2016 Colorado Diesel Z71 4x4 Long Travel

[sonnymarton]

Hi y'all,

I would like to introduce my new adventuring rig and myself. My truck is a 2016 Colorado Diesel Z71 4x4 that is currently sitting at 32k miles. I am located in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and work as a software engineer. My wife is an athletic trainer and a teacher. We were both born and raised in Central Texas, then attended the University of Texas, and lastly moved to the greater Seattle area mid 2016 for work.

My rig is somewhat unique and is not a typical overlanding build as it is has a full long travel suspension front and rear (TBI). The main purpose for my rig is for my wife and I to have fun and enjoy all that nature has to offer. Whether that is to hit some trails and service roads in Pacific Northwest, take the truck and quads (Yamaha Raptor 700R and YFZ 450R) out to the sand dunes, camp/glamp, take a long road trip, find a nice remote viewpoint, drive up a pass to go ski/board, or go to an overland rally to learn and meet new people.

I am a huge go getter, which includes only doing things once (the right way) while doing all the work I can myself. I am constantly going through forums trying to learn new things, meet/help others and just check out other cool builds. I plan on doing a better job at documenting our travels in the truck, as I now have a gopro and camera to use. Also starting this thread should help as I have a place to keep everything updated.

I will admit that I don't have as much experience in the offroading/overlanding world as I would like to. I have come from another world, as my previous build was a 1990 300ZX with an LS3 swap, an ultimate street and track build. However the new rig will be much better suited to having fun in the PNW. I look forward to gaining experience and learning as time goes on.

In the last few months I have gone to Florence (with my quads), Beaver Lake (near Mt hood), circled 90 miles in Tillamook State Forest, day trip around Katchess Lake and a day trip around Garcia Washington NF roads. And plan to join any and all events that I can. Plans for 2018 include Overland Expo NW with Moab after as well as Northwest Overland Rally.

You can follow my instagram for my adventures: @overland_tractor

Following is a list of current things and needed/wanted things. It will continue to change and grow as time goes on.

Current Things:
- Wheels, Suspension, Drivetrain
- Method Grids Black (6)
- Falken AT3W 35x12.5x17 (6)
- Baja Kits +2 Prerunner Kit this kit includes our boxed upper and lower arms, custom heat treated axles, grade 9 hardware kit, extended brake lines and steering extension
- Baja Kits Frame Side Bypass Mount
- Custom King 2.5 Coilovers
- Custom King 2.5 Bypass
- Baja Kits Leaf Spring Kit
- Custom Deaver Springs
- Baja Kits Bump stop Kit
- King 2.5 Bump stops
- King 2.5 rear shock
- Performance
- All In Trucks Tune with DSP4 switch
- ProFab intake and intercooler pipes
- AFE dry filter
- FloPro Aluminized Exhaust
- Body
- Fiberwerx front and rear fenders with bumper caps
- Removed stock spare and mounting brackets
- Racks/Storage
- M-Rack Roof Rack
- Leitner rack
- Leitner MaxTrax mount
- Leitner MaxTrax pins
- (2) Leitner Rotopax mounting plate
- Leitner gear pod
- (2) Rotopax extensions
- (2) Rotopax lock mount
- Leitner HiLift bracket
- Leitner RTT mounts
- (4) Leitner light mounts
- Quick fist mounts
- N-Fab Tire strap
- (3) Diesel 2 gal Rotopax
- Interior
- Ram Mount for phone
- Ram Mount for SPOD touch screen
- Go pro mount on windshield
- Electronics
- SPOD w/touch screen
- Lights
- Backup/Cargo
- Pair of Baja Designs S2 Pro Flush Mount W/S Amber (TBI)
- Pair of BD Squadron Pro W/S White
-Sides/Cargo
- (4) Pair of BD S2 Sport W/S White
- Roof Rack
- KC Pro6 91314 45" 7-Ring
- Front bumper (TBI)
- (2) Pair of BD Squadron Pro Flush Mount Wide Cornering Amber
- Hood Lights
- GM, Colorado/Canyon (15-17) BD Hood Mount
- Pair of BD XL Pro High Speed Spot
- Recovery
- ARB Twin onboard compressor
- Bigfoot Recovery Rope
- ARB Pressure down tool
- Krazy Beaver Super Shovel
- (2) MaxTrax pair grey
- HiLift Jack Extreme
- Leather Gloves
- Hults Bruk Hatchet
- Gerber folding Spade
- Gerber Machete
- Camp
- (4) Camping chairs
- ALPS Mountaineering table
- Tepui Autana Sky with Annex
- Camp Chef 2 Burner Camp stove w/hose adapter
- 2 Gallon propane tank
- Lighter
- Water 2 gal Rotopax
- RTIC 65 cooler
- Flashlights
- Zippo
- Paracord
- Safety
- Adventure Medical Kits Sportsman Series Grizzly First Aid Kit
- Fire extinguisher


