Season 2, Episode 99 - Overland Expo Foundation’s Ultimate Overland Vehicle Build

 

 

The following transcription of The Truck Show Podcast was generated using a speech recognition software, and will contain errors. Please review the timestamp and listen to the corresponding audio for accuracy. 

Quick Link to Previous Episodes

 

Sean P. Holman (0s):

Hey, Lighting, Have, You, Heard.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2s):

How

Recording (2s):

About new?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (3s):

No, my, wait, let me think about it. Nope.

Recording (9s):

The truck show. We’re gonna show you what we know. We’re gonna answer What The truck. truck runs with The truck show? We have the lifted We have the lowered and everything in between. We’ll talk about trucks that run on diesel and the ones that run on gasoline. The truck show, The truck show. The truck show Whoa. It’s The truck show with your hosts Lightning and Holman.

Sean P. Holman (46s):

This episode of The Truck Show Podcast Have You Heard is proudly presented by Nissan with the Frontier Titan and Titan Xd. Nissan has a truck for every need, along with the legendary Nissan durability. Test Drive. your next truck at a local Nissan dealer today, Or point your browser to Nissan usa dot com where you can use the build and price tool to configure a Nissan truck that fits your lifestyle.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (1m 6s):

And when you’re thinking about adding power or improving fuel economy, Banks has over 65 years of experience Whether. It’s cold air intakes or exhaust systems tuning, throttle control charge, air cooling, lubrication components, and much more. No one offers smarter, safer, 50 state emissions compliant performance parts than Gale Banks. You’ll find the best engineered parts for your truck at banks power dot com. And when

Sean P. Holman (1m 29s):

You’re looking for quality full synthetic lubrication for your truck, AMS oil has you covered with motor oil lubricants and protectants grease additives and more. AMS oil, synthetic lubricants deliver wear protection, engine cleanliness and fuel efficiency that conventional oils simply can’t match. Find out how AMS oil synthetic lubricants can save you money and time by helping your vehicles run better and last longer than with conventional oils. At am oil dot com. When it comes to Lubrication AM Oil is the leader in synthetics. Hey, Lighting, Have, You Heard.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 4s):

No, I haven’t.

Sean P. Holman (2m 5s):

Well, I think we need to call our friend Matt Feldermann over at AEV, who’s the brand manager over there. He is the brand marketing director of Overland Expo Foundation. So basically wears the different hat. So we’re gonna talk to him about the 2024 Ultimate Vehicle Build project, which is a 2023 GMC Canyon all decked out. I had a chance to drive The truck today, but let’s give him a call and find out what this is all about.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 32s):

All right, let’s ring up our boy.

Sean P. Holman (2m 35s):

I mean, ring and sing.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 37s):

No.

Sean P. Holman (2m 38s):

Okay.

Matt Feldermann (2m 43s):

Hello.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 43s):

Yo, Matt Lightning at Home and Truck Show podcast. How you do,

Matt Feldermann (2m 46s):

Yo, what’s going on brother?

Sean P. Holman (2m 48s):

Did you guys just do some weird like bro thing?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 50s):

That was, that was very odd. We’re tight. You know, we hung out at SEMA that time and the time before that, wherever

Sean P. Holman (2m 55s):

It was. I’ve gone camping with him. I’m definitely tight. I

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (2m 58s):

Have, and I’ve not camped with him, although you haven’t. Well, maybe I should say that I was drinking whiskey and smoking cigars with Matt.

Sean P. Holman (3m 5s):

Yeah, you can say that. I can say it

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (3m 6s):

Doesn’t make it true. No, it doesn’t make it, it’s not real. Matt, before we talk to you, hold on, hold on, hold. We got an Intro. Well, I, I

Sean P. Holman (3m 13s):

Was just gonna say, you normally, you know Matt from AV and he’s been on a bunch of times, but he’s got a new hat on tonight and this one’s gonna be pretty cool. I think you guys wanna hear about this.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (3m 21s):

Is it a locomotive hat? What are those? You know, the little play the chain, the choo train hat You know what the kids

Sean P. Holman (3m 26s):

Gathering. No, he’s not saying Choo choo. Just play the chain.

6 (3m 29s):

Pull up stool and share. Pull up a stool and share a story. Pull up a and share. How about you pull up a stool and share with us

Sean P. Holman (3m 42s):

The Overland Expo Foundation, which is a nonprofit tied to Overland Expo and each year they do a vehicle build and then the proceeds of that build go to charity. So I’ll let Matt walk you through it, but I had a chance to drive it today.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (3m 55s):

Am I that

Sean P. Holman (3m 56s):

Charity? No. Oh, you, you’re a, you’re somebody’s charity, but I believe she’s wearing a wedding ring. I feel

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (4m 1s):

Like I’m your charity.

Sean P. Holman (4m 1s):

Well, some, some days. And so I had a chance to go out and drive it today. Our friend Nick Somos over at Peak oversaw and did the, the build. And so we got a little walk around with him. But Matt, talk to us about the foundation and about this, this truck that our listeners could potentially go home with.

