K-Slo's '15 Sierra SLE - FF POV

[Amiodynski]

I must have read this thread 3 times now looking for ideas. Have to say I'm really impressed with your work, skill and knowledge !!

 

I'll be bugging you ( with respect ) with questions on mine. If you were closer, I'd just have you do it!

[Kyle Soldani]

I must have read this thread 3 times now looking for ideas. Have to say I'm really impressed with your work, skill and knowledge !!

 

I'll be bugging you ( with respect ) with questions on mine. If you were closer, I'd just have you do it!

Humbled, thank you! I've always really enjoyed vehicle up-fitting, building has been a hobby of mine.

 

By all means, bug away. If I can help in any way just let me know. If nothing else I can make some tutorial videos detailing wiring or anything else you need. Haha that'd be good if your were close! Have Stykers_Inc just down the road from me. We have yet to work on a project but it might be dangerous (in a good way) when we do.

[Kyle Soldani]

Alrighty so I discussed some of my next upgrades in a previous post, wanted to detail those a bit more with some pictures. Forgive me as this is essentially me thinking aloud but wanted to give you an idea of what I consider when making these upgrades.

 

Will probably be working with Strykers_Inc on some audio ideas in the future, that's where the truck lacks in my eyes.

 

As for the goods. I've been scouring the web for ideas on bumper replacements with grille guards. I showed the wife what I was looking at getting and she just kinda shrugged, so that's a good thing LOL! In all seriousness, my current brush guard will provide deer protection enough to keep me relatively safe in a collision but it'll definitely need to be replaced after. The time I worry about wildlife is when I'm responding to a call. I'd hope the God awful amount of noise my dual sirens create would usher off any deer but that's not something I'm really willing to bet. Hitting a deer at 90-96 MPH while responding on Interstate 70 would be a devastating impact and I want to ensure I have as much insurance against those bastards as I can get. Hitting a deer on a 2 lane county highway while responding at 60-70 MPH is my real worry, that ditch comes up pretty dang quick at those speeds. My goals will be just to protect critical components so I can safely slow down and get off the road to a safe spot. I want to ensure my suspension is guarded slightly and I don't rupture the radiator blinding my view in that event.

 

I found a pretty good value bumper replacement that would fit the bill it seems, Frontier Gear. Runs $1,020 shipped which is pretty well priced.

http://bumpersuperstore.com/i-17620286-frontier-gear-300-31-4008-front-bumper-gmc-1500-2014-2015.html

 

On that bumper I'll have to play with lighting ideas but I will probably upgrade the Red/Blue lighting to an X pattern with a total of four heads instead of my current two. May end up moving to a slightly larger LED head but that remains to be seen.

 

Also on the bumper I'm going to step the fog lights up to flush mounted six LED's. I 'think' these below will fit, but once I get the thing in and installed I'll make those decisions. These run $17 each which is a steal considering the reviews. They aren't Rigid, but they don't cost $200 either.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LN3Q9XA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2I8UG1BTP2749&coliid=I1LLNNY29113K3&psc=1

 

Next up will be sorting out either dual 7" off-road lights or a single larger LED bar. It looks like (from the pictures) this bumper would accommodate an LED bar of decent size pretty easy. I'd have to see what the depth is between the grill guard and the bumper, may not be able to fit 7" lights. Considerations here are going to be the difference in light output. The 7" lights are WAY brighter 80 watts per light (35 watts over my 5.5" Kohree's) however the dispensation may play a factor in their effectiveness. The beauty of these 5.5" lights is the awesome optical design which focuses the LED's, 45 watts of focused LED light is very effective and at $67 a pop I can't stop recommending these things. May be a situation where I order a single 7" to test, the question will remain - Is 45 watts of focused light better than 80 watts of 30 degree light?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WJPGSD2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2I8UG1BTP2749&coliid=IUZ8T32GQW59P&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QLZXOQ0?psc=1

 

Still doing some research on headlight upgrades but I'd like to step up to HID's. Our HID thread here is huge and could take hours to read, still working on that.. if anybody has quick suggestions of easy DIY kits that don't require anything crazy I'm all ears.

[Strykers_Inc]

Humbled, thank you! I've always really enjoyed vehicle up-fitting, building has been a hobby of mine.

 

By all means, bug away. If I can help in anyway just let me know. If nothing else I can make some tutorial videos detailing wiring or anything else you need. Haha that'd be good if your were close! Have Stykers_Inc just down the road from me. We have yet to work on a project but it might be dangerous (in a good way) when we do.

Well I will definitely help out with whatever I can.

[Amiodynski]

 

Relating the headlight upgrade, I might actually be able to provide you with some information!

 

I have upgraded all my Low Beam, High Beam, fog lights, cargo and reverse bulbs to LEDs.

 

The first three are all from www.vleds.com

They are LMZ series. Very impressed with them. All 5,000 temperature, giving off a stunning bright white light. The low beam projector from the factory is able to capture the light output and still provide a nice cutoff line.

 

If you look at my build, you can see pictures of the light output on a stationary building. While the vleds are a little expensive, the customer service has been great.

 

As far as audio, I'm not sure if you have the Bose stereo, but in my case, I simply had the Kicker subwoofer added on, and it sounds great, pretty damn clean, but does t rattle the truck like a tin can.

