Going domestic, project vanilla aka the family tankster, 2004 Suburban 2500

[upcruiser]

I haven't really looked at diesels but how are they in prolonged cold temps without being plugged in? I ask because I was thinking my next project is gonna be a diesel and it'll be used in Montana winters with no access to a plug in at times offl@glockmeister.com the beaten path

With this Colorado Duramax they say it should fire immediately with no issues down to the range of -30 assuming you have a winter blend of diesel in it. Below that they recommend plugging it in. It has some super high temp ceramic glow plugs which are supposed to heat up the combustion chamber in 2 to 3 seconds. So I am not too concerned, even for where we live. Supposedly GM spent three years dialing this motor in for emissions and operating in the cold temps of North America

 

[upcruiser]

Are you going to keep that goofy air dam?


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Copy that ghost rider. In fact, it's already off. My wife insisted they remove it before we picked it up. She knows what's up, haha. Looks 100 times better too. It's a terrible design too. It requires removal of the entire front end minus the headlights. Glad the dealer offered to do it.

 

[upcruiser]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking as well.

These were from the Hiawatha right off Chicago Lake. I looked up out of curiosity where Dad and I went back in '91 and it wasn't too far north at Big Island Lake. That was a fun time canoeing and portaging

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Big Island is cool, planning to take the boys canoe camping there this summer. It's a little bit of a carry into it since it is acwilderness area but worth it. I love that whole area. That's right near our friend's camp and where a lot of those bike packing pics were.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I will try to make a thread with some first hand accounts of how this truck treats us. I got it for my wife so unless she wants to build it a bit, it will probably stay stock for awhile. There is a major lack of first hand accounts of these things online doing the type of travel we all seem to enjoy here so hopefully I can help shed some light. There are some nice suspension options out there already so the aftermarket is starting to fill in some needs. Our primary use for this thing is going to be for her to daily drive, transport kiddos, haul outdoor gear, as well as do work hauling building materials for our home improvement projects, her gardening projects, and towing our camper from time to time. We do intend to use the Suburban for the towing more so but I have a suspicion the Colorado will tow it with mpgs that will make us want to use it more in that capacity. We will see. I can tell you this thing feels screwed together very well. It drives well, is very refined inside and tight as a drum. We were considering this or the Tacoma TRD Off-road but wanted it mostly for truck stuff. The Tacoma definitely has an edge in pure off-road but if we were going to use a Taco for that stuff in place of the Land Cruiser, a lift and taller tires would be in the list anyway so doing the same to the Colorado would bring them close enough that I don't care. And then I still have that glorious diesel. I always said if someone brought a mid size truck to the market I would buy it so this is basically me putting my money where my mouth is because GM had the guts to do it. I had a great time touring the Atacama desert in a Chevy Luv turbo diesel which was essentially the same engine in the previous gen foreign market Isuzu/Holden/Chevy bodystyle. This Colorado is a whole mother step in refinement and ride compared to that so I have high hopes.

Good, to know. Thanks I look forward to hearing how it does, and getting my hands on one.

 

[bigskypylot]

What's the payload on that, Kristian?

 

[bigskypylot]

Copy that ghost rider. In fact, it's already off. My wife insisted they remove it before we picked it up. She knows what's up, haha. Looks 100 times better too. It's a terrible design too. It requires removal of the entire front end minus the headlights. Glad the dealer offered to do it.

I concur!

 

[upcruiser]

What's the payload on that, Kristian?

The 4wd Dmax is 1,500lbs. For comparison, the Ram 1500 diesel is 960lbs

 

[bigskypylot]

The 4wd Dmax is 1,500lbs. For comparison, the Ram 1500 diesel is 960lbs

Not bad at all for the size if you do tow with it, would you put some airbags on it?

 

[bigskypylot]

How's it feel when you shut the door? Solid? My dad is looking in to a midsized pickup. I'd be interested to hear about all your observations.

Thanks

 

[upcruiser]

Not bad at all for the size if you do tow with it, would you put some airbags on it?

I don't think so, it is rated for more than the tongue weight of our camper and I have the weight distribution setup that I used with our FJ so I think it is fine as is.

And door shuts with a solid thunk. It feels really solid. Honestly it feels similar to a '90's BMW in a lot of ways to me as far as it's solid but not harsh ride and structure feel. But honestly I have only driven it a little on the test drive and not at all since we brought it home. I personally do prefer the more upright seating position to the Tacoma's lower position. But a lot of it is personal preference. I would say compare a few different vehicles and see what does it for him. This apple car play and all the connectivity the Colorado has is pretty cool. I still have yet to mess around with it much and figure it out. Traction seems excellent. Julie was on call at the hospital last night and got called in at 3am. We are under a winter weather advisory and heavy snow at the moment and she loves how sure footed it is in auto 4wd with the traction control. And that's coming from an Outback with studded snow tires, so that's a strong statement.

