Has anyone converted their Nissan Xterra for camping? Taken the seats out and made a sleeping area with small kitchen? I want to take my Xterra traveling and camping and think it would be cool to use it as a camper.

Ive seen people take the back seat bottom cushions out and lay the back seats down (makes it flat) and them put a inflatable matress up!

This site may give you some ideas. Expedition Portal (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=43) Check out Jason's (WolfmanX) setup. eXpeditionXterra (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5000). He's in your local club at sccxterra.com (http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php). Also, our very own Josh (Casper) has a fine camping rig. Casper's build thread (http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12186) You will need to go through the pages in the build threads to get to the camping amenities.
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I think it'd be a hell of a lot of work, but if you're dedicated enough and have the funds to do it; I think it could be pretty sick too, if done right.

Just don't cook in side your X haha especially without vents

Pick up a subscription to Overland Journal (http://www.overlandjournal.com/) and you'll be overwhelmed with ideas, products and stories.
It really is porn for people that like overlanding!

Seats down and air mattress in the back! I'll save my cooking for the camp fire, thank you very much.

;)

As others have said, there is a lot you can do. However, I believe that unless you truly have zero sense of smell you'll find an Xterra is too small for either a kitchen or a toilet.

You might want to consider investing in an offroad "adventure trailer" instead of modifying your X. They are very popular in Australia ( http://www.ahernmetal.com.au/index.html ) but there are many different types available here in the U.S. Two companies that come to mind:

http://www.tentrax.com/index.html
http://www.adventuretrailers.com/index.php

There are probably many others available, but those are three links I had in my favorites. In addition to the "offroad" style trailers, there are quite a few micro travel trailers available..Casita, Scamp, Weis Craft... just to name a few. I had a 16 ft Casita for many years and I loved it. It did not like going off road though!

I "car camp" in my X, and also use it to haul my gear to base camp areas that allow me to hike / bike into more remote locations. The first thing I did is fabricate an internal removable mountain bike rack, but I haven't modified the vehicle itself. I find that merely pulling the aft seat cushions out and folding the seats down is all I really need to do for most trips.

One advantage to not permanently modifying your X is that it's much easier to update / replace your gear. I'm into "ultralight" camping, and all my gear fits neatly into my backpack. There really isn't a need to permanently mount a stove to my X when I can carry one with me wherever I go. Then there's the advantage of not turning your X into a "unitasker". I can still haul 4 other people around if I have to.

It's just so much easier to set up an external camp kitchen, etc. that packs neatly into the X instead of modifying it.

I believe that unless you truly have zero sense of smell you'll find an Xterra is too small for either a kitchen or a toilet.

LOL! I hope you don't know that from first-hand experience. :D

This site may give you some ideas. Expedition Portal (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=43) Check out Jason's (WolfmanX) setup. eXpeditionXterra (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5000). He's in your local club at sccxterra.com (http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php). Also, our very own Josh (Casper) has a fine camping rig. Casper's build thread (http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12186) You will need to go through the pages in the build threads to get to the camping amenities.
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Casper's is extremely nice! I saw it in a thread and am truly amazed and hopefully will have something similar one day (big @ss dogs and all!) :D

LOL! I hope you don't know that from first-hand experience. :D

Not the toilet part at least. Common sense tells me not even try it. That said, I do recall Brian (Xtoolbox) carrying a portable chemical toilet in the back of his X for use by his two small kids. Considering some of the trails we were on, either it had a very secure latching system or he had a whole lot more tolerance than I do.

As for cooking, many years ago I had a '75 Chevy van that I put a stove, sink and refrigerator in, along with a bed and table etc. The cooking smells really lingered. Maybe I shouldn't have been frying pork chops in olive oil.

Someone could cut a hole under the rear seat with a waterproof door. Remove the seat cushion add a cheap movable toilet seat. When the urge hits remove the cushion sit and sh^t. Noone would be the wiser, just drive off fast!

This site may give you some ideas. Expedition Portal (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=43) Check out Jason's (WolfmanX) setup. eXpeditionXterra (http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5000). He's in your local club at sccxterra.com (http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php). Also, our very own Josh (Casper) has a fine camping rig. Casper's build thread (http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12186) You will need to go through the pages in the build threads to get to the camping amenities.
http://www.smileysnetwork.com/manger/manger26.gif

Rockin, Josh (casper) who is also from 4x4norcal.com has one hell of a rig ( please excuse the french) The tow rig he uses on our trips Is absolutely Sweet. not to mention his SAS'd x. Those of us from 4x4norcal did a meet and greet in the east bay, and I had to pleasure of meeting him and his (now resting companion/friend ( porthos) RIP Porthos.Really nice knowledgable guy.(Hang in there Josh, we're here for ya man.)

There is a couple who converted their 04 X for the purpose of driving on an open ended honeymoon. They Went from San Fransisco to Panama over the course of 5 months I think. They posted some questions on here a couple of years ago and I kept the link to their page (Which is an awesome read by the way). Some really great ideas you might be interested in.

http://www.advodna.com/2009/12/vehicle.html

I totally ripped this off from Mechpatt's Facebook page but it would be awesome to have this. Hopefully he'll see this and can provide more information.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd388/Xterraforce/312575_2033432804452_1503120066_31906425_181612084 7_n.jpg

:love-eyes-big::money-big::thumbsup-big:I totally ripped this off from Mechpatt's Facebook page but it would be awesome to have this. Hopefully he'll see this and can provide more information.

http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd388/Xterraforce/312575_2033432804452_1503120066_31906425_181612084 7_n.jpg

I've been toying with the idea of finding a used 4 person tent and modifying it to fit the back of my Xterra. Something similar to what's commercially available.

http://www.autoanything.com/truck-tents/Nissan/Xterra/111A50603A50605A0A9A289A1.aspx

Love the XterraForce's post with the "ripped this off from Mechpatt's" picture. Hope to see more of that Xterra too.

^ Good idea! If you pull this off, be sure to post a DIY!

I Just took a tarp, 2 extendable poles and made a little A frame from the tent, to back the X into. Then I could have the inverter right there if I needed in my tent. Provides decent rain protection and a little patio to hang out in.
The other thing I want to build is a toilet seat that mounts into the rear hitch!:rocker-big: That would be a true port-a-potty!:laugh-big: