EngLab

Yup... makes no sense. I waited for 7 months as well and now look back thinking, why did I do that? I should had just paid the ADM and been done with it... but I refused to pay over MSRP. Finally took delivery at MSRP of an AT4 2500 that had a deal fall out. The other day, was curious and looked at the build date on the door jam and was built in March.... and I buy it in April, what the heck!? I really think my ordered truck from back in October must be buried on some lot and GM is only pulling the easy to reach ones out. If I was waiting on a Chevy, I certainly would make sure it was being built in the Canadian factory... we seem to be a real mess down here. In Southern California, I'm seeing HD's briefly sit on lots and dealers now posting actual photos of them on-line (mostly Denalis or very low option trims). ADM's are coming down from the crazy $10,000 mark-up... $2,500-$5,000 now. Side Note: I ended up driving a few hours to a dealership who was not charging ADM. Motor City GMC in Bakersfield California has a policy of no ADM's on any vehicle. Worth checking out as they have a ton of trucks coming in all the time and high volume... I'd buy from them again.

Not sure if anyone mentioned American Roll Cover from Truck Covers USA? I am on my 4th one and have had zero issue. You can actually stand on it (up to 500 lbs.). https://www.truckcoversusa.com/american-roll-cover/ *stock photo below

I went through a total of five HD's and four dealerships in the past seven months trying to make a purchase.... The first was a special order SLE in September 2021. My dealer called after a month and said GM was not picking up the order and they are only building Denali's and AT4's at the moment (in other words, high profit vehicles). I changed my order to a loaded $85k Denali. That order was picked up quickly and was told by dealer I would get it by end of January. Dealer said status showed completed build in December. January came and left. February came as well followed by March and still no movement. Contacted dealer and he said he had no idea what was happening and it was just sitting. I asked what should I do? Sales Manager replied very coldly, "Do what you need to do".... so I canceled reservation and in that same day, put a deposit on an "In-Transit" green AT4 " at a 2nd dealer. This 2nd dealer assured me the AT4 would be moving in the next 2-3 days before he took my deposit. After a month and three delivery date changes on-line, I began to loose hope. A week ago, I got the idea to look at Silverado HD's and see what was happening with Chevrolet? I thought maybe the Canadian plant could be a better option? I went ahead and put a deposit on a Canadian built "In-Transit" HD that had a completed build and being delivered to what was now my 3rd dealer who was located 500 miles away from my home. Now I had a total of (2) deposits out there: one on a green AT4 Sierra and one on a silver High County Silverado! Of course right about now, I hear my special order Denali from last year finally showed up at my original dealer (after seven months) but of course somebody put a deposit on it.... ugggghhh! Last Friday, I get a call from a 4th dealer about 200 miles away who apparently kept my phone number from a past inquiry. He told me they had a white AT4 that just fell out and did I want it? Of course I jumped at it and now happy to say this dog & pony show has finally come to an end. This was a ton of energy for something being sold @ MSRP w/zero factory incentives or compensation for the hoops and hurdles going on at the moment. I honestly feel that one (or two) of the above trucks are basically "lost" and that's why they could not ship them... buried behind a sea of vehicles. I don't really know how to end this tale, but will say that I am a bit numb (and tired) from it. Yes, I could have sat on my hands and just waited, but to be honest, I didn't want a vehicle that had been sitting in a field somewhere for months nor was I willing to pay over MSRP. On the upside, it did give me PLENTY of time to fine tune what it was I wanted vs. needed. In the end, I am happy I landed on the color and trim I now have because it's a big departure from the SLE originally ordered.

Had a Forest Metallic Green AT4 on order and of course been waiting for many months like everyone else..... Yesterday, received a slightly frantic call saying a white AT4 deal just fell out and did I want it? Of course I would and bought her today! As I was walking out, I spied this dually in Forest Metallic Green. I have to say, I was relieved I did not wait for this color. Although it looked amazing in the limited amount of videos/photos on-line, in person it was a different story. In direct sunlight, it has a lot of gold sparkle in it. Looking at it with polarized sunglasses just exacerbates it and shows a lot of application issues. As one person above noted, it was blotchy and looked like it would be difficult to color match. I love the color at every angle, except when looking squarely at it in direct sunlight. I am sorry I did not take a close up shot, but this was the best I could do running out the store. The color does look gorgeous to me in this photo! Just make sure you look at it in the sun to see if you really like it (never buy a vehicle at night... lesson learned years ago!). I'm sure others will love this color, just not my cup of tea.... I sure wish the AT4 came in Quicksilver!