Matt Feldermann (4m 17s):

Yeah, so I’ll, I’ll start off with the foundation. That’s probably the shorter of those two things. For about two years now, I’ve been the act, the brand marketing manager for the Overland, Expo Foundation and small organizations. Just myself and Rachel Elsman, who is the executive director. You know, as you know, I’ve been in this industry a long time and this isn’t just a hobby to me, it’s You know what I do for a career and I know a lot of friends who also depend on it. And, you know, I wanted to be a little more active in advocating to keep trails open and, you know, different restoration products and you know, whatnot.

Matt Feldermann (5m 6s):

And though Roland Expo Foundation just seemed like a great fit. So I, you know, Rachel and I have been hustling trying to grow it. You know, we are nonprofits, so you know, all of the funds that we raised throughout, a lot of them are tied to Overland Expo. So the ticket sales for Saturday Night Raffle event, all those donations, people, the vendors that support our raffle, you know, all these little raising activities.

Sean P. Holman (5m 38s):

And this is for all throughout the year, all the shows. So there’s Overland Expo West, which is the, the big daddy. There’s all four. Yes. Yeah. Pacific Northwest Mountain, which is in, which is Oregon Mountain, which is in Colorado in Loveland. And then you’ve got the East as well. And

Matt Feldermann (5m 54s):

In Virginia.

Sean P. Holman (5m 54s):

In Virginia. And now the, the thing that is cool about the foundation is you guys put grants together as one of your activities. Yes. So these donations go to support other nonprofits or other projects to help keep trails open or to help with a project that can fund a need or something special that goes back into the Overlanding community. And Overland Expo Foundation is basically trying to, to be, I guess the charitable arm, obviously of Overland Expo, but trying to spread the, the, the love of overlanding nationwide to deserving parties. Yeah, but

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (6m 31s):

Hold on a second, Matt. Why not just line your own pockets?

Sean P. Holman (6m 35s):

It’s about Lightning.

Matt Feldermann (6m 37s):

Yeah, yeah, you’re absolutely right. And we take that money that raise and like last year for example, we paid out four grants, you know, and we, and we typically diversified a bit. We’ll do something that supports like veterans and then we’ll do something that’s like a project, all sorts of things. But last year we were able to pay out four grants and then because of how successful last year was in fundraising this year we were able to pay out six grants. So we hoped to keep the momentum going and, you know, over time build, build up more money and be able to pay out more and do more good for the community.

Matt Feldermann (7m 19s):

Do

Sean P. Holman (7m 19s):

You have a example of some of the grants? Maybe one or two that you paid out?

Matt Feldermann (7m 24s):

Yeah, so, well we can keep a topical to this year. So one, the grants that we paid out this year is a partnership with Tread Lightly, where we are doing a cleanup project focused around each location of Overland Expo. You know, there’s a lot of people that come in for these shows and the locals may love it or they may hate it. So, you know, we’re trying to leave a good impression on, you know, the locals and show that the Oberlin Community cares. Another great organization that we worked with last year, in fact, to Wolf Foundation, you know, they’re completely dedicated to veterans who are, you know, adjusting to life back home.

Matt Feldermann (8m 12s):

You know, maybe going through some stuff. They take them out great weekend camping with, you know, other vets and they can bring their family all expenses paid, you know, stuff like that. Most of the people who are behind these organizations, you know, they’ll be out at these overland expos, they’re in the community. So yeah, it’s just, it’s really cool. It’s rewarding. But yeah, our biggest fundraiser of the year is the, is the Sale of the Ultimate Vehicle Build and there’s also a motorcycle as well. Those two vehicles get auctioned off in the fall and then the foundation gets the proceeds and then that really kicks off our next year of funding.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (8m 54s):

Do you have a goal, what you wanna raise for the, the, the sale of this truck?

Matt Feldermann (9m 1s):

We don’t really have a, it’s hard. These things are hard ’cause they’re, you know, we build them out and they’re really cool. But it’s also kind of a niche, you know, niche market for these vehicles. So yeah, I’m not sure, I haven’t really thought about it, what would be a good number for this year, but I’m sure it’ll go over. Well. Both The truck and the Bike are awesome.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (9m 23s):

I mean it’s, it’s a brand new truck, right? GMC Canyon and it’s fully loaded. We’ll talk about it in a second, but just kind of curse review of The truck. I’m looking at at least a value of a hundred grand just with The truck and parts. And I’m sure I’m low there because it’s got all the best parts you can possibly put on it. I would imagine that at least gonna go for market value, I would think. Right. And that’s, that’s some, that’s what we, that’s what we diesel money and grants that you can donate

Matt Feldermann (9m 47s):

Oh. yeah, absolutely. Last year we were really fortunate with the Lexus. We did a Lexus LX 600 and we did a Triumph rally Ti Tiger 1200 or something like that. It was a really cool triumph. Yeah, those sold for really good money. So we’re hoping this year with the GMC Canyon, a T four X and the Euro all. Yeah, we should hopefully do pretty well.

