My new truck 2008 Chevy 2500 HD LT Duramax-Allison

R

RisingSun

Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2016
Messages
23
Location
Washington
ImageUploadedByWander The West1476599316.031934.jpg
High mileage(180k) but previous owner took the truck to dealership every 3 month for maintenance, Four pages of car fax report = Very well maintained, and Price was reasonable , so decided to trade in my old dodge.

Here is my plan for my Chevy.
Step 1: New wheel and tire. 275/70/17 BFG KO2. (Done) ImageUploadedByWander The West1476600375.352838.jpg
Step 2: Front suspension leveling kit as the new tire hit the wall little when I turn. (Ordered)
Step 2.5: Front suspension Bilstein 5100 as the ride is little rough compare to my old dodge. No record of shock replacement, so suspect they are original. (Ordered)
Step 3: Rear Airbag (Nov project)
Step 4: New car audio / navigation system (Dec project . Christmas present to my self)



Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
Yes. I am going to put Granby which was on my Dodge regular truck bed last few seasons. I am researching tie down method for the new truck.
My goal is to put camper before Dec for the ski season.

Today leveling kit, shocks and battery cable connector came!ImageUploadedByWander The West1476649007.230985.jpgImageUploadedByWander The West1476649016.513443.jpgImageUploadedByWander The West1476649026.414415.jpg

Too bad my wife went to shopping and have to watch kids doing homework today. I wish my kids study with out my supervision, but If I go to the garage they will start playing iPad game..


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
Nice truck. I have the same one. One issue that may pose a challenge for your camper install is that the Chevy's have a lip around the tailgate that required my 2015 Hawk to have what FWC calls a "Chevy cut." That means that the rear 3 feet of the camper, where it is widest, has a slight bevel on both sides.

Also, I got the same tires in 285 and leveling kit wasn't enough to allow the tires to turn to full lock. They hit the plastic inside of the wheel well. That required some trimming and the inside fairing had to be pulled slightly forward and secured with some wire ties. (Four Wheel Parts did the install.) I would like to know and see the navigation entertainment system you install as my OEM is getting a bit antiquated and I don't like paying GM $150 for new map CD's.
 
Thanks! Always good to know what might/will happen.

My granby is 2001 model and hope it fits without any modification. Let's see..

About the leveling kit, that is bad news. Only hope is they are 275,so little narrower than yours.

A lot of "hope" here. :)

I just installed shocks last night. Spent Two hours after dinner.

ImageUploadedByWander The West1476765152.943296.jpg

Original shocks were completely dead.. I am grad that I decided to replace.

However they did not improve the ride as much as I was hoping. I guess this is because 3/4? My Dodge 1/2 was a lot smoother. I researched little and it seems 1/2 rides smoother than 3/4 because of extra weigh and different suspension design? Is this true? What do you guys do to make the ride smoother?

As front shocks were completely dead and looked original, likely rear shocks are original, so I ordered new rear shocks and plan to replace this week.

About the audio, I am waiting for Black Friday and/or Christmas sale. Currently I am looking at Apple Car play with GPS, but Very expensive they are around $1000.

Other options are, Apple car play without GPS or GPS without Apple CarPlay. They are around $500.

Spending too much money on trucks and camper.. so I sold my original Chevy Wheels for $300 via Craigslist and gave the money to my wife.. before she sees my Amazon purchases this month....








Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
Talked to my co-worker who had 2003 Chevy 2500 advised me to lower the tire pressure to improve the ride.
wow.. what a differenece. Still stiffer than my Dodge 1500, but A LOT better.

Before : Front 70psi, Rear 80pst
Now : Front 60psi, Rear 70psi

Then found these threads:
Good to know..
I guess I could go down little more.. but I will keep 60-70 for now.
 
Much better/softer ride now. I will keep this setting for next few days.


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
Dakozicki,
Now I understand what you mean by "Chevy cut" , I need to modify/trim my camper for 1 inch both side because of this..
ImageUploadedByWander The West1476855336.066412.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
I redid my entire stereo/ gps system in my 2011 gmc crew cab. Alipine has a direct fit that really looks great. It has a 9 inch screen and ties into all of the trucks computers so you can keep an eye on all your gauges. Plus uses your stock xm, back up camera and steering wheel controls. They are a bit pricey but they work amazingly well. I've seen them used on eBay for around 1500.00, new they are 2500.00. I also added the jl stealth box and amp that added a 12 inch subs and a few thousand watts of power to them. Sounds pretty amazing but honestly more then people would use ImageUploadedByWander The West1476901553.762835.jpgImageUploadedByWander The West1476901487.303489.jpgImageUploadedByWander The West1476901511.971309.jpg


1990 Ford F-250
1997 fwc grandby
 
Nice! But $2500 is a lot of $$ for car audio. My budget is around $500.. something like kenwood and pioneer

Today I came home early and installed rear shocks.

ImageUploadedByWander The West1476932925.881851.jpg

It seems they were gone long time ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West
 
Last night I installed new steering stabilizer. Original stabilizer was still good, but as I put bugger wheel and heavier tire I decided to put new and bigger stabilizer. Improved the ride a lot. I am grad I did.

ImageUploadedByWander The West1479706793.571477.jpg
 
shige48,

Have you had a chance to talk to other owners of similar trucks that carry campers about your plans?
I only ask because I also installed a leveling kit on my Ram 2500. Loved the look, but once I loaded my camper it settled the rear, which resulted in my headlights pointing up and into the eyes of other drivers. I ended up buying an adjustable shackle kit to lift the rear end up and get my headlights pointed back down where they belong.

Good luck with your new truck.
 
Hay Vic are you saying that your truck weighs 3,353 lbs total empty? Seems kinda light. I agree with you on a lower T.P. And like the info link, just stumped on the truck weight for a 3/4 ton truck.
Russ
 
EDR,
I think I will have the same issue. Likely I will install airbag to adjust.
It is step by step, slow process..
 
Before you modify your camper, you might look to just raising it in the bed to pass over that portion at the tailgate. I bought my Hawk used from a guy who had it mounted in a Toyota. The bedsides are taller than on the GM, so he had to raise the camper. He used a sheet of dense Owens-Corning closed cell foam insulation. The insulation weighs next to nothing and completely supported his camper in the bed of is truck. I don't think modifying the camper will be an easy task.
 
CougarCouple said:
Hay Vic are you saying that your truck weighs 3,353 lbs total empty? Seems kinda light. I agree with you on a lower T.P. And like the info link, just stumped on the truck weight for a 3/4 ton truck.
Russ
Click to expand...
I think that was per tire.... thanks for catching that. I will have to dig that up in my records and check.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads - WTW

C
SOLD 2017 Four Wheel Fleet & 2002 Chevy Silverado LT Diesel
campingken
C
M
**SOLD** 2021 Hawk and 2007 Silverado 2500 LBZ 4x4
MR.141
M
O
2002 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD LS 4x4 with Flippac and custom rack
OffGrid
O
H
**SOLD** Adventure Ready 2016 Four Wheel Camper Hawk Flatbed on 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9 Cummins Dies
Happy_Camper
H
Z
Suspension upgrade options -- help me choose...
kluber
K

New posts - WTW

Back
Top Bottom