Longtime lurker and overland opinion.

[Speed]

Hey guys, I'm a long time lurker and wanted to drop in to say hello and ask for some input. I'm kind of at a crossroads on my next build and I'm trying to figure out what to do. Short story is I'm a long time car guy but all my experience has been on race tracks and drag strips. Never built an offroad rig before but always wanted to. Well with a little more age, all of a sudden late nights in front of a camp fire in a place few others can get to seems more appealing than a late night under the lights. So I've decided my next build is going to be an overland/expo build.

I've had two trailblazers, both 03s. I feel like I know the platform pretty well from doing my own maintenance, a little engine tuning with HP Tuners, etc but I've never been an offroader so I have no experience with it. Our current TB is an 03 ltz 4x4 with 180k miles that have been damn near problem free. It's getting a little rough with some of the typical problems (rust under the rear door skins, some hail dings with a cracked windsheid, etc). It's at a point that I need to put some tires on it so I'm thinking about making it a full time setup for overland work. I'm not really interested in hard core wheeling; mostly want to get over little improved roads, some rocks, small streams, etc. The Kiamichi in se Oklahoma/sw Arkansas is kind of the standard I'm thinking of.

So the issue I'm working over is whether to spend money/time building up the trailblazer rather than going to another platform? The truck has been well maintained and I'm not aware of any issues with it other than the cosmetic ones listed above. BUt at 180k, seems like things like cv joints, clutch packs, and other things might start getting dicey sooner rather than later. Even with a moderate build, I can count several thousand dollars in things like tires, a new fuel pump, spacers or wheels, a larger rear with locker (has the smaller with no g80 option), a locker for the front diff, etc. Just wanted to get a pole on what you guys thing, build/upgrade at truck we love or put the same cash into another platform? Is so, what? (Been reading way too much Jalopnik and expedition portal lately!)

Thanks all

[DirtyBacon04]

Welcome, first off! I appreciate the well thought out intro, with proper grammar, and good structure. So I will return the favor as best I can, rather than leave off with a boring "Welcome!!"

I'm always glad to see more people going the overland route with builds. It builds a sort of independence and gives an "off-the-grid" feeling. As far as whether or not to stay with this platform; We're a little biased. We like the challenge of a build. If you want an easy, quick, relatively cheap build with tons of aftermarket... move along. If you like challenging your mind to re-purpose items, or modify parts from another platform to suit your mission on a TB, then stick around.

No matter what platform your start with, it's not going to be cheap. This is an expensive hobby, as I'm sure you already know that having experience with race cars. The benefits of staying with your TB are as follows:
-You own it already
-You know the maintenance on this one
-You have prior experience with this platform
-If you build, you'll be one of the "few and the proud" of the offroad world
-There is a massive wealth of knowledge and experience on this forum from dedicated, volunteer members and staff.
-We do a good job of weeding out the weak and the trolls
-We are not a "spoon-feed" society, hence causing you to use more critical thinking skills, to help build the independence i previously mentioned.
-We have members who are also vendors and custom make parts and accessories specific to the GMT360 platform.
-Any issues you have with your rig, odds are that someone on here has had them also. And we're willing to help.

So sit back, ponder a bit, perhaps rub your chin, look up and to the left, hummm for a while, raise an eyebrow (only if you're daring) and make a choice. Sounds like you have a mission already, and the know-how to get started.


Again, welcome, and I hope you stick around!

[Trail X]

I'm sure you have already, but be sure to look through the build threads. They should be looked at as a catalog of options that may be in your future, not just a place for others to show off. Do the same with other possible vehicle platforms, and see what strikes your fancy most.

As long as you're not wanting an extreme amount of lift, the TB is a solid platform, with a relatively easy suspension system to work on and modify. The 4WD (as long as it works) is very capable, especially with a decent rear locker.

If you want 38s with 8"-10" of suspension lift, you should probably look elsewhere unless your fabrication skills and knowledge base are up to snuff with building your own.

