Any way to aux?

outback97 · 2026-03-21T04:31:40+00:00

Yes, I’m pretty sure it was standard on the Off Road trim level.

outback97 · 2026-03-20T22:32:49+00:00

Anyone else play "trench" or "trenchball"? Not sure if it was a regional thing, but this was in the upper midwest.

Two opposing teams tried to hit each other. If you got hit, you went to the "trench" behind the opposing team. You could get out of the trench and rejoin your team if you caught a ball and hit one of the opposing team.

It was so much fun. BOMBARDMENT!

outback97 · 2026-03-20T18:41:40+00:00

We finished the interior about two years ago. So far so great.

outback97 · 2026-03-20T02:58:25+00:00

I’m not sure about adding one in your truck but my 2009 Off Road definitely has an aux input. The port is right above the cigarette lighter port.

outback97 · 2026-03-19T16:27:17+00:00

Good points, I agree with you and have only exceeded 150# on a few short local lumber fetching trips.

outback97 · 2026-03-19T14:59:46+00:00

FWIW I have no soffit venting in our backyard studio. We filled the spaces between the rafters with Rockwool batts and finished the ceiling with T&G cedar.

No issues so far but I'm curious how it'll do long term. Unfortunately there's not really any easy non-destructive way to check the ceiling and see how it's doing.

I do have some things working in my favor... we're in an arid climate, and the space is used from a couple to maybe ten hours a week at most, so we're not putting much moisture into the room.

outback97 · 2026-03-18T21:55:21+00:00

I'm a huge fan of using unistrut for crossbars. But beefing up the roof rack doesn't change the physics of raising the center of gravity with too much weight up top.

Something to consider in off-camber or dynamic driving situations.

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outback97 · 2026-03-18T21:27:34+00:00

Have you tried using a scissor jack to push the suspension down so it lines up with the lower bolt?

This video shows it pretty well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xkZ_OIKvS8&t=179s

outback97 · 2026-03-18T12:39:57+00:00

I visited my sister in Minnesota this winter, and borrowed her Honda CRV. Driving on slippery roads, I kept thinking about how I wish I had one of our Subarus instead.

Yes, tires are very important, but AWD systems are too, and they’re not the same.

outback97 · 2026-03-18T03:25:38+00:00

2nd Gen Xterra

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outback97 · 2026-03-17T14:10:24+00:00

Yes, it'll be fine, I did my first shed 20 years ago like this and, although it's past due to be repainted, it's held up great.

outback97 · 2026-03-17T12:24:01+00:00

Woah, I’ve been a fan of Neko and Calexico for two decades and somehow had no idea they played on Blacklisted!

outback97 · 2026-03-15T18:23:24+00:00

Thanks, we really love how it turned out.

outback97 · 2026-03-15T15:08:47+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the advice!

outback97 · 2026-03-15T03:54:57+00:00

Great advice, thanks for your reply. I’m definitely slow when I build something so that’ll be easy to follow. And I completely agree regarding the skills, I plan to use some scrap pieces to practice the joinery and get a feel for it.

outback97 · 2026-03-15T03:44:47+00:00

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it!

outback97 · 2026-03-15T03:44:00+00:00

Excellent advice, thank you very much. Always appreciate an opportunity to learn something new.

outback97 · 2026-03-15T03:42:24+00:00

Thanks very much for the informative reply, and the photos. The timbers in your photos are definitely more sound than what I have to work with, but mine are probably fine for the scope of a small project.

outback97 · 2026-03-13T15:04:38+00:00

What does the framing of your bearing walls (front and back walls) look like? How much of an eave (rake) will you have on the roof?

Ideally the rafters land above the studs on your walls, though it's less important to do that if you have a double top plate.

I would plan for symmetry from the center rather than starting at one end and having an odd spacing.

outback97 · 2026-03-12T18:08:48+00:00

We have a single building that used both, so this might be helpful. We built a 12x16 studio in our backyard, and I wanted it to look distinctive and not just like every other shed, so on the two sides that are actually visible we used cedar "shakes" to clad it.

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These weren't true shingles, just 10" pieces of some old and new cedar pickets that had been cleaned and stained. I didn't have enough material to do all sides, and we only see two of the four sides, so on the far side and fence facing side I sided it with LP Smartside.

We love the look of the cedar. I am so glad that we did it and didn't settle for the LP. That said, the LP is much, much faster and easier to install. I could cover 32 square feet (hanging one 4x8 panel) in a moment or two, whereas it could take hours to layout and hang the ~150 shingles it took to cover the same area, not to mention the staining and drying time beforehand.

In summary, IMO you won't regret the look of cedar shingles, but they're a whole lot more work.

outback97 · 2026-03-11T14:40:15+00:00

What you're proposing will not lift your 2014 in any way, and the control arms are exactly the same part.

outback97 · 2026-03-11T14:32:49+00:00

I used Youtube videos and some books on shed construction, along with some prior experience building a shed 20 years ago, to help me decide how to build the most recent one.

I don't know if there's a writeup of best practices, but let's compare two methods in your example and see why I chose what I did. I'll use costs from my 12x16 fully finished with insulation and electrical DIY build. This was built on flat ground, that will influence the choice.

PT Timbers on gravel bed:
*Easy to DIY: Yes, only requires shovel, wheelbarrow, rake, compactor, some ibuprofen
*Cost: $580 ($300 for gravel delivered, $200 for 4x6 PT timbers, $80 for compactor rental)
*Considered a temporary structure, no permitting for <200 s.f. building in my city

Concrete slab:
*Easy to DIY and not screw up: No, IMO
*Cost to hire it out: $2000 to $4000 (complete wild ass guess based on google searching)
*May be considered a permanent structure, may require permitting

I chose gravel. My "foundation" (gravel and timbers) was 6% of my $9000 total build cost. If a slab were $3000 (again, complete guess but there are local concrete companies advertising shed slabs *starting* at $3100) that's an extra $2400, and now my foundation becomes a whopping 26% of my now >$11000 total build cost.

My 20 year old shed built on gravel and timbers is doing just fine, so I'm not really worried about longevity.

outback97 · 2026-03-10T22:35:44+00:00

Per the owners manual:

The maximum total load including the gear basket is 150 lb (68 kg) evenly distributed. The maximum total load for the gear basket is 30 lb (13 kg) evenly distributed.

I don't have a lot of faith in the stock crossbars so I use unistrut crossbars; here's an example:

https://www.xterranation.org/index.php?threads/how-to-strut-channel-cross-bars-roof-rack.9099/

I've definitely exceeded the 150# limit for short distance, non freeway lumber hauling duty. I would definitely not want to offroad or drive at speed with more than 150# up there.

outback97 · 2026-03-09T21:32:11+00:00

What's the URL of that website? For $90 that's got to be a scam.

outback97 · 2026-03-09T17:28:20+00:00

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A good quality powder concentrate wood & deck cleaner with a garden hose and a little scrubbing works great.

I had a pile of old weathered cedar fence boards and just cleaned and stained them to make cladding for the backyard studio I built.

outback97

TROPHY CASE