Silverado 2500 transformed into mega tourer

Call me Ishmael, or don’t, it’s not really the point.

What matters is that 173 years ago, under the romantic but impractical glow of candlelight, old Herman Melville, quill in hand, embarked on a literary journey that would leave a mark as enduring as the oil stains of a Land Rover on every driveway it parked.

His opening volley in a gargantuan 200,000-word epic, Moby Dick, was as simple as it was profound. It wasn’t just about a bloke chasing a rather large, moody fish. No, it was the ultimate tale of obsession, a man versus nature saga, where Captain Ahab, that madman at the helm of the Pequod, throws caution to the ocean winds in his quest to nab Moby Dick, his own personal Mt Everest.

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Fast forward to today, on the other side of the Pacific, Ian Stuck has been writing his own version of Melville’s epic.

After toying with an array of mechanical leviathans, from beefed-up Amarok’s to an LC79 so over the top we shot it for the cover of this very mag, Ian’s quest for automotive nirvana might just have reached its peak. Like Ahab, he’s been relentless, unyielding, in his pursuit of the ultimate machine. And he might have done it.

The white beast he’s put together isn’t just another tourer; it’s a testament to man’s unyielding desire to conquer the unconquerable, to build something so perfect, it would make even Melville put down his quill and stare in awe.

In a world where most are content with mediocrity, Ian, like Ahab, isn't just chasing dreams, he’s lassoing them and dragging them into reality.

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Making big bigger

The 2023 Silverado 2500 you’re looking at has more than just its colour in common with the mythical Moby Dick.

It’s roughly the same size, too. At 6386mm long, 2263mm high, and tipping the scales at 3742kg in completely stock form, the Silverado 2500 is an absolute beast before you do so much as fit a set of floor mats.

Don’t let its size fool you though; while a Silverado may not be the nimblest beast on either side of the Pacific, it’s certainly one of the most powerful. Under the bonnet, a 6.6L V8 turbo-diesel Duramax engine punches out 332kW at 2800rpm and an eye-watering 1234Nm of torque at just 1600rpm, backed up by a 10-speed auto.

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It fires that drive front and rear through driveshafts the size of telegraph poles into diffs the size of anchors.

Up front, the independent suspension now sits the Silverado’s nose a full 8-inches higher thanks to a comprehensive lift kit from US-based Readylift. The kit features a diff drop to correct the CV angles, 5mm steel plate cross members for lower mounting of the control arms, tube steel upper control arms with beefed-up ball joints, and even fabricated steel spindles to round out the package.

While it was on the hoist for fitting up of the hard parts, AMVE 4X4 also slotted in a set of Rough Country heavy-duty forged tie-rod ends and a set of monotube Falcon 1.1 shocks.

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A helper airbag setup was also given the nod from Boss Air Suspension on the Gold Coast

Down the back a set of 5-inch fabricated lift blocks give the Silverado a serious boost in height, with a set of Readylift leaf springs rounding out the package to a matching 8-inch over stock; that’s a huge 203mm ride height increase in Aussie numbers.

To help with the varying loads of touring versus play, a helper airbag setup was also given the nod from Boss Air Suspension on the Gold Coast. The combination has given Ian enough space to shoehorn in a set of Nittos Ridge Grappler tyres punching in at a huge 38-inch diameter and 13.5-inch width.

They’re wrapped around 20 x 10-inch Fuel Quake alloys with a -18 offset adding a little salt to the Silverado’s wheel track.

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Light it up

Of course, a lift and some wheels and tyres aren’t enough to have you gracing the pages of 4X4 Australia, so Ian’s Silverado has copped some serious exterior upgrades too.

At the pointy end of the harpoon, an Addictive Desert Designs Bomber HD front steel bumper not only armours-up the Chevy’s soft bits but provides a mounting place for enough lighting to turn the North Start to dust. Mounted front and centre on the bar itself are two Stedi 40-inch curved dual-row LED ’bars.

Matching Stedi LED cube lights fill the side pockets as well. Hiding behind the lights is a Runva 12,500lb winch.

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Should the combined 40,000-plus lumens of front-facing LEDs not get the job done, there’s another 23,000 lumens worth up top with a 50-inch double-row LED ’bar from Stedi finding a home mounted to the front of a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform.

