2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Well I got a new truck so it's time to start the build thread now. I was daily driving a 2005 GMC Canyon that my parents let me use while I was in college and it was up to 149k miles and I started having smaller issues with it. After college I moved about 4 hours away from family so after I got a majority of my student loans paid off a vehicle started to become a necessity.

I started looking around November and I decided I wanted a 2014-18 GMC 4x4 Regular Cab Short Bed 5.3. I was looking in the 40-60 k miles range. In December I found this truck for sale, but when I called the dealer they said it had sold 30 minutes before I called. That's when I really started looking for a truck, searching pretty much nation wide. I went and looked at a couple but none were quite right. Then this one popped up again and it was for sale in the same area. I figured they just hadn't taken the ad down but I figured I would call anyways. It turns out that the first dealer had auctioned it to this dealer and it was for sale.

This is an odd truck. It is a 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 5.3 Regular Cab Short Bed SL. Although it is an SL it is extremely well optioned in many regards. I have the original window sticker but I don't have a picture of that right now, but I will get it later. This truck has carpet flooring, the convivence package ( better radio, power windows, etc.), trailering package, 3.42's, G80, and a manual shift transfer case. Honestly if I were ordering this truck new there isn't much I would change. A trailer brake, the auxiliary switches, changing it to woodland green, a rear slider, and maybe cab lights. Most of this can/will be added or I can live without.

What was really appealing about this truck is that it had 24,918 miles when I bought it. It was bought new in Anderson, Indiana, presumably by an old man. He added the topper, the aftermarket running boards, and floor liners. I haven't been able to find anything else. He also serviced the truck exclusively at the dealership, which is shown on the Car Fax. Oil was changed every 3,000 miles religiously with tires being rotated every 6,000 miles, and I believe the only other thing they did was replace the ABS module. I believe this truck even has the original tires. After he was done with the truck he traded it back into Ed Martin GMC at Anderson and it went to auction and Sam Pierce bought it. I then bought it from them.

Now for what I plan to do to this truck. The topper that was put on this truck was not designed for this truck, it is too short, and the cab profile does not match. I will be keeping an eye out for one of those. Along with factory GMC rectangular running boards. These hang down too low and just don't look right. I am going to try to find an extra air dam and that I can trim along a rib. I like the look of the air dam but it hangs too low for my liking, but I'm not ready to cut up this one. Next will be an AFM/DOD disabler and a catch can for the intake. This is all stuff that will happen fairly soon.

After that Fox Coilovers in the front and Fox shocks in the rear. This along with the air dam/running boards will let me pick my ride height before I get tires. Right now I am thinking a +1" level in the front. I will probably run 285/70r17's, there is a general consensus that these are the largest that you can run at stock height to +1" level. Depending on ride I might take the overload leaf out of the rear, and depending on ride height I may take the 1-1/4" block out of the rear. I think this will be too level as I like a little bit of rake, but I am still open to the idea. To replace the overload leaf I will add a Ridetech Suspension Air Assist kit.

As far as factory options that I want to add are the auxiliary switches, which is possible, but the relays will have to be wired in a little differently. A factory trailer brake controller is on my list too. I need to figure out if this is possible. When I bought the truck I was given a pig tail to connect to a trailer brake controller, but I am not sure if this will work with a factory controller. I need to dig into some wiring schematics... yay

Now for the pictures. The Blue 2005 GMC Canyon is the truck that I was driving, it's a good little truck but it needed to be demoted to extra vehicle status, which is what my parents did. The White 2024 GMC Sierra is a 2wd that my parents bought new on the Thursday before I bought my truck. They are going to be lowering that truck with a Ridetech Coilover conversion and axle flip kit. Then my 2016 GMC 4x4. I will get the picture with of the window sticker, pictures of the inside, and some of the truck in the daylight.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

A rare combo these days!
Enjoy, Greg

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Rare but welcomed sight. Good luck with it.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Well I got a picture of the window sticker but it didn't turn out. I did have to get a picture of the interior before I took the paper mats out of it. The interior is nice but I am going to have to get some seat covers or something before I get those light gray seats dirty. Mom and dad came to visit and they brough their Aussie Doodle that is always getting dirty and I was a little nervous lol

The other two pictures are some cool trucks I parked next to. The Bob Luegers truck is local parts truck. I remember looking at trucks on the lot one day and thinking that was the most tempting truck on the lot. It turns out I bought the 1/2 ton version of that. The last picture is a guy at work. Its lowered 1/3-2/4(maybe). It's a 2wd that throws off perspective a little bit.

