Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Greetings from Western Washington

New members: please introduce yourself here.

by Jon A » Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:51 pm

Hello folks, nice board you have here. Most of you will probably recognize my TB as the poster child for SuspensionMaxx spacers:

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After 5 years and 45000 miles the BFG's were about done (found myself using 4WD on wet roads to keep from going sideways all the time :o ) so it was time to replace them. And since my wife doesn't drive the thing much anymore I figured why not lift it a little more, go a size bigger, etc, so here I am. I can't tell you how nice it is to find a place like this with such a wealth of info for this second round of mods. When I lifted it 5 years ago only a precious few had done so requiring me to pretty much figure everything out for myself. How nice it is to have other's footsteps to follow in this time!

As you can see, I've completed quite a few upgrades but I'm not done yet:

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I'll try and put together a build thread fairly soon with details. Haven't gotten the new setup dirty yet so for a dirty pic you'll have to make due with one of the old setup:

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I'm hoping the new 33" Duratracs are better in mud. They sure fixed my spinning on wet road problems, that's for sure. Tougher tests to come....
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by Regulator1175 » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:32 pm

Welcome to the dirtier side of Trailvoy.

That is a great looking truck you have there.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
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--Build--
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by gotspeed1 » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:33 pm

Welcome. The truck looks really good!! Keep the pics coming. :cheers:
3...2...1....FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!
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by bartonmd » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:46 pm

Looks good!

What sliders are you using? Make them yourself, or are they semi-production?

Thanks,
Mike
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by Jon A » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:14 pm

Thanks guys. Mike, they are the 78" version of these: http://www.trail-gear.com/rock-sliders . I shortened them to 76" by chopping an inch out of each end. It's snug, but they fit with 33's. Any bigger than that and you'd want to chop out more.
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by Zero » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:46 pm

Rock sliders would have been great for my trip out in the dessert with TheRoadie. At least now I have my skid plate. Looks like the metal bumper, rad skid, and rock sliders are next on my metal list.
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by fishsticks » Mon Jun 21, 2010 11:08 pm

Good to see another Washingtonian!

With all the people showing up/moving here... we'll give the Jersey boys a run for their money soon.
11 Silverado LTZ - 6.2L/6l80, 2/3 drop, self tuned
85 Hilux - 3RZ, dual cases, caged, 40s, chromo everything
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by SteveTB03 » Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:49 am

Welcome to the site!! :cheers:
Go Big & Go Broke
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by Trail X » Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:28 am

Welcome bro.

Curious... you're an engineer for Boeing? What department? ME or EE? (We have a silent battle for knowledge going on here.)
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by bartonmd » Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:54 am

Jon A wrote:Thanks guys. Mike, they are the 78" version of these: http://www.trail-gear.com/rock-sliders . I shortened them to 76" by chopping an inch out of each end. It's snug, but they fit with 33's. Any bigger than that and you'd want to chop out more.


Thanks! Kyle put some of the shorter ones on his, and they weren't too bad to do...

Mike
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by HARDTRAILZ » Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:08 am

Welcome. I do have the size shorter since my fenders are cut back in the front and the 78 would have been far too long. Mine work great thanks to Mike getting them welded on so nicely. I do like how tight you tucked them, but worry about a big hit shoving them into the body.

Nice looking truck though. Glad to have you.
I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone...but
they've always worked for me.
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by Jon A » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:17 pm

JamesDowning wrote:Curious... you're an engineer for Boeing? What department? ME or EE? (We have a silent battle for knowledge going on here.)

I'm an ME. I do Stress Analysis for the 747 Fuselage. Naturally that means I'm smarter than all of you. :lol:
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by Trail X » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:29 pm

Jon A wrote:I'm an ME. I do Stress Analysis for the 747 Fuselage. Naturally that means I'm smarter than all of you. :lol:


:raspberry: We have a few engineers here. I'm a product design ME for a power tool company. The Roadie is an EE in the semiconductor business. BartonMD is a sheet metal design ME (but I think has an EE degree?). There are probably more that aren't as prolific about talking about their jobs. You're in good company.

We get into some technical discussions from time to time... we welcome your input!
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by HARDTRAILZ » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:33 pm

I got an RE from SE Indiana Backwoods Tech.


















:shoot: That is Redneck Engineering :friday: :finger:
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by KE7WOX » Fri Jun 25, 2010 4:45 pm

I'm studying AE right now. So i'm partially in the Engineer's Club.
This is an aggressive post. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate a post of this quality and depth.

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by djthumper » Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:57 pm

I am an SE that also does a lot of RE. :D
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by Trail X » Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:00 pm

KE7WOX wrote:I'm studying AE right now. So i'm partially in the Engineer's Club.


Aero or Ag?
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by KE7WOX » Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:49 pm

Aero
This is an aggressive post. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate a post of this quality and depth.

Build Thread
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by SteveTB03 » Sat Jun 26, 2010 1:54 pm

I'm not an engineer. :coffee:
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by Philberto » Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:56 pm

I'm studying M.E. Just started though.
My Build Thread | 2006 Trailblazer LS Desert Camping Edition **SOLD**
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