2004 Silverado HD expedition project

[SilveradoHD]

Hello, my name is Brock and I am new to the forums. However I have been reading them for about a year and finally decided to join. My daughter and I enjoy tent camping, however we have always gone to campgrounds here in cental Illinois. The problem with IL is that there is not a lot of options, if any, for expeditions. We were in Colorado on vacation in the fall, but not camping. We spend a lot of time driving through the mountains and had a blast. We tried a few simple trails and we decided we want more. Is there a better way to bond with a 14 year old daughter than getting out of the reach of the cell towers? I don't think so.

My 2004 Silverado 2500HD is a great truck for what I use it for which is regular commuting, pulling our boat, and whatever else comes to mind. It's a crew cab 4WD which makes it too long for many trails. We just have the one vehicle so I can't go extreme. I also don't have the finances to build a trail only rig being a single father. I have a 2 1/2 lift on the front of my truck via a leveling kit (keys). I had 285/75/16 Firestone Destination M/T's which never let us down, but wore very quickly. I bought a set of Hummer H2 17" wheels for the extra width to help with the wear on the larger tires, and now I need tires. From the forums that I have read it seems like the desired tire is tall and thin. Here in IL most pople like slinging mud (me too) with wider tires. I am looking at some 285/75/17 Toyo MT's but they are expensive and I am conserned about the were and milage. They are 34" tall and 11.5" wide. I have also started looking at some M101A2 military trailers to start hauling my camping gear, along with other offroad items (spare fuel, tire, water, etc.).

Please let me know if I am headed the right direction, any advise would be more than welcome. I think the Expedition Expo would be a great place to start, but I don't think I can make it this year. I wish I could go buy a new Land Rover, but it isn't going to happen. Pics are also helpful.

Thanks,
Brock

 

[longjohn]

Welcome to the portal! yes spending time with her in any forum is great ,outdoors is even better, as far as "trail rig" go and do as much as you can with what you have for now ,its far better to be out with your daughter than waiting for extreme to come along..... just my 0.02 worth ...again welcome to the portal the folks here knowledgeable and more than willing to help

 

[SilveradoHD]

Thanks for the response. Yes, I plan on working with what I have and making it a capable as possible.

 

[Rot Box]

Is there a better way to bond with a 14 year old daughter than getting out of the reach of the cell towers? I don't think so.

:coffeedrink: lol!

Welcome. Sounds like you are off to a great start. There is nothing wrong with the big trucks--heck I love my four door long bed you just have to live with a few extra pin stripes! My daughter is still very young but whether it is a week long trip to the back country or just a picnic by a local river there is nothing better than exploring new places and seeing new things together

 

[bunni]

Here's some inspiration for you... not my truck.

I do have a 2003 2500HD extended cab and I'm basically in the same boat as you. My wife drives the truck and she hates the look of camper shells so I'm actually having custom bed rails and a rack system built by a friend who has a welding shop and will build a tent platform on top of that. The whole setup is off getting powdercoated black now.

 

[Loco-Nomad]

Damn I love that front bumper! Not a Chevy guy but that truck might make me think about the "dark side"!

 

[psychohawk]

... that truck might make me think about the "dark side"!

If you mean going all black for an expo rig, don't do it ... yeah, I'll give props for that nice looking Chevy ... but black trucks are either street queens or look beat to hell; stick with white or silver.

Carl

 

[SilveradoHD]

If you mean going all black for an expo rig, don't do it ... yeah, I'll give props for that nice looking Chevy ... but black trucks are either street queens or look beat to hell; stick with white or silver.

Carl

I agree with what you are saying but I haven't owned anyother color of a vehicle in years. I will make due with the black truck and just try to keep some really thick wax on it. haha In a full time expo rig I would go a tan color, but that's just me.

 

[hchdg]

Hello, my name is Brock and I am new to the forums. However I have been reading them for about a year and finally decided to join. My daughter and I enjoy tent camping, however we have always gone to campgrounds here in cental Illinois. The problem with IL is that there is not a lot of options, if any, for expeditions. We were in Colorado on vacation in the fall, but not camping. We spend a lot of time driving through the mountains and had a blast. We tried a few simple trails and we decided we want more. Is there a better way to bond with a 14 year old daughter than getting out of the reach of the cell towers? I don't think so.

My 2004 Silverado 2500HD is a great truck for what I use it for which is regular commuting, pulling our boat, and whatever else comes to mind. It's a crew cab 4WD which makes it too long for many trails. We just have the one vehicle so I can't go extreme. I also don't have the finances to build a trail only rig being a single father. I have a 2 1/2 lift on the front of my truck via a leveling kit (keys). I had 285/75/16 Firestone Destination M/T's which never let us down, but wore very quickly. I bought a set of Hummer H2 17" wheels for the extra width to help with the wear on the larger tires, and now I need tires. From the forums that I have read it seems like the desired tire is tall and thin. Here in IL most pople like slinging mud (me too) with wider tires. I am looking at some 285/75/17 Toyo MT's but they are expensive and I am conserned about the were and milage. They are 34" tall and 11.5" wide. I have also started looking at some M101A2 military trailers to start hauling my camping gear, along with other offroad items (spare fuel, tire, water, etc.).

Please let me know if I am headed the right direction, any advise would be more than welcome. I think the Expedition Expo would be a great place to start, but I don't think I can make it this year. I wish I could go buy a new Land Rover, but it isn't going to happen. Pics are also helpful.