[v7guy]

I have a pretty decent amount of experience with these things on 32s and 33s and they seem to be nice and reliable in that iteration. I would think most of the problems you would run into with the drivetrain on a well used vehicle is going to have the same issues that you'll likely be seeing with your current vehicle in the future. So I can't really suggest you go another route because of that.

For the purposes you're looking at I think you'd be surprised how a lightly lifted one will meet your needs, obviously wider wheels and lockers and rear axles increase the ability significantly, but myself and many others have ran around with a basic suspension lift from MarkMC and some 32s or 33s with pretty surprising results. It really is a pretty decent vehicle to lift with decent room for days away from home. How far you want to go is purely up to you.

[Speed]

Appreciate the input guys! Alright, I'm talked into it. Your input plus a day trip to one of the few peaks we have around here with the wifey enjoying it was all I needed.

Bacon, thanks for the warm welcome. It's communities like this that make this game fun to play. You kind of spoke to my heart a little bit with the challenge of something unique. I stuck an ls1/6 speed in a Lexus IS300 just because nothing else had the right combination of size/weight and flickability with the torque and reliability the ls1/t56 platform offers. Add in ability to tune the stock PCM and the cheap aftermarket and it was a no brainer. Trailblazer is the same mentaility. Like you said, I already own it and know its history.

James and Bacon, I've memorized all the build threads you guys have put out. What I've really been looking for are the broken parts or "wish I woulda dun it this ways." I really dont see any. The rigs you guys run seem to hold up to the driving you are asking it to do which is about the extreme upper limit of what I have in mind. You guys and a few others have blazed the trail for those like me to follow (pardon the pun). I like the idea of a critical thinking project. Looking for guidence more than how to. I can figure ot how to do something I want, just want to bounce ideas of the leadership to see if it's a good idea. For example, sanding down the rockers, door bottoms, etc to clean up the rush and coating with a bed liner of some brand as a way to seal up the rust and protect the paint. Maybe use something like that canned underbody sealer that sprays a rubbery film than dries tough and use the ltz two tone lines to mask it all off? I used the canned stuff once on a set of subframe connectors I built and it seemed to work well dragging it over parking lot speed bumps. Anyway just ordered some z71 rear springs. I have the ability to melt/cast aluminum so I might make up a pattern for the front spacer/shock top and get her a little higher and see what I've got to work with. I'll post a build thread to document all my mistakes.

But seriously again, thanks for the input guys. Can't wait to get a rig worthy of meeting up some day.

[HARDTRAILZ]

It is a great platform.

How is the build coming along?

[Speed]

Slowly (well not really at all). Inlaws were in town so I had to finish up a bunch of trim work before they got in..... Now that is done, back to building. Got some z71 rear springs I'll put in this weekend. Next up is simple suspension lift, spacers and tires. Was thinking of shortening the strut towers in the front for some lift but for that amount of effort, I'd swap a solid front axle which is waayyyyyy beyond what I want to do with this setup. I made this furnace a while back so I think I'm going to cast some replacement upper spring perches instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY8sTDZusws

Was almost set on Goodyear Duratracs but I saw some negetive feedback from a well respected member so I'm still trying to figure out what tires to get! Too many decisions!

Oh yeah, I did do a little tune/tweaking of timing curves and trans shift points. Since I'm running stock 3.42 gears on some taller tires, I might firm up the shifts tweak the converter lockup (if you can do this on the trailblazer with HP Tuners). Also have a trans cooler I'm going to install. I've already done the efan conversion 70k miles ago when the stock fan clutch went south. For that, I didn't bother with an electronic fan control since the thermostat does a good job letting the engine warm up. I used a set of fbody stock efans and just wired two key hot relays, one for each. In the winter time, I'll disable one relay if I remember to. I'll probably add a 3rd key hot relay for the transcooler fan.