2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Duramax

[TexasColoRADo]

This is my first overland build and I'm learning as I go. I'm open to all suggestions and any questions.

I purchased this truck about a month ago with dreams of building an overland rig but still getting good fuel mileage. I opted for the Duramax engine on the Colorado because I have always loved diesel engines.

So far, I have installed a 1" Rough Country spacer and gotten an alignment.




Next, I installed the Rough Country hidden light bar brackets and 30" Rough Country light bar.


I have since then added in Rough Country nerf bars instead of rock sliders due to elder family members that were having trouble getting into my truck.




I am currently awaiting a KB Voodoo MAX Modular bed rack and a Roam Adventures Co RTT.
My truck is also at the dealership awaiting a new turbocharger and should be fixed within the next week.
I will update as soon as I receive my bed rack and RTT and my truck is out of the shop.

 

[Graeman]

A new turbo already? Not a good start to your build.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

A new turbo already? Not a good start to your build.

I was told it was a solenoid issue but they couldn’t order only the solenoid from GM but the entire turbo assembly. On occasion it would go into limp mode and build too much boost for low RPMs

 

[JButtress]

This is my first overland build and I'm learning as I go. I'm open to all suggestions and any questions.

I purchased this truck about a month ago with dreams of building an overland rig but still getting good fuel mileage. I opted for the Duramax engine on the Colorado because I have always loved diesel engines.

So far, I have installed a 1" Rough Country spacer and gotten an alignment.

View attachment 108628


Next, I installed the Rough Country hidden light bar brackets and 30" Rough Country light bar.
View attachment 108627

I have since then added in Rough Country nerf bars instead of rock sliders due to elder family members that were having trouble getting into my truck.

View attachment 108629


I am currently awaiting a KB Voodoo MAX Modular bed rack and a Roam Adventures Co RTT.
My truck is also at the dealership awaiting a new turbocharger and should be fixed within the next week.
I will update as soon as I receive my bed rack and RTT and my truck is out of the shop.

Nice build so far! I also just ordered a KB VooDoo rack for my Silverado. Hopefully I get it soon

 

[great08]

Great Looking truck! I subscribed... and looking forward to future posts/ideas.

Take a look at my build thread. I have an 18' Z71 with the gasser... and have still managed to average 23.7mpg over the last 8k miles. Not bad considering all of the around town trips and about 70% slow hwy driving.

My only mods so far are OEM ZR2 style skids (For non-ZR2 trucks), rock sliders, air dam removal (before resetting the trip on that last 8k miles), and a diamondback bed cover.

I may level it soon and put on some more aggressive tires in another 30k miles. I am about to move and that fuel economy is going out the window/won't matter any more due to being a few minutes from work.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

Great Looking truck! I subscribed... and looking forward to future posts/ideas.

Take a look at my build thread. I have an 18' Z71 with the gasser... and have still managed to average 23.7mpg over the last 8k miles. Not bad considering all of the around town trips and about 70% slow hwy driving.

My only mods so far are OEM ZR2 style skids (For non-ZR2 trucks), rock sliders, air dam removal (before resetting the trip on that last 8k miles), and a diamondback bed cover.

I may level it soon and put on some more aggressive tires in another 30k miles. I am about to move and that fuel economy is going out the window/won't matter any more due to being a few minutes from work.

I went with the rough country 1” spacer and removed the air dam. I was getting about 30mpg with the air dam and without the spacer but it has dropped to about 28mpg. I’m also wanting to put more aggressive tires on it but I plan to run the factory tires as long as possible. I live in west Texas where they say it’s so flat you can see your dog run away for a week so I don’t have any rush on it. I look forward to seeing how your build goes and may steal some ideas from you including the OEM skid plates

 

[great08]

I went with the rough country 1” spacer and removed the air dam. I was getting about 30mpg with the air dam and without the spacer but it has dropped to about 28mpg. I’m also wanting to put more aggressive tires on it but I plan to run the factory tires as long as possible. I live in west Texas where they say it’s so flat you can see your dog run away for a week so I don’t have any rush on it. I look forward to seeing how your build goes and may steal some ideas from you including the OEM skid plates

I am interested in hearing your experiences with the 1" Rough Country spacer actually. Things like tire wear and ride/geometry changes.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

I am interested in hearing your experiences with the 1" Rough Country spacer actually. Things like tire wear and ride/geometry changes.

I got an alignment a week after installation and it was pretty far off. But only time will tell on how much it effects it

 

[great08]

I got an alignment a week after installation and it was pretty far off. But only time will tell on how much it effects it

I just went to their website and saw that their 1" is $45 and their 2" is $55. Not Bad! It says that the 1" will leave about .5" of rake.

So then I went out to the parking lot (At work during lunch break now) and used my hand to see what the difference is in upper wheel space front vs rear. It looks like the diamondback cover, tools, tow hitch, recovery hitch, recovery strap, large air pump, tools, etc. I have in there right now have taken away that .5" and the front/rear difference is just around 1".