Moving down the flanks and there’s a trio of goodies ensuring the body looks oh-so-clean for years to come. A set of colour-matched fender flares from Bushwacker keeps the salt and mud spray inside the wheel arches.

A full satin clear PPF wrap from Slick Azz protects the paint itself. There’s even AMP Research Extreme powered drop-down side steps that protect the sill panels while giving easy access to the Chevy’s hoisted interior. After all, it’s hard to look adventurous carrying a step ladder around to get into your ride.

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The back story

Down past the three-adult-wide leather-clad rear bench seat is where things turn from show to go.

Kicking off the party is a banquet hall-sized canopy with AMVE 4X4 piecing together a 2400mm long specimen. Made almost entirely out of lightweight aluminium, the canopy features twin-skin construction, plenty lockable under tray storage boxes and a trundle tray big enough to charge rent.

There’s also a folding ladder up back, a full-length integrated roof rack and a sliding window with security mesh for airflow without sacrificing security. And that’s just the outside.

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Open the Raptor-lined canopy doors and face a glistening white powder-coated interior fit for work and play.

Along the passenger side, AMVE 4X4 has kitted it out with an epic 12V Adventurer setup from the team at Enerdrive, which is powered by a 200Ah lithium battery with 40A AC and DC chargers. There’s a Simarine monitor and switch set up and a 2000W inverter. The package powers a plethora of 12V, 240V and USB outlets throughout the canopy.

It also provides plenty of grunt for the 130L Bushman upright fridge, a 25L 12V microwave, and the old touring favourite, the pie oven. On the driver’s side, there are bulk storage options as well as pull-out drawers and a prep bench.

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Underneath the canopy, a little extra touring ability was added with a couple of custom tanks.

The aluminium offering stores an additional 100L of fuel, gravity feeding into the Chevy’s 136L main tank for a touring range well north of 1000km. There’s a 120L stainless tank full of drinking water plumbed into a 12V pump too.

With the sheer practicality of a camping setup on a full-size rig like Ian’s, it’s not hard to see why full-size American pick-ups are becoming more common in the Aussie bush.

Sure, they might not be the trick for tight winding switchbacks and dense overhead canopies, but if your idea of an epic adventure is motoring along the beach with the angry swell of the Pacific Ocean for a soundtrack then Ian’s endless pursuit just might be the greatest white whale of them all.

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Monotube vs twin-tube

With so many 4x4 products on the market promising to enhance your vehicle and get you further than ever before it’s hard to decipher what’s useful tech info and what’s marketing buzzwords.

We can’t comment on things being game-changing, but we can lift the veil a little on shock absorber technology, specifically why so many people talk about monotube shocks being an upgrade from twin-tube designs. Surely more is better… right?

Well, not exactly. Y’see, when it comes to shock absorbers they all fundamentally do the same thing; when the shock opens or closes, a piston with tiny holes in it is pushed through oil. The resistance here is what absorbs the movement. The more resistant to movement, the stiffer the shock.

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Some shocks can fine tune how the shock does this but the fundamental problem they all face is heat.

As the oil gets punched through the piston over and over again it can heat up and start to foam, which passes through the piston easier. It’s not hard to see how an hour of corrugations can make your shocks useless.

To stave off the oil foaming, gas-filled shocks keep the oil under pressure raising the boiling point, the same way a radiator cap works.

A monotube is one single compartment that contains a high-pressure nitrogen charge, and the shock oil separated by a floating piston. The benefits here are for a 50mm wide shock you’re getting near enough to 50mm width of piston so better control. The downside is denting the exterior body dents the interior too, causing all sorts of grief.

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By comparison, a twin-tube shock will have a lower-pressure gas charge in an external liner.

The oil is in the inner compartment, the gas in the outer with nothing physically separating them. The benefit here is they can handle a ding or two before being destroyed and they’ll typically get longer travel for the same overall length. The cons are significantly less ability to fight off shock fade, they can’t be mounted upside down as the gas won’t stay where it should, and you get vastly less tunability for it as a result.

You can write entire text books on shock technology. Just know if you’re after cheap and cheerful twin tubes are good bang for buck, but if you’re after the best, monotube is all you need to know.