2013 Silverado - "The Raven"

[wrmmt]

Awsome! What setup of front shocks did you order? I got mine black anodized with compression adjustment. Did you specify what type of spindles you have? Theres different size heims for the silverados

Also are you going to run fiberwerx fenders?! Cutting the stock fenders was fun

For now I'm going to use the 2.5 Kings I already have. I'm hoping to upgrade to the 3.0 kings with adjusters in the (hopefully not so distant) future. When I talked with JT I told him the year/4wd of the rig, are there different kinds within the 2013 year style?

As for fenders, I'm going to start with the stock fenders and the 33" tires I'm currently running, I'll have to get new rims though for the right backspacing. For now I think I'll put on some flares to cover the tires a bit. I'm planning to move up to 35s sometime relatively soon (probably re-gear at the same time). Not sure what I'll do with the fenders then. What size tires are you running and are you running stock fenders?

 

[wrmmt]

Well its been an absolutely crazy couple weeks here. Unfortunately the truck work didn't get done before the Utah trip. Thought I had plenty of time to get the mid travel kit in, but things have been moving pretty slowly and it just wasn't going to happen. Did get the rims switched out for the new methods before the trip so I could offload the old ones. Like the new look, though there is definitely some rub without the full suspension on yet...

Had a great trip down to Utah regardless. Didn't really drive anything too technical, but found some fun back roads, great camping spots, and some fun exploring! Had a really, really rainy drive all the way down. Ended up bailing on our first campsite and went down into the San Rafael Swell and camped at the wedge. Too many people for my tastes, but great views regardless!

 

[wrmmt]

After a wet and windy night of thunderstorms, we moved down into the swell, checked out some pictographs/petroglyphs, and hiked around some canyons. We found an amazing campsite on the banks of the San Rafael River and had the whole area completely to ourselves. Lex liked it a lot more than having to be tied up on the leash all the time like back on the wedge... We spent a few days there while we explored Mexican Mountain and the Little Grand Canyon.

 

[wrmmt]

A few more pictures from the San Rafael River/Little Grand Canyon area:

A tired dog is the best kind after a long day on the trail...

 

[wrmmt]

As a side note, I finally got to put the Snomaster fridge to some good use. It was really nice being able to keep meet and perishables cold the whole week and not having to worry about ice. Had a small lunch size cooler for overflow and it worked out well for the three of us. Had it sitting under the dog bed behind the driver seat and it fits perfectly!

We left the San Rafael mid-week and re-supplied in Green River. Ran into a young couple broken down by the freeway that needed a jump and a ride into Green River to re-supply, and happened to be from Montana too. They were driving to California in a $500 car and had their transmission taken out be a sneaky exhaust bracket lurking on the freeway. They had a car lined out and were waiting for a part and we happily helped out with the jump and a ride.

After re-supply, we checked out Eagle Canyon, but got turned around by some pretty good ledges working down into the canyon. Probably would have been fine, but definitely would have caught the rear hitch/exhaust pretty good. Given the Raven's current lack of underside protection and the day was getting late quick, so we decided to play it safe. We ended up finding an interesting little washout working our way to Swaysey's cabin to keep things interesting, then worked our way down to Tomsich Butte and camp. The next day we took a fun hike through the water down the chute of Muddy Creek.

 

[Cort]

Really great build, clean and very functional.

 

[twiget]

Great pics, looks like you guys had an awesome trip. Southern Utah is one of my favorite places in the US, it's so damn beautiful.
One question, why did you decide to go with a mid-travel suspension and not a long travel suspension? I did a trip to Alaska over the summer and it shined a big bright light on the limitations of the stock Silverado suspension, so I'm definitely looking for an upgrade.

 

[wrmmt]

Really great build, clean and very functional.

Thanks, glad you like it! Ive definitely been going for clean and functional. Hopefully the new suspension will be on the rig soon, then its time for some bumper upgrades probably. Also toying around with some ideas for the back and sleeping set-up.

 

[wrmmt]

Great pics, looks like you guys had an awesome trip. Southern Utah is one of my favorite places in the US, it's so damn beautiful.
One question, why did you decide to go with a mid-travel suspension and not a long travel suspension? I did a trip to Alaska over the summer and it shined a big bright light on the limitations of the stock Silverado suspension, so I'm definitely looking for an upgrade.

Thanks! Yeah it was a great trip, definitely am missing it right now! There's just something about the desert, especially in the spring after a long winter, that is hard to beat...

