BDS’s last minute SEMA build: 2015 Chevy Colorado

PosterEach year the BDS engineering team puts together a custom build. Something cool, new or different. Sometimes its a trail rig for the Ultimate Adventure, other times its a show hauler, but it always serves a purpose and in true BDS fashion gets used and abused to ensure our products will hold up to the demand our customers expect. A few months back as SEMA planning began the BDS crew messed around with a few ideas for a new truck to build for the coming year(s).

We’ve built a several Jeep vehicles over the years and while we do love Jeeps, we all see the potential in the truck market. Both Project Slate and Project KJ proved to be huge successes last year for us so we looked into popular trucks for the coming year(s) that we could use for both R&D purposes as well as promotion. Ideas of a 2015 RAM 2500,  2015 Ford F150, or even a 2015 GM Colorado/Canyon were discussed and debated over. With current RAM HD kits in development and our friends at Extang supplying an early release promo ’15 F150 that we designed kits from the decision was made and we pulled the trigger on a 2015 Chevy Colorado Z71, one of first 3 sold around the country. 5 weeks prior to SEMA the BDS engineering team jumped all over the new truck, measuring, designing, and prototyping parts with a goal of being first to market with lift kits for the new 2015 Colorado/Canyon. With just 3 weeks to go until SEMA the decision was made to bring the truck to the show and planning switched into high-gear as accessories were ordered to turn this truck into something SEMA worthy.

The goal for the suspension was to design 4-6” lift options with the ability to install 33-35” tires. For this project truck the BDS engineers are prototyping a 6” suspension system to feature Fox 2.5” remote coil overs, full width skid plate and rear Fox shocks. The task of designing-prototyping-test fitting is typically a 2-3 month process, the engineers did it in 3 weeks. While BDS was able to expedite this part of the development process it can take 3-6 months for production kits to be boxed up and released for sale. We’ll have more info on these new kits as production parts arrive and kits are released by Spring of 2015. During our downtime between prototyping the suspension our sister company Zone Offroad came by to borrow the truck to work on a few of their lift options as well. Currently the truck has a Zone 1” body lift installed on the truck in addition to our 6” suspension system.

With the suspension covered, we moved on to wheels. The new 2015 Colorado/Canyon uses a unique 6on120mm bolt circle not currently available through wheel manufacturers. After several calls, Raceline and Eagle Alloys were able to custom drill blanks for the project within our truncated timeline. For SEMA we’ll be running 20×9 (5.75” bs) Eagle Alloy 012 series wheels mounted on 35×12.50×20 Nitto Terra Grappler G2 tires. We were fans of the old Terra Grapplers as an all-purpose all-terrain tire and are excited to test out the new G2 version to give them our feedback. As new as this 2015 Colorado is we were striking out on many of our go-to accessories when building this truck. After giving Extang a call we were excited to hear they were releasing several bed covers including a Solid Fold tonneau to fit our truck. This will give us extra dry storage with many events and off-road outings planned for this truck in the future. With the new taller stance we wanted an easier way to access the cab.  We called up N-Fab to tell them about the project and they were pumped on the idea, prototyping a set of steps for the truck in only a matter of days. While the new headlights work great on this new truck, we wanted to improve the visibility when we’re driving offroad. We’ve been running Rigid LED lighting on all of our company vehicles for years and continue to be blown away at the quality, brightness, and strength of their lights. For this project we’re running a 30” RDS (curved) light bar that will be mounted up front. Magnaflow wanted to be involved on the project, however their new Colorado/Canyon exhaust systems won’t be available for a few months so for the time being they sent a custom tip to dress up the truck until the full system is ready. Finishing off the truck will be a custom vinyl wrap helping this truck mimic the look of BDS’s 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 (stay tuned for photos of the 2 out at SEMA together).

With all these plans coming together we have exactly one week to finish prepping the truck before hitting the road for the long 2000 mile trek to Las Vegas for the 2014 SEMA Show. Parts are arriving on a daily basis and the BDS engineering team is working hard to finish the prep. Stay tuned for an update next week as BDS hits the road for SEMA with the 2015 BDS Colorado and watch for daily updates on BDS’s Facebook and Instagram pages, #bdscolorado.