Went round & round on this and only found a couple of pics... but here is my quicksilver SLT to make things easier for ya!

found some pics for ya guys.... i looked into this last month. its made in australia or new zealand? dealer support is thin and actual knowledge is as well. my big concern would be warranty issues and/or needed parts later.. just my 2 cents.

....are you still liking the intake now after some time has passed? how much additional intake noise has it added now that its settled in and has the truck calibrated to it well?

Icon Stage One was the first kit I ever did on a 2009 Sierra 1500. It was great until the factory ball joints went out at after 20k miles w/spring pre-load/height being set at Icon's factory setting. Don't cheap out and get a decent aftermarket UCA w/whatever kit you do, your ball joints/tires will thank you. A good quality "adjustable" UCA will run over a grand, but worth it in savings down the road. Some people will disagree with this, but I personally never found a vehicle of mine (GM, Ford, Toyota, etc.) that didn't benefit on an alignment rack from aftermarket UCA's when installing coil-overs... even with a mild height increase. I agree with the statement about the Fox 2.0's being a good go-to shock for a mild daily driver. The only down side is they need to be fully removed from the vehicle to adjust spring pre-load because the adjustment ring is located at the bottom of the strut. If you are just going to leave them at the factory set height, then you don't have to worry about that The Bilstein 5100 takes the guess work out of front ride height. You can find tons of info on here and around the Internet on any Bilstein product. Another newer option is the new Eibach Pro-Truck. They have copied the Bilstein 6112 idea and I have yet to read a negative review about them and the price point is unbeatable.

They have become crazy expensive and service is non-existant. I had a 2009 1500 Sierra w/Icon's on it and it was great. I put them on 2 more Sierras after that (2018 1500 & 2500). Both of those vehicles had shocks that leaked (one after just a few miles plus it badly stained new pavers on my driveway). Icon would not send me a replacement shock on either incident. I had to actually drive up to the factory, wait a few hours to have it rebuilt and then drive the 2 hours back home. It was a real pain and could of been taken care of by pre-paying for a new shock and getting refunded when they received the faulty one back. I am a big fan of their billet adj. Delta Joint upper control arms. Never had an issue and the design is great. If you want to run OEM rims, you can do it w/most Icon UCA's. I have Fox 2.5 DSC and this is now my 4th set. They have more adjustments than Icon CDC's that has only 10 settings (found myself often between setting on Icon rears). You can adjust High & Low speed compression with DSC. Also, Fox service is night and day difference from Icon. I found Icon has changed over the years... to big for their britches w/crazy pricing for unreliable products in my experience. NOTE: I owned a 2020 Tacoma I was building last year and noticed Icon had gone to a new way of locking their spring pre-load ring. No longer do they do a 2nd locking ring on top of the pre-load ring or even a pinch ring.... they use a single ring and the bolt actually digs INTO the shock threading. I ended up selling the Stage 10 kit to another Taco owner. And recently heard he ripped those shocks apart on his last 4WD trip... not good. w/

First off.... how the heck did you score Kings? I called them a couple weeks ago and they said a 9 month wait. I have Fox 2.5 w/DSC and absolutely love them. The ride is amazing (+ Camburg adj. UCA's). I have run Fox 2.5 DSC's in other rigs and always been happy with them. In regard to your question, I would not try to cannibalize the BDS lift. It is designed around those Fox shocks. You really are asking for problems if you try and modify that kit. I assure you, BDS will blame the King Shocks and King will blame BDS if you run into problems.... its just not worth the potential brain damage. My local shop is installing BDS kits all day long and say it's the best one they have seen for our rigs (and the AT4 like yours). I drove the 6.5" kit on an SLE and it was impressive. Fox is really great with warranty issues (I've had a couple w/the adjusters over the years). If you do use the Fox shocks, be sure to check the DSC adjuster BEFORE you install them. Make sure each indentation position is clearly noticeable. Also, if you go with a rear Fox 2.5 w/resi, know now that FOX requires you to drill holes into the frame. I went with Fox 2.0's in the rear because of that and also run Deaver springs. Like you said, if you want to "do it right", just go with a 100% complete BDS kit. You will save yourself a lot of time and potential headache. Just my opinion... looking forward to seeing the final product!

