Gray Man Nissan: Mobility Capability On A Beer Budget

Photos by Kenda Lenseigne

Let’s face it, current truck prices are borderline insane. Post-COVID sticker shock has become the new normal, and your average working stiff is being forced to pay through the nose for a daily driver that’s also pressed into service to transport kids and groceries, as well as running to the range or out to the woods. 

We figured we’d take a cold hard look at the current midsized truck scene, and see if we could come up with a vehicle that would cover all the bases without cleaning out our bank account — something that could serve as a household mule, while still offering decent offroad capabilities and the ability to shuffle all our sh!t to the backcountry. 

As this was to also serve as emergency transport to a bugout location in the mountains, we wanted to keep things as low-profile as possible to avoid drawing attention to its contents.

Due to CAFE standards, most manufacturers have shifted to four-banger turbos to scoot their midsized trucks around, and some are dabbling with hybrid powertrains. We wanted the simplicity and longevity of a naturally aspirated V-6, which left only one player in the running, namely Nissan. Although the Altima sedan is the butt of many well-deserved jokes, the Frontier has a reputation of being the cockroach of small trucks — it’s almost impossible to kill. 

Their top-of-the-line Pro-4X model can be had for just under 40 grand if you shop carefully, but we figured that as we were planning to upgrade suspension and protection anyway, why pay extra for factory-installed stuff that was destined for the dumpster. The lower-spec, SV trim level can be had with various additional option packages, so we sourced a fully optioned, one-year-old CPO truck as the base from which to build. 

Small trucks can reach places big trucks can’t, but they sacrifice capacity for agility. Making the most of bed space is critical, especially when the secure transport of firearms and other valuable items is a consideration, so we turned to Decked for a solution. 

Their drawer system for midsized trucks has recently received a refresh, and the result is way better than the previous model in terms of usable storage space. It maximizes capacity through the use of one enormous central drawer, which is big enough for the longest long-gun, Barretts excepted. Additional storage bins are situated behind the wheel wells, giving space for ammo cans and other essentials. 

Dragging heavy steel targets from behind the cab is a royal PITA. We addressed this through the use of a Cargo Glide, which can safely carry up to 600 pounds — enough for the most demanding range sessions. It was offset to allow access to the side bins and still allow space to load a dirt bike on top of the drawer system. The downside to installing a drawer system is that cargo inevitably sits higher in the bed, so to protect the rear glass from objects sliding around, we installed a headache rack, which also provides additional tie-down points.

Nissan equips the off-road-oriented version of their truck with skid plates, which appear to have been made from old cookie sheets, but SV-and-below trim levels get nada. As the transmission pan is plastic, this leaves the truck extremely vulnerable to rocks and tree limbs when venturing off pavement. A set of beefy skid plates from Victory 4×4 was one of the first things we installed, as having the vehicle deadlined through an encounter with trail debris would defeat its entire purpose. 

These mated to an equally robust, though discreet, winch bumper to give protection to all critical drivetrain components and allow us to self-rescue in the event of burying the truck up to the wheel wells. A 12,000-pound winch is completely concealed inside the matte, powder-coated steel shell, and even the fairlead and hook are subdued and low profile. 

Everything was installed in our driveway with hand tools in less than a day, with only a minimal amount of skinned knuckles and motherf@ckering. Victory 4×4 supplies an extra bracket to relocate the adaptive cruise control sensor from its original location behind the stock bumper to behind the grille, allowing the user to retain all functionality. 

This left only the rockers unprotected, a situation which was solved by Coastal Offroad. If you’re at all handy with a welder, you can put some additional funds into other areas through the use of Coastal’s rock slider kits, which arrive as a bunch of pre-cut steel parts you then fit up and weld into place. We appreciated their use of massive steel C-brackets, which fit tightly around the chassis rails and bolt into place. 

They’re so robust that they allow the use of a hi-lift jack anywhere on the sliders to get you out of a sticky spot, and the overall strength of the system is pretty impressive. There’s also the additional satisfaction of installing something you’ve built yourself. We finished ours with rattle can bedliner, though you can go with powder coating for a more professional look.

Steel vehicle protection components are heavy, and this extra weight must be factored in when selecting suspension options. We wanted more ground clearance to fit bigger tires but knew that the easy route of bolting on a shock spacer was counterproductive. If all you want is the appearance of a lift, spacers are an excellent way of creating a mall crawler while destroying genuine offroad capabilities, as they reduce the amount of suspension droop and all but guarantee contact between the upper control arms and shock bucket when the suspension unloads. While we wanted to keep the budget firmly under control, unfortunately this is not an area when you can skimp and expect good results. Buy once, cry once.

Dobinsons is an Australian company with a U.S. office in Florida, and they have extensive experience in equipping vehicles for the harsh conditions of the Outback. Their IMS shocks are heavy duty and pair with a set of front springs tailored to the additional load created by our bumper and skids. Add a set of forged aluminum upper control arms, and you end up with about 1.5 inches more suspension travel than stock and 2.5 inches of lift. We installed heavier springs in the rear, teamed with the same family of shocks used up front, which raised the back end a similar amount. 

Ride quality can sometimes suffer when a lift kit is installed (cough, Rough Country, cough), but we’re glad to report that this one, while a little stiffer than stock, soaks up minor pavement imperfections but really comes into its own on the trail. One aspect that’s often overlooked is that once you have more suspension travel to play with, a limiting factor is the factory sway bar, or rather the sway bar linkages, which stop the wheels from fully drooping. Whiteline Racing came to the rescue with fully adjustable links, adding enough length to restore full travel. 

The truck arrived with Michelin Primacy LTX tires wrapped around its stock 17-inch alloys, which proved to be utterly crap in the rain. On its maiden voyage, we wound up sideways in a rainstorm on a 6-percent grade, staring at an oncoming truck through the driver-side window while frantically twiddling the steering wheel to regain control. Fun times. 

We got a set of Nitto G3 Grapplers due to their balance of on- and off-road capabilities, and as this truck was going to be pressed into service as a hunting rig in addition to all its other duties, we wanted decent performance in the snow, too. The 285/70/17 LT meats proved to be an excellent all-round choice — quiet on long road trips but still offering good traction in the loose stuff. 

As we wanted this truck to last a while, we took 10 minutes to address a problem which has plagued numerous generations of Frontiers. And one Nissan’s management could solve with the snap of their immaculate manicured fingers — but they don’t. The stock rear axle breather is mounted directly to the right-hand axle tube, which results in it getting clogged with road schmutz. 

Unable to vent correctly, gases accumulate due to temperature fluctuations and eventually pop goes the seals. This situation has been responsible for more wrecked rear ends than Ron Jeremy, and can be easily fixed for next to nothing, by relocating the breather up out of the way. So, we did. 

Yes, we know Nissan is having financial difficulties right now, but this is an old-school truck that’s easy to work on, and we’re not too worried about it. All in all, we reckon the goal of subtly improving an affordable ride was achieved. No flashy aftermarket wheels, no lift for looks, no chrome, no wheel spacers, just improved capabilities from a factory-looking ride, without breaking the bank and depleting the ammo fund.