2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 HD: The Overlander I didn’t know I was building.

[Jester]

So I have always been a fan of trucks. So when I got the opportunity I bought my first full sized Pick-up. A 1998 Dodge Ram 1500. It lasted like 6 months before dying the horrible death of a neglectful first owner.

My wife was due with our first kid in not too long, and it was not worth the risk to me to try and fix.

So some hard negotiating at the local dealership landed me in this 2003 Silverado 1500 HD.


Bone stock, except for some slightly bigger tires.

I’d never had designs on turning it into anything crazy until a friend invited me to go off-roading, so I quick fabricated a heavy brush guard and threw some lights on it.



While on this awesome adventure I was offered a 12000 LB Harbor Freight Winch by my buddy, and so had to figure out a new bumper.



Eventually I ended up with this.



This worked great... until I tried to pull a stump and realized that I had not reinforced the supports enough and...



I had always wanted to go more aggressive with it. So I figured, he’ll, why not now? Bumpers broke, might as well fix it and then some.

Here’s where I’m at now.


I’ve apparently reached the max of pictures I can post... so I will continue in a future list with some build pictures. Much more to come!

Thanks for reading.

 

[Jester]

So to continue:

This is where I am now.


A small torsion key lift, some blocks to go on the back. Cold air in-take.

Here are some bumper build pics:


I’m working on a headache rack/gear rack. Rock sliders. A custom rear bumper to match the front. Some exo-cage style elements, a snorkel, probably a rear locker, and much more.... especially... LIGHTS! (I love Off-Road lights.)

 

[Jester]

So just gonna throw out a lighting update on my rig. It’s still very WIP, but...


That’s over 44,000 Lumen pumping out the front of the truck. I’ll try and remember to get a picture of it in the day light now that the new bumper is mostly fabricated.

Also, soon to come is new Upper Control Arms to help with droop travel and big project for the bed... stay tuned!

 

[Jester]

Daylight shot.