I will sit on this for a while and will likely make a leap for a 1". I like that it says you don't have to break down your strut to install.

Parts & Accessories | Rough Country

Suspension Lift Kits, Leveling Kits, body lift, Ford, Chevy, Jeep, Dodge, Toyota, Mickey Thompson Tires

www.roughcountry.com

 

[TexasColoRADo]

I just went to their website and saw that their 1" is $45 and their 2" is $55. Not Bad! It says that the 1" will leave about .5" of rake.

So then I went out to the parking lot (At work during lunch break now) and used my hand to see what the difference is in upper wheel space front vs rear. It looks like the diamondback cover, tools, tow hitch, recovery hitch, recovery strap, large air pump, tools, etc. I have in there right now have taken away that .5" and the front/rear difference is just around 1".

I will sit on this for a while and will likely make a leap for a 1". I like that it says you don't have to break down your strut to install.

Parts & Accessories | Rough Country

Suspension Lift Kits, Leveling Kits, body lift, Ford, Chevy, Jeep, Dodge, Toyota, Mickey Thompson Tires

www.roughcountry.com

I ordered the 2” kit but only put on the 1” spacer because I figured putting the bed rack and roof top tent would leave it level. I also didn’t want to break down the strut to install so it definitely saved me some time and effort. The 1” spacer made a difference on the appearance as well

 

[great08]

I bet it does make a little difference in looks.

I read through all of the reviews and saw some post an increase in fuel economy as well. Kind of makes sense looking at the hood and roof angles. (I think my skids compensated a little after taking the air dam off)

I also like the thought of having another inch of clearance between the A arms up front... which is a pretty large area. Especially when falling off of obstacles and the suspension compresses. Which will have just a tad higher spring pre-load with this 5/8" spacer in there. The break-over angle between the front wheels will be a little better as well as approach angles. Not much but it is there. Taking that air dam off was like adding a 4" lift for clearance in the front middle of the truck. Removing the dam frees up a good 6" in front of the wheels. Good enough for most things!

The stock Z71 tires did great in the deep sand out in the Outer Banks this past Spring btw. I aired down to 20psi and it did great going up and over the softer dune climbs (Entrances to beach subdivisions). We were looking for wild horses and found quite a few.

I have a feeling that the do great in everything but sticky mud... or anywhere you have to let the tires claw their way through.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

After 6 weeks of my truck being at the dealership, I finally got it back and installed the KB Voodoo rack and Roam Adventure Co RTT.

 

[JCWages]

Looks great! I bet you're super stoked to be back in the truck. I'd go crazy waiting that long to drive my truck.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

Looks great! I bet you're super stoked to be back in the truck. I'd go crazy waiting that long to drive my truck.

It seemed like forever without it. It originally went in with turbo problems then during the turbo replacement, the tech broke a sensor on the manifold and ended up having to replace both the sensor and the manifold and there was a backorder on the manifold that took 4 weeks to get in. I didn’t get a loaner vehicle until a week before my truck was done either. Thank goodness I have a work truck or else it would’ve been even worse.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Top side is GTG, now the undercarriage, Skids, tie rod sleeves, rear shock protection. ZR2 take offs are a cheap way to get basic skids.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

Top side is GTG, now the undercarriage, Skids, tie rod sleeves, rear shock protection. ZR2 take offs are a cheap way to get basic skids.

That’s the plan! I plan to go with the SuperSkidz for the undercarriage

 

[madcratebuilder]

That’s the plan! I plan to go with the SuperSkidz for the undercarriage

That's what I'm running along with a AEV diff skid. I see Super Skidz just released a updated fuel tank skid, my next upgrade.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

That's what I'm running along with a AEV diff skid. I see Super Skidz just released a updated fuel tank skid, my next upgrade.

Have you experienced any higher transmission temperatures with the SuperSkidz? They don’t seem to be slotted like the CBI ones and my main concern is my transmission overheating without air flow. I live in Texas where it’s been up to 107 degrees lately

 

[madcratebuilder]

I thought about that when I installed the skidz, My temps seem to be as they always have been. I keep an eye on them when working it hard off road, so far it's normal. The AEV skids that are on the Bison has a open tube type skid for the trans, something to do with crumple zone and crash testing. The AEV skids are nice, I was really surprized how light my diff skid is. You may want to price them, the added protection of boron steel with out the added weight of normal steel.

 

[TexasColoRADo]

I thought about that when I installed the skidz, My temps seem to be as they always have been. I keep an eye on them when working it hard off road, so far it's normal. The AEV skids that are on the Bison has a open tube type skid for the trans, something to do with crumple zone and crash testing. The AEV skids are nice, I was really surprized how light my diff skid is. You may want to price them, the added protection of boron steel with out the added weight of normal steel.

The AEV skids are really nice. I was surprised at how comparable they are to the CBI as far as price. Does your Colorado have the duramax in it?