other than big wheels and lift?

I was thinking of some jerry can holders, CB radio, roof rack...

where can I find BOV Parts for this type of truck





EDIT  I also have my other truck if I need to do some heavy moving and deep water fording
has a pintle hitch and 2.5 inch hitch

IN.

Coognito front end drive line upgrades. Will do lift the right way.

I traded in my 07, 1500 "limo" for an '05 Diesel (2500) with a utility body, and a 50 gallon transfer tank in the bed. (Has a 12 volt pump)
It still rides quite comfortably, and I'm free of payments.
I can also use it to pull down houses, if need be.

Remove the lift and replace the tires with ones commonly available.

Keep the vehicle as simple and maintainable as possible.



Direct the $$$ you save to something useful to your long term survival.

I have the same truck.  2009 Silverado Z71 crew.  I kept things simple with a
brush guard,
off road lights (HIDs)
topper for lockable storage,
air bags,
leveling kit and AT tires

The wranglers tires from the factory were ok, but blew ass when you left the road. I added AT Hankooks and never looked back.  I would think twice about the lift as your not going to gain anything but 4 inches of BODY clearance.  Waste of Money and your going to loose your ass in gas mileage.

Oh yeah, stick with 17 in rims or smaller.  The larger the rim, the more outrageous the price of tires become.

agree with ditching the lift. another reason is that is throws your center of gravity out of whack.  think of having to traverse a steep highway embankment.  unless your going straight up and down your center of gravity is an issue.  also a roof rack is limited in utility.  unless you spend the big bucks for a heavy duty one the storage capacity is limited, and then you still have the center of gravity thing all over again.  get the biggest tires on stock rims that are commonly available and save your money (after all a lift is only to increase clearance for taller tires anyway).  and a nice set of AT tires are worth their weight in fuel compared to slick looking MT's.

...and you already have a rather large and configurable jerry can holder right behind the cab,

have a 90 gal transfer tank with pump but its on my deuce.  I want to add someting to hold my jerry cans and maybe a roof rack. CB?

Where, I just see the truck bed there...

No lift

Level with some all terrains (BFG)
Ranch hand front and rear bumpers
Off road lights (KC hilites)
CB/HAM
inverter

Trade it for a Ford.   Sorry truth can hurt.

Well some basic thoughts that apply to any vehicle you plan to depend on when the parts store is closed,
Spare belts, spare hoses, and a large handful of fuel filters, air filters, and oil filters would go on a shelf, with one ea. of everything but the fuel filter going in the truck. Since crappy fuel becomes a bigger likelihood during hard times, I'd have two extra fuel filters on board.
I don't know any of the specific stuff on that truck, but I'd educate myself and find out if they have any particular weaknesses, and address those, even if means having a few spares on the shelf that you might not use for a long time...for instance..do they eat water pumps, or are they hard on alternators???
Fix the weak spots, and have spares.

not looking for a long term vehicle just something for bugging out mostly I guess

My last two chevys were such junk .. Id trade it in to make it a better truck.

weird it didnt post for several minutes .. then it was a double tap

Where you bugging out to???

Trade it for an F150.

Spare tires, spare belts, spare fluids, spare parts.

Without the ability to repair it when it does break, making modifications for reliability is impossible. What's going to stop that vehicle in its tracks isn't the suspension or lack of fuel, it's the "check engine" light. You or someone in your group needs tools, a good scanner of some sort, a stock of spare parts, and the knowledge to replace them.

ETA: Not GD

I really like that Z71. I kinda miss my Suburban, but I traded it in for the Ex. Thinking of getting an F350 in the next year or so with the new diesels.

I'd go with what was mentioned before ––- Belts, filters, Air coompressor, maybe a can or two of runflat spray for worst case scenario if you go through more than one spare in SHTF case. Also a good locking cover for the rear to keep some things out of sight. Portable power pack / jump starter with usb and 12V would be a good backseat buddy.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=13073&pictureid=54760

with a quality lift your drivability dosnt suffer, and i'v never had a problem off roading through steep embankments...
but anyeways..
yup, get a tool box just for the truck to keep under the back seat (also helpfull when doing things like oil changes)
a real floor jack is also very helpfull.
a fiberglass tonnue cover for the box is very usefull. there are severl brands out there, just make sure it can be removed quickly without tools
should the need arrise.
would also upgrade the front and rear bumpers with something from Monster.  I have a Monster bumper on my Avalanche,
very well built, has taken several deer hits at highway speed with no damage at all.
plus get some more lighting on it,  amber lights mounted low let you keep moving in heavy fog or precip, white lights up high to give you range.

[rant]
QFT. I had several GM products this past decade, all with systemic electrical problems. That's why they needed a bailout.If you have me a GM vehicle I would trade it in on something I could count on. No late model ford diesels either. Too expensive for what you get.
[/rant]

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Hi and welcome to the SF


I have posted several threads about simple BOV mods



If you are going to trade the pickup shortly, then save your money that you would spend on mods that go away with the truck.  Do portable mods.



Mods that have given me the best return on investment.

Good tires

spare parts kit of light bulbs and such

dedicated tool kit

good ice chest





 

Rear locker....

the new chevys have a "Reliable" badge on the rear....so they've gotta be better.. right?

I have Fords and GMC trucks. All are lifted and have lager tires. There is a right way and a less expensive way to do anything. If you really want to see what work look at off road race team chase trucks. The chase trucks are built for durability and function and will see as much dirt as road but are still 100% on the road. google (offroad chase trucks). look areound www.expeditionportal.com and pirate4x4.com

Be ready though it all costs money. Make a plan and spend accordingly. I buy a LOT of stuff cheap because guys put a lift and tires on and then sell them off when they realize they want/need something else.