I took the truck down some muddy roads over the weekend and turning off traction control and stabilitrack, putting it in 4wd and turning on tow haul made it pretty confident. I do need a little more height and better tires though.

Speaking of tires I am going to do 285/70r17s but I have been trying to figure out which kind. I am leaning towards Goodyear Duratracs, BFG HD TA KT, Falken Wildpeak R/T, or Nitto Ridge Grapplers. This will be a little because they are EXPENSIVE and I have some other stuff I need to get done first.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

I run the Duratracs on my 2017 Sierra 1500. They do have great traction, but the treadwear is a bit disappointing, and they are loud. No other issues with them other than initial price.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Can I ask what you had them on and what kind of use, ie towing? I had them on the 2005 Canyon and my dad put 31x10.5r15 Duratracs at 80k ish miles and they still have another 5-10k miles at 149k miles. We have them on many of our trucks and I am familiar with them. They are great tires but my family currently has 4 trucks with Duratracs and I'm looking for a change. Although they are just damn good tires. I can get discounts on tires through work so that will probably play into some of my decision too.

On another note, I have figured out what shock I am going to put on the front of my truck. I got 880-02-525 Fox shocks. 3 inch lift, 2.5 diameter external bypass shocks. These are actually the shocks off of the Reaper Lingenfelter trucks that were laying around at work. I believe that have been lowered to a 2 inch lift which is what I will be targeting. I am getting some hardware then they will be going on. I wanted the next step up that were adjustable but they were quite a bit more and these fell in my lap. I am checking on valving and some other things then I will figure out the rear shock situation.

https://ridefox.com/products/factory...=Sierra%201500

Also, does anyone have any experience with Deaver mini pack rear leaf springs? The link below states that it will work with my truck but the Deaver website does not list the same year range. I'm going to try to get in touch with them later but I just found them last night.

https://www.vividracing.com/deaver-s...RoCoJgQAvD_BwE

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Well, I have some updates. The original tires started to leaking so I had to upgrade. I ended up getting 285/70r17 BFG HD-Terrain K/T's. I am very happy with them so far, and no rubbing at stock height.

Speaking of stock height, I changed directions a little bit. I will not be going with Fox 2 Inch shocks with adjustable height from 0-2" over stock, and I will probably be setting the height at 1.25-1.5" over stock.

I also acquired a new project, a 1953 Merc Sedan 2 door post car that I will be rebuilding. I will be starting a thread in alternative tinkering's.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Nice!

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

Well I have some news, I got my Fox Coilovers put on. I set them at about 1.375" of lift and got everything aligned and it drives and looks great. I wish I would have just bought the rear shocks at the same time, but I can't believe the difference front and rear. Before the front was under shocked and now the rear is under shocked.

https://ridefox.com/products/perform...=Sierra%201500

Above is the link for the coilovers I got. Although, I take the nitrogen pressure down to 125 psi, although I would prefer a slightly higher pressure. It rides great and takes large speed bumps well, but offroad it is a little soft. This set up is a good mix of on road and offroad though.

This is a 2.0" "level" and out of the box after everything settled, my truck got about 2-2.25" lift in the front and was a 1/4" down in the front. I adjusted this down another 3/4-7/8" down in the front and that put me at 1-1.125" down in the front. I believe that trucks need a rake to them but the factory 3" rake was too much for this body style for me, as well as the horrendous factory ground clearance.

All around, the truck looks better, rides better and really didn't affect gas mileage/highway abilities. I would do this again in a heart beat.

Re: 2016 GMC Sierra K1500 RCSB
 

And after I got the coilovers put on, I immediately took it on a trip. I went to Hocking Hills with my parents and stayed in a cabin. I took it on some back "roads" and that's where most of my testing came from. It took rough gravel roads great, along with handling the curvy roads about the same as stock (it did NOT wallow in the corners). The increased height didn't really affect the gas mileage either, I got 18.0 and 18.5 mpg. This is lower than usual but I was in much hilly terrain and that is about what my mixed driving is.

Future plans for this truck include using HP Tuners to delete the DOD, find factory GM steps to get rid of the grandpa steps, finding a true fitting topper, tuning the transmission, and getting matching fox rear shocks. This more minor stuff that I will do as I find deals though.

The pictures are my 2016 and my dad's 2014 GMC Sierra 2500 6.0 that he bought new after the new body style came out. It now has 60,000 miles on it and 99% of them are towing or out of state vacations. This truck is almost as nice as when it drove off the dealership lot, and is much higher optioned after he got done with it. Don't ask him to sell it either, I have first dibs