2007 Silverado, the Grosh Truck

This is my 2007 Silverado. I bought it new in September 2007 with 578 miles on it. It has literally been the family truckster since then. School runs. Grocery shopping. Back and forth from Texas to Michigan every summer. Hauled all of the materials to build the Grosh in the back. Took a very rapid trip to the hospital with Mrs. Deuce riding shotgun and came home with Deucekid #4 two days later.
It's a split front bench truck that seats six. This works well, as we're a family of six. Pretty much perfect, right? Alas, the kids are getting big and Mrs. Deuce is losing her sense of adventure and there are some very loud rumblings that the truck is to be replaced, or at least relegated to shop truck duty. This thread is mostly my attempt to justify to myself that it's worth keeping around.
The first step in transformation from daily driver to proper shop truck is the stickers that I put on this morning. Now it looks like a shop truck, right?
Don't buy a vinyl cutter, you'll turn into me, I am that guy.

The only thing I got from this is "I need to buy a vinyl cutter."

Off to shop vinyl cutters...

The girls are headed up to Michigan by plane in a couple of days to spend time with the grandpsrents. That leaves the boys and I to make our way as we see fit. The route hasn't been fully decided yet, but it will include Pikes Peak. I thought I'd like to make it up AND down the mountain without incident so I replaced the 135k mile front brakes. Yup, stock pads and rotors, and as you can see they had a little life left, but not much.
The fluid was a bit murky, so that got a flush too.
All done. Ready for another 135k. I should check and see if they make high temperature vinyl so I can cut stickers for the calipers too.

mazdeuce wrote: I should check and see if they make high temperature vinyl so I can cut stickers for the calipers too.

Not sure on that, but they do make caliper paint and you can make vinyl templates so............."Bimbo" red calipers?

Please stop it with these epic threads. I'm not getting enough done.

135k on stock pads/rotors? Niiice.

For shop use, does that also mean towing race car(s) or anything?

Plans to haul stuff in it? Or tow stuff? Specialized flat/utility bed?

In an ideal world I'd get out the tools......

In reality though, it does everything. Tows, hauls, road trips, everything. I'm not entirely sure I want to turn it into something more specialized. It would be really nice to figure out a way to sleep in it for track weekends and dragging the deucelings around the country for camping.

mazdeuce wrote: In an ideal world I'd get out the tools...... In reality though, it does everything. Tows, hauls, road trips, everything. I'm not entirely sure I want to turn it into something more specialized. It would be really nice to figure out a way to sleep in it for track weekends and dragging the deucelings around the country for camping.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/1974-alaskan-camper-im-not-working-on-a-car-again/102001/page1/

JSYK. :P.

(what spec is your truck? I cant tell by looking if v6/v8/tow etc...)

5.3, 2wd, tow package (so LSD and additional cooling). I also have whatever package it was that included side curtain air bags at the request of Mrs. Deuce. This is just about the highest spec you could get with a bench seat and it took a couple of days for the dealer to find one for us.

I have one of those Napier Sportz truck tents that assembles in the bed leftover from when I had a Tundra and an open trailer. It worked well for the sleeping part, with the kids too - but it was less than ideal the next day when I wanted to drive into town for more gas or something.

I think $200 at REI on a regular tent + footprint is money better spent than trying to sleep in the truck unless you just buy a extended height cap so there is no tear-down to drive away.

Anyone else thinking we should ban Mazdeuce for a year or so such that we can do some some work on our projects and then present it like it happened all at once when he gets re-admitted?

Course in that time he might have started and finished a Texas version of Crazy Horse monument.

I'm just happy to live vicariously through his threads.

You guys are aware that all I've done is change the brakes and apply stickers to a truck that I've owned for almost 8 years? Hungary Bill pulled the head (at least) three times and twice replaced a piston on his truck. That's an epic thread.

yes, but it just so happens that it's right after completing an epic experience at one-lap, which followed an amazing garage/workshop build, that followed a cross-country roadtrip to pick up an a/c 911 that followed ...

mazdeuce wrote: You guys are aware that all I've done is change the brakes and apply stickers to a truck that I've owned for almost 8 years? Hungary Bill pulled the head (at least) three times and twice replaced a piston on his truck. That's an epic thread.

"Everyone shut up, he's going to say something"

Sorry, you may not get that unless you've seen Forrest Gump as many times as I have.

In reply to Scottah :

Now THAT'S funny.

A good way to figure out what the truck wants to become is......road trip!
To that end, we started in Houston and will end up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just the boys and I so we're taking the long way. Today we visited Capulin Volcano National Monument in New Mexico, And Pike's Peak in Colorado.
Ran into a little traffic.
And yes, I'm making sure the truck is in all the pictures.

The boys had more fun playing in the rocks off an unmarked oil service road in northern Utah than at any proper attraction we've been at. There's a lesson here.

I also really wish I had 4wd. We would have explored back roads all day. Rain was coming and I worked roads like these when I was in Wyoming for almost a year. No place to be when they turn to goo.

The Deuceitos look like they're loving this. Nice.

Very cool thread and awesome pics.

I have actually been on that volcano!

CooL!

My RX8 was parked in that exact spot (or close to it) too.

No pictures of the truck today, just deucekid#4 playing on the rocks in Yellowstone.
We saw some cool stuff there but just too many people to really enjoy it. Trying to figure out if the truck is starting to use a bit of oil with all the hard driving. I had to add a quart near the end of the last oil change for the first time. Had to add another quart yesterday, 6k into this oil change. At 137k miles I suppose it's time to start paying attention.

NOHOME wrote: Anyone else thinking we should ban Mazdeuce for a year or so such that we can do some some work on our projects and then present it like it happened all at once when he gets re-admitted? Course in that time he might have started and finished a Texas version of Crazy Horse monument.

You forget he essentially dissappears for most of the Summer, so in a way, this is sort of his "season finally" thread. Next season to start in the Fall. Like TV.