2007 Silverado Build

[ruffintrails]

I am pretty new to overland bound but I have been back country camping and a 4x4 enthusiast for quite a while! My main rig used to be a zr2 s10, which I still have and thinking about a SAS in the future, but the need for a bigger rig was obvious now that I have two dogs, my copilot and a boat to pull. I picked up a 2007 Silverado last November that already had a 3.5 lift with 35's with only 140k. My plan is to gradually build the truck to survive the abuse of overland camping/ boat hualing and daily driving.
Nov 2017

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I put around 21k miles on the truck since I bought it and it performs really well on and offroad, but naturally the stock suspension wasn't going to last with the weight of the 35s. So I went ahead and upgraded the front end with the Bilstein 5100's along with Moog upper and lower ball joints, Moog Tie rods, and Timken wheel bearings. The rear also got new 5100's replacing the rough country nitro shocks which really weren't too bad.

Nov 17

After getting the front end right, I drove about 3k miles for the Holidaze and the Bilsteins were amazing! I plan to start focusing more on sleeping/storage now that my suspension is taken care of. We wanted more security when sleeping and leaving the truck for hikes, so we went the camper shell route... and I'm glad we did! Found a Leer shell that matched the color spot on from craigslist for a pretty good price and in good condition. As of now this is what the truck looks like...



I have a lot of plans for this truck in the future but the next thing will be a sleeping/storage platform for the bed and a dual battery system. I want to be able to camp comfortably in this rig by the spring so any suggestions will help! Thanks OB

 

[Bowtied13]

Any updates on your truck? The shell looks good! I'm definitely interested in seeing your build progress, as I am looking to get a Silverado as my overlanding rig too. Not too many people with Silverados on here

 

[ruffintrails]

Haven' had much time for the truck lately but I'm planing on running my dual battery setup this weekend and possibly a winch with the RC hidden winch mount.

 

[JackP]

Are you using a kit for the dual battery, or are you piecing it together?

 

[ruffintrails]

I already had some 4 awg battery wire and a battery switch from a boat project, so i'm piecing it together with what i already have. I dont really need an automatic charging relay/isolator for my setup and since i already have a 300amp rated battery switch im going to manually connect the batteries together when need be.

 

[JackP]

I already had some 4 awg battery wire and a battery switch from a boat project, so i'm piecing it together with what i already have. I dont really need an automatic charging relay/isolator for my setup and since i already have a 300amp rated battery switch im going to manually connect the batteries together when need be.

Gotcha, my next project is a dual battery set up, so I'm curious what other people are doing.

Sent from my SM-G930V using OB Talk mobile app

 

[ruffintrails]

Installed my winch today with rough county's hidden winch mount. The install went pretty smooth and the out come is really clean looking. Really impressed with the quality of the mount I put a 12000lb winch on it and everything fit really well. Mounted the second battery and wired the winch to it. Going to run the wires and switch to connect the two this weekend.

 

[Mekcanix]

Very nice set up. If the canadian dollar was so bad I would be ordering one of those this weekend

 

[ruffintrails]

Ok here's my dual battery system.... it's a pretty simple setup but reliable. I plan to run a power inverter and some other accesories in the future.

 

[ruffintrails]

So with good weather today I took advantage of the time and built a platform for camping. It's a real simple approach but it allows for adequate space for sleeping and storage. Going to have the girlfriend and two dogs so it' going to be nice and comfy lol. I didn' want drawers so that I wasn't limited on size and shape of gear, and I wanted to be able to fit fishing poles etc. I'l Be ready for our trip next weekend to Jocassee Gorges.

 

[ruffintrails]

Some pics from the past two camping trips at Jocassee Gorges and Linville Gorge Wilderness areas

 

[Jeremyv]

Beautiful rig man! Giving me ideas to do to my 14. I love that winch setup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ruffintrails]

Thanks man!