Thanks,
Brock

Howdy! I check this place everyday for inspiration and I have an '04 extended cab short box HD diesel also and I am trying to figure out how to make it more capable off road without loosing its daily driver status (80 miles round trip daily).!!!!!!!
Ohh and I have a budget as big my childhood piggybank.....
I can offer my .02 on Tires:
I have always been a BFG All Terrain guy but after only getting 40K to 45K worth of miles on several different vehicles I tried out some Hankook Dynapro ATM's (285/75/R16). I have not tested them in deep mud but on EVERY other surface, snow-ice-sand-slick rock-shallow mud, they have been AMAZING!!! i only have 15K on them, but by measuring the tread depth, they should be real close to their 60K lifespan.

Beware, this site has developed a significant addiction to getting my truck expedition worthy!

 

[Zatara]

Howdy! I check this place everyday for inspiration and I have an '04 extended cab short box HD diesel also and I am trying to figure out how to make it more capable off road without loosing its daily driver status (80 miles round trip daily).!!!!!!!
Ohh and I have a budget as big my childhood piggybank.....
I can offer my .02 on Tires:
I have always been a BFG All Terrain guy but after only getting 40K to 45K worth of miles on several different vehicles I tried out some Hankook Dynapro ATM's (285/75/R16). I have not tested them in deep mud but on EVERY other surface, snow-ice-sand-slick rock-shallow mud, they have been AMAZING!!! i only have 15K on them, but by measuring the tread depth, they should be real close to their 60K lifespan.

Beware, this site has developed a significant addiction to getting my truck expedition worthy!

Are you running the Hankook 285s on the stock 6.5" wide wheels ?
I have been looking at going with the 285s but didn't want to buy new wheels as well.

 

[hchdg]

I am running the stock 16"X6.5" alloy wheels, not the steel wheels. I have run bfg all terrain TA/KO's and a short stint with Pirelli Scorpian 285's and they all look really good on the rims, not ballooned out on the sidewall or anything.

 

[fastring]

Here's my 2003 2500hd from the San Felipe 250 prerun earlier this month. FYI that I'm not a fan of the 17" H2 rims. I've had 3 flats this month and am moving to 235/85/16 on steel 16" rims.

 

[SilveradoHD]

Howdy! I check this place everyday for inspiration and I have an '04 extended cab short box HD diesel also and I am trying to figure out how to make it more capable off road without loosing its daily driver status (80 miles round trip daily).!!!!!!!
Ohh and I have a budget as big my childhood piggybank.....
I can offer my .02 on Tires:
I have always been a BFG All Terrain guy but after only getting 40K to 45K worth of miles on several different vehicles I tried out some Hankook Dynapro ATM's (285/75/R16). I have not tested them in deep mud but on EVERY other surface, snow-ice-sand-slick rock-shallow mud, they have been AMAZING!!! i only have 15K on them, but by measuring the tread depth, they should be real close to their 60K lifespan.

Beware, this site has developed a significant addiction to getting my truck expedition worthy!

Thanks for the advise on tires, that of course is going to be my first purchase. Being in the Midwest we deal a lot with mud and snow when doing any offroading so I am a little concerned about all terain tires. Just concerned that I won't be able to get where I need to be. I do realize that no matter what I want to tell myself my truck will see 98% highway driving to and from work. I see that discount tire sells them so I am going to look into them a little further.

 

[SilveradoHD]

Here's my 2003 2500hd from the San Felipe 250 prerun earlier this month. FYI that I'm not a fan of the 17" H2 rims. I've had 3 flats this month and am moving to 235/85/16 on steel 16" rims.

Great looking truck, and what I like most is the type of use you are getting out of it. I don't understand what the H2 rims would have to do with flat tires. Is it the tires you have on the rims? What is the advantage to running a more narrow tire? I see a lot of posts out her talking about having or wanting the narrow tire, but I don't understand what the advantage is in less contact patch. I still have my stock rims and thought about running them in the winter to keep the salt off of the H2's.

 

[boellis87]

Yeah, sounds like the problem may be too short a sidewall for him. The only thing I can figure is the tires are getting pinched easier when hitting rocks or something. Biggest things is to make sure you have at least a D load range tire, C load range is marginal for a full size truck that gets driven off-road much. I even had one get cut super easy on my welterweight Cherokee. Now both my Chevy and my Jeep have D range tires.

A slightly bigger tire might not hurt anyway if you're prerunning or chasing, they can take a bigger hit without getting pinched against the rim. A 235/85/16 is on the short side of 32" inches tall and a super skinny 9.25" wide! On an off-roaded fullsize!! If the ones on the H2 rims are the same height, it's less than 7.5" of sidewall on a heavy truck. No wonder they're creating problems with flats when being run in the desert. The 16's might not be a bad idea, but I would look at fitting at least a 285/70/17 on the H2's before tossing them. I believe these are load range D and are not far from some of the stock sizes available from the factory. Just my way of seeing things of course .

I'm the same way about the narrow tires, I agree with others that they look good on the right rig, but I'm not hung up on them like some seem to be.

Benefits for skinny tire:
-Less weight (slightly better fuel economy)
-Lower drag (slightly better fuel economy)
-Less wear on components
-Advantages in traction in very specific circumstances (not many)
-Cheaper
...

Benefits for wider tire:
-Better flotation (skinny tires cut through soft ground)
-Overall better traction when it makes a difference (more forgiving when encountering low-traction terrain)
-Has a much better spread when aired down
-Less tendency to roll in hard cornering

On hardpacked ground the skinny tire might get a nod for its savings in weight and fuel economy, but in the varying conditions that you encounter off-road, the wider ones have the edge for me. I consider a 12.50, maybe an 11.50, the start for wider tires, and unless you're running a 9.50 and going to a 12.50, I don't think you're seeing enough of a difference in these areas to matter. Some might disagree, but I think it sounds like preferred looks is the determining factor.

Anyway, they both have their highs and lows, but I prefer wider tires on fullsizes. Land Rovers and the like look pretty good sporting the skinnies though.

EDIT: Dang, that's way more than I thought I wrote. Oh well...