More off road fun!

[arveetek]

My family and I recently returned from a week-long off-road trip in Southeastern Colorado. Had a really great time, and the old high-mileage Tahoe performed flawlessly!

Found a small mud hole that I couldn't quite clear on the Rawley Mine / Bonanza trail, though. Luckily my buddy with a built 4Runner was able to winch me out without much fuss. Made for good stories the rest of the trip. My wife let out a good scream when we fell in!

I was actually trying to go AROUND the mud pit, but ended up getting stuck.

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I was quite amazed at how the elevation affected the 6.5L. I don't get much smoke at home around 2,000 ft. Get up around 6500 and higher, and boy she smokes like a freight train! And the turbo lag is very noticeable.

Casey

[a5150nut]

Looks like fun!

[Robyn]

Brings back fond memories from loooooooong long ago.

Glad all went well.

[trbankii]

Good thing you had a Toyota along to help you out! ;)

[arveetek]

Good thing you had a Toyota along to help you out! ;)

Ha ha! Yeah, it seems that the "overland" crowd I hang out with seem to favor Toyota's quite a bit! There were 5 families on this trip, with three Toyota's: two 4Runners and one Tacoma. The other vehicle was a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'm always the lone Chevy!

Casey

[DieselDavy]

I can't believe how much you have stashed in the back of the Tahoe! That is one of my complaints about mine. Not enough storage room. Looks like I need to learn from you! Between the weight of all that "stuff" and the 6.5, it's no wonder you slid in there!

[arveetek]

I can't believe how much you have stashed in the back of the Tahoe! That is one of my complaints about mine. Not enough storage room.



Yes, very little storage in the rear with the factory spare tire location. I built my own swing-out tire carrier this summer, and that freed up a ton of space!


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Here we are all packed, ready to take our family of four for a 9 day trip to Colorado!!


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I built a shelf to help store all the items and make access easier. And that's a Dometic 12V fridge in the lower RH corner. That came in super handy for this trip!!

Casey

[trbankii]

Nice setup! I have to spend some time customizing the Yukon once I get its kinks ironed out.

[snarl]

How did you make that tire carrier?

[arveetek]

How did you make that tire carrier?


I copied the design from a post I found on Expedition Portal:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/95134-home-built-rear-rack-project

Casey

[KitsonDiesel]

Looks like loads of fun getting into them sticky situations !!

[arveetek]

Just reminiscing about old times. Here's one of my favorite pictures from that trip:



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That was taken in the Oklahoma panhandle on the way home.

I haven't done much off-roading since this last trip out to Colorado in 2016. Right after this we bought a new travel trailer, and have done more conventional camping. Lately, however, I've gotten the itch to get back on some trails.

However, I think the many water crossings over the years have started to take their toll on the body of my Tahoe. The rocker panels are starting to show signs of some rust, along with the lower edge of both doors. I'll need to address that soon.

Casey

[More Power]

Cool set of photos, Casey! Thanks for sharing.