Sean P. Holman (10m 11s):

Now looking at the, the list of mods and so obviously Lightning alluded to it a little bit and we can talk about it a more in a in a minute, but I just kind of, some of the people Peak Suspension, all Cab AV, torque wheels, BF Goodrich Deck Deck project,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (10m 26s):

Switch Pros,

Sean P. Holman (10m 27s):

Red Arc, Midland, WEBO, battle Borne, rigged come up, winches, max Track, MagnaFlow, aau, look at next V next. I mean, how do you guys decide and, and choose which products go on the vehicle? Because there’s a lot of great stuff to choose from and obviously Overland Expo is one of those places where all of these companies come together to, to show off their, their goods.

Matt Feldermann (10m 50s):

Yeah. And, and that right there was kind of the challenge for me. ’cause I’m, you know, I’m kind of a, a silent party in all this. I’m the one, you know, trying to map out the path to have a cool build. You know, we wanna obviously get as many Overland Expo, you know, supporters, people who are at the shows. We don’t get as many people involved as possible. But on the other hand, not everyone makes parts for a canyon or not everyone has the budget to participate. So, you know, the plans for this truck, it was kind of a, a little bit of a strategy game because, you know, company A could, they may wanna be involved with the B with the build.

Matt Feldermann (11m 32s):

Company B may be cutting back on their budget this year and can’t. So I have to still make sure it all works together. So yeah, that, that was fun. I mean that was a challenge for me. But, you know, long story short, obviously, you know, with my, you know, with my time at a EV and our ongoing relationship with GMC, I’m very close to the team over there. I’ve a huge amount of respect for what they’ve done with the a T four X platform. So I really, I really had to make sure that I represented their truck in the best light possible. So my whole theme with this thing was really just taking what they did and enhancing it.

Matt Feldermann (12m 15s):

You know, Whether, it was to handle the weight that we added or to get us a little more tire clearance. Everything was meant to, to serve a purpose, keep The truck simple and not detract from everything that makes, you know, the GMC Canyon so good.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (12m 30s):

Now why did you not just go and build a full on bison or something like that? You could have just tapped into the a EV warehouse, but you chose to reach out to all the partners and I guess it does make sense because now they’re gonna also give you the publicity, right? All these partners have social media accounts that are fairly large. So now you’re getting get well and it’s not

Sean P. Holman (12m 49s):

AAV build, it’s an over the expo

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (12m 51s):

Build. No, no, no. I, I get that. But like he works for AAVs well at AAV parts on here. No, I see them. There are, and those are some of the nicest parts on The truck. I’m just curious, you know,

Sean P. Holman (12m 60s):

Why not more share the

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (13m 1s):

Wealth, share the wealth. Yeah, I guess it’s,

Matt Feldermann (13m 2s):

It’s really, yeah, it’s really to share the love and to get as many people involved as possible. Trust me, as much as I wanted, believe me, both of you guys know as much as I wanted to turn this thing into, you know, an a EV edition clone, you know, we wanted to make sure that we got more, more companies involved. You know, the, like the front bumper for example, the 5 8 9 fabrications front bumper. Bumper. You know, it’s obviously completely different than ours. But we wanted something unique on the front end where we were able to keep a little bit of that factory front bumper, but then also give us, you know, a solid steel bumper to mount a winch to and also add some lights.

Matt Feldermann (13m 45s):

I’m not a big fan of roof lights, so I wanted a bumper that could, you know, have some lights on it. Ours isn’t, you know, it’s not really made for that. So

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (13m 54s):

Did you feel, Matt, did you feel dirty a little bit working with another bumper manufacturer? I did, I did.

Matt Feldermann (13m 58s):

Believe me. Believe me.

Sean P. Holman (14m 0s):

Well it, but it,

Matt Feldermann (14m 1s):

I struggl I struggled with this. I will say this, but at the end of the day

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (14m 5s):

It ain’t it. So it’s not an easy, it’s okay Matt. It’s not av but it, but it is nice.

Sean P. Holman (14m 9s):

Hold on. It it, it’ll be okay Matt, because we’ve got cob tuning coming in a few episodes and lightning’s gonna feel dirty talking to them, so it’s all good. We

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (14m 17s):

Know it’s funny ’cause off, off air Holman are like, do we have cob tuning? Because it obviously it’s a conflict with banks who’s the sponsor of the podcast. But you know, secretly I’m a fan of cop tuning. Yeah. So like I love what they do. They’re coming up so don don’t know. I mean Gail might feel differently about it, but I’m like, shh. So hopefully he wants to, sorry. Well, I’ve

Sean P. Holman (14m 33s):

Got the picture of the build on the screen here in the pod. And so right now I want you to take a look at this and I know we’re kind of teasing Matt a little bit about how it doesn’t have, you know, it’s not an a v build. This is a front three quarter shot. I can see right now. One

Matt Feldermann (14m 49s):

Round

Sean P. Holman (14m 50s):

Two, let’s see three don don’t EAV products. Okay. Okay. I don’t do, do you, can you tell which a EV products are and there’s three that are, that are obvious in this photo. Okay, so I see the snorkel. All right. That, that’s a industry exclusive. don don’t think anybody else has a snorkel for a Colorado candy. Huge. I think this is a tough one. Okay. I think that the fender flares, oh, that was the one I didn’t think you’re gonna get. Okay. Wow. Wow. Those are the AV big fender flare kit to fit 30 fives and the, okay, got it. I’m wondering reason

Matt Feldermann (15m 24s):

I the third one.

