I got rocks!!

brmiller · November 10, 2001

Hey! Check this out! One half-ton of pea gravel!

Can't tell too well, but check out the "lowered" rear suspension:

We go back for the other half-ton today or whenever we get the first load unloaded. Truck ran great with a full load. Stopping took noticably more length, but the engine charged right ahead on take-off. Excellent!

Brendan

Zane · November 10, 2001

Very Cool.

NeXuS1 · November 10, 2001

badass didnt think anyone would ever put anything in the bed like area of one of those.

Shaners · November 10, 2001

That's pretty cool... a "working" Avalanche!!! I bet you could have hauled the whole ton though.

pacodiablo · November 11, 2001

cool, actually using your truck

brmiller · November 11, 2001

All done!

Yeah, I bet most folks (maybe even Chevy too) thought that these things would get babied and no real "work". I had reservations about some dufus dumping a ton of gravel with a bucket loader spilling rocks down the side and scratching up the paint. But he was smarter than that and wouldn't use his loader. This meant we had to shovel it in by hand. Ughh. But I'm glad he didn't just back up and dump on our new truck.

The finished project:

Tomorrow we wash the truck!

P.S. Shaners- You really think we could have hauled the whole ton? We weren't sure either--have no experience with these things. Didn't want to overload it by accident. If you look at all the GVWR and GM propaganda, it says 1300lbs. payload including people. In the end, we didn't need a whole ton--the half-ton was plenty. So we're done!

Shaners · November 11, 2001

I think you could have hauled it (the whole ton)... There are people with 1/2 ton pickups that haul heavier loads for short distances. But it is a "new" truck and it's always a good thing to experiment to see what your capabillities are. Your AV wasn't squatting a whole lot with the load you had on it. Moving that gravel by hand is alot of work isn't it...

Greg · November 11, 2001

Where's that aftermarket dump option when you need it?

That is an effective way to level out the ride.

Chev4Ever · November 11, 2001

looks good

Jpshostr · November 11, 2001

I never thought I'd see an Av with something other than groceries in the bed, you proved me wrong and I'm glad you did. I'm with Shaners, you could've hauled the whole ton in one trip, but maybe you just needed an overnight break between each half ton!

HillHound · November 11, 2001

Nice pictures-I love to see pics of our trucks loaded or pulling a trailer or 4 wheeling! By the way-are there any kinds of bedliners available yet for the Avalanche? Might be nice to have for someone like you. I did see a couple of guys at the Southern States loading up an Avalanche with several bags of feed but I'm not sure how heavy the load was.

Stepside Z · November 11, 2001

I didn't think anybody put anything in the back of those things. The truck (and now I feel much better about saying that thanks to your pictures) looks good and nice looking project.

chevy4x4trucks · November 12, 2001

I'm one of those guys who wouldn't even fathom doing that to an avalanche. Heck, I feel bad loading all of that stuff into the bed of my pickup. Although I'm a neat freak and don't like my truck getting dirty at all.

brmiller · November 12, 2001

Hey, thanks guys for all the swell comments. There were several times when I thought a "dump option" would have been good. Shoveling that much rock out by hand was indeed a pain. We had to shovel it in one spade-full at a time when we picked it up. But to unload, I just put another tarp underneath the "mass" and let it hang down over the bumper (tailgate was removed). We scooped it down the "shute" to a waiting wheelbarrow. Note to Av-owners: The cutout in the center of the rear bumper where the license plate goes is the perfect width (and height) for a wheelbarrow!

We put a tarp down on the bed and up over the sides for two reasons. One, to keep gravel from escaping out the water drainage holes front and rear of the bed. And two, because I didn't want the rain gutters and hardtop cover tracks filling up with mud and rocks. If you look at my "empty" picture, you'll see that cleanup shouldn't be too dificult. Oh, there was one more reason to use the tarp--I didn't want to scratch, or worse, crack, the side cargo lights with all that rock as we shoveled it in.

And chevy4x4, I'm the same way--especially when something is new--want to keep it clean and purty-lookin'. But my wife kept telling me "What did we get a truck for if not to haul loads of stuff?" She was right, and said she'd help clean it too.

Brendan

P.S. And JP, it's 'bout near time to get groceries too!

chevy4x4trucks · November 12, 2001

My dad always wants me to haul stuff around for him in the truck, rocks, dirt, woodchips, you name it. I'm always very worried becuase I don't want to risk the people messing up w/ the front end loader and hitting the truck, or people scratching it w/ shovels or there jacket zippers when the pull stuff out of the back. I can look at the side of my truck and see marks where people let there coats hang down and rub the side of the truck. That's one of my biggest pet peeves.