Pathfinder I
2018 Chevy Colorado Z71
- Thread starter great08
- Start date
Member III
I am 6'/200lbs and comfy as well. It was weird stepping down from a full size with 8' bed to a mid size with a 5' bed. However once I got used to it I don't miss it at all. Especially every time I park!
I do have an enclosed 6'x 12' enclosed V nose cargo trailer now though. Got it used for cheap. It gets used on occasion now for some things but usually just when moving. Otherwise it has been an excellent tool shed on wheels. Lol Actually.... It was way cheaper than what a shed that size would cost. And will last almost forever if I take care of it.
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
We went the other way, My wife pretty much took my colorado shes been driving it to work for a few months now. And i dont mind i have a ranger ive been building into a baja truck and a mazda 3 we use for scca and yamaha ttr250 and couple of tractors to choose from. Ive been thinking about getting and old suzuki samauri hardtop to give the hardcore rock crawler treatment to.
I even have her drive on the trails when we are out since shes got alot to learn and im in charge of recovery, comms, navigation, im the mechanic and i load all the crap in the truck.
I even have her drive on the trails when we are out since shes got alot to learn and im in charge of recovery, comms, navigation, im the mechanic and i load all the crap in the truck.
Member III
It sounds like you have a lot of toys to play with. I am envious!
That is one thing that is different about this truck... is that my wife is willing to drive this one. She will usually take it too for short day trips with the kids during the Summer months to visit old family and friends. Mainly because the kids demand it. They love using the trips as an opportunity for iPad time with the WiFi.
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
Dont be envious of me most of my stuff is cheap crap, the colorado is the most expensive thing we have. And even it wast done on a small budget i think we have maybe $2000 in parts invested into it. Wife just got a huge promotion so it may start getting some more expensive stuff soon. I use any money i make farming to fund our fun times and adventures and toys but this year the weather hasnt been my friend
Member III
Even if you don't have a lot of money into those things... I still would love to have some toys!... and more time to play with them with the family.
I am a budget minded individual myself. Most of my past vehicles were bought used with at least 150k miles on them... and driven for another 100k miles. It has helped me learn a lot about vehicles over the years. You really can keep an old vehicle reliable if you know what to keep up on. And... it is cheap to do if you know how to do everything yourself.
I am a budget minded individual myself. Most of my past vehicles were bought used with at least 150k miles on them... and driven for another 100k miles. It has helped me learn a lot about vehicles over the years. You really can keep an old vehicle reliable if you know what to keep up on. And... it is cheap to do if you know how to do everything yourself.
Member III
OverLamb24
Rank V
Advocate III
Pretty much just not enough total space. I fit in the front and back ok, but with everything else its just not really much bigger than our forester. Its just the wife and I plus a large dog. We are planning on one or two little ones in the next few years. I was hoping this might suit our needs without having to get a larger vehicle and still have the towing capacity not to mention the better gas mileage.
Likely will have to go the bigger SUV route for now and then in a couple years replace my car with something more specific to me. At least at that point i can get all the bells and whistles I want.
Member III
I will def say that the age of kids does matter with this vehicle and others like it. The younger... the more room you need for two things.
#1 - The rear facing car seats take up an insane amount of space.
#2 - The super little ones need more things like diapers, baby food, and such... as well as a good place to change them.
Even when you get the forward facing car seats... the wrong one can take up a lot of room. Many raise the child up and forward A LOT more than others.
By the time you get to booster seats... there is a TON more room in the back.
If I were someone with the rear facing seats I would def look at the Jeep Gladiator. They have a 9" longer wheelbase... which is mostly in the back of the cab (Think knee/floor storage space)
Another good option would be something like a 4Runner or Tahoe. SUVs are the way to go if you don't plan on throwing things into the back that would ruin your interior. Cheaper to set up for overlanding and often have a better ride than a truck. Downside to an SUV is that a truck is much more adaptable. Both work great for overland/camping.
I needed a truck for daily life and went that route. I used to be an SUV guy until I got my first truck. lol Now I am not going back.
Member III
Here is a pic of my kids sitting in the back headed out to go fishing just a while ago. They are 6 and 8 yrs old. The girl is in a booster and sitting behind a 6ft driver. The boy is in a reg car seat sitting behind a 5’2” wife. Both have plenty of room. 
Try Falken Wildpeak ATW3. Put them on my wife's 17 Colorado Z71. Wear like Iron and unbelievable in the mud. Pulled a F150 4x4 out of the mud, an Explorer 4wd and an AWD Mazda minivan...out of the same mud. Actually drove around them all
through the same mud to get a good angle. Colorado pulled them all with ease. Tires are awesome.
Member III
Thanks! Those sound like some tires that are worth looking into! I will read up on them.
My current tires (Stock) are almost at 30k miles now. They are wearing great and all but not very aggressive. And... since I am only going to be commuting 5mi to work pretty soon instead of the usual 52mi… Fuel economy will be out the window anyways. lol
I have been averaging 23.7mpg over the last almost 8,000 miles! Not bad at all... but once we get settled into the new place pretty well... we will be ready to start taking trips this Fall.
That's about what the wife got out of her OE tires. These Falkens have about 25k on them and they still look new. And they are quiet.
Member III
Averaged Fuel Economy over the last 8k miles. Not too bad with the mixed driving and starting on a cold engine every 52mi (Or less). This is with the gasser V6, 4x4, All terrains, and airdam removed... with skids and bed cover installed.
madcratebuilder
Rank V
Pathfinder I
Lot of Wildpeak owners and almost all love them. My concern is the extra weight, only light tire with a strong sidewall is the Duratrac with Kevlar. I've looked at KO2's and it the weight again. The Kevlar Duratrac's would save almost 40-50 pounds in rotating weight depending on size.
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
Ive got some stock sized ones with kevlar if anyone wants to pick them up. They kept getting me stuck then i went up a size to toyo open country at they got me stuck and nearly got me killed a few times. Then i went up another size to milestar patagonia mt and have zero problems so far i dont get stuck or slip and slide in the rain
255/70/18 Falken Wildpeak ATW3 weigh 1lb more than the same Duratrac Kevlar....so I don't see the weight savings on my Jeep. I'm thinking you are comparing the higher load rating Wildpeak compared to the Duratrac Kevlar. All things equal tires weigh almost the same.
Member III
Wow I didn't realize that there was that much of a weight difference! Un-sprung weight is what will cause shocks to overheat on those higher speed driving trails with endless washboards and such. I will have to keep an eye on that one. Thank you for the heads up!
Member III
Either way I will make sure to pay attention. I am glad you took a look at the different load rating weights. I bet that makes a difference within the plies/building layers.
An SL 255/70/18 weighs 42.8 lbs 32.1"
An E LT 275/65/18 weighs 60.1 lbs 32.1"
That's 4ply SL vs 10ply E rating big difference in weight. I have a 2018 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara I don't NEED 10ply tires. Neither does my wife's 17 Z71 Colorado. My 2004 Silverado Z71 has 10plys though.
Yes weight makes a big difference and purchasing unnecessarily heavy ply tires for the application will definitely hurt performance.
