2001 Chevy Tracker ZR2 Exploration Vehicle

[Mr&MrsC]

i had a ZR2! This is where I got bit by the bug. I installed 235 75 15 or 16. It was a great truck but it was hard for me to drive long distances. we originally bought it for my wife 4'!!" and I am 6'3''. the seats were to small to sit in for long periods of time comfortably. We never had any problems ever. I don't think the rear gate would handle jerry cans unless you put the spare on the roof and make a mount to hold the cans on the gate. the sheet metal is thin on these and the full size spare is heavy

 

[xcabo]

Anybody put extra we on the back gate of a Vitara? I'm thinking about strapping a jerry can to the spare.

I don't think the gate support that extra weight... I have a cooler rack installed that is screwed into the spare support (sandwiched between wall gate and tire), a considerable weight when the cooler is loaded, but I aiways attach a strap from the cooler rack to my roof rack to help to support it when is loaded.

I can imagine the load of that support if you put the jerry can at the outside of the tire.

This is not my vitara, I added this picture from somewhere else thinking on doing some like that later.

Another ideas from a Jimny using the hitch.

Cheers

 

[transalper]

Found a Yakima Space booster on Craig's list! Best purchase so far. Lift was delayed a year for laziness reasons. Should be coming soon!

 

[transalper]

OME lift kit on order. Should be here by the end of the month. Struts have to come from Australia.

For extra fuel I am going to mount a 3 gallon rotopax to the spare. The mount feels plenty strong for that small amount of extra weight.

I have to do some bondo work on the running boards. The suckers melted over the winter. Grrrrrrrr...

Where should I mount the hi lift? On the roof?

Discount tire gave $100 off over the weekend. BFG AT KOs (215-75r15s x5) are being mounted as we speak:

Dog is enjoying the cool floor while we wait.

Much better!

 

[transalper]

WaterBrick fits perfectly in the back floorboard.

 

[DougFam]

Looks great. I like those trackers. I actually looked for one a couple of years ago, but very few were a ZR2 and they were all junked out. Where about in MN are you? My wife is from St. Paul and we will be going up in a couple of weeks to their cabin near Mille Lacs Lake.

 

[T.Low]

I saw door hinges in one picture, but not another, so,...if this works, I'd imagine you'd have to modify Herbies design, reconfiguring to work around your spare. Perhaps Herbie's design but with the Jerry can turned 90*.




http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...e-s-Chevy-Astrolander-ZMB-Build-Thread/page14

 

[transalper]

Interesting approach but that would be tough since the spare is on the same side of the door as the hinges.

I'm gonna give this a try:

 

[transalper]

Looks great. I like those trackers. I actually looked for one a couple of years ago, but very few were a ZR2 and they were all junked out. Where about in MN are you? My wife is from St. Paul and we will be going up in a couple of weeks to their cabin near Mille Lacs Lake.

Thanks. I'm in st Paul. Good luck fishing!

 

[zzz150]

nice, you really shoulda went 235's at least though imo, the tracker engine would not even notice them, trust me i ran 31x10.5 interco ssr's on mine, which are actually 31.5 tall (the rare actual oversized measurement) in the rear you can easily get away with running xl7 coils and a spacer, up front i'm sure the OME coils and struts will be nice, they're even slotted for your alignment! what shocks are you gonna run out back? i ran shocks from a mid 80's ford thunderbird, a lot longer than stock for better flex but not too long to cause any issues. is your front differential steel or aluminum? either way nice little rig, if i can ever get my hands on a good one i will pick it up. loved mine but the aluminum front end came apart a few times from being wheeled hard.

 

[zzz150]

Anybody put extra weight on the back gate of a Vitara? I'm thinking about strapping a jerry can to the spare.

Sent from mobile device. Pardon the brevity.

i ran a 60lb spare tire on my tracker with no issues and wheeled the crap out of it, so lots of bouncing around hard and never had any signs of flexing or warping of the back door. with the baby bfg on there you should be safe to add another 25lbs without worry.

i should mention mine was a 2dr, so there could be some structural differnce inside the door, however i can't say for sure!

 

[transalper]

nice, you really shoulda went 235's at least though imo, the tracker engine would not even notice them, trust me i ran 31x10.5 interco ssr's on mine, which are actually 31.5 tall (the rare actual oversized measurement) in the rear you can easily get away with running xl7 coils and a spacer, up front i'm sure the OME coils and struts will be nice, they're even slotted for your alignment! what shocks are you gonna run out back?

I hear ya, but a half inch more ground clearance isn't gonna make that big of a difference for me. Its a daily driver and I tow with it, so 215s are good. Fuel economy won in that decision. If I do start hardcore wheeling it more, I can always get another set of tires and rims and throw 30x9.50s on there.

I'm running ome all around.

 

[zzz150]

all good! i started with 235, then 30x9.5 then 31x9.5 then 31x.10.5.... there's no rush! once you get that lift on there the 2inches of ground clearance under the frame will be nice. i bet you will have a nice smooth ride with full ome on there, enjoy!

 

[transalper]

The boot of this little truck is sorely lacking in tie-down points. A quick run to the junk yard to grab a couple d-rings out of a 3rd gen 4runner solved that issue.

 

[transalper]