This is my 3rd "American Roll Cover" by Truck Covers USA. Never had an issue with any of them... no noise, leaks, fading, etc. I will add that I get them installed at the factory and that may have something to do with the trouble-free operation... I hear its not brain surgery, but proper alignment is key. https://www.truckcoversusa.com/american-roll-cover/ *pic is not my truck, still waiting on my cover due to covid delays... uggghhhh

The reason I just bought a 2021 was the column shifter..... we all saw this change coming. I wonder what's in store for a 2022 w/a bench seat...probably will retain column shift.

Here is my recent buying experience from last week w/$8k off MSRP.... Nobody in CA was willing to honor supplier pricing. Two dealers said they would, then changed their minds. Once they saw how strong the code was, they decided not to honor it. I even switched from GMC to Chevy and received the same response. And you know what, dealers don't have to honor supplier codes and its not because buyer's are Liberals... some people just have more money than sense. If I had cash coming out my ears and wanted or needed something immediately, I probably would do the same thing. The other day I watched two buyers looking at the same AT4 2500HD (and only HD on the lot). Then one of them calmly offered $5,000 over asking just to seal the deal. And let's not forget the CST lift kit the dealer installed w/a 300% mark-up added to the truck. Why should dealers sell to me and my Supplier Code when they can make $5-15k of pure profit on somebody else? Trust me, I have a friend who is the Sales GM at a local GMC dealership and they are selling for way over MSRP and often within minutes of dropping at his store (if its not already sold). Heck, even GM just raised MSRP's on the current 2021 model vehicles. And you can forget about dealer trades, that's just not happening right now. The trick I found is to ALWAYS ask for Internet/Fleet Department (no matter what the current market is doing). These employees are on salary. They are about sales numbers and not dollars. Never talk to a sales person. Supplier Pricing takes away from the sales department profit even if they are reimbursed later for these monies. Once again, why sell a truck under current "market value" when you can make a killing at the moment by price gouging the public? Yes, these are rough times for everyone, but it's a wonderful time to be a car dealer (if you have the inventory). It was interesting to find that if I was willing to travel outside of California, I would get Supplier Code honored. Dealers in Arizona or New Mexico were willing to take it. However, most were doing dealer installed accessories like $399 for two tinted windows, LoJack, cosmetic protection plans, etc... and it was not negotiable (or removable) from deal. Buyer beware before you travel and make sure you ask about any added dealer fees/accessories. Like someone earlier suggested, best thing is to locate the vehicle you want on GMC's website (and thats what I also did). You will then have to travel to get the vehicle you want. I rented a car one-way and drove from San Diego to Los Angeles, it was actually a lot of fun. If you are in the L.A. area, go to Casa De GMC Buick Cadillac in Sherman Oaks and ask for Mariola in Fleet Department. It was as painless of a deal as any I've had. As she walked me to finance, she mentioned that I got a great deal and they don't usually give Supplier Codes right now. I was well aware of this, then thanked her with a $100 restaurant gift card and orchid for her desk. And btw, this was the ONLY California dealership (out of the dozen trucks I called on) that would take a Supplier Code besides my friends store here in San Diego but he had zero inventory. It was a lot of work to save a few thousand bucks, but I enjoy the dance. I know most people would not bother and just pay the additional mark-up. However, I do have principles about all this and know this craziness will end at some point. Only then will decent (and easy) car deals return. In the meantime, I still refuse to be upside down (or in debt) on a vehicle more than is necessary. I especially feel sorry for all the uneducated Yukon/Tahoe buyers who are going to depreciate hard in the next year or so once the hype disappears or we have a huge gas price spike. Just like those who ran out and bought RV's or trailers during Covid, the used market is going to be flooded once it's all over. If you are living in a more rural part of the country you probably are not experiencing people climbing over each other to buy a vehicle.... * If you don't have a Supplier Code, I would try Costco. Costco will also put you directly into the Internet/Fleet department. I purchased many vehicles through Costco and it was always a great experience and decent deal.