Future Wanted/Needed Things:
- Wheels, Suspension, Drivetrain
- nitro gears
- lockers
- Performance
- Carillo Rods and upgraded turbo
- Body
- Front bumper
- Rear bumper
- Sliders
- http://www.chassisunlimited.com/rock-slider-kit.html
- Superskidz skid plates
- Racks/Storage
- Hard cases
- Decked/Bed drawers
- Interior
- ram mount for ipad
- Electronics
- Dual battery setup
- Map/gps setup (currenlty using my phone)
- iPad Mini
- Radios
- Another SPOD
- Outlets with inverter
- Solar panel setup
- Lights
- Backup/Cargo
- RTL-S, 30" Light Bar
- Front bumper (TBI)
- Pair of LP9, LED, Driving/Combo
- Headlights and raptor style lights
- https://www.rockcreekoverland.com/single-post/2016/02/29/Mod-Corner-Amber-marker-lights-in-grille
- https://dezertlighting.com/collections/newest-products/products/2015-canyon-colorado-morimoto-4-tlr
- Recovery
- Tool kit with bags
- Winch
- Offroad jack
- Full Recovery kit
- chainsaw
- fuel tank for chain saw
- Camp
- Lantern
- cooking stuff
- Grill
- Water filtration system and container in spare tire spot/DEF spot
- heater for tent (or way to vent heat from cab into tent) look up how to heat tent
- Sleeping bags
- Fishing poles
- Safety
- New fire extinguisher?
- Misc
- tire step

 

[sonnymarton]

Forgot to add that I drove the truck to Texas for Thanksgiving and painted it at my dad's paint and body shop. Also had a little fun with the forklift to see what it could do.

 

[Tex68w]

That's a rather impressive build so far, keep up the good work!

 

[superbuickguy]

love it, I have similar plans

 

[McCarthy]

Nice! How many miles on the falkens, and do you like them? I have the same tire in a 10 ply and they are HEAVY mothers.

 

[jgallo1]

Great build, I have been running the falkens lately, and I have been impressed.

 

[rickc]

Sonny: Mine's a 2016 crew cab long box gasser. My list is much shorter than yours due to divorce and its subsequent financial drain however I chose the Colorado very carefully as I think it will develop into a very competitive overlanding base in many ways. There are very few aftermarket parts specific to the truck but I think this will change. I've been on ARB's case for much of the year trying to get a date on their front bumper; should be really soon. I'm a big fan of the Australian trucks and mine looks way too much like a Transformer as it is; a more conventional ARB winch bumper will do the job. I'm also planning on secondary power and an air system but plan to go with stuff-in-a-box so it can be taken out when not in use for weight and security reasons and transferred between vehicles in the future.

I'm also in the PNW but north of the border, not far from Vancouver, BC. If you come up this way, I'd love to see your truck and compare notes.

 

[Austo]

Sick and your 300zx is/was amazing! Has been one of my dream cars for awhile!

 

[chilliwak]

Werlcome to the site Sonny and thanks for posting pics and a very detailed story about your amazing truck. What a cool ride. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Some pretty friendly and knowledgeable people here. Larry is our GM guru that can tell you almost anything about our GM trucks. Have fun. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[uscg2008]

:drool:

 

[sonnymarton]

Around 10k now, and I'm really liking them. I do want to go 37s however...

 

[sonnymarton]

So expect the arb bumper this month. They're already in production, I went to the ARB meet up a few weeks ago and they were trying to talk me into buying one