thearizonacowboy's 2018 2WD Offroad Build

[thearizonacowboy]

Hey all, I'm back in a Chevy finally! I come from the prerunner/ high speed offroad side of things and have been building, buying, and selling a few dedicated offroad toys recently. 

 

Decided to take a break and finally got back into a Silverado and I love it so far.

 

Thought I'd take the time to share with you my experience during these past 3 weeks of owning a 2018 Silverado.

 

I picked up a 2wd LT 5.3L crew cab in white and the parts ordering began immediately!

 

 

Of course, I had to have the aggressive offroad look so I went with the following parts:

 

35" BF Goodrich KM3 M/T Tires

17" Method NV Wheels

King 3.0 Coilovers w/ Adjusters

King 2.5 Rear Shocks w/ Adjusters

Icon Uni-ball Upper Control Arms

 

Cutting for the 35" tires proved to be quite a task since I wanted to make sure there was no contact at full bump and full lock. 

Although the suspension hadn't shown up, I still had to throw the new wheels and tires on! 35s on a stock Silverado just looks hilarious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED BELOW:

 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

Since the truck will see consistent use with large groups, a radio and offroad GPS were a necessity! 

For the VHF radio, I decided to go with PCI's Chase Kit system that includes a permanent NMO attena, 50 watt race radio, and handheld mic. I had an older 7" Lowrance GPS just sitting in the garage, so I recycled that one into this "mini build".

 

Drilling into a few day old vehicle is always fun! 

 

 

Once I picked my King shocks up from the local Safeway, I head straight home to start tearing apart the new truck!

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED BELOW

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy
clarify

[austingta]

Just 2WD? Why? Are you going to make a PreRunner?

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by austingta

[Madcow2020]

Looks like fun. Did you get the new sealed uniball (Delta) joint from Icon?


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[thearizonacowboy]

Here's the completely bone stock truck with 35" tires and no rubbing! 
 

 

Once I got the wheels off the truck, I almost started to feel bad about ripping off the shiny new parts... almost!

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

12 minutes ago, Madcow2020 said:

Looks like fun. Did you get the new sealed uniball (Delta) joint from Icon?


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Thanks! And that's a funny story actually. I was sold the delta joint orginally until I quickly discovered it would not work with my spindle taper size... I've now swapped that UCA out for their uni-ball version.

20 minutes ago, austingta said:

Just 2WD? Why? Are you going to make a PreRunner?

 

I host offroad expeditions throughout Arizona and 4wd is rarely needed. Unless you're going through very very deep mud or snow, there's no reason for it.

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

As much as I love Chevy, I will forever hate the grease on these frames! Such a pain to work with haha

 

 

 

[thearizonacowboy]

These King 3.0 coilovers are yuge!

 

 

Billet reservoir clamps are fancyyyy!

 

[thearizonacowboy]

Suspension is on! First impressions are a nice planted and firm ride. Not too firm, more or less like you'd except a sports car to feel on the road. You feel inconsistencies in the road but not in a jarring, uncomfortable way.

 

Compared to the 2.5 coilovers I had on my 2015 Silverado, these are a bit firmer. I could see how some would dislike the slightly firmer ride but I love it.

 

Once everything was tightened down to spec and alignment was performed, the truck tracks perfectly straight and there are no new noises.

 

Here she is just after the suspension re-install and some testing in the dirt:

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

Of course with every capable offroad vehicle, you need to have a full size spare, a way to safely use that spare if need be, and way to keep it all secure.

 

I decided on the ProEagle 2 ton jack as I have owned many before without any issues. They make a simple yet effective mount and 4 holes later, the jack is mounted securely!

 

 

I secured the matching spare wheel/ tire with SDHQ's universal spare tire kit that contains 3 anchor points and a very high quality 3-way strap. The strap allows for so much adjustment that I can stack a second spare on top for our longer multiday events.

 

Edited July 2, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

Next on the list was the center console swap, VHF radio install, and GPS install!

 

I ordered all my parts for the center console from GMPartsNow.com and they were a pleasure to work with.

 

 

I have yet to have Phil make me a custom wiring harness to make everything work but for now I'm set!

 

I was honestly a little intimidated for the center console swap but it was ridiculously easy. I feel stupid for stressing about it haha. 

 

I fabricated my mount and installed the Lowrance GPS while the console was out of the truck as it made everything so much easier!

 

Once I got it in I was so glad I pulled the trigger on the console swap. It's a lot of money but definitely worth it!

 

 

I still need to make a few changes to the GPS mount as it squeaks and just barely gets in the way of the cup holders haha

 

Next up was the VHF radio install!

 

After adding an internal support to bolt the radio mount up to, I was set and ready to hit the trails! (ignore the random wire and dirty GPS screen haha)

 

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[thearizonacowboy]

Needless to say, it's been a busy past 3 weeks but I'm pretty much done regarding the major changes this truck will see for a while besides a regear which is scheduled for next week.

 

If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions I'm all ears! I'll continue to update this thread with any changes.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by thearizonacowboy

[austingta]

1 hour ago, thearizonacowboy said:

Thanks! And that's a funny story actually. I was sold the delta joint orginally until I quickly discovered it would not work with my spindle taper size... I've now swapped that UCA out for their uni-ball version.

I host offroad expeditions throughout Arizona and 4wd is rarely needed. Unless you're going through very very deep mud or snow, there's no reason for it.

 

And anyway, your friends with 4 wd can pull you out if needed. I use mine when it starts raining. ...just pulling your chain. Nice build. 

Edited June 28, 2018 by austingta

[thearizonacowboy]

Haha exactly! All my friends have 4wd so I'll just have them pull me out! 

 

Thank you!!

2 minutes ago, austingta said:

And anyway, your friends with 4 wd can pull you out if needed. I use mine when it starts raining. ...just pulling your chain. Nice build. 

 

[jgraves13]

Nice truck! Similar plans for mine. Kings when the budget allows, but pretty much done after that.



That super duty looks nice. Carli kit? And any chance he had an 05-06 before that one? Looks similar to a build on dezert rangers that I used follow


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