Finally stopped lurking, saying Hi. "Hi."

[kelub]

I've been visiting the site for a couple of months now as I got closer to purchasing my truck, but didn't really have anything to contribute so was content to stay anonymous.

 

I live in the Dallas area, work in IT, and have owned quite a few different vehicles throughout the years, although I've always either had a car or an SUV - never a truck. I've typically shuffled back and forth between 4x4 SUVs and 4 cylinder commuter cars. Most recently, I had a 2 door 2007 Jeep Wrangler for 4 years, then a 2008 Nissan Xterra OffRoad for a year, and finally a 2012 Ford Focus that was 1 of 2 vehicles traded in for my 2014 Chevy Silverado 4x4 Texas Edition.

 

When my dad passed away last December, I took possession of his 2005 Chevy Avalanche. Now, plenty of people dismiss the Avalanche as a wannabe truck, but my dad used the heck out of that thing. He used to have a Harley for a while and would sometimes be the "trailer" in the envoy to Sturgis, pulling his motorcycle trailer for guys who might have breakdowns or mechanical issues. He spent 18-24 months working in New Orleans and Biloxi after Katrina & Wilma hit, repairing roofs and doing general construction & safety - towing trailers and equipment from Dallas to there and back regularly. He drove it to California and back a few times, and plenty of other places I can't even remember.

 

But I digress. When I took possession of his truck, I found myself using it constantly - helped a friend move, my family moved, carted materials back and forth to the hardware store, brought home a load of dirt, haul a trailer, all sorts of useful stuff. Although the poor girl had over 133k miles, was dinged up, and had even been shot once in the hood (don't ask) she was still running strong. Although it was hard to do sentimentally, I traded the Avalanche in along with the Focus for my truck.

 

Before that, my dad had a Sierra for a while, and my grandfather - a self-made man who spent the later part of his life purchasing and managing rental properties (at one point owning entire blocks of houses behind the VA hospital in East Dallas) - had always owned a Chevy truck. He had an old C Series 1500 truck (1973 or 75 or thereabouts) that was his work truck. Although I know they weren't "Silverado's" at the time, I want to say that "Silverado" was a trim, because I swear his truck said it on the side. He always referred to her as "ole' betsy" and she always got him where he needed to go. Around 92 he picked up a new C Series 1500 as his "weekend" truck, but still used Ole Betsy to do his work.

 

When my grandfather passed away in 1995, my dad sold Betsy and kept the 92, but let it sit in his back yard and rot. When my dad passed, my (now) brother-in-law (sister's husband, boyfriend at the time) offered me a few hundred dollars to take the truck and fix it up. He put another $1200 into it and had it up and running. My sister now drives that truck - I'm quite happy that it's alive again and not in a junk pile or torn apart for scrap and parts.

 

Having three younger children myself, and being placed in a position to reflect on the legacy of the men in my family, one thing that stood out to me was those trucks. Obviously they were both much, much more than just owners of trucks to me - but I have a LOT of very fond memories of my dad and grandfather that involve those trucks. I decided that I wanted to continue the family tradition and get a truck of my own, and that it had to be a GM truck - preferably, a Silverado.

 

I had to decide if I wanted to get a great deal on a 2013, or bite the bullet and pick up a brand-new 2014. We purchased my wife a Traverse in June, and the technology in it quickly became a "need" more than a "want." Suddenly, backing up a vehicle without a camera was for cavemen! MyLink is as necessary as a steering wheel! And while my Focus had the Sync system in it (NOT the MyFordTouch, but the lesser system) it grossly paled in comparison to the GM MyLink/Intellilink system. So it came to pass that a 2014 was necessary.

When I had visited the local GMC/Chevy dealership near me to purchase my wife's 2014 Traverse, I had intended to only test drive there before heading to a larger volume dealership; however, I had such a pleasant experience there we ended up buying the Traverse on the spot, and I decided then that when it came time I'd buy my truck from them as well. Throughout the summer I'd stop by after hours and walk the lot, sometimes taking the kids, just eyeing the trucks and getting a feel of what it was exactly that I wanted. Around early August I spotted a Sierra that had everything I wanted and more; that truck was on the lot for just over two months, so when I went to make my purchase last Friday, I went in expecting to pick up that truck. As fate would have it, though, they sold it a day or two before I showed up to make my purchase. I was adamant on having four-wheel-drive, and really wanted the Z71 package, but oddly enough, the dealership - which had been overflowing with trucks matching my desired specs for 2-3 months - was nearly depleted of everything but 2WD base models, or $50k+ top-of-the-line, out of my price range trucks.

