Galacticfuzz - 2007 Trailblazer

[galacticfuzz]

Where she sits today


Drivetrain Specs
-4.2L I6, 4WD w/G80

Suspension mods
-LiftMeister 3" Suspension Lift

Tires
-265/70/17 Falken Rocky Mountain ATS

Exterior Modifications
-Exterior lighting
- 4x Hella Micro FF on roof
- 2x KCHiLites 57 series on bull bar
- 2x Backup Lights (Platinum Burners)
-Custom/Home made roof carrier
-Hitch mounted carrier
- Spare tire
- HiLift Jack
-Home Made Camp Awning

Engine Modifications
-none

Interior Modifications
-Delorme Topo North America
-Dash Camera Mount
-Additional Power Plug in Cargo Area

Recovery Equipment
-Hi Lift with Lift Mate
-Toolbox with assorted tools
-Hitch Shackle Mount
-Shovel
-First Aid / Roadside Emergency Kit

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Exterior

Steel Crossbars with eye hooks and Westin E-Series Nerf Bars (phasing out for sliders)


Roof basket

Mark's Lift and 255/75/17 Guard Dogs


Camp Awning

This may be revisited in the future for a more solid design. Link to original source

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Exterior Lighting

Today


Lighting – V1
First learning experience, go with quality lights the first time. Wally world specials.


Lighting – V2
Added and upgraded lights. I remade my roof lights to a simple bar with a quick style release. I also made two brackets with a cross bar for two bumper lights. The rectangular are the Hella Micro FFs while the outer ones on the roof bar are the Hella 500ff. I have since switched so that the Hella Micro FFs are now all on the roof bar and the round Hella 500ffs are on the bumper bar.

The bumper brackets mount at the same location for the bumper.


Rear back ups


Switch Location

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Interior


Cargo Area – Current


Power Outlet

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Recovery Gear

This is an area that is a work in progress
HiLift Jack

Hitch Shackle

Tools

Shovel

First Aid / Road Side Kit

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Future Projects / Mods

Radiator and Oil Pan Skids
Yes, I know this is one that should have been done a long time ago.

Rock Sliders
Make a pair of my own rock sliders to replace the Westen Nerf Bars that currently sit on the vehicle.

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Documentation and Travel Mods

Camera Mount


DeLorme Topo North America

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Spare Tire Carrier

Stage 1


Stage 2

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Future Project: Custom Bumper

Stage 1: Design / 3D model

Took ideas from Mike's bumpers and used his pictures to get a good base to start with. Keep in mind none of this is to scale but just eyeballed it all to get an idea from quite a few different sketches. I've stolen ideas from Jeep bumpers as well on here. I had managed to pick up a set of KC HiLights Series 57 at a garage sale, so the lights will be used as fogs. I would then relocate my current Hella 500FF's onto the bar or find a different mounting point. This originally had started as a winch bumper, but the realization that it would be excessive weight that I probably wouldn't need sitting on the front, along with having two girls that aren't exactly fans of camping in a tent, made me change up a bit to a receiver mount.

Front View


Top View


Side View


Isometric View

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Modified spare tire carrier and hilift mount

Started with the Curt hitch mounted tire carrier. Cut and welded some 1/4" plate steel on the sides before drilling and reassembly.



I used a piece of angle iron with a notch cut out so it would sit against the vertical support of the carrier.


Overall I'm pretty happy with it. There is a little play side to side with the hitch and forward and side play on vertical mount. I plan to look into an idea on keeping the forward movement down to a minimum.

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Did the layout and added a few extra switch locations. Made the bracket from a piece of plastic that I had available. Cut everything to size and added the holes before bending it into the final shape.

I ended up cutting the overall size down to only using four switches. This may get looked back into again in the future as additional switches are needed.
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Custom/home made roof carrier

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LED Light Bar and custom designed/printed mounts.
I sketched out a couple of ideas to mount the light bar that I had purchased since I didn't like the brackets that came with it. I then used Inventor to create the 3D bracket and then printed them on the 3D Printer that I have in my classroom at work. I also included the mounting point that fits securely inside of the roof rail, the raised squares fit between the upper channel opening, to help keep them from sliding side to side during installation. Overall, I am happy with both the light and the brackets and how they have a lower profile type of set up.

On the truck




Inventor images




This is a stress analysis of the bracket with a simulated 150 lb load going forward and slightly down in the light mounting hole to determine the structural integrity of the bracket. I determined that it would be acceptable even though the mounting hole would need to be bored out slightly for the mounting hardware.