2018 GMC Canyon MTB/Overland/Adventure Rig

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JCWages

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Pathfinder I

2,271
Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

That winch bumper looks awesome. As do the yellowed lights. You should let us know how you like them, I’ve never used amber lights before on trails so I’m curious to how you’ll like them
Thanks!

I prefer the yellow fog lights over the white I had before, especially in snow. The white is just too much and can wash out natural colors and features. For pure driving lights I like a nice 4300k-5000k white light but for aux lighting I like the yellow. Supposedly yellow/amber work a lot better in dust too so they make for good "chase" lights. Around here there are so many RZRs and quads running around at high speeds I want to ensure they see me so I run the fogs and ditch lights during the day on really dusty trails.

The light you see cast onto the ground is pretty yellow but what it illuminates up higher doesn't appear really yellow. If that makes any sense.

Here is a photo from last winter with my HID headlights and the yellow fogs. The HIDs don't illuminate above the sign on the right and barely even reach as high as the sign so that is mostly the fogs.


This is with just the ditch lights before the yellow film. The spot portion is actually bluish and the flood portion is white with a hint of blue. I didn't expect much from Chinese knockoffs but they were sorta useless to me u til I applied the film. The yellow lights behind me are from my buddy's Tacoma foglights with the same yellow LEDs.
 
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rho

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SF bae area
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Penning
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Nice! Looks good, I'm still not sold on the cowl lights, too much glare imo.

I totally with ya on chase lights, I'm pretty constantly worried about having a pre-runner or UTV running me down in the desert so i tend to run mine too.
 
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JCWages

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Pathfinder I

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Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

Nice! Looks good, I'm still not sold on the cowl lights, too much glare imo.

I totally with ya on chase lights, I'm pretty constantly worried about having a pre-runner or UTV running me down in the desert so i tend to run mine too.
I'll show you on the Malakof trip. I was ready to just remove the ditch lights because of the glare but the yellow film made them totally usable. The glare is not an issue anymore. :)

And yeah, the 1st half of that trip will be on a crazy dusty logging road so chase lights engage! lol
 
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JCWages

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Pathfinder I

2,271
Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

She got to play lead vehicle on the first Gold Country OB group trip! :smiley:



We had a great turnout!


Right after the trip I had the rear driver side axle replaced under warranty (bent from the factory) and the front alignment done. I asked the tech to add a little caster to the driver side in hopes of reducing tire rub on the rear of the front wheel well. He set the left caster at 2.9 and the right at 3.1 and now I have zero tire rub. It was a good week.
 

OutsideSeth

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Off-Road Ranger I

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Boise, ID, USA
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She got to play lead vehicle on the first Gold Country OB group trip! :smiley:



We had a great turnout!


Right after the trip I had the rear driver side axle replaced under warranty (bent from the factory) and the front alignment done. I asked the tech to add a little caster to the driver side in hopes of reducing tire rub on the rear of the front wheel well. He set the left caster at 2.9 and the right at 3.1 and now I have zero tire rub. It was a good week.
Is the bent axle where the vibration has been coming from?
 

JCWages

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Pathfinder I

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Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

Is the bent axle where the vibration has been coming from?
Most of it. Whatever is left may just be the bumps in the road and these E-load tires because overall everything feels pretty smooth on new pavement. Unfortunately the brakes still squeak although that too is better. I'm going to try lubing the pads and see if it works now. It used to work on my 2016.
 

JCWages

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Pathfinder I

2,271
Grass Valley, CA, USA
First Name
Justin
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Wages
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18693

I had the dealership replace my bent rear axle this week and while I was grateful they covered it under warranty, it didn't seem to fix my annoying brake squeak. So in a last ditch effort I cleaned the brake pads and calipers then lubed them up with brake grease and copper anti-sieze (for the 12th time). Noise is now 100% gone even off-road.

Normally lubing the pads will fix the brake squeak like it did in my old 2016 but on this truck it never really worked due to the bent axle. I'm sure it will come back but if it lasts for even a few months I'll be happy.

Had to test it out off-road [emoji6]
7162019145519.jpg
 
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RoarinRow

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Elk Grove, CA, USA
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I had the dealership replace my bent rear axle this week and while I was grateful they covered it under warranty, it didn't seem to fix my annoying brake squeak. So in a last ditch effort I cleaned the brake pads and calipers then lubed them up with brake grease and copper anti-sieze (for the 12th time). Noise is now 100% gone even off-road.

Normally lubing the pads will fix the brake squeak like it did in my old 2016 but on this truck it never really worked due to the bent axle. I'm sure it will come back but if it lasts for even a few months I'll be happy.

Had to test it out off-road [emoji6]
Glad you got your rig fixed. Stuff like that would bug the heck outta me.
 
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TrailHawkGuy

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Danville, CA, USA
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Pressler
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She got to play lead vehicle on the first Gold Country OB group trip! :smiley:



We had a great turnout!


Right after the trip I had the rear driver side axle replaced under warranty (bent from the factory) and the front alignment done. I asked the tech to add a little caster to the driver side in hopes of reducing tire rub on the rear of the front wheel well. He set the left caster at 2.9 and the right at 3.1 and now I have zero tire rub. It was a good week.
Wow you found your noice issue- cool
 
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JCWages

Rank V
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Pathfinder I

2,271
Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

Wow you found your noice issue- cool
Yeah, both of them! The clanking noise I was hearing on the 2nd day was my rear fender hitting my bumper. When I got rear ended it pushed the bumper in so it just barely touches the fender. I need to bend the mounting bracket a little to move the bumper back where it's supposed to be. :)

Driver side rear panel and bumper.


The other car.
 

JCWages

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Pathfinder I

2,271
Grass Valley, CA, USA
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Justin
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Wages
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18693

I finally got around to mounting the switch for my ditch lights. It has been ziptied half under the dash because I couldn't figure out a good place for it. I decided to use the useless cubby below the seat warmer switches. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong switch panel which made the install much more difficult than expected. As a result the panel looks ok at first glance but underneath looks like hell...... I intend to clean it up at some point but for now it is functional.

In hindsight this panel may have been a better choice. It wouldn't require cutting of the panel edges which in the case of my panel were thick aluminum and a pain to cut with a Dremel.

The panel is shifted slightly off center in this photo. I centered it and slightly lowered the switches after this photo because they interfered with the operation of the traction control, emergency flashers and cargo light switch. Live and learn.


The panel comes pre-wired which is cool. You will need to remove the bottom right red lead if you don't want the LEDs lit at all times (battery draining).


Most people will never see this hack job so it's not a big deal but my OCD will require me to clean it up.
 
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Pathfinder I

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Steve
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Claggett
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I opted for a wireless remote unit to control my four lighting circuits. The unit is rated for 20 amps per circuit but I added a relay for each. My thinking is reducing the wireless to 1 amp or less should give my longer life. The unit has been 100%, only drawback is I do not have a indication when lights are on...unless it's dark out.
 
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