ROOK Lucky 13

That sucks man. Sucks the dealership won’t make it right - squeaky brakes are usually a pretty easy fix, unless there really is something wrong with the caliper/rotor, in which case you should have warranty coverage. A new set of pads on that side shouldn’t be too much for a dealership to make this right on a new truck sale. Take it back, hopefully they can reproduce your problem and go further than your first run at them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Steering wheel controls are a good call. They should be standard on vehicles at this point, let alone a vehicle that costs $43k (even if that is the base model). The center console has been hot topic too. It sounds like future models will all have storage, not sure if that means jumpseat is gone or if they're just putting a wallet sized compartment on it.

Had to jump on this string, there is a lot to the different trim levels these days with all of the electronics and gadgets, and there is good/bad with the Custom trim level. Up front: I’m bias. I really like my Custom. I bought it knowing I was going aftermarket with some things. I haven’t owned an LTZ to contrast with my Custom but I have fairly well equipped vehicles. There are some things I’ve added to my Custom, and I think that was part of the draw at the end of the day: I’d add what I want, nothing I didn’t. I almost bought an LTZ for $53k up in Washington, a fair little drive from Portland. Literally ready to go, financing set (I have 8xx credit) and a massive cashier’s check and they said I, “couldn’t take it off the lot” because of some type of cross-state issue that I can’t even remember at this point. I was pretty pissed at 9PM at night there at the dealership and come away thinking it had more to do with the deal I was getting than anything else. Either way, I’d been looking at LTZ’s for weeks. I’d found one with everything short of the electronics package that includes the heads-up display. That LTZ had heated steering, seats, sunroof, and the kicker stereo upgrade, and a few other things. After not getting it, I was pretty bummed but played on. When I found a Custom, it really looked more like what I wanted externally. I’m not a fan of chrome, and the Custom comes with a lot of blacked out parts and pieces like the bumper, handles, etc. The interior is the same way, it’s plastic but it’s dark grey, nearly black. I like that too, wish more interiors were dark/black and without a lot of chrome. The only chrome it has really is what I’ve removed – got a few debadging pics in another thread to take off the Silverado, Custom, and 2500 HD… There is something more rugged about the simplistic interior, the gauge cluster, etc. What I like: Didn’t pay for things I’m not interested in like all the lane assist, alert stuff that come with vehicles these days. I wanted also some pretty ridiculous AMP Powersteps. They weren’t cheap, saves me from selling/scrapping something I didn’t want on the rig. Blacked-out exterior trim Simplistic blacked out interior trim I did like the few things it did come with: Remote start Tinted windows Bed lights Retractable mirrors Good looking stock rims. Good grief, if only all carmakers could figure this out… What I don’t like about the Custom trim level: No leather seats, heated. No leather steering wheel, heated. And… I’ll only add this because the option to have powered seats do go up/down – the stock seat position could be better. It’s low. Really low. I’ve since added risers since the cloth seats to go up/down, but the Silverado’s really do sit you low in the cab. I’m a hair over 6’, and usually feel too big for seats if anything. So that’s the deal. I think it boiled down to the blackout look and the fact that I’m looking to go aftermarket on some things. Now, leather seats (powered, heated) are turning out to be much more of a PITA than I expected because of the electronics, i.e. the passenger airbag detection and generally playing with airbag deletes if/when I go the aftermarket. With the computer integration, I don’t think I can just add OEM heated leather anything later (like from Ebay or local parts yard) without taking it to the dealership to get programmed – I think what I’ve read says that both heaters are connected to the CPU, not stand-alone units. I’m not sure if the Custom trim CPU can add leather stuff. And, I’m in Oregon. It’s not COLD cold here, but it rains every freaking day and makes the few actual cold winter months seem longer than what they are. Heated stuff is nice. And, I’m getting old so whatever. If I lived in Arizona, probably wouldn’t care about leather.

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De-sticker (4x4), debadge the doors, debadge the tailgate...

The other thing is, I’m 41 years old. Took me this long to put down on a new pickup. Save. Build equity in your home. Be smart, don’t piss money away on booze and women. Well, at least the women part! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Savings plus tax refund plus selling the old rig for a really healthy down payment, plus loans and choosing the $43k “Custom” trim model get me there. There is quite a bit a story for each of these items, including me learning nearly every trade there is in (unintentionally) flipping a few houses I’ve lived in to “buy up” and make out pretty well and actually be able to save a few years to pull the trigger. Never had a new heavy duty pickup before this, just the hauling rig (1995 K2500 Suburban beater). Although, with all the side work I ended up putting in on my houses, yard, families’ places, it impressed upon me the value in having a capable truck.

Kenwood eXcelon 2 3/4”. Didn’t find OEM plugs, but soldered them. Sounds good, can tell the diff with the highs, sub also sounds good. It’s not a JL10W6, definitely budget but plug and play as well as bolt on fitted sub make it worth it. I’m happy with it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love these- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That looks great, man. I've been looking at the 3" leveling/lift kits but this is enough to make me think about the 5" kits. How is the Zone kit on the freeway? Also - gotta love the look of the GMC front end. Not just the grill that has been talked about a lot in comparison with the Chevrolet 2500, but the lines on the whole front end. The proportions on the lift/wheels really come together well with the body lines of the fenders and hood. Nice choice on the upgrades.

It does, right? Spendy, but this is definitely on the list.

The amp steps are so great, best mod to the truck no question. The sub is good. I got the kit with an amp for the other 6 speakers too. The value to me was a clean, simple install without mortgaging the house. I priced out my dream JL Audio system and it’s somewhere near $6k - not realistic for me. This is a fraction of that, and for the price I’m happy. Not that $999 on ShopChevyParts is cheap in times like this, but I think it all works well. I listen to everything, old rock, classic rock, old rap, country, you name it and it pretty much does the job. The 2.75” upgrade just about needed the whole dash taken out, but an afternoon and it was done. I also have some door speakers ready to go, but that’s another afternoon. Half the pleasure is taking my time and installing everything right, not tearing up the rig. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finished this off this weekend, sounds great: Also upgraded the front tweeters: I also installed these a few weeks back: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess two things: 1. I'm also probably going to wait until this message goes away... 2. which of these four kits (that show up now on GM Parts Direct) do I need? I've got a Custom trim, no push start bolster. Can't really tell what is different between these four: 84756681 84756682 84756684 84756685

I may get this kit and have it installed locally if I'm not completely turned off by the installers.