Also, there are a LOT of vehicles already done that are for sale cheap. People are hurting for money and cant afford to drive the big toys and people are selling stuff cheap right now.

My two cents. I agree with most of the responses. It is best to keep your truck as stock as possible. The simpler the best. There are still many things you could do to improve your rig. I own the same truck: A Silverado 4x4 1500 (5.3). One thing I did is two add an additional battery. This is very simple to do since the truck comes from factory with the extra battery holder. I just added the cabling and bought two new dual purpose marine batteries (crank / deep-cycle...they can take a deeper discharge without getting damaged)...550 CCA each one. Now I have 1100 CCA available and a very nice amp reserve for other applications (like my 1000 watts inverter). There are many other advantages to this setup. AT tires are also a good idea. I installed LTX A/T 2 Michelins (Here they are), and I just tested them in Northern Quebec on heavy snow and ice conditions. They performed incredibly well. Of course, I kept the truck original size (17).
As mentioned in some responses, I have a topper installed. It provides dry storage and increases your cargo capacity volume-wise. Mine has a 200 pounds (distributed) capacity on the roof-rack. I find that very convenient.
I thought about lifting the truck for a long time and decided against it for all the reasons mentioned in all the corresponding responses to this thread. An additional reason is that the truck is already fairly high and it makes it very difficult to work under the hood. An even higher truck would make it even more difficult. Keep in mind that most likely you won’t be comfortably working in your garage in a malfunction event.  Instead, I decided to use the money to buy a code scanner/reader. I am really happy with this decision. So far I have been able to deal with several malfunctions myself using the scanner and my own knowledge. It makes me feel better to know that I can be self-sufficient in this area. Add to this that the scanner covers many other brands and vehicles giving you a nice advantage in a situation when your local car mechanic is nowhere to be found.
I am also working on installing a 38 watts solar panel on the roof of the cabin and install the proper circuitry to allow charging the batteries when the truck is not running. I might even install a extra set of batteries….
All of these improvements can be carried out while keeping your truck stock, and they give you a really nice extra edge on SHTF conditions. Additionally, you don’t have to wait for a SHTF event to use them. I use them all the time while camping.

I have some pics, but I don't know how to paste them here.

Off road lights, leveling kit, 33" Duratracs and under box mounted LED reverse lights.

Lots of good food for thought above, but I like to play Devil's Advocate every now and then. Let's say the S doesn't HTF, at least for another 10 years. What do you want to drive around in the mean time? Do you want a cool looking jacked up 4x4? Then go ahead and get one. Do you want a sweet-looking light bar with 10 million lumens? Put one on. Want a bitchin' roof rack like the safari guys? Do it. Nothing wrong with prudent mods, but don't let "Would I be able to find another set of Mickey Thompson 48" mudders in the Mad Max wasteland?" stop you from putting them on if that's what you want. Hang onto your stock wheels/tires if future replacement is a concern. If you're looking for an excuse to do some dream mods to your truck, do it. Build it, drive the crap out of it and enjoy it. Take care of your vehicle, and it will take care of you. If it works for you every day, it will work for you THAT day.

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In the name of reliability: Aftermarket aluminum finned deep Trans pan(more fluid, cooler fluid, easy fluid changes)
MagHyTec diff covvers front and rear, (same benefits as above)
Aux additional trans fluid cooler. If not already  equipped I would add a trans temp gauge (not with the temp sensor in the pan but in a manifold on the line leaving the trans for real readings)
highest output alternator that will bolt up/

A basic code reader($100 on any tool truck) for code reading and clearing
A spare cam position sensor
A spare Crank position sensor
A spare Vehicle speed sensor
A spare ignition module
The very minimal tools needed to swap these sensors.
A spare fuel pump
A spare Serpantine belt.

I run a GM BOV the sensors above will leave you stranded, though none are difficult to change. I carry all the spares in my kit. I have had them fail while parked over night as well as on and off pavement. Nothing at all wrong with a GM for a BOV. All brands have their quirks, learn them, prepare for them, and carry on. YMMV

Very nice. Putting them all in my "to buy" list.

Cognito makes a great leveling kit. For hard 4x4 use I trust them. Boosted 4x4 launches in my Duramax did not scatter the front end. Also allowed for larger tires.

I'm surprised I haven't seen it mentioned, yet: locking gas cap. Might as well reinforce the gas tank while you're at it. People steeling fuel might be the first thing that happens when SHTF.

Bingo! ^^^

Ops

Yup...

Blend in and don't attract attention.

what about synthetic oil vs regular oil

I use synthetic oil because I get more miles on it and my truck doesn't use any of it.
You have to decide if it's cost effective for you.

Lmm or lml diesel? dpf delete!
cognito front end upgrades/ leveling kit. buckstop bumpers.

when do you change your synthetic oil?

I change my reg oil every 5K so if i use synthetic could I go 10K

that would be worth it

Synthetic or dino juice, you owe it to yourself to have a sample analyzed. Blackstone Labs is where I have mine done. Cost is around $25-$35 depending on the level of test. My 1960s technology Navistar 7.3l diesel recommends a 5K mile oil change, given the tremendous improvements made in lubricants since then there's no real reason for me or anyone else to be changing oil that frequently no matter what the manufacturer says. Don't be surprised if you find out you can extend your interval by 30 or 40%.

how long do I have to change it for a synthetic blend oil?

is that different from pure synthetic oil?

I figure if I use regular oil I would change it every 5K and synthetic or blend every 10K... does that sound about right?

synthetic. rotella is what i use with mobil filter.
queston above^