2013 Silverado Adventure Build

[wrmmt]

Here are the pics! Was good to finally get the truck in the dirt. Nothing crazy, but handled the dirt roads and some mud puddles. Did learn one thing: The mudflaps would be more aptly named mudcatchers, ended up with a disturbing amount of sticky mud plastered in the pockets on the flaps, may end up taking them off.



Had a pretty nice view on the drive back to the pavement!

 

[nmatcek]

Truck looks great. I really like those new BfG all-terrains.

 

[wrmmt]

Thanks! Yeah, so far I really like them, look great and seem to drive well both on and off road.

 

[wrmmt]

Well, not a whole lot has happened on the truck recently, been busy with work, out of town with family, and just trying to get outside some. However, I do think I am finally reaching some sort of a plan for the build. Im hoping to finally start working on my bed organization this weekend and get that sorted out for the summer. The rest will probably be along these lines:

Immediate/short term needs:
Gear organization (hopefully starting this weekend)
Roof rack on the topper
Some sort of solar power system to get some cooling set up for the pup this summer (may not be permanent yet, will have to see how quickly I need it)

Next up:
UCAs, at this point between the Mazzulla or Total Chaos
King or Icon Coil Overs (leaning heavily toward king right now)
Bumper - Not really sure what I want to do here still, may just get rid of the wind fairing and keep the stock, have some time to think on this one
Lighting - Some sort of light bar on the bumper, at this point almost certainly will be a custom creation. I like the looks of the roof mounted light bars, but I am pretty leary to throw a big square light bar on top of my truck in terms of noise, aerodynamics, etc...
Also hoping to get some sort of navigation system set up. I work as a GIS/mapping technician for my day job right now, so I want something I can make my own routes/maps and load for nav, as well as general road atlas stuff on most gps units.

My main question mark right now is the rear suspension. I am probably going to go with the King (or Icon) replacement shocks, but not really sure where to go after this. Different leafs, hangers, etc... Any of you all have suggestions here (or on any of the other parts)? Definitely the part I know the least about right now.

Looking for any other ideas as well!

 

[bknudtsen]

I like your rig! Any updates? Researching solar and roof racks myself.

 

[wrmmt]

Thanks! Been keeping an eye on your build too, looks like you are going in a very similar direction. Been busy camping, hiking, and biking on the weekends, and have been traveling for work a lot recently, so not much has happened recently. Couple updates though, finished some storage for a few tools, extra fuel and water, will post photos as soon as I get a chance to get some good ones. Also have the roof rack ready to install, just trying to find the square slide pieces I need for the rails on my topper. Went with the front runner for the low profile, we'll see how it goes. May end up making custom feet to get it closer to the topper, I am going to see what the stock feet look like. Need to figure out where to go from here now, hoping to get a little done in the next month or two, just need to figure out what to tackle next...

The dog checking out the new addition.


Couple pictures from the last camp trip

 

[bknudtsen]

Looking forward to your thoughts on the FR rack. What size did you go with? I was thinking the 53" x 85.3" would work best with my Leer topper, along with the 40mm feet.

 

[wrmmt]

Yeah, I'm getting a little impatient to get it on! I went with the 1165 x 1560, so 45.8" x 61.5", don't think they sell the one I ordered wider, but I may be mistaken. I got the one designed to put on a topper, but ordered it without the rails as I had ones already on my ARE topper from the factory. Went with the 40mm feet as well, want it as low as I can get it...

 

[wrmmt]

Well, been a while since Ive updated anything here, but have finally made a little progress. I finished (at least for now) my bed storage set up, currently have extra fuel and water, ax, shovel, and fire extinguisher mounted. Still have room for other additions as I need them. Decided against a raised sleeping platform storage set up to as I still need the back to function as a truck bed at times. This had the bonus side effect of keeping the headroom for camping in the topper... Also added a bed seal kit around the tailgate. Definitely helped with dust on back roads, is not a perfect fit due to the spray in liner and the size of the gap around the top of the tailgate when closed, but it dramatically reduced the amount of dust that is sucked in on dry roads. Definitely manageable now!

The last addition was finally getting the FR roof rack installed. Had some initial problems getting the right hardware to fit the Yakima rails on my topper (the FR supplied hardware is to big of course...) and then had some fitment problems. Despite the time delay FR stepped up and helped me out with fitment and I was finally able to get it put together. Of course, now that I finally have it on its winter and I won't need to use it a whole lot yet... I will be really ready for the summer now though!

Probably will be taking it easy on additions for a while with winter, hunting and skiing seasons here to take my time and money, but do have a couple additions in the works. Hoping to get some sort of wind deflector set up for the roof rack, possibly with some LEDs. Also looking into getting some of the chrome matched black to the truck.

Here are a few photos:

 

[wrmmt]

Finally getting back to a few things on the build. Got temporarily laid off beginning of December and was hoping to use the time to work on some projects and get out, but of course life had other plans. Sickness and family health problems threw a wrench in those plans, but things are starting to get back to normal. No new additions to the truck quite yet, but have a few in the works. Should have a wind deflector for the roof rack soon, and just today pulled the trigger on some King shocks front and back. Hopefully all of that will be done in time for the trip down to Death Valley I am hoping to do in mid March. Some new UCAs will probably be next up, but that's going to have to wait awhile for my bank account to recover from the King Shocks...

 

[Wilbah]

I like the looks of your truck. Nice build you're doing.

 

[Overado]

Great build so far I have a 2011 Silverado 1500 crew cab that I have started prepping for adventure seems like we have some similar ideas. I took the front wind valence off mine the other day, changes the front end and approach angle 2 bolts and unclip. just a thought :smiley_drive:

 

[07SilveradoVA]

Great write up so far I have a extended cab love what your doing so far!

 

[wrmmt]

Thanks guys! And the wind valence is off, one of the really easy things to improve imo. Well I finally made a little progress on the truck, and am leaving tomorrow for a trip down to Death Valley to check out the desert. My local shop got the wind deflector done and I gave it a quick paint job to fit in with the rack. The King shocks were the big add on, haven't really put them through their paces yet, but so far seem to ride really well (and look awesome of course), looking forward to seeing how they do down on the DV back roads. Also, I was finally able to take the pin stripping off and gave the truck a good wash. That was a major pain, taking the actual pin stripe decals off wasn't too bad, especially after I got a good method down, but the residual glue was definitely a pain. Definitely was worth it, looks really good now, and the fresh washing doesn't hurt either... Here are a couple quick pics, hope to get some good ones on the trip!

 

[fiddypal]

Just be aware removing the air dam from the front will reduce mileage to the point it's noticeable from what I have heard, that's why I have not done it on mine yet (don't have the need for more ground clearance at the moment ).