Long time GM Owner Gear Head, new member

[Wrres]

My first GM was a 1967 1/2 ton step side painted in Caterpillar yellow with a 3 on the tree. That was about 1975. Wish I still had that one! I bought a new GMC 1/2 ton 6.2 diesel in 1982, another in 3/4 ton in 1989 (added a turbocharger to that one and had the fastest diesel in town!), a 1995 TransAm I hot-rodded, but had to sell when insurance got ugly, another 3/4 ton in 6 liter gas in 1999, then a Duramax extended cab 2500HD 4x4 in 2003. That one got a leveler kit (Ford torsion keys), air bags, 4" exhaust, cold air, 255x85x16 tall skinnies, and a Hypertech tune. It was a great truck for 12 years and was badass fast. It carried my 2003 Lance Camper nicely.

 

I retired a couple of months ago and the truck had given me 12 great years. Last week I decided to give myself a retirement gift to myself. I bought a new Silverado 3500 HD LTZ Z71 long bed crew cab. I figured this could be the last ruck I buy, so I found one loaded for a good price and they gave me more for my old truck that I was figuring I would get on the street. So far I've added Torklift camper mounts, a Curt front receiver, a 7-way camper plugin in the bed side, and a FlipBak VP hard tonneau. New 2" lift keys are waiting for me at the post office, so that will be the project for tomorrow or the next day. With almost 400 HP, I don't think I'll hot rod this one. At least for a while ;-). I fitted the camper on it today and discovered that Chevy had made the bed sides much taller than my 2003. When I lowered the camper onto the truck, it was within 1/16" on touching the bed rails. I was afraid a too-fast corner may tip the camper enough to impact the rail top. I decided to get a 1" compressed foam insulation sheet to put under it. That worked perfectly! I can go camping again.

 

I love to hunt and camp (an elk and a nice mule deer this year). So Chevy trucks have been hauling me into far off-the-road places for years; from Alaska (22+ years), to Arizona (9 years), to Washington State (now, 10 years). They have never left me stranded. Most of the times its been hauling a 9.5 foot camper also. Great trucks!

[RyanbabZ71]

Welcome

 

Congrats on retirement and the new truck

 

 

Ryan

[99silveradoz71]

Welcome aboard.