Sean P. Holman (15m 25s):

So the third one, bear with me. It’s not so it’s not the bumper, it’s not the, it’s not the skid plate. don don’t think it’s, I can’t tell. I don’t see it in this photo. I can see it in the photo. You can see it in the photo. Well it’s not the, the rock rails. Those, they wouldn’t do that. They’re not the wheels. What kind Wheel wheels

Matt Feldermann (15m 43s):

Are the front skate is not mine.

Sean P. Holman (15m 44s):

They’re tor torque wheels. Torque wheels, okay. Tor the rear bumper could be. Okay, got it. There you go. The rear bumper, the rear bumper is a little different than the front bumper. So, and I and it’s, it’s rounded. So the, the, the front bumper is more plate plate steel. Well, no, no, no, no, no. Back back. Your rollup is, the front bumper is just an insert for where the skid plate goes. So it meshes with, I want people who are visualizing this to see the urethane bumper cover is intact. Basically the one they have on this is not a full bumper, it’s the center section to house the winch and the lights. I gotta say it looks really good. It looks good. Yeah. A prince rack on the top. Is that what that was? Yep. Prince rack and then get lightener. Lightener. Yep.

Sean P. Holman (16m 24s):

Rack over the bed. Are those lightener boxes as well? Yeah. And so we did a walk around with Nick. So after we talked to Matt, we’ll play a quick five, six minute video or a audio of us walking around in Nick who built it will walk us through each two box. Got it. So you guys are listening to us going, what the hell they talking about? Go to Overland expo foundation.org Overland Expo Foundation dot org and you’ll see The truck we’re talking about. Yeah, it’s under the ultimate overland vehicle build. And, and there’s also, I saw there’s a donate button on this. So that’s what I wanted to get to next. So there’s a couple things. So donate and then Matt talk about the donate, but then talk about how somebody can take this truck home. Oh, so the donate is different than this auction?

Sean P. Holman (17m 4s):

Yes. Ah,

Matt Feldermann (17m 5s):

Oh, yes, yes. So the donate is if you’re just feeling generous and you wanna donate 10, 20 bucks to the foundation, cool. But as far as owning this truck, so in the fall, forgive me, there’s no set date yet. I believe it was in November last year. But we will be putting this truck up on cars and bids and they waive, you know, they waive any commissions and all for us.

Sean P. Holman (17m 31s):

Tell me that you’re gonna get the video. This, it’s a 2024 stop GMC Canyon. Stop. Stop that. A four x. It’s actually 2023. But stop that voice.

Matt Feldermann (17m 41s):

He, he reviewed it. Yes. Did the Lexus last year

Sean P. Holman (17m 46s):

Love it. This I love how video he starts. J Jay just, he just

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (17m 50s):

Just loved it. I’m pacing on his name again. What’s his? Doug.

Sean P. Holman (17m 52s):

Doug

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (17m 52s):

DeMiro. Doug DeMiro, yes. This,

Matt Feldermann (17m 54s):

Yep. Okay.

Sean P. Holman (17m 55s):

You’re

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (17m 55s):

Not Doug. 1912. Stop

Sean P. Holman (17m 56s):

Doing that hurts my ears

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (17m 58s):

And it’s got a lot my ears. Lot of eccentricities. I’m gonna take you through one by one. Okay. Doug Deros. Awesome.

Matt Feldermann (18m 3s):

So back to The truck for a second. One of the big challenges with this that I wasn’t, well I guess I kind of anticipated it, but The truck got really small quick, like when we started, when we started bolting stuff onto it, that was like the biggest thing that I started getting worried about. Like, oh man, is this all gonna go together the way I thought? ’cause like, so I don’t really know about any of these parts. I’m such a funny,

Sean P. Holman (18m 30s):

Funny you should say that.

Matt Feldermann (18m 31s):

I’m in an a EB bubble. Like I don’t, I don’t really know anything about anyone else’s parts.

Sean P. Holman (18m 37s):

So Nick and I talked about this very thing today because what I was blown away with is how much stuff you put in a five gallon bucket and we’re talking about the modularity of the Lightener rack and I have it on the screen here. Even on the backside of his gear pods, there are max tracks mounts that mount behind the boxes. There’s a deck system in there having the flexibility to put all this stuff and everything has a home. So I, I drove it today and I’ll, I’ll say a couple things was blown away with how complete the vehicle feels, how well it drives. I did about a hundred mile loop. It’s super comfortable. The suspension works incredibly well. I took it over offroad over, whoops and things like that.

