Jeeper's Chevy Colorado 2.0

I have been waiting and waiting for the right time to buy another truck. My last Colorado seemed to just keep running, despite the nearly 300,000 miles it had on it. I have been really wanting to buy a new Ford Ranger, and with the 2019 models being on sale it seemed like a good time to look at one. I was less excited about the Ranger after we drove it. It was fine, but not everything I had made it up to be in my mind. I was really hoping for a long bed this go round.. but the Ranger doesn't have that option in a 4 door truck. I was willing to look past this.. but long story short, Larry Miller Ford played too many games when negotiating.
We went over to a Chevy Dealer and tried out the 2019 Colorado. Another long story short, after driving a couple trucks, I preferred the cloth seats and the gas engine.
We did some chatting, and I walked away with a new truck.



It's a v6. Has a rear locker. It has the upgraded 'black out' package.. so I have black emblems instead of gold

First item for me was to get a topper for it. I work out of the truck and need tools and such to be protected from weather and theft. I had to order a shell, so I made sure to get side access windows this time. I am quite excited to have them this time, and anticipate it being a nice feature.






It took 9 weeks for the dumb shell to come in. I have been dying to get it here so I can start on the other things I want. I have got my bed boxes almost done, and tools loaded. I needed to see how much difference it made on the rear suspension so that I could get the right parts for the lift. With the additional weight on the bed the rear fenders sit exactly 1" higher than the fronts. Looks like I will be adding an add a leaf to the rear that will get me about 1-1.5", and then a 2.5" for the front.

I have a long list of Items that I need, and a few that I want, that will hopefully happen pretty quick.

 

[DAA]

Mine has had the cover on it since day one. Whole thing looks like ten miles of bad road now, but it still works great. Actually hasn't looked like yours since about day two...

- DAA

 

[N-Smooth]

Well, mountain dew is the original need.. but I am sure it will also house a myriad of candy bars and drinks to supply my never ending peanut butter, chocolate and liquid cravings.

Seems like a fun game of grabbing a beverage and a mystery snack.

 

[TRD270]

Just one more thumbs up on the cover. My fridge is 9 years old, had the cover on it since day one, still looks like new underneath. Cover is still holding up nicely as well.

 

[moab_cj5]

I have the cover on my Fridge too. Haven't looked under the cover since I put it on, but I could care less what the fridge looks like as long as it keeps my food and drinks cold...

 

[nnnnnate]

I think you should build a trailer just for the fridge and dew, in my case it would be for a fridge and the Dr.

 

[Tonkaman]

I think you should build a trailer just for the fridge and dew, in my case it would be for a fridge and the Dr.

^^^I fully support this idea

 

[J-mobzz]

Yeah he definitely needs another trailer!

 

[jeeper]

I installed some electrical to the bed of the truck. I used an ARB fridge install kit. The wiring is sheathed giving is some extra protection. I have a 12v plug, 2 USB plugs, and 4 rocker switches. The switches don't power anything yet, but one will be for an air compressor. I don't know what to do with the others yet.





I installed a rope LED light around the back glass. I ran it to a button switch that can be pushed easily from the drivers side window or the back window.



And then after all the great recommendations to use the Fridge cover, I decided to ignore them, and went for a smaller cheap fridge.





After all the debating in my brain, I decided on the smaller fridge to keep more available room in the bed of the truck.
And I REALLY like having the ARB in my big truck, so now I won't have to swap it back and forth.

I also got a power inverter installed to keep my DeWALT batteries charged.

 

[nnnnnate]

Looks like only 8 or 10 dew for in there. Is that enough?

 

[jeeper]

Looks like only 8 or 10 dew for in there. Is that enough?

It can hold 20 cans. Take a few out for candy bar space, and lets call it 15. That should get me through a day if I am careful. I can restock each night.

 

[Tonkaman]

Looks great! You’ll love having the LED strip in there. I use the crap out of mine in the bed of the taco.

I can’t tell in the photos, is that diamond plate something you added or something already in the bed?