 

[upcruiser]

One more quick share of some bikepacking pics. This was from mid November. We had a week of unseasonably warm weather that I was able to enjoy along with my good buddy Aaron. This was just a quick and dirty overnighter but was an absolute blast. We wanted to explore a region that both of us were not very familiar with which is this giant area that stretches between the Mulligan and Yellow Dog Plains. Technically there are no roads that connect through but there are some impressively rugged trails that we discovered and were able to connect across on. It would be doable in a 4wd vehicle but it's pretty rugged. I don't think I would attempt it with the Land Cruiser, maybe if I had a couple of other rigs to assist but not alone. Anyway here are some pics











We made camp on the Yellow Dog River after a successful crossing and route finding with no gps, just maps that didn't have a route on them. Haha Great adventure







While it was in the mid 60's during the days it was well below freezing at night. The tough part of camping this time of year is the super short days and long nights. After hanging in the tent as long as I could stand I finally just had to get out and do something. Heating up a bunch of coffee helps pass the time waiting for daybreak.


Sun breaking along the Yellow Dog


Brrr, better make that more coffee




Day 2 we covered some big mileage via snowmobile routes and dirt roads to get back to the starting point.




Didn't take a ton of pics on this one as we were earning it pretty hard a lot of the time but it really ended up being a feeling like a giant adventure packed into two days. I even ended up sunburning my legs which is crazy for mid November in the Yoop. A normal year you have snow on the ground at this point. This was my final kick off of summer before heading to Norway and Sweden for 26 days.

 

[upcruiser]

For you guys interested in the UP I will share some links to some of Aaron's work. He is a filmmaker and photographer that does some cool projects that are mostly UP based. The first one is the Michigan Ice Film. It's an incredibly beautiful film that covers the history of ice climbing up here but also has just some epic scenery and local culture/humor. The link has the trailer for it but I recommend renting it buying it.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/michiganice

This one is an edit for the Trek Farley he did shot on location here in Marquette. In fact that's my garage and VW Thing in the beginning.
https://youtu.be/9g4J_v4eVy8

The first Trek Farley video from the year before filmed in Ishpeming and Marquette. I got to help out with this one. The bearded rider is the one and only Travis Brown.
https://youtu.be/w91OGtInmAw
We are a little obsessed with biking in this town
https://youtu.be/zfvUsy2AeTY

This is a project he did that was in Mountain Film that covers the evolution of winter biking in Marquette and how it shaped the sport
https://youtu.be/LorRn9NHfiI

 

[bigskypylot]

For you guys interested in the UP I will share some links to some of Aaron's work. He is a filmmaker and photographer that does some cool projects that are mostly UP based. The first one is the Michigan Ice Film. It's an incredibly beautiful film that covers the history of ice climbing up here but also has just some epic scenery and local culture/humor. The link has the trailer for it but I recommend renting it buying it.
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/michiganice

This one is an edit for the Trek Farley he did shot on location here in Marquette. In fact that's my garage and VW Thing in the beginning.
https://youtu.be/9g4J_v4eVy8

The first Trek Farley video from the year before filmed in Ishpeming and Marquette. I got to help out with this one. The bearded rider is the one and only Travis Brown.
https://youtu.be/w91OGtInmAw
We are a little obsessed with biking in this town
https://youtu.be/zfvUsy2AeTY

This is a project he did that was in Mountain Film that covers the evolution of winter biking in Marquette and how it shaped the sport
https://youtu.be/LorRn9NHfiI

The Yoop is a terrible place filled with unfriendly inhabitants. I'd travel up there at your own risk. Consider yourselves warned.... Much the same can be said about Montana.

 

[upcruiser]

The Yoop is a terrible place filled with unfriendly inhabitants. I'd travel up there at your own risk. Consider yourselves warned.... Much the same can be said about Montana.

After a couple of my favorite campsites got overshated on the innernets I pretty much stopped sharing a lot of the stuff I do in the Yoop. I feel it's important that people know of the importance of this area if only to hold value of it in the face of heavy industry threats at times.

And I live Montana too.... I am discovering my sensibilities align pretty close to novelist Jim Harrison haha

One more that I love that isn't bike related
https://youtu.be/Tl-C-X_jGyk

 

[bigskypylot]

After a couple of my favorite campsites got overshated on the innernets I pretty much stopped sharing a lot of the stuff I do in the Yoop. I feel it's important that people know of the importance of this area if only to hold value of it in the face of heavy industry threats at times.

And I live Montana too.... I am discovering my sensibilities align pretty close to novelist Jim Harrison haha

One more that I love that isn't bike related
https://youtu.be/Tl-C-X_jGyk

a couple bumperstickers on my rig....





I concur with your assessment on Jim. Sad to lose him last year. He was a Paradise Valley resident and a local fixture in Livingston