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Newbie To Avalanche And Offroading

R

Road_Warrior

GUEST
I'm buying a 2003 Avalanche next week, or the week after. I want to lift it 6" with 35" tires. Now, to be honest, i know very little about offroading and what i need to do it. I'm only 17 and everyone at my high school offroads, and i've been offroading, so now i wanna own a car that does it. So i'm getting an Avalanche and i'm going to lift it. I've been reading, and i've been hearing about 6" Rancho lift with 35" tires (magic mtn dan). I want that, but i don't know which Avalanche is the best to buy to be suited for that, i know Dan has a 2500. But is that the BEST that's suited for that? And i have no idea where to go to get it lifted or anything. And how long does it take to get it lifted? I'm lookin to spend no more than 15 grand.
 
OK...I am curious. What does a 17 year old do to be able to afford a 35K car and 15 grand worth of mods??? Man I am envious. I would have been dangerous with that dough at that age.

RoRo
 
First we need more info in order to help steer you in the right direction.
  • What type of off-raoding are you going to do? Mud? Snow? Sand? Rock climbing?
  • Where are you? so we can send you to the right shop
  • Is the $15k for the lift, tires and other mods only? or does that include the AV?
  • What is 80% of your AV use really going to be?
 
I'll be doing a lot of desert offroading, in the San Diego area, Death Valley, and across the US. The 15 grand is only for the mods, does not include the Avalanche. My main use for the Av is transportation around town basically. But i'll be offroading probably 3-4 days a week. The offroading will be desert like i said, no snow here :cry: Probably mud and rocks too, as i plan on takin a road trip across america this summer :cool: let me know what u think
 
Road_Warrior said:
I'll be doing a lot of desert offroading, in the San Diego area, Death Valley, and across the US. The 15 grand is only for the mods, does not include the Avalanche. My main use for the Av is transportation around town basically. But i'll be offroading probably 3-4 days a week. ?The offroading will be desert like i said, no snow here ? :cry: ?Probably mud and rocks too, as i plan on takin a road trip across america this summer ?:cool: let me know what u think

If I were you and I did all that offroading I would go with the RCD, Fabtech, or Rancho 6" lift and a 3" PA body lift. This way you will have no problems with rubbing when you throw the 35's under there. If you go without the body lift...you will rub some and will have to do some minor trimming unless you throw some 33's under there. Once some of the Cali Offroaders read this they will be able to point you to a local shop. Dont forget to spend some of that $15k on a supporting membership (y) (Does this count as a tag? :0: )
 
I want to get my Chevy as tricked out as i can, hopefully a custom paint job as well. But what kind of Avalanche do i get? 1500? 2500? North Face? Do i get it with z71? With or without body hardware? How do i support membership?
 
Road_Warrior said:
I want to get my Chevy as tricked out as i can, hopefully a custom paint job as well. But what kind of Avalanche do i get? 1500? 2500? North Face? Do i get it with z71? How do i support membership?

You will see some guys come in here but I would browse around the threads here in the offroad section and look at everybody's ride and then ask that person a specific question. If your interested in becoming a supporting member....click HERE
 
chevroletavalanche said:
Welcome to the club!

I would get the RCD lift kit. ?Since you go off-roading 3-4 days a week, I would get the 2500. It have the good heavy duty suspension.

A good shop is Off-Road Unlimited in Burbank. I heard they are expensive but their work is great.

By the way, you go to school and then you go off-road 3-4 days a week? You are lucky! You have any time for homework?

Oh and by the way, you should check out www.socalavalanche.com. If you get your Avalanche soon, you could probably make it to the San Diego Cruise in May 3, 2003. We are going to do a little off-roading.

Here is the link to the cruise.

http://www.wind4power.us/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51

Hope you make it!


I think the 1500 would be more suited to offroading than the 2500. There is a thread in this section that compares the two. Bottom line is the coils on the 1500 are going to give you more control then the 3/4 ton springs on the 2500.

RCD or Rancho, both make great lifts for the AV. If you do any offroading where you will be under hard compression alot then i would stear you clear of getting 35" tires instead recommend 33" tires instead.

Just my .02
 
roro said:
OK...I am curious. ?What does a 17 year old do to be able to afford a 35K car and 15 grand worth of mods??? ?Man I am envious. ?I would have been dangerous with that dough at that age.

