LocostUSA.com

Learning how to build Lotus Seven replicas...together!
It is currently March 29, 2024, 4:34 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 25 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: May 17, 2016, 5:46 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
I ordered my Diesel Colorado on October 26th, almost the first date of availability, but GM didn't build any for the next few months, and then ... Colorados/Canyons were going fast enough in the US that they weren't filling more than a half-dozen Canadian orders a week until recently. But last week my truck arrived by train and today (May 17th!) I picked it up. It's too early to form an opinion, beyond it being new and shiny, and that it goes clatter-clatter instead of vroom-vroom. Fifty klicks from the dealer to home, plus a spin for the missus is hardly indicative of what is to come.

Next week I may be going to Fredericton New Brunswick to tow a boat home for a friend - this will be a better indicator of its utility as a tow vehicle. Before then there are gardening chores to be done. It's not really a truck 'til the bed gets dirty.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 17, 2016, 7:15 pm 
Offline

Joined: June 24, 2007, 6:04 pm
Posts: 1521
Congrats :thmbsup: on the new toy, look forward to hearing your thoughts as the miles progress.

Al

_________________
Super Seven 3.4


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 18, 2016, 7:30 am 
Offline

Joined: February 28, 2009, 11:09 pm
Posts: 1307
Location: Connersville, Indiana
"It's not really a truck 'til the bed gets dirty."
How true. It is saddening to see all the potentially great workhorses on the road, doing Thunderbird duty. I haul more in our Focus wagon than they do in their 250 Super Duty. Heaven forbid they scratch the paint in the bed. What a waste.

Bill


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 20, 2016, 1:32 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: August 27, 2005, 1:04 am
Posts: 1414
Location: Kamloops, BC, Canada
BBlue wrote:
"It's not really a truck 'til the bed gets dirty."
How true. It is saddening to see all the potentially great workhorses on the road, doing Thunderbird duty. I haul more in our Focus wagon than they do in their 250 Super Duty. Heaven forbid they scratch the paint in the bed. What a waste.

Bill

I agree that most people use pickups as just a status symbol and an awful lot of people (around here at least) just end up in a dick waving contest to see who can have the biggest lifted diesel truck with the most power for picking up groceries in. I'd normally stay out of a truck discussion, but since you specifically mentioned F-250's, I'll post a couple pictures of mine, which is actually used as a truck should be. It's a completely stock 2010 with a 5.4 has engine, and it's been my work truck since new. I've had it for 6 years, and it's got over 200,000 miles now, mostly rough oil patch roads. My current work schedule has me 90/10 off road/pavement. It's definitely never been babied. I've gone nearly 100mph (97mph speed governor) on dirt, gravel, and ice roads with it, and loaded with my tools and other work stuff it weighs nearly 10,000 lbs. I used to get a lot of flack from other guys for not having a diesel, or a lift kit and big tires, or a new truck every couple years, but this thing keeps on working with hardly more than routine maintenance.

Image

Here's my office/workbench.
Image

Sorry for the hijack, enjoy getting your new truck dirty Warren.

Kristian

_________________
V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 20, 2016, 5:16 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
Posts: 5326
Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Congratulations to you, Warren. I don't know if you remember, but we had that "Why aren't there any small diesel trucks/SUVs in North America?" conversation a while back. I see you bought the first serious product to market that solved that problem. I've only seen good reviews of the diesel Colorado so far. Hopefully, it's going to be a great truck for you.

I'll sort of semi-hijack your thread with this, but I got a new (to me) truck too, about 3 weeks ago. It's a 1984 Toyota, so it's a little retro at 32 years old [LOL]. However, it is very original and a 4x4, so I'm happy with that as it was very low cost, and is totally functional. I finally have something to transport stuff in, and tow things with, for my Locost undertaking. Post Locost project, it's going to be an expedition vehicle.

Cheers,

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 20, 2016, 9:39 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
If you are after a future project there are guys that put VW Diesels in Toyota 4WD pickups ....

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 21, 2016, 7:10 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
Posts: 5326
Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
Warren Nethercote wrote:
If you are after a future project there are guys that put VW Diesels in Toyota 4WD pickups ....


You're reading my mind, Warren. One of my internet friends had actually completed a TDI swap into his '83 Hilux (http://www.offroadfabnet.com/forums/sho ... php?t=9418). He ended up doing his own very professional adapter and full turbo installation. His success was a major reason I got this truck. He and I were friends on 3 different websites including this one. He wanted to do a Locost after completing his truck. I was going to help him navigate and understand all the Locost information and come up with a configuration that worked for him, and he was going to help me with the TDI swap. Tragically, he died snowboarding. I'd already made arrangements to get the '84 before I learned of his passing, so I just followed through and completed that transaction. It's a plenty useful truck even with the gas engine. It's just slow.

