass I just couldn't help but to think about how piss poor gun control really is. There I was with a hundred year old bolt action rifle putting big chunks of really fast lead into a target with ease - and not one single firearm law was even coming close to interfering with my actions. So once again, gun control ain't about crime, it's about creating victims and headlines. I did a bit of wheeling trying out the new tires before coming back to "civilized" town and nearly getting killed ... when are we going to see sensible speed controls? Ban Jaguars ... it's for the kids. 
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2006 Off Road came with the Rockford Fosgate stereo and tow package. ShrockWorks: front bumper, sliders, full skid plates, rear differential protection, and rear bumper (in the mail). AC Parts 2.5" front (springs) and rear (shackles) lift. MileMarker SX12 winch. BFG KM tires. Custom made aluminum light bar, fuel rack, and hi-lift mount. KC HiLItes x4, PIAA fogs (front bumper). Valentine One radar detector. Yaesu FT-7800 amateur radio with Diamond antenna. US Springfield Armory M1903 Mark I rifle. Springfield Armory M1911A1 Mil-Spec pistol. The only thing I need left to buy is a nice 45 liter freezer and a dual battery kit ... that and a nice off road type compact travel trailer.  |
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Delivered via freight on pallets. The shipping was about 10% on top of the purchase cost. I've done all the work myself outside of compressing the front spings over the shocks - big energies involved and worth the $40 I paid the local tire shop to do the work. I didn't need a V-8 with it's higher fuel consumption, cost, and insurance rates. I'll never tow anything bigger than a 5000 pound trailer. The 265 ponies of the Xterra's 4.0 liter VQ engine really will get that thing going. On the trail the power is enough to keep the truck moving as fast as the terrain will handle no matter what the grade. It's a perfect fit to us. Bigger and more powerful than a jeep - able to carry more junk for longer expeditions yet smaller than a full-sized pickup - able to fit into places that would stop the pickup, and better on gas and insurance. |
Paul, Sorry but I didnt know that was you... Sorry man but I lead a busy and fast life and me and my black jag are VERY important you know.  Seriously though, Being that I spend a lot of time on the road I see idiots like the guy in the black jag EVERY DAY! I am in the process of training a new kid and I tell him every day "OK now there is a XXXXX coming up fast on on my left...watch this ass cut me off. Sure enough, the guy does and my trainee asks "How did you know that?" Getting to be too much of the norm lately and it is getting pretty disgusting. |
| I've never seen a closer call in my 35 years of driving - 20 plus on California's freeways. I would have PIT'ed the guy with my nice 1/4" thick steel bumper catching his rear quarter panel behind the back right wheel. He would have gone sideways and contacted the rest of the bumper at highway speeds. |
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Here is the matching trailer you need. Evolution I am trying to talk the wife into something like this. |
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Paul glad to see your vehicle did not get swiped, close though as you stated. I deal with those type one a daily basis. I'm like a magnet for idiot drivers. By the way nice grill you have and what's your average mpg on your Xterra? My wife and I have a Honda Pilot that has a somewhat 4wd capability but no where near the Xterra's She would kill me if she finds out I took it out on dirt trails. |
Find a club and join up. California's forest service has marked it's trails in three rankings - avoid the diamond (extreme) trails and you'll be fine. The moderate trails can be done with any 4WD within reason. Often if there's an obstical there's a by-pass. Give me an area in SoCal and I'll look up a good starter trail for you. I've bought every book I could find on the off road trails here. With the recent wild fires it's best to call the ranger station to find out if the trail is open. SCCX (Southern California Club Xterra) welcomes non-Xterra drivers as well. If anyone here would like to meet up on one of our trips let me know and I'll sponsor you. We are allowed to carry guns but we rarely go shooting with them - because we're so busy wheeling that we rarely have the down time to shoot. The next trip is going to be out at Azna state park out east on the weekend following Thanksgiving. |
Sweet - the E2 and E3 have showers/toilets. Its' great out there for the first couple of days ... and then I need a shower! |
My first 4WD was a Honda CR-V where I felt safe and comfortable on packed dirt roads. The 7" of ground clearance was enough to get into a whole lot of places - but not "real" 4WD nor very good off road tires. We got stuck once WAY out there in sugar sand and I was certain I was facing a $500 tow bill. Looking around the desert my wife found some carpet strips and I had a shovel any ways. I dug the belly of the car free and used the carpet strips for traction. I average 15.4 mpg in the city with stop-n-go traffic. It's just 4 miles to work and there are 20 stop lights. Out on the highway I'm normally loaded down with a thousand pounds of gear and I average +24 mpg at 60 mph and 21 at 75 mph. I've got one of those ScanGauge II's under the dash and watch the thing out on the road. It sure helps me keep my foot out of it - set the cruise control to the speed limit and enjoy the ride. |
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Paul, I have a Frontier with a similar bumper and often have problems with drivers being stupid in front of me as well. I'm convinced that the bumper itself is the problem: they clearly have a strong desire to get rammed from behind by something big, hard and black. |