 

There, sitting right in the middle, was my Silverado.

 

Silver, black leather interior, 4x4 drivetrain, 8" touch screen, 3.42 gear ratio, backup camera, it had everything I wanted... except it was the Texas Edition instead of Z71, and had the bench seat instead of the buckets. Now remember, I had a Wrangler for 4 years, so I still tend to lean towards that old Jeep mentality that chrome is for [sissies]; I have had a slow go at acclimating to the idea that it's a different look/culture in trucks than it was in Jeeps. (I know plenty here will likely agree with the "no chrome," and plenty still will say "moar chrome" - we are all accepted in the truckverse.) I liked the 20" wheel size, but even though I've accepted the chrome accents throughout the truck, the wheels are still a bit... shiny for me. We'll see if they aren't eventually swapped for something aftermarket. (Anyone interested in 20" Chevy chrome wheels? )

 

That being said, my kids love the truck. My son, the youngest at 3.73 (a little axle ratio humor, haha) just loves trucks in general, so he was thrilled. My daughters both like it a lot (at 11.75 and 8.5 they don't get near as excited over trucks, but they were impressed none-the-less.) We aren't a camping family at the moment, but I hope to create some camping memories with the kiddos here in the near future. My wife requires a full, private shower anywhere she goes, so they'll probably be one-on-one "dad" trips.

 

So, that's my story. The truck will be a daily driver to and from work for most of its use, but will be used for "homeowner" type chores, trailer pulling, furniture moving, and other useful purposes, and will also see some dirt trails and off-road action every now and again. A good friend of mine has a ranch down in the Hill Country and hunts annually, and every few years I go down there with him; otherwise, the 4x4 will get used on the occasional snow days, at the beach on our sometimes-annual trips down to the lovely brown Texas coast, or hopefully sometime in the next 6 months at Big Bend, where I'd like to take my eldest daughter to camp and explore.

 

If you're still with me to this point, I hope you enjoyed the book.

I intend to keep my truck till it won't run any more, and if the present stock matches the expectations set by its predecessors, that should be a very, very long time.

[Josh]

Welcome aboard kelub!! I have reached the point in your post..

 

and had even been shot once in the hood (don't ask)

 

And I just HAVE TO ASK!!

[cobrajet84]

welcome

[RyanbabZ71]

welcome!

[kelub]

Welcome aboard kelub!! I have reached the point in your post..

 

 

And I just HAVE TO ASK!!

Haha, ok... so my dad was at his girlfriend's house, and someone in the neighborhood was shooting off fireworks or something, and so he thought he'd "respond" by shooting his Taurus Judge loaded with .410 self defense rounds up in the air (like a good, responsible gun owner who gives the rest of us such a sterling reputation, amiright)... except he didn't get the gun up in the air quite high enough (and by not high enough, i mean not even to the horizon) before pulling the trigger... and shot the effing hood. With .410. How it didn't rip through anything vital I have NO idea, and he's lucky that the truck was in the way to stop the shot from hitting something more squishy, like people.

 

He had quite a few "warts" on that truck that he actually got around to fixing about a month before he passed. (He died at the ripe old age of 60 of heart failure - was in the hospital for something rather mundane and didn't survive 10 minutes post-op.) That one, by far, was the most colorful. He wasn't proud of that at all - I think that drove him to get it fixed. It would be briefly funny to tell someone "yes that is, in fact, a bullet hole in the hood" but once the DETAILS of the story were told, he was ashamed of it because he knew he'd made a poor, poor choice.

 

We all make mistakes; I think the fact he usually recognized his and owned up to them spoke a lot to his character, despite the DF things he did sometimes.

[99silveradoz71]

Welcome aboard

[txab]

Welcome

[kstruckcountry]

Welcome!!

 

Our old dodge work truck back home has a hole where a rifle round grazed the hood. Long story.

[a.j.vaughan82]

Welcome aboard, I like your story reminds me of my dad and grandfather always hard working farmers here in VT lifelong chevy/gmc owners, it's not so much the trucks they drove but the memories that involved them. Congrats on the new truck