Nissan Armada 'Mountain Patrol' concept

Nissan mines the knowledge bank of overlanding enthusiasts on social media, returns with this...

Do you know what 'overlanding' is? Nope, us neither. Handily, Nissan provides an explanation with this new Armada Mountain Patrol, specifically designed for the task. "For those family adventure fans who aren't familiar with the term 'overlanding', all they need to do is look at the Armada Mountain Patrol to understand that this is not glamping, not a day trip to the local forest - it's adventure taken to new heights", says Brandon White, Nissan USA Chief Marketing Manager.

So if you can think of nothing better than heading off to explore the wilderness with seven other people, the Mountain Patrol has you covered. It has been developed with help from Nissan's followers on Instagram and Facebook, with those users directly able influence the modifications made to this Armada.

As you can see, they are fairly extensive. The four-person roof-mounted tent was one of the changes chosen via social media, and is accompanied by a Rhino Racks custom awning, another tent, chairs and additional sleeping bags - so yes, all eight of you will be camping. Overlanding may be all about outdoor adventure, but the Mountain Patrol features equipment that means you needn't leave any of your creature comforts behind. There are storage drawers, cases, a fridge freezer and additional coolers, plus an off-road radio system from Rugged Radios in case somebody forgot their iPod.

Of course all those storage possibilities would be of no use if the Armada couldn't get you anywhere worth adventuring to. Handily Nissan has thought of that as well, equipping the 390hp, V8 truck with tougher suspension, 17-inch Icon Rebound wheels and perhaps the best named off-road tyres ever - the Nitto Ridge Grappler. It gets even more serious than that, though, with light bars, a 12,000lb winch, an uprated jack, Calmini rock sliders, Rhino Rack shovels and even an auxiliary fuel storage. That latter option may come in handy more often than you think, with a Magnaflow exhaust helping the 5.6-litre engine "breathe easier in high-mountain air", you may well end up using rather a lot of fuel.

Brandon White said Nissan "couldn't be more pleased" with how the Mountain Patrol has turned out, and it's hard to disagree. Taking the path less travelled certainly looks a whole lot more appealing in something like this. Nissan will first exhibit the Armada at the Overland Expo West in Flagstaff, Arizona, this weekend, before taking it on a nationwide tour to other outdoor events during 2018. If this is what social media can create with a truck, what could it do with other Nissans? Bring on the Instagram-influenced GT-R... on second thought, perhaps not.