New Guy Here

importkiller76 · August 6, 2009

Hey guys I just thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Lance and I'm from Canada. Just sold my 06 Dakota and am getting back into a GM truck! Was pretty dissapointed in the Dak from day one and now I'm finally getting back into a real truck! On that note I had a few questions. My last GM was a 94 Sierra 4x4. Now I've got two trucks picked out that I'm considering and working on deals on. This one:

or this one:

Now this leads to my question: I'm gonna lift the truck 2-3 " in the front and 1" on the back, and was thinking about 285/70/17 tires. Is this a good size or is it gonna look to small? Could I go one size bigger without rubbing? Maybe 295, or 305 70's? Lol not completly sure how to read those type of tire sizes tho. Maybe a 285/75/17? Let me know what you guys think!

pwall · August 6, 2009

Welcome!

Can't give any opinion on the lift/tires, however, the first thing that stood out to me with the 2 trucks, is one is a crew cab, they other extended (yeah I know, I'm stating the obvious).

Anyways, if you are going to have passengers in/out of your truck often (ie. family), then I would consider the crew cab. Nothing wrong with the extended cab, but life is easier with the four doors.

But of course with the crew cab, smaller box.

importkiller76 · August 6, 2009

Welcome!
Can't give any opinion on the lift/tires, however, the first thing that stood out to me with the 2 trucks, is one is a crew cab, they other extended (yeah I know, I'm stating the obvious).

Anyways, if you are going to have passengers in/out of your truck often (ie. family), then I would consider the crew cab. Nothing wrong with the extended cab, but life is easier with the four doors.

But of course with the crew cab, smaller box.

pwall you hit the nail right on the head. I've had both an ext cab and a 4 door truck and I know exactly what you mean about people crawling in and out of the truck and I'm kinda stuck in the middle. I am newly married this year and kids are not far behind and I often go hunting and stuff of that nature with more than one other guy so a 4 door would be great. But you're right the box is smaller which I was concerned about because my last truck was a 4 door and that is exactly what I found...that the box was just to small. Granted going from 1/4 ton dodge to a full size chevy will give me more room in the box but I do a lot of hauling around (quad, hunting gear, dogs, and whatever else I can find!) so maybe I should go for the extended cab. Lol I'm thinking price might play a role. I think that whichever truck is the best deal is gonna be the winner. They have similar mileage and are in pretty good shape the both of them so we'll see. The quad cab is loaded with leather and dvd and the other is loaded wihtout leaterh so options might play a role too!

WilliamsVMAX · August 6, 2009

Hey guys I just thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Lance and I'm from Canada. Just sold my 06 Dakota and am getting back into a GM truck! Was pretty dissapointed in the Dak from day one and now I'm finally getting back into a real truck! On that note I had a few questions. My last GM was a 94 Sierra 4x4. Now I've got two trucks picked out that I'm considering and working on deals on.
Now this leads to my question: I'm gonna lift the truck 2-3 " in the front and 1" on the back, and was thinking about 285/70/17 tires. Is this a good size or is it gonna look to small? Could I go one size bigger without rubbing? Maybe 295, or 305 70's? Lol not completly sure how to read those type of tire sizes tho. Maybe a 285/75/17? Let me know what you guys think!

Hey, welcome to the site. First off in my opinion I would go for crew cab. I prefer GMC over Chev for looks but in this case more room is a lot better. On the lift side I have a 2.5" front level and a additional 2" rear block in the back. I use 285/70/17 with no issue at all. It looks pretty good too. I was considering bigger tires, but was unsure my self. I had an 05 Chev and I had 285's on with everything stock and they still fit fine, you might just have to crank torsions up a little that's all.

Spurshot · August 6, 2009

Welcome Lance. Just my opinion of the bed issue; I'm never buying a 5 1/2 ft bed again. You can see I have a red crewcab half-ton. The bed is just too small for my uses. I also have a extended cab with a 6 1/2 ft bed so I have a direct comparison. I should have gone with the 2500 crewcab 6 1/2 ft bed. I'd be happier now. I'll keep this one a few yrs and get the larger truck later or I may just get rid of the 99 and find a 8ft bed crew to replace it for trips.

importkiller76 · August 7, 2009

Ok guys so here's an update on the truck shopping. Went and looked at the trucks yesterday. The silver birch one pictured above was sold before I got there, and the white one was junk. So we started to look at trucks that were a little more expensive and we found this one:

It's not loaded but has a few options. Power everything except windows, 45,000km and they were very light km by the looks of it. They only want $24,000 for it which is a pretty good deal since most dealers in my area sell trucks like this for around $30k The body and interior were perfect and the truck drove like new and at 45k it is almost new.

So first thing this morning I was ready to purchase this truck but a buddy caught me at work this morning before he left for the job-site and his old man is selling an 05 Sierra 2500hd duramax with 120,000km loaded with leather for $26k. The truck is perfect and has only highway km and similar trucks in this area go for around $30k as well. ( I know deisel prices around here are ridiculous!)

So that is my new prediciment!

pwall · August 7, 2009

Not sure of the year of the truck pictured above.

Tough choice.....is the 2500hd a crew cab ? Will you be towing with this truck ?

WilliamsVMAX · August 7, 2009

So first thing this morning I was ready to purchase this truck but a buddy caught me at work this morning before he left for the job-site and his old man is selling an 05 Sierra 2500hd duramax with 120,000km loaded with leather for $26k. The truck is perfect and has only highway km and similar trucks in this area go for around $30k as well. ( I know deisel prices around here are ridiculous!)

So that is my new prediciment!

If you are not going to be towing anything, or doing a lot of highway driving, a diesel is kind of a waste. A diesel is a work horse truck and it needs to be worked to have it work well. Parts are very expensive for diesels, if they have problems. In my opinion if your just going to be using it as a daily driver and not as a work truck towing and hauling stuff, I would stick to the half ton.

importkiller76 · August 7, 2009

Well i just called the dealer and closed the deal on the stealth grey (I call it blue!) half ton. They are gonna put nerf bars, box rails, and do a spray in and I should be able to pick it up next week! Now just gotta decide on some wheels, get the lift and exhaust on and then i'll have a truck I can be proud to own!