Subsequent to his passing, I've found diesel swaps that use the Mercedes OM-617, the Cummins OBT4 (it's a total rock-crawling animal) and also later Toyota turbo-diesels up around 190HP. People have also swaped in GM 4.3 Vortec engines and later gasoline turbo I4s and N/A V6 Toyotas too. There are a lot of options. I'll just have to keep looking at them and decide on one once my Locost is done. I may even keep the 22R and get it up to 150 HP or so. Decisions, decisions!

Cheers,

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 22, 2016, 2:05 pm 
Offline

Joined: January 31, 2008, 5:34 pm
Posts: 781
Location: SW Wes Consin
No small trucks is a big bummer. A result of the Sec 179 tax loop hole no doubt.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: May 25, 2016, 9:56 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
After a week, not much to report on the Colorado, other than general satisfaction. My first fill-up (when down to nearly 1/4 tank) gave me 8.4 l/100km in mixed city/hwy (mostly highway) driving (27 MPG US). I refilled after 690 km because we were renting a trailer to take to New Brunswick to pick up a boat. But U-Haul didn't have the Diesel Colorado in their database yet and wouldn't rent the trailer to us with that tow vehicle - so we rented one of their F250s. Different story on fuel consumption there: 17 l/100km towing the empty trailer to Frederiction and 18 l/100km towing the 4000 lb boat back (that's 14 or 13 US MPG respectively - actually not bad for that monster). It was a fairly slow tow coming back, because the trailer was too short and inclined to fish-tail whenever we got to 90 kph. So it was 80 kph (50MPH or so) all the way. Fortunately no-one bothered us too much - we were 9 ' 2" wide and 14' 3" high with no over-size load permits.... but the overpasses on the Trans-Canada highway are designed for over-tall loads.

The Colorado has exceeded expectations in at least one way. My previous trucks have been under-damped and required aftermarket gas shocks to control wheel hop. We did some gravel road driving on the weekend and the Colorado has properly damped suspension right out of the box. But if anyone ever offers a suspension lowering kit I'm getting one: a 2 or 3 inch drop would still work on gravel roads and would make loading roof racks much easier.

Sorry I couldn't report on towing performance.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 16, 2016, 2:02 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
When you Christen the bed with its first load of beach stone is the truck no longer a toy for boys?

(PS - on the way home I engaged tow/haul mode and got to listen to the Jake brake! :D )

(PPS - the first real complaint. The rear bumper is too close-fitting. When you drop the tailgate to unload dirt or gravel, some gets between the end of the bed and the tailgate, as on every pickup. On my previous truck, the Dakota, you wiggled the tailgate and all that stuff fell on the ground, but with the Colorado, it just falls an inch or so and jambs between the bumper and the body work, whose gap is smaller than the gap between the lowered tailgate and the bed. :evil: Much digging with fingers ensues, if you don't want to listen to that stuff rattling about as you drive.)


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 16, 2016, 11:02 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: October 24, 2008, 2:13 pm
Posts: 5326
Location: Carlsbad, California, USA
So, have you hauled your boat yet? If so, how did it handle (power, stability with a towed load, etc.) when you did so?

Cheers,

_________________
Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 16, 2016, 11:36 pm 
Offline
Toyotaphobe
User avatar

Joined: April 5, 2008, 2:25 am
Posts: 4829
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
How is storage in that truck?

Are there cubby holes for tie downs or tools?

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 17, 2016, 5:59 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Lonnie,

I sold my Soling, pending a new boat so the trip to New Brunswick was supposed to be my towing test. So don't know, thanks to U-Haul.

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 17, 2016, 6:02 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: January 2, 2009, 1:45 pm
Posts: 1318
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Carguy,

The bed has stake-pockets and 13 attachment points for factory accessaries in addition to four fixted tie-downs. I have bought four factory tie-down rings (250 lb capacity each) and installed two on each side - but they are movable. The box is much deeper than the one I had on the Dakota, but much the same length and width. I ordered the factory spray-in bed-liner which is much better than the plastic thing I had in my Dakota.

Interior is OK. There are pockets in each door, albeit shallow, and pockets and a covered compartment in the console. There is a storage bin under the back seat and the rear seatback folds forward for a flat surface.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Warren
Isuzu Pickup/SR20DE, +401 COLD frame
Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11601


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: June 17, 2016, 6:26 pm 
Offline
Toyotaphobe
User avatar

Joined: April 5, 2008, 2:25 am
Posts: 4829
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
It's great to have tie down points, but it's even better when you have a place to store the tie downs. 8)

I'm very soon in the market for a new truck and storage is in short supply I'm finding.

Well that and a decent back seat because I use mine like a car too.

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 25 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
cron
POWERED_BY