New to the Trailblazer, a few questions....

TishomingoSith

Original poster
Member
Sep 7, 2015
1
I bought a 04 XLT 4x4 which is in near-mint condition. I say near because there is no roof rack on top of it, which brings me to my first question... do I have to get a factory roof rack for any of the after market racks to work (like Baja)? I didn't know if they made one that would bolt directly to my roof and bypassing the old roof rack. If not, suggestions on fiding one that is used?

Second question; lift or brush guard first?

I LOVE the bumper brush guard that "Super Moderator" has posted on this page, looks like a custom steel bumper with the brush guard coming out of it. I have no idea where to find one like that.

I plan on lifting it, but would it really just need a 'leveling' job with the front tires? Lift the front and leave the back alone, just add off road tires.

So you have a blank slate... just need suggestions on how to turn it into a great off-roader. NOTE: I am a poor grad student so I gotta do things slowly :smile:
 

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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Welcome to the Nation! :tiphat:

Looks like it was deracked like I did with my TB EXT. Are there any screw holes on the roof at all? I had mine all pounded in and filled. In the front, there are two large bumps for the front rack mount screws. I don't see any on yours neither. If that's the case, the stock rack may be out of the question or you would have to dig out and "unpound" the mounts and screw holes.

For aftermarket, there may be something available but you'll likely have to mount it directly to the roof. Another option would be to build one yourself.

I'm not familiar with brushguards. "Super Moderator" is our title, not our user name, like my user name is Mooseman. Do you mean, by chance, Hardtrailz?
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Use superstrut like roadie did and make your own rails to mount to. Nothing will be available specific to our platform.

Do not use a brush guard...it is a damage multiplier. get a MDB Fab bumper kit with the cow catcher bars like mine if you want something worth a damn.
 

BC backroader

Member
Sep 6, 2014
349
TishimingoSith, here's a link to my '05 EXT LT build on our sister forum, ORTB

http://forums.offroadtb.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=5844

I don't have an answer to your roof rack question, but for your second question, I'd say do the lift first, then get to the bumper/brushguard next. The bumper you're thinking of is a kit produced by a member on ORTB, so you'd have to weld it up yourself, or have a shop do it for you. When it's installed, your front springs will be loaded noticeably heavier than stock, so if you really want the bumper, upgrade the front springs while you're doing the lift. The usual route is to get the heavier duty 88 or 89 tagged OEM springs, or if you want to go all out, pop for the Radflo coilover struts made specifically for the 360/370 platform.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I ran a MDB bumper on stock springs for a good bit and only upgraded to 88s for extra lift to clear bigger tires.
 
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Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
I'd never seen a de-racked GMT360 before - that is *sharp*, IMO. While I think the rack that they put on them is a somewhat quality affair (it's easy to adjust the bars, at least), I'd be plenty happy if I'd found mine de-racked.

I'll have to put that on my long-term project list after I've got all the other things done that I want to do to her short-term.

:twocents:
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON

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