Posted on

Lost in the Mountains – Up to $500 Rebate on Lowrance GPS Units

 Going against my better judgement, I’ve confidently trampled off into the forest alone behind the wheel of my 1990 Nissan Pathfinder. Ski season was coming and I wanted to go pick up my season pass.  I had the latest forest service map and I thought I had found a shortcut to the local ski resort.  I unknowingly had it wrong from the first turn off of the highway. I thought I was in location A on the map when I was at location B in reality. After a few miles of driving on the wrong side of the mountain, I arrived at an impassible washout. As I was backing up to turn around, I drove a rear wheel right into a ditch. The differential was on the ground and the wheel was spinning in free air. I was stuck and unable to free myself. My only means of communication was my cell phone which I had to hike about a mile to use to call for help. By the time we recovered my vehicle, the ski resort was closed and I didn’t pick up my season pass that day. Luckily the consequences that day were mild to say the least. Things could have been much worse.

I was about 18 years old and I was unprepared for a situation like this. Little did I know that things had gone wrong far before I had realized. On the paper map, there was a campground symbol covering the intersecting road that i had turned on. I actually needed to turn on the next road a few hundred feet farther. If I had a GPS at the time, I would have quickly noticed my mistake. Instead I had figured out where I had gone wrong once I had gotten home.

Today, GPS enabled devices are much more common. But if you want a device that doesn’t rely on cell service and has a screesize that is viewable while off road while holding up to the elements.. you’ll want to take a look at GPS units by Lowrance. If you’re into boating, this name may sound familiar. Lowrance units have been used in the harsh environments of off road desert racing for many years. With new maps being released with 4 wheeling in mind, these units have had an increase in use for with the weekend wheelers and overlanders.

Through May 31, 2018 Lowrance has a Mail in Rebate on the HDS Series units with a value of up to $500. Details are shown here:
https://www.lowrance.com/contentassets/7d2566dbe8894ba99324e3d51ddd441b/ultimate-upgrade-rebate-form-extended.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, through May 31, 2018, Lowrance has a Mail in Rebate on the Elite Ti Series units with a value of up to $100. Details are here:
www.lowrance.com/contentassets/10fdf044b7ae4832b5050f4e27190207/catch_a_great_deal_rebateform.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also, have some how to videos on YouTube shown here:
www.youtube.com/channel/UCQWaMqWMa8EpYm5AW5bv4dw

For more information on these GPS Units and map availability, visit ruggedroutes.com or feel free to contact us.

 

 

Posted on

Why switch to an Odyssey battery? Safety, Power, Durability – 42% Off of Overstock Batteries!

We Currently have a limited number of Overstock Group 34 and Group 34R Odyssey Performance series batteries for only $143! get yours now at: https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=*Overstock*
These will fit in 2005+ Xterras and Frontiers, are an oversize battery that fit in 1986 – 1997 Nissan Pathfinders and Hardbodies and will likely also fit as an oversize battery in 1998-2004 Frontiers and Xterras! They are usually priced at $249, but are currently going for only $143! These overstock batteries carry a 6-month warranty. We have very few shipping boxes for these batteries so order soon! Remaining overstock batteries will need to be picked up from our Corona, CA location. Otherwise new/non-overstock batteries can be shipped.

If you have haven’t heard of Odyssey batteries before, I want to introduce them to you. As an off road enthusiast, choosing a battery for your vehicle that fits your off road needs is important. You may have not thought about it before, but your battery takes a lot of abuse due to shock and vibration while off road. It also has to deliver high amounts of current for various accessories such as winches, lights, & communication equipment. It needs to be able to be deeply discharged allowing you to run various accessories at camp, and it should be sealed to prevent leaking acid all over the engine bay or even worse.. all over you!


 Odyssey batteries are an AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery with impressive specifications that address all of these needs, and even more!
These batteries are sealed dry cell batteries with a robust case that hold up to the heavy vibrations and are sealed to prevent spilling. This means you don’t need to worry about acid making a mess all over your vehicle when on steep hills, crazy off camber situations… or even a rollover!

Cutaway picture

 

Odyssey batteries have lots of cranking power ot get your engine started and also hold a charge in long term storage better than conventional flooded batteries, especially in cold weather. They can also be deep cycled! Partly due to the pure lead that is used in these batteries, they charge extremely fast and work very well with our high output alternators (available here: https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=high%20output%20alternator )  or Odyssey chargers, (available here: https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=odyssey%20charger)

It seems too good to be true but here is a bit more info:

Some batteries provide enormous cranking power. Others, deep cycle reserve power. The revolutionary ODYSSEY® battery is designed to do both.

How is this possible? The answer begins with flat plates made of 99.99% pure lead – not lead alloy. Pure lead plates can be made thinner, so we can fit more of them in the battery. More ODYSSEY battery plates mean more plate surface area. And that means more power – twice as much as conventional batteries.

In fact, ODYSSEY batteries are capable of providing engine cranking pulses in excess of 2250 amps for 5 seconds – double to triple that of equally sized conventional batteries, even at very low temperatures. And they can handle 400 charge-discharge cycles to 80% depth of discharge.

This extreme combination of power and performance makes ODYSSEY batteries perfect for a range of applications, including automotive/LTV, marine, commercial, and powersports.

ODYSSEY batteries vs. spiral wound designs: 15% more plate surface area! 
Cutaway comparision

Battery Techincal Comparison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All new Odyssey batteries applicable to Nissans are available here: https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=odyssey
I hope this information helps get you one step farther along in building a reliable off road vehicle for you to enjoy out on the trail. If you have questions about odyssey batteries (including the ones not listed) or any Nissan off road related parts, please feel free to contact us or call us at 909-547-4651.

-Steven Lutz
President
Rugged Rocks LLC

Posted on

180 Amp & 270 Amp Nissan High Output Alternators at Rugged Rocks Off Road

When any of us start to build our off road vehicles, it doesn’t take long before we start adding demanding electronics like winches, lights, communications equipment, freezer fridges and much more.

Because of all of these electronics, I started working with DC Power engineering in 2015 to offer a 180 Amp high output alternators. This alternator offers 130 Amp output at idle and 180 Amp max output at around 3,000 RPMs. The voltage output is also perfect for quickly charging AGM batteries such as the ones by Odyssey.

For some people 180 Amps, just isn’t enough. The bigger and more powerful version of these alternators is now available from Rugged Rocks which puts out 270 Amps Max within the normal RPM driving range, and 200 Amps at idle!

I personally run a 180 Amp alternator in the Rugged Rocks Pathfinder and couldn’t be happier. It quickly charges my Odyssey battery after my running large ham radio equipment and an ARB freezer fridge at camp.
If you use a winch often and have lots of high power lights, then you may want to consider the 270 Amp version.

All of the High output alternators that are currently available are listed on the Rugged Rocks Website, Here:

https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=high%20output%20alternator

If you have any questions regarding these alternators or any other products that are offered on the Rugged Rocks website, feel free to respond to this e-mail or give us a call at 909-547-4651.

-Steven Lutz
President
Rugged Rocks LLC