Sean P. Holman (19m 17s):

and I was still able to go about 20, 25 miles an

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (19m 20s):

Hour. You’re not supposed to beat it up. And then they got beat option the damn thing off. I didn. No,

Sean P. Holman (19m 23s):

I was right. I was within it. I was not off the bump stops at all. It was really good. Okay. No squeaks and rattles. Everything. Had a home and even on the highway with all this stuff bolted to it, the only wind noise I had was a little tiny like whistle every once in a while above 75 when the wind would blow sideways. Other than that, totally quiet. I would drive this truck across country tomorrow,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (19m 44s):

Even with a tent on top.

Sean P. Holman (19m 46s):

A tent, the Prince rack, all the boxes and stuff behind it. The thing it just handled, it was comfortable. It feels complete. It does not feel like a Franken truck with all these different products. It’s really, really well done. and I was blown away by that.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (19m 59s):

It’s insane how much you got in the bed, for example. What’s that bed like three feet deep? I mean like, it’s just the three

Sean P. Holman (20m 5s):

Feet. Yeah. Three feet deep.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (20m 7s):

But you can window. No, I’m kidding. It’s like

Matt Feldermann (20m 8s):

You can still see out the rear window. It’s

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (20m 10s):

A tiny little bed like the canyon bed. The Colorado bed. Well, I couldn’t see

Sean P. Holman (20m 13s):

Out the window

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (20m 14s):

Freaking so tiny.

Sean P. Holman (20m 14s):

’cause there’s a box of Husky floor liners in the back seat that we’re blocking my outward view. Oh, gotcha.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (20m 18s):

Oh.

Matt Feldermann (20m 19s):

But yeah, it, it all worked out really well. The deck system’s awesome. You know, the, the ER really that that late rack’s really like, that’s kind of the backbone of all this. Right? You know, it, it let us put that big old all cab tent with the awning and the shower cube and like Nick’s power system that he built in one of, oh, we talk about it boxes is amazing

Sean P. Holman (20m 40s):

About, it’s awesome. We talk about it in the next time.

Matt Feldermann (20m 42s):

Two battle borne keyed batteries. You know, the Yeah, I I mean it’s it’s a removable twin battery system that, I mean, that’s where they’re powered by the solar panel when the truck’s off The truck powers ’em back up to charge when it’s running. It’s awesome. Similar

Sean P. Holman (21m 1s):

To this setup on my 3 92 where I’ve got the house batteries, they’re totally separate from the vehicle except for one wire that allows the vehicle to charge it when I’m driving and then the solar panel that can allow me to be off grid. And in SoCal summer desert where you have high sun, no clouds, I could be down at like 25% battery and I’m a hundred percent by like 11 o’clock. It’s crazy how good some of these portable solar systems are these days.

Matt Feldermann (21m 26s):

Yeah. I really lucked out. You know, I I never used a rigged ultra swing before. Thing’s awesome. I mean, it, it was perfect for what we needed for that 35. It is awesome. And has a little flip down table, you know, even torque. Like this is a pretty new truck and they, and like, you know, obviously me here, I I’m up on my high horse. I’m like, well I need to make sure these wheels are gonna fit correctly, you know, and, and like they nailed it like spot on. So everything was awesome. You know, I can’t say enough good things about Nick, you know, Nick Kyle over there, Andy with the photos. I mean, I would’ve had a really hard time without his help.

Matt Feldermann (22m 8s):

So big kudos to him.

Sean P. Holman (22m 10s):

So shout out to the boys over at Peak. And I, I I’m, I just, I’m serious when I say this to the listeners and to you Matt, the vehicle as a whole, I was blown away. I was way, and you know how, how critical I am, especially of builds that have lots of different things on it that, that don’t measure.

Matt Feldermann (22m 27s):

Oh, I know.

Sean P. Holman (22m 29s):

Everything works on this thing. And

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 32s):

He does not like when people just bolt on Farkles.

Sean P. Holman (22m 35s):

No, he’s like,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 36s):

Oh, Farkle truck.

Sean P. Holman (22m 37s):

Yeah. And it’s like, oh,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 38s):

The whi we and the whi Max tracks.

Sean P. Holman (22m 41s):

Yeah. And this, this thing everything has all

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 42s):

Have, have you seen the new one? The, the little the Will Ball hitch? Have

Sean P. Holman (22m 46s):

Seen that one? No, haven’t seen that one yet. That

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 47s):

Is the, that is the coolest one of all of ’em. It is a, you know, the, the receiver? Yep. And it is a block of 3D printed plastic that slides into the receiver and it

Sean P. Holman (22m 56s):

Has a little tiny ball

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (22m 57s):

And I poking out has a three quarter inch long hitch coming off it. And the actual ball is probably about the size of a bb. It’s so tiny. It’s the craziest thing. It’s a

Sean P. Holman (23m 9s):

Weirdo. Tiny to my Legos around.