RoRo
Well I don't have 15K worth of mods. But I do have an AV, I work 2 jobs to pay for it will be payed off in 2 years (y)
 
damn, that looks like so much fun, unfortunately i won't be able to make it, as i only have my permit and not my actual license. I still have to wait six months before i can ride the damn Avalanche by myself. Until then i can only drive with someone over 25 who has there license. :cry: If i can find someone over 25 who wants to go, i'll be there for sure. I won't post there yet. But i think i've decided on a 1500 with a 6" suspension and a 3" body lift and 33" tires. Oh, and of course, NEON! Red color. I'm thinkin i'm gonna get a black Av with white ghost flames, hmmm. Still thinkin on the decals and paint. Thanx for your help guys :cool:
 
i am confused as to why you are getting neons if your are going to be 4 wheeling 3 plus times a week?....................your money just curious as they are not madt to withstand all the 4 wheeling......................................lee
 
Well, if there not made to withstand offroading then i wont get them. I really like the look of neons tho (gets the chicks :cool:) So i guess i won't be gettin them, thanx for lettin me know. I'll talk to the guy who works on the car if there's anything custom he can do to protect the neons, we'll see
 
Dang...
AV = 35K+
Mods = 15K
Total = 50K+

I had a Toyota Tercel Wagon when I was in high school...you're gonna get a sweet ride!!! Don't forget to post up some pics once you get the AV all tricked out. Oh yeah...you'll have plenty of room for the chix in the bed of the AV :) :)
 
If it were me and I had that kind of money to spend I would buy two cars. I think the Av is a good truck off road but its size can be a problem. I'd get a z66 avalanche so you can hook it up and put your Neons on it and pick up the chicks and then find a couple year old jeep wrangler or toyota tacoma. Something more manageable on the trail. What kind of vehicles do your friends drive? I would recommend something in the same class as them so you could generally keep up. Maybe I'm wrong but if you friends have jeeps or small pickups who is going to get your 6000lb+ truck unstuck. You would need something in the same size range, especially in sand/mud. I may be wrong but this is the way I think of the situation. If your this interested in off-roading, which it sounds like you are, I would get a vehicle you could set 100% to offroading.
 
You know what, your right, but i'm still gettin my Av tricked out. I'll buy an old jeep and trick that poop out. My friends have a lot of 80's Blazers. Um, a couple Fords :mad:. Most are Chevy's, haven't seen any jeeps. And i didn't think about getting unstuck. eh, i'll have to look for a jeep. But i've been wanting an Av since i first saw one back in 2001. :cool:
 
If I had that kind of cash to play with I would ensure I put on a winch - and if you have extra cash, why not supercharge the AV?
 
You should really get 35" tires. If you want 33" instead, then you should get the 2500. I have 33" tires on my 2500, and they fit. There is just a slight rubbing. You dont have to lift the vehicle.
 
I was thinking about all this last night after playing 7 hours of video games ?:rolleyes: and then not falling asleep till 4 in the morning (god i'm still tired and i just woke up, it's one in the afternoon). And i want a pretty damn good lifted Av, I want that baby to be KNOWN. So i was playin with the idea (just playin cause i have no idea if it'll work) of a 9" suspension lift and a 6" body lift on tires bigger than 35's.. I just wanna know HOW HIGH I CAN GET!! (my car that is) ?:p I want the most tricked out Av anyone's ever seen :cool:
 
Also, a sweet stereo system :cool: Nothin picks up chix better than a sweet stereo system. I just wanna play Godsmack, AC/DC, Pantera...LOUD!! and i dunno a thing about stereos ???
 
Oh, yes, i'll do that, but what about my lift? i wanna get this baby HIGH!!! ON BIG TIRES! WEEEE (I'VE GOT SO MUCH ADRENALINE RUNNING THROUGH ME RIHT NOW!!! :cool:)
 
Your going to need some lcd screens so you can watch dvd's also. Also better check and see what the law is in your state in regards to how high you can have your truck lifted.
 
Yes, LCD screens, i know, i'll check those. But there's laws as to how high you can have your truck lifted? That sucks. Where can i find that information?
 
Your state might not have any restrictions. Check with your local police department. They can look it up for you.
 
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