2005 Chevy Colorado Build Up

[Haggis]

You went about that all wrong. You're supposed to wait until you rip them out and then spend a bunch of money and time replacing them while try to figure out how everything goes back together.

Good preventative mod there.

[Funrover]

Sweet build... that is the first I have seen!!! Way to go!

[BCJC]

great job! that is something i will definitely tackle in the near future.

[Schattenjager]

I just found your post and have really enjoyed reading it - very detailed and well thought out mods! Thanks for taking the time to let us know what your doing to your rig!

[BCJC]

did the parking brake re-routing, great mod: easy, free, and effective...makes you wonder why it was made like that???

[Northern Explorer]

Put this on today.



It's the transfer case skid plate. As you can see, it attaches to two of the cross members. The hardest part of the instillation was drilling two, half inch holes through a thick, fully boxed cross member, with there only being a 1/4 inch of clearance between the ground and the drill. My arm was about to fall off at the end. Fortunately the other two bolt holes were already there.

[Northern Explorer]

You went about that all wrong. You're supposed to wait until you rip them out and then spend a bunch of money and time replacing them while try to figure out how everything goes back together.

Good preventative mod there.

I decided to use your break it, spend money fixing it, spend money preventing it from happening again philosophy on my latest mod.

Step One: Crush rocker panel.


Step Two: After having looked for the 100th time, I finally found some Colorado rock sliders on the internet.


Step Three: Repair damaged rocker panel and have rock sliders welded on.
(Still working on this step.)

Yep....I had a little "mishap" due to 100% driver error. That night I got on the computer and thanks to the ColoradoFans website I found a place out in Washington that is just starting to make rock sliders for the Colorado. I think I have the second set ever made. The company is called BigRocks Offroad http://bigrocksoffroad.com/index.html. They specialize in aftermarket Toyota parts. The Colorado rock sliders are a new product and are not yet listed on their web site.

Specifications:
1.75" diameter tubing
.120" wall thickness
about 34 pounds each
They come with the legs not attached so they can be custome angled. I plan on having them angled up so they just miss my open door by about 3/4 of an inch.

Unfortunately I have to wait about a month to get them put on. Rocker panel still needs to be fixed.

[Northern Explorer]

XM Radio

Ok…this may not be a necessity to expedition travel but it sure would have been nice on our James Bay Road trip last summer. There were no radio stations in range. The last station that faded out as we headed north was a French speaking station. We had a good supply of cd’s and music on the iPod but nothing comes close to the variety on XM radio. It’s one of those things that I wouldn’t have bought myself but my wife gave me the subscription as a gift. Now that I have it I will probably renew the subscription when it runs out. I get spoiled way to easy.

My Jensen Multimedia Receiver came XM ready. This means that I can operate the XM controls through the receiver and I don’t need an extra controller sitting on my dash. All I needed to get was the tuner and the antenna.

I found a place to hide the tuner behind my dash to the right of the glove box.


I just ran the antenna wire behind the weather stripping.

[BCJC]

have you got those sliders on yet? any pics of the cap?

[kcowyo]

XM Radio

Ok…this may not be a necessity to expedition travel.......

I strongly disagree.....


Another great modification NE. Your truck is truly unique and a testament to your smart planning.