As for mid-travel vs. long-travel, it pretty much came down to cost and practicality for all-round use. Cost was really the big one, I just don't really have the money to drop on a full long-travel build right now and the other upgrades that kind of come with it. I'm also not really ready to go to glass fenders quite yet. Secondly, its my only ride for every day driving and full long-travel would probably be more than I really need right now. I mean the full long-travel would be awesome, but I think the mid-travel kit and maybe upgrading shocks in a bit will probably be the right balance for me right now. I probably wouldn't really need/use the extra travel from a long-travel kit over the mid-travel. I also got good response from BajaKits regarding the mid travel kit and they were having a sale going on so I made the decision and pulled the trigger...

 

[twiget]

Ahh yes, it always comes down to the all mighty dollar, doesn't it? I hadn't even considered a mid-travel kit for my truck until I saw you mention it. I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences with installing your BajaKits setup, and how it performs.

P.S. Next time you're down south in Utah or Arizona, drop me a line.

 

[wrmmt]

Ahh yes, it always comes down to the all mighty dollar, doesn't it? I hadn't even considered a mid-travel kit for my truck until I saw you mention it. I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences with installing your BajaKits setup, and how it performs.

P.S. Next time you're down south in Utah or Arizona, drop me a line.

Haha yeah it does... I’ll let you know next time I’m down that way!

 

[wrmmt]

Well, the Raven is at the shop waiting. Was hoping to have it yesterday, but found out at the very end that the tie rod extensions were threaded wrong. Baja is shipping the correct ones out overnight, but they’re not shipping out until this morning so I’m out of a rig for the weekend... Good thing I didn’t have anything planned! Can’t wait until it’s all done. Definitely getting frustrated with how long this is all taking between delays getting the kit and now this, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end!

 

[BuiltRight]

Great minimal frills build! Keeping an eye on fellow full size truck builds! - Matt

 

[wrmmt]

Great minimal frills build! Keeping an eye on fellow full size truck builds! - Matt

THanks! Glad you like ti!

 

[wrmmt]

Well I finally got the mid travel kit set up! Ended up being a lot longer process than I had hoped to get it all here and installed, but it turned out well so far! Haven't really gotten out into the dirt too much, but did get a good test run in last Saturday on the way to a spring couloir skiing mission. Definitely a limited sample, but so far I am impressed with how it is performing. It was a tight, low-speed mountain road with a ton of loose rock, but it really ate up the dips and bumps in the trail. Didn't have to slow down in spots I normally would have and certainly could have comfortably carried more speed through them. About the tight part of the road, the only downside to the weekend was almost ripping off one of the new fender flares on a boulder in a tight spot in the trail. Thought I was clear, but apparently not... Damage seems pretty minimal overall though and I'm just glad I didn't snag the actual fender any!

Getting out for a long weekend trip for Memorial day so hopefully I can get in a little more testing , and hopefully some better photos too! Here are a few bad phone shots for now though...

 

[wrmmt]

A few more pictures of the rig from a great memorial day camping trip!

 

[twiget]

Nice. How does it handle on road? Is there a lot of body roll?

 

[wrmmt]

Nice. How does it handle on road? Is there a lot of body roll?

You can definitely notice the difference on the road, but its not as bad as I was kind of expecting. There is some more body roll, but nothing that bad in my opinion. It seems to take a tiny bit more input from the wheel with the extra width and travel, but hasn't been anything too noticeable in my daily driving. Maybe I was just expecting more, but I have been happy with the on-road handling. So far definitely worth the upgrade in my opinion!

 

[wrmmt]

Any other Chevy guys out there with dual batteries and non-stock bumpers have any suggestions for re-mounting the windshield wiper fluid reservoir? Starting to think more seriously about getting a higher clearance front bumper, but that stock reservoir looks hideous where it is... I have seen it re-mounted with a new reservoir in the stock dual battery location, but I already have a second battery there so that won't exactly work. Haven't spent too much time searching yet, but haven't come across anything similar either.

 

[JackP]

Any other Chevy guys out there with dual batteries and non-stock bumpers have any suggestions for re-mounting the windshield wiper fluid reservoir? Starting to think more seriously about getting a higher clearance front bumper, but that stock reservoir looks hideous where it is... I have seen it re-mounted with a new reservoir in the stock dual battery location, but I already have a second battery there so that won't exactly work. Haven't spent too much time searching yet, but haven't come across anything similar either.

If you don't need to move it to gain the clearance and are just worried about the looks, I have seen a couple guys paint theirs black, which blends in pretty well.