*** Click to See the Follow Up Story/Video as the Colorado drove out to Vegas for SEMA***

 

24 comments

As a supplier for BDS we know the lengths the company goes to and are proud you are making another SEMA show presence this year. When I got the call for help on the transportation request with the bronco while yall were passing thru we were ready to help. Didnt want anything to stop BDS from making it to SEMA, good luck with the show and as always a proud supporter of the product!!
JW Davis Richmond Va.
davisauto4u@aol.com
http://www.davis4x4.com

We appreciate the support JW and you offering to help in our time of need. Keep up the great work out on the east coast!

I would love to do this to my brand new 2015 Chevy Colorado I just bought it last Saturday. And want to lift it just like in the pictures with the decal of the bds- suspension on it as well

Hey Ethan, unfortunately we can’t get into kit info, sizes, options, pricing until the kits hit the market per company policy. That being said I’d assume prices to be in the ballpark as late model 1/2-ton GM lift kits.

If you’re looking to lift your new Colorado/Canyon now our sister company Zone Offroad Products has already released a leveling kit, body lift, and a combo kit to fit the new trucks. Head to http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/?p=4429 for more info.

Is there a way that you all could update us on when the exact release date on the kit with be? Like an emailing list?

We don’t have an email listserv available currently, but when the kit releases we’ll be promoting it via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, on our website, in a press release and in magazines, and on TV.

I was wondering about the light bar, I love the placement and wish to do the same on my Colorado. My question is, is that a 30 inch light bar without the brackets or with the brackets and 30 inch total?

Also did you make a custom bracket to make it fit?
Thanks

Hey Will, we used a Rigid RDS lightbar for this Colorado which measured out to 30” for just the light itself. To get the flush-mount fitment we trimmed the factory fins of the stock facia and build custom mounts for install the lightbar. It’s a tight fit, but looks great on the new Colorado and provides a ton of extra lighting.

Thanks for replying, I just installed a Cree 32 inch light bar and love it, I put mine behind the small plastic columns instead of flush and just prefer that look. But got the idea from you guys so thank you! another quick question though, do you think this will effect the cooling of the car or no? any help would be appreciated, thank you

Lower valance placement didn’t effect engine temp at all, even run hard through the mountain passes at highway speeds

@Nick, production kits are in the works, and as we’ve said in this article and all along expect to see them sometime this Spring. There are several circumstances out of our power with the production and testing and we’re working to get it out as soon as possible. Per company policy I can’t give details beyond that. Once available we’ll have more information on the kits, pricing, and available options.

Its running the stock 3.42 gears with the V6 and does well turning the 35s. Its no rocket, but has no problem getting through traffic. The stock motor has 305hp/270tq

Just wondering if you have a video or instructions on how to install the 30 in light bar?
or maybe Will that commented that he installed a 32 in bar on his can show some pictures of his work.
I’ll apreciate any help thanks in advance!!!
jabon532OO2@yahoo,com,mx

Hey Gus, our focus on this project build was the suspension and accessories like the light bars were just fabbed up with no plans to manufacture. The truck had an additional 1.5” body lift installed to help with clearance for the 35” tires which made our lightbar brackets specific to this setup being that they mounted off the frame and fit the bumper opening in its relocated position. I’d recommend checking with the LED lighting companies for mounts and tutorials. I believe Rigid, Bull Dog and a few others have mounts for the Colorado/Canyon available currently.

Here I see you have a double row 30 inch curved light bar on it, however everyone I’ve talked to says it requires a single row straight 30 inch light bar. Did this require any trimming or special mounts?

Hey Malachi, at the time when we added the 30″ Rigid RDS lightbar in the bumper no one was offering accessories for these trucks so the brackets had to be fabbed. There was no trimming to the overall shape of the bumper opening, but the vertical supports were removed to give us room to flush mount the lightbar.

Did the fenders require any trimming to accommodate the 35″ tires? Or was that done by the 1″ body lift? Also, is there any rubbing noticed with that big of tire?

Hey Joshua, on our 2015 Colorado trimming was required to fit the 35×12.50 Nittos on 20×9 Eagle Alloys, even with the 5.5″ C/O System and 1.5″ body lift to ensure clearance on and offroad. Prior to trimming the 35s rubbed the front lower valance and inner fender liner with the wheels turned.

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