 

[jeeper]

I can’t tell in the photos, is that diamond plate something you added or something already in the bed?

It's just a piece I cut to stick in the corner.

 

[DAA]

Very nice!

For comparison, couple pics of my fridge and the wiring from two days ago...

Yours looks a heckuva lot nicer!


- DAA

 

[jeeper]

Very nice!

For comparison, couple pics of my fridge and the wiring from two days ago...

Yours looks a heckuva lot nicer!


- DAA

Ha ha. Mine does like better.. but yours has Many happier miles on than mine does!

 

[jeeper]

I did hit up the Walmart for a pool noodle to help keep the cans from rolling around all the time.
The happiness of my first (and second) cold Mountain Dew while out in the sun today was so wonderful.

 

[jeeper]

I'm not overly concerned with MPG's.. but I do watch them closely. When I brought the truck home, I could hit high 18's / low 19's pretty easy. I ran regular fuel, premium fuel, and ethanol free fuel. None seemed to be any better than the other.
After I added the shell and tools I was mid to high 18's.
After the lift (still just a lift. Stock tires) my first tank got me 16. It was mostly in town, with minimal freeway, so I didn't think much of it. I am now on tank 3 after the lift, and even after a drive to Stansbury Park and back, I am still only at 17.5mpg. Can a lift really make that big of a difference? Obviously it can.. because it has.. but I don't get it. 🤷‍♂️
I have heard from other owners that removing the air dam below the front bumper causes a loss of about 1 mpg as well. Seems crazy to me.

 

[I Lean]

I'm not overly concerned with MPG's.. but I do watch them closely. When I brought the truck home, I could hit high 18's / low 19's pretty easy. I ran regular fuel, premium fuel, and ethanol free fuel. None seemed to be any better than the other.
After I added the shell and tools I was mid to high 18's.
After the lift (still just a lift. Stock tires) my first tank got me 16. It was mostly in town, with minimal freeway, so I didn't think much of it. I am now on tank 3 after the lift, and even after a drive to Stansbury Park and back, I am still only at 17.5mpg. Can a lift really make that big of a difference? Obviously it can.. because it has.. but I don't get it. 🤷‍♂️
I have heard from other owners that removing the air dam below the front bumper causes a loss of about 1 mpg as well. Seems crazy to me.

The underside of a truck is not the smoothest/most aerodynamic part of the vehicle. Tires are like walls to the air also. Keeping air out from underneath as much as possible really helps MPG's. That's why factory vehicles have those ugly air dams to begin with. So yeah, taking that off and/or lifting the thing will definitely have a negative affect.

 

[Tonkaman]

I think that’s pretty typical results especially on small engine vehicles. I think bigger trucks don’t get effected as much because their engines have plenty of torque to power through

 

[jeeper]

I was very afraid that this Chinese fridge would kill my battery quickly. I started with it on its highest safety setting. The fridge didn’t even stay on over night before shutting itself down. I would much prefer this over having it drain the battery over night. I took a gamble and set the safety to medium. I didn’t drive the truck for about 36 hours. This morning I went out early to give myself time to jump start the truck, but it started just fine, and the fridge even had little ice droplets in it. I was totally surprised that it hadn’t shut off yet, or drained the battery. In celebration, I had a very cold Mountain Dew for breakfast.

 

[jeeper]

I have twice now had the battery die in the truck from the fridge. Yesterday it had sat for about 48 hrs between drives. With the safety on high, it cuts off way too early, so I will just have to know that I need to unplug the fridge if I am not going to use the truck for a couple days.

I've got a little more than 8,000 miles on it now. It's dirty and scratched already (thanks to my mom ). I am really enjoying the truck, but the 'new' has totally worn off. It feels like any other truck does.

I picked up a street motorcycle the other day, and had my wife drive the colorado home. It's always weird to drive by your own vehicles. They seem to look different than they do when you always see them parked. I've always been pleased when I see it.. but now that I have driven next to it, I can only think that it looks like a grandpa truck. Wheels and tires would help a lot.