[kstruckcountry]

The thing you have to watch out for on the bumpers is the tubing is pretty thin on a lot of them. A lot of people run ranch hands, but their lower center bar is pretty weak from what I've seen, vs the piece of thick rectangular tubing on mine. I have seen a few newer Thunderstrucks with a piece of horizontal plate metal in place of the lower bar, which I'd bet is just as strong if not stronger. I have yet to hit a deer with mine (without the bumper I would have probably hit 3 ), but on our work trucks they've been very effective.

 

The nice thing about ordering local is you have a lot of options (holes/surface/structure). They'll generally punch holes for lights, sirens, winches, etc wherever you want them. Not sure how this is done now (at least through Tstruck), but usually a dealer (like k4 trailer or similar) will set it up.

 

The Frontiers are good quality from what I've seen. Whatever you get, make sure it has a quality powdercoat.

[Kyle Soldani]

Relating the headlight upgrade, I might actually be able to provide you with some information!

 

I have upgraded all my Low Beam, High Beam, fog lights, cargo and reverse bulbs to LEDs.

 

The first three are all from www.vleds.com

They are LMZ series. Very impressed with them. All 5,000 temperature, giving off a stunning bright white light. The low beam projector from the factory is able to capture the light output and still provide a nice cutoff line.

 

If you look at my build, you can see pictures of the light output on a stationary building. While the vleds are a little expensive, the customer service has been great.

 

As far as audio, I'm not sure if you have the Bose stereo, but in my case, I simply had the Kicker subwoofer added on, and it sounds great, pretty damn clean, but does t rattle the truck like a tin can.

 

Sweet, I've been checking out their site and they seem to have the most professional looking lights thus far. Tons of alternatives on Amazon but I'm worried about the bulb actually fitting in the housing. Did yours fit ok without having to modify or change the dust cap? I'm not looking to run TONS of light out of the stock headlights, I get a lot of my light from the off-road lights when I need it. Just looking to change the output color as I hate the stock halogen warmth.

 

I unfortunately don't have the Bose. I settled for a SLE package which has the necessities I wanted but I gave up a few others in return. I'll probably be swapping out some of the stock drivers - doors and dash, while adding a powered sub somewhere. I'm anxious to see what Strykers comes up with in his though I probably won't go quite balls to the wall, as much as I want to.

 

The thing you have to watch out for on the bumpers is the tubing is pretty thin on a lot of them. A lot of people run ranch hands, but their lower center bar is pretty weak from what I've seen, vs the piece of thick rectangular tubing on mine. I have seen a few newer Thunderstrucks with a piece of horizontal plate metal in place of the lower bar, which I'd bet is just as strong if not stronger. I have yet to hit a deer with mine (without the bumper I would have probably hit 3 ), but on our work trucks they've been very effective.

 

The nice thing about ordering local is you have a lot of options (holes/surface/structure). They'll generally punch holes for lights, sirens, winches, etc wherever you want them. Not sure how this is done now (at least through Tstruck), but usually a dealer (like k4 trailer or similar) will set it up.

 

The Frontiers are good quality from what I've seen. Whatever you get, make sure it has a quality powdercoat.

 

Ah, good points. Kind of how I feel with mine, as many deer as I see I should've hit one by now *knock on wood but they seem to elude my truck, fine by me! It's just that one time at 80+ that freaks me out.

 

I'll have to checkout the local shops. I know we have a few pretty reputable shops, 4x4 LAND and Xpert Offroad that are well established - may see what they can come up with. Thanks for the points!

[GMmaniac]

Is the Havis console the 8 inch or the 11 inch version ? Where was best place you found to buy it at and the other bottom bracket ? I have the 3/4 ton truck version of your truck. I use remote heads with radios mounted in a DU HA under back seat. Like your build, I'm a ham also. Enjoyed your videos..

 

Thank you

 

Kenny

[Kyle Soldani]

Is the Havis console the 8 inch or the 11 inch version ? Where was best place you found to buy it at and the other bottom bracket ? I have the 3/4 ton truck version of your truck. I use remote heads with radios mounted in a DU HA under back seat. Like your build, I'm a ham also. Enjoyed your videos..

 

Thank you

 

Kenny

 

Hey Kenny, sorry for the delay. I have C-AS-840-11 which is 8" of mounting space and 11" deep. As for the bracket I ordered all of my stuff through Conrad Fire out of KC as they are relatively local. You'll have to find a dealer for you via HAVIS' website but Conrad has been great to deal with for me thus far.

[GMmaniac]

Appreciate you getting back to me. Know how it is.

 

Thank you

 

73

 

Kenny

[Kyle Soldani]

Appreciate you getting back to me. Know how it is.

 

Thank you

 

73

 

Kenny

 

Busy end to 2015!

 

73 to you as well.

[GMmaniac]

Could you show a video of the passenger front dash/door where you had taken power from for your camera etc..?? Looked on youtube and didn't see one. Will be having the wires run under a dash mat like you did. Appreciate it

 

Thank you

 

73

 

Kenny

[Ryan Fetzer]

Great build. Couple quick questions if you don't mind.

 

How are the siren speakers holding up being mounted to the plastic? Getting the speaker mounted (hopefully this weekend) is the last step I have to my siren install.

 

Have you come up with a new solution for your rear step lights? If not, I recommend Feniex Cannon. I've got them mounted in mine and they look great and give off a very wide pattern. I can get you a video if you're interested. I also drilled out my factory fog lights and mounted some in there as well. Since they have multiple modes, they can work as an LED Fog light, or red/white flashers.

 

I like where you put the intersection lights and may look at trying something similar on mine depending on how it looks with the hideaways in the fogs already.

[Strykers_Inc]

Good seeing you yesterday...new bumper looks excellent!