Matt Feldermann (23m 12s):

You mentioned how quiet it is. After I drove that thing, I picked it up in Riverside at Nick’s and I drove it to Flagstaff. I was so disgusted with my Jeep after that

Sean P. Holman (23m 22s):

Experience. I know they’re a little noisy because all

Matt Feldermann (23m 24s):

I have is a roof. I have a rooftop tent and a snorkel. Yeah. And,

Sean P. Holman (23m 28s):

And you hear all of it. I

Matt Feldermann (23m 29s):

Look at this truck.

Sean P. Holman (23m 31s):

Yeah. That’s why I drown mine out with a V eight.

Matt Feldermann (23m 36s):

But yeah, kudos to GMC and their acoustic glass. Well,

Sean P. Holman (23m 39s):

And I, I’m gonna, it does make a difference. The Canyon Colorado platform, the new truck is really well done. It’s really solid, especially on the a T four X and ZR two. And then of course the AAV overlays are available on each of those. But what they did to the platform and how good that truck is outta the box is definitely a testament to them wanting to play hardcore in that mid-size segment.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (24m 2s):

Speaking of the mid-size segment, it’s, you know, you talked about the fact that it’s not the most, well maybe you didn’t say this, but it’s not really the most popular truck yet. It’s that this, the Colorado, the Canyons, they just haven’t, they’re not gonna take over Tacomas, right? Well, I mean, they’re

Sean P. Holman (24m 16s):

Not no, nobody’s gonna take over Tacoma. But

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (24m 17s):

I mean, but but, but they’re right in. There’re just, are they? Yeah,

Sean P. Holman (24m 19s):

Absolutely. We talk about, we talked about the sales numbers on the show. Do do you listen to the

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (24m 23s):

Show? No. I, I do, but I don’t, I just don’t, I just don’t feel it. I feel like that’s a bitching truck without any question that is not up for grabs. Like, that is an amazing truck. But you’re gonna pull up the numbers, do it. I

Sean P. Holman (24m 34s):

I I’m not going to, because our listeners already know, but They

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (24m 37s):

Don’t know. Like, I, I just feel like that truck is kind of, it I feel like It can get lost in the noise of the midsize. Just, just

Sean P. Holman (24m 44s):

Because you don’t see them and aren’t looking for them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I do look for them. Lightning has this thing where he, for them, makes up a truth in his mind that works in his little bubble. And then he applies it across what

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (24m 55s):

I like about, because I I I, yeah, I I I spout it. I spout it out. Yeah. And then you have to come back and prove me wrong. And. When. you do that. I enjoy it.

Sean P. Holman (25m 4s):

Do you, do you now?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (25m 5s):

Yes, I actually

Sean P. Holman (25m 6s):

Do.

Matt Feldermann (25m 7s):

So here, here’s what I like and I was thinking about this on the way home. One reason I should say that I think I vibed so well at the team over at Chevy and GMC is they aren’t out there making a ton of noise. They’re just, they’re really focused on like, delivering the product. And it’s almost like, you know, when You watch those videos where it’s like you have an ultra cocky boxer gets in the ring and then there’s the quiet dude that like, you know, walks quietly to the ring but knocks him out in, you know, a few seconds. That’s kind of how I view the, the GMC stuff right now. Everything, mid-size, light duty, heavy duty.

Matt Feldermann (25m 49s):

It’s all so solid. I gotta

Sean P. Holman (25m 51s):

I don gotta jump in here, Matt. I gotta prove Lightning wrong once again.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (25m 54s):

Sure. Matt duty,

Sean P. Holman (25m 55s):

This is just, this is the, the quickest number I could come up with that was the Q1 sales for mid-size 2024. What do you think first place was?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 3s):

First place? Is the Tacoma wrong? It’s not

Sean P. Holman (26m 7s):

Nissan Frontier 19,744. No

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 10s):

Kidding.

Sean P. Holman (26m 10s):

What do you think number two is?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 13s):

It’s still not Tacoma,

Sean P. Holman (26m 14s):

Chevy, Colorado. 14,922. What do you think number three is?

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 18s):

Is that because people knew the 24 was coming coming in on of, of course

Sean P. Holman (26m 22s):

On it. There’s always a drop in sales when they, when they swap over, but

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 25s):

Oh, well then this is unfair.

Sean P. Holman (26m 27s):

Well, because you’re wrong.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 28s):

Well, no, but I’m saying like, well, They said it’s, it’s different because all the Toyota fan boys were waiting for The truck. Okay. Okay. So

Sean P. Holman (26m 33s):

It’s a lu. So take the Toyota out.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 34s):

They

Matt Feldermann (26m 35s):

Didn’t make the Colorado for three months when the plan was shut down.

