Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

New guy from NoVa

New members: please introduce yourself here.

by Sculls » Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:34 pm

Hey folks, my name is Andrew. I live in northern Virginia and manage a small Italian restaurant. I have a wife and two young kids, so needless to say I don't have much "me" time, but when I do I like to spend it hunting, fishing, snowboarding, or messing around in the mountains. Besides that I'm pretty much a home body that enjoys his Budweiser and Jameson. By no means am I mechanically inclined, but I feel it's a necessary skill/healthy hobby.

I have a 05 LS trailblazer with about 95k miles. It's a great little truck and I see serious potential in it. I want to build the rig up right, so I plan on strengthening and armor before I lift. I'm pretty much just thinking about a 2" suspension lift with radflo coilovers, gearing out for 32" or 33", cooling everything down, locking it up, and armor.

I'm really inspired by the ultra4 rigs, and would love to go for more of a pre runner. Ive seen multiple long travel kits for chevy silverados and here is my dumb questions/ideas. 1.) is it possible to have long travel and retain 4x4? 2.) would it be possible to swap out my front end with a silverado with minimal fabrication?

I look forward to learning, and getting into the ORTB mix.
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by TBYODA » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:54 am

Welcome, good plan with the armor first.
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by mikekey » Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:42 am

Welcome, it's been answered before, but as far as long travel goes, NO. The suspensions are totally different. Now with as much fabrication as going SAS.... Well not my place to let the cat out of the bag, but presently no one has done it. Could be possible with a lot of fabrication. Stick around and you might learn how much by the winter....

Also, your current plans are great. Do you know what gears you presently have?
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by Cable810 » Sun Jun 08, 2014 9:44 am

Welcome!!
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by The Roadie » Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:07 am

Welcome! The platform that had a factory Prerunner badge (Toyota Tacoma) was 2WD, specifically to avoid the expense of making long travel work with IFS CV shafts. IMHO, those Prerunners were bought for looks to go to the mall. Functional prerunning (the name comes from trail testing trucks that went on the Baja trails BEFORE the main race, to get details for the race drivers to reduce the number of surprises) needs them to go fast on whoop-de-doos, not at all rock crawling or expedition hill climbing in 4WD.

I really can't imagine any trails in the East except the open dunes that might be better in a long travel prerunner style than what we have now. Our engines and front ends also have FAR too much weight for this to be a good idea.
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by Blazintrails03 » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:39 pm

Welcome to the group. What part of NOVA are you in? I grew up in Centreville and just moved to Manassas. I know of atleast one other member in the Fairfax area I think and Mike P is in South Riding.
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by Diacom » Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:36 pm

Welcome, I'm sure we'll watch as your plans are put into place and changed as needed.
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by djthumper » Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:52 am

Welcome
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by v7guy » Mon Jun 09, 2014 3:12 am

In response to your long travel questions and swapping to silverado stuff with minimal fab. That's a resounding no.

After a fair bit of reading you'll realize the front diff going through the oil pan is an "issue". These things are pretty capable with the common lifts we use on this board. Obviously learning to weld and work on the vehicle will expand what's possible if you're determined.
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by Sculls » Mon Jun 09, 2014 10:39 am

Yeah, I figured the idea was too good and simple to be possible. I'm not exactly sure what my current gearing is, but I'll get back to you on that ASAP. I live in the Herndon/Reston area.
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by TBYODA » Mon Jun 09, 2014 10:46 am

Check RPO codes in glove box
GU6 = 3.42
GT4 = 3.73
GT5 = 4.10
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by Trail X » Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:03 pm

Glad to have another VA member. Hope you can join us on our next TECORE trip in the fall. We generally stay in the VA/WV mountains.

The only thing I'd add to your short-list is some self-recovery equipment. It sucks to be stuck and alone with no way to get yourself unstuck. A simple hi-lift, a few chains, some straps, practice, and some elbow grease can get you out of practically any situation (in theory).
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by Sculls » Mon Jun 09, 2014 10:25 pm

Seems as tho there are quite a few va members. Recovery gear is for sure necessary. Some of my buddies up north recommended I get a bubba rope, has anyone worked with one? TECORE is a hell of a motivator to get things done to the rig. From what videos I've seen it looks like a damn good time.
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by Trail X » Tue Jun 10, 2014 3:51 pm

I've heard good things about bubba rope, but I have no direct experience with it. My understanding is that its very similar to any other dynamic strap, but may have a little more stretch. Keep in mind that any dynamic strap/rope will only help you if you're with another vehicle. Dynamic recoveries are also less controlled and requires some relatively flat space on the trail. The hi-lift can perform a static pull and winch you in any direction, so long as you have an anchor point. It can also be used to perform passive recoveries by lifting your wheel, bumper, or slider and allow you to build up the ground beneath your vehicle/tires. You just have to understand your potential scenarios. I always liked the ability to be self sufficient, and not have to rely on another vehicle or driver. If you haven't, read the recovery article on this site.

Tecore is always a good time. We'd love to have you in the fall. A date has not been set yet, but I feel it will likely be a later one this year. Possibly November.
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by Chango » Tue Jun 10, 2014 8:11 pm

Sculls wrote:Yeah, I figured the idea was too good and simple to be possible. I'm not exactly sure what my current gearing is, but I'll get back to you on that ASAP. I live in the Herndon/Reston area.


Welcome...I spent about 10 months working in Great Falls area at River Bend golf course during reconstruction. Lived in Reston off of 606. Spent lots of time at Carpool. Especially good on dodgeball nights...
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by 4angels » Thu Jun 12, 2014 1:31 am

Welcome
Now just one.... 2007 LT, Mods to come soon to a TB near you....
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