Well. We went off-roading with the Michigan Jeepers group last weekend.
The group consisted of:
1 Chevy Avalanche Z-71 (Me)
2 Suzuki things
1 Izuzu 4Runner
15 Jeep Grand Cherokees
26 Jeep Wrangler types
45 Vehicles Total.
About 100 people. Men, Women, Children and infants. It was the annual Michigan Jeepers Family Fun Day.
The Group.
In the Avy were My Wife, two Nephews and Me.
It is completely stock except for High Octane Tuning by the Hypertech Programmer III.
I lowered the air pressure to 13.5 lbs in the front tires and 13 lbs in the rear tires. Put the shift lever in '3' and pressed the Tow/Haul button for the whole day.
I have to say, we were the talk of the town! We went to the Miltary base in Grayling Michigan. Had a 20 or so mile run with a dozen hill climbs.
The truck was very impressive.
The group used CB Channel 4 for comminucation. We decided to keep quiet when people started talking about the black monster chevy while we were still in the K-mart parking lot. Remember most of these trucks were short wrangler types. Small next to an AVY.
About half the jeeps out there were stock, and about half were built for this kind of play every day. Many Raised Air Intake stacks and exhaust, tires as tall as 40 inches, engines that were 'blueprinted' for power.
The day was great, we played at Camp Grayling all day. Saw lots of tanks, humvees, anti aircraft guns and other units setup for training exercises. Covered Guns and a Canon
At one point there were three A-10 Tank Killers in flight right over us and shooting at tanks in the field. (We were stopped for about 1/2 hour for a repair on a jeep.)
It was about 3 miles or so to the first hill climb, to get there we went through many rivers and mud puddles. I have a new appreciation for what a mud puddle is, in the eyes an off-roader. AVY all wet
The AVY went through 20-30 inches of mud and water many times without ever even noticing. On the CB, there were many comments about how many jeeps it was going to take to get that over-rated chevy out of a hole! The AVY held her own even when some of the jeeps opted to go *around* the mud.
The Hill Climbs:
WOW! Look at it go!
That's all we heard on the radio. The AVY did great, 45 - 60 degree inclines on all sand were no problem. There were many hills where only three or four trucks made the climb, my AVY was always standing proud at the TOP of the hill.
Many jeeps had to have a 20-30 mph running start to reach the top. Many jeeps were half way up and then their wheels just stopped turning, even though they were giving it all it had. Then they had the uneasy task of backing down the hill.
The AVY's torque raised it's head and said 'Stand aside, Boys'. The AVY just walked up the hills as if it were a slight grade on the highway!
Well, not quite! The one hill that was managed by only three of us was certainly an excercise for the AVY.
Although, everyone below said the AVY made it look easy, I had my foot through the floorboard just to keep it moving. I had not experienced that before. WOT and moving only 1-2 mph with no tire spin.
It was nice to have 100 people cheering the only Chevy in the bunch.
It was my wife's first time out. She wasn't to pleased about taking a $39,000.00 truck with 4000 miles on it into the woods for some off-roading. She and one nephew opted out of the first hill climb and took three pictures with her shaking hands as I headed up.
Pic1
Pic2
Pic3
I then made my wife and wimpy nephew get in and took them up the hill. Well, that's all it took, my wife is hooked.
This is also why we don't have a pile of cool pictures. My photographer wouldn't get out again! She didn't want to miss the fun!
All in all, what a great time. We had picnic fixings and a Bar-B-Que grill stowed nicely away in the back of the AVY. When the group stopped for lunch, our AVY was the main attraction. We brought extra hot dogs and kept on grillin' as long as people were lookin'!
I am now faced with one problem. My wife wants to continue 4 wheeling. BUT she wants to do it with air, power windows, locks, leather interior, and so on... She says I should go buy another AVY and we'll use the first one for off-roading!
Like a Rock!
The group consisted of:
1 Chevy Avalanche Z-71 (Me)
2 Suzuki things
1 Izuzu 4Runner
15 Jeep Grand Cherokees
26 Jeep Wrangler types
45 Vehicles Total.
About 100 people. Men, Women, Children and infants. It was the annual Michigan Jeepers Family Fun Day.
The Group.
In the Avy were My Wife, two Nephews and Me.
It is completely stock except for High Octane Tuning by the Hypertech Programmer III.
I lowered the air pressure to 13.5 lbs in the front tires and 13 lbs in the rear tires. Put the shift lever in '3' and pressed the Tow/Haul button for the whole day.
I have to say, we were the talk of the town! We went to the Miltary base in Grayling Michigan. Had a 20 or so mile run with a dozen hill climbs.
The truck was very impressive.
The group used CB Channel 4 for comminucation. We decided to keep quiet when people started talking about the black monster chevy while we were still in the K-mart parking lot. Remember most of these trucks were short wrangler types. Small next to an AVY.
About half the jeeps out there were stock, and about half were built for this kind of play every day. Many Raised Air Intake stacks and exhaust, tires as tall as 40 inches, engines that were 'blueprinted' for power.
The day was great, we played at Camp Grayling all day. Saw lots of tanks, humvees, anti aircraft guns and other units setup for training exercises. Covered Guns and a Canon
At one point there were three A-10 Tank Killers in flight right over us and shooting at tanks in the field. (We were stopped for about 1/2 hour for a repair on a jeep.)
It was about 3 miles or so to the first hill climb, to get there we went through many rivers and mud puddles. I have a new appreciation for what a mud puddle is, in the eyes an off-roader. AVY all wet
The AVY went through 20-30 inches of mud and water many times without ever even noticing. On the CB, there were many comments about how many jeeps it was going to take to get that over-rated chevy out of a hole! The AVY held her own even when some of the jeeps opted to go *around* the mud.
The Hill Climbs:
WOW! Look at it go!
That's all we heard on the radio. The AVY did great, 45 - 60 degree inclines on all sand were no problem. There were many hills where only three or four trucks made the climb, my AVY was always standing proud at the TOP of the hill.
Many jeeps had to have a 20-30 mph running start to reach the top. Many jeeps were half way up and then their wheels just stopped turning, even though they were giving it all it had. Then they had the uneasy task of backing down the hill.
The AVY's torque raised it's head and said 'Stand aside, Boys'. The AVY just walked up the hills as if it were a slight grade on the highway!
Well, not quite! The one hill that was managed by only three of us was certainly an excercise for the AVY.
Although, everyone below said the AVY made it look easy, I had my foot through the floorboard just to keep it moving. I had not experienced that before. WOT and moving only 1-2 mph with no tire spin.
It was nice to have 100 people cheering the only Chevy in the bunch.
It was my wife's first time out. She wasn't to pleased about taking a $39,000.00 truck with 4000 miles on it into the woods for some off-roading. She and one nephew opted out of the first hill climb and took three pictures with her shaking hands as I headed up.
Pic1
Pic2
Pic3
I then made my wife and wimpy nephew get in and took them up the hill. Well, that's all it took, my wife is hooked.
This is also why we don't have a pile of cool pictures. My photographer wouldn't get out again! She didn't want to miss the fun!
All in all, what a great time. We had picnic fixings and a Bar-B-Que grill stowed nicely away in the back of the AVY. When the group stopped for lunch, our AVY was the main attraction. We brought extra hot dogs and kept on grillin' as long as people were lookin'!
I am now faced with one problem. My wife wants to continue 4 wheeling. BUT she wants to do it with air, power windows, locks, leather interior, and so on... She says I should go buy another AVY and we'll use the first one for off-roading!
Like a Rock!
??