Sean P. Holman (26m 39s):

So boom. Okay. Shock locka.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (26m 41s):

All right, fine. Number three,

Sean P. Holman (26m 42s):

Jeep Gladiator, 12,989 Tacoma 8,310. Fifth place, GMC Canyon 5,484, followed by the Honda Ridgeline at 39 67 and seventh was the Ford Ranger at 1918 as pe as people were waiting for it to come out. So. Gotcha. And also, you gotta remember that’s coming outta the UAW strike as well. So if I can find, while Matt’s on the phone, if I can find the, the, the full year up to Q2. ’cause I think we just came outta Q2. I will, I’ll let you know. But

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (27m 11s):

So Matt, of, of all the trucks, I mean obviously you’re partial now to this, but of all the mid-size trucks, is this the one you’re choosing, like literally regardless of price, someone says, Matt, here’s $110,000. You can pocket whatever you want, even if you buy like a lower trim level. What are you buying?

Matt Feldermann (27m 28s):

Definitely one of these, if if things go as planned, I’ll be showing up to expo Pacific Northwest with a Colorado bison. So there’s your answer. Okay.

Sean P. Holman (27m 40s):

Well Matt, thanks for coming on and talking to us about the Overland, Expo Foundation. And as soon as we hear from you when this truck is available for auction, we’ll definitely put it out on our socials and share it and, and put it on the podcast. So if anybody’s interested. Oh,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (27m 54s):

I appreciate that. Matt, can you help us line up an interview with Doug DeMuro?

Matt Feldermann (27m 58s):

Oh, I, I quite possibly can

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 1s):

Possibly mean, seriously. Look, I, I would love

Sean P. Holman (28m 2s):

Seriously lightning’s a fanboy, but can we make, can we just make some sort of rule right now? You cannot do Doug’s

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 10s):

Voice. I won’t do it

Sean P. Holman (28m 12s):

For the rest of the year. I’m not even talking about that show. You have to stop doing that. Totally.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 15s):

I I think I’ve done it

Sean P. Holman (28m 16s):

Twice and it’s bad every time.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 18s):

It’s awful. I realize

Sean P. Holman (28m 19s):

That. Yeah, please stop doing that.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 20s):

It cracks me up,

Sean P. Holman (28m 21s):

Right? It cracks you up.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 22s):

It cracks me up. That’s all I care about.

Sean P. Holman (28m 24s):

Can you get Doug, Doug? We’re not gonna do it when Doug comes on.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 26s):

Oh, if Doug comes on, I’m no way am I doing it? Okay. You kidding me? All right. There’s nothing more embarrassing when someone does a bad impression of someone standing with them or talking. Yeah, don’t do that. Talking to No, I’m not that guy. Trust me. I’m not gonna do it. Trust

Sean P. Holman (28m 39s):

Me, I’m Lightning. Oh wait, I just did it.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 43s):

Oh, Matt. All right, well congratulations on the build. It’s Overland Expo Foundation dot org. That’s where you can donate or I’m sure you’ll be placing the date and the location of the auction when it’s live.

Sean P. Holman (28m 54s):

And you can also follow him on, on social as well.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (28m 56s):

Alright. Yeah. Alright Matt, you’re doing good work as always.

Matt Feldermann (29m 0s):

Thank you sir. Alright, it was a pleasure as always and I’ll talk to you guys soon. Sounds

Sean P. Holman (29m 4s):

Good.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (29m 4s):

See you. Talk soon. Be well. Bye.

Sean P. Holman (29m 6s):

Alright, so as I kind of teased with the interview with Matt, I was there to drive The truck today and had a nice little walk around interview with Nick Somas from Peak Suspension who built it. So here’s that audio right here out here in Riverside, California at the headquarters for Peak Suspension and with my friend Nick Somas who’s been on the show before. We were talking to Matt about the build for the Overland Expo Foundation and this was basically Nick’s baby. So I figured while I was here, had a chance to drive The truck, we’d walk around with Nick and he could tell us all about what’s done to it and why he made those choices and what he thinks of The truck. Now that it’s the finished product, welcome

Nick Psomas (29m 46s):

To Riverside. It’s a little warm out today. This is our 84 x we built for the foundation. So we could start at the front, kind of go over what all the components were as far as choice they’re concerned. I’m sure you’re familiar with the BUILD program, how it works. So they’re all bids for positioning on the vehicle. So in this case we can go over each company as they’re alluded to on the vehicle. First and foremost, obviously the bumper, this is kinda the standout piece that is first of its kind. This is the 5 8 9 fabrication stealth fighter bumper or mini fighter I think they call it. So it’s a steel bumper replaces the intersection of the factory bumper. It has a winch provision Lighting in this case they use the Vision X, the the round lights, but they’re making different options for different types of lights. So you can kind of pick and choose the way you wanna do it.

Nick Psomas (30m 27s):

They have an option for a bowl bar. They also include the lower skid plate and also the wings on the outside. So it keeps the bumper together as you take away some of that crash bar material. So it’s a pretty well thought out piece. Integrated D-rings inside that, houses that come up solo winch. So we have that set up with our new hook. So it’s a pretty cool set up. It’s not too invasive so to speak, but it kind of just looks and follows the profile of the vehicle but also gets you the extra stuff that you want. Yeah. On

Sean P. Holman (30m 53s):

The vehicle it’s nice because this is one of those center mount winch replacements. So the factory urethane part of the bumper that’s body color that wraps around that stays in is existing. So it still looks factory for those people who kind of like the factory look and don’t want to hang a bunch of metal off the front of The truck. Yep. And

Nick Psomas (31m 10s):

It’s easy to install as well. So you kind of just replace that whole intersection, take the crash bar out, put it in and it’s good to go.

Sean P. Holman (31m 16s):

Awesome. Oh we got a Harley. Did you build that over there also? We try not to.

Nick Psomas (31m 23s):

So moving around The truck, obviously you notice the flares are a little more exaggerated. So this is a EV conversions new flare. This comes factor in the A T four XAV edition, but they also allow them to be aftermarket on the canyons as well as the Colorados. We had to fit the 35 so that obviously we come to play with our two inch lift kit

Sean P. Holman (31m 40s):

And this truck comes from the factory with 30 30 threes on it, right? Correct.

Nick Psomas (31m 44s):

So 30 threes in the factory, 30 fives on the AV trucks. But because we’re doing a build and we want to have, you know the best of everything we do 35. So 35 inch BF GKO twos wrapped around some torque wheels, our peak two inch kit. So this combines an IBO pro lift spring as well as a top spacer to get us the height we want, but also allows for better damping with the spring, better spring rates weight capacity for the bumper as well. We also added our own suspension gamuts like the diff drops, the tire rod sleeves, everything to, to basically make this thing ride like factory but also protect you on the trails.

Sean P. Holman (32m 15s):

So I know that sounds like a bunch of marketing Hubba Bubba and everybody says that, oh it’s like factory ride. This has the Multimatic, you’ve got your spacers from Peak and your I box springs that have been developed with the weight of this vehicle. Mine and I just did about a hundred mile loop include some off-roading and I couldn’t believe at the weight this thing is at with all the accessories on it, how well it rode on the highway and even off road I’m think. Okay well they tuned, tuned in for the highway. I bet it’s gonna crash through off road. No, the Multimatic, even in this configuration had plenty of Wheel travel and I was really amazed at how well the damping is. You’re not giving anything up to be able to have the capability of, of 30 fives and more ground clearance, which I thought was really cool ’cause I wasn’t expecting that.

Sean P. Holman (32m 55s):

I thought okay, you know it’s a spacer kit, well there’s a right way to do a spacer kit, there’s a wrong way to do a spacer kit and you guys have done it the right way with the right spring rate and that makes all the difference.

Nick Psomas (33m 4s):

Well as you probably notice too, since you’ve driven a lot of these in in your career field, the second gen versus third gen is significantly different. The shocks are way more improved. What are dampening at larger reservoirs. In fact it’s two chamber now versus the single before more

Sean P. Holman (33m 18s):

Travel,

Nick Psomas (33m 18s):

Way more travel. So it’s a lot more robust in a lot of ways, which makes for a good platform for an overland vehicle due to the added weight that we’re adding because they call us overloads for a reason. So as you can see, we’ve pretty much loaded this thing up as much as you can. But that doesn’t take away from your everyday driving, which is nice. But I guess moving down the line of The truck, the next thing we have the AAV conversion snorkel. So this thing is new for the third gens. They have ’em both for Canyon and Colorado. We have the Lightener Designs bed rack with all the gear pods. So,

Sean P. Holman (33m 47s):

So this is the a CS rack that we’ve had on the show before. So this has the forged upright super modular has their boxes as well as their shower pod. And then it has the ability to mount things on top, in this case Illumina cab tent as well as awnings.

Nick Psomas (34m 3s):

Yeah and and one of the cool things that I love about this thing is, admittedly this is the first one we even saw in a vehicle. So getting to play with this and see how well they are designed and built modularity is a big thing that I enjoy. So seeing how many things you can do in configurations for this thing is pretty cool and it’s really, really well built, pretty robust. Furthermore, we obviously have the A UV rear bumper. This is new for third gens as well. This also includes some skid plate provisions underneath the front bumper or the rear bumper, excuse me. And attach to that to our rigged tire carrier with the fold down table. So it’s cool for being on the campsite when you’re back here cooking, which we have all the Blackstone and jet boil stuff on board as well, so that way you can have all your fun items.

Nick Psomas (34m 44s):

The deck system inside also provides a great load of space. This is new for this year. They have the new single drawer and for the mid-size trucks,

Sean P. Holman (34m 52s):

Way more volume, way more weatherproofing and they give you some storage back in the corners.

Nick Psomas (34m 57s):

Yeah, they listened to everything that people were saying that they want to see changed and made all those changes, which is great. They made a a good product before and even better product now. So we’re pretty cool to see that on this truck as well.

Sean P. Holman (35m 8s):

Really quick, going back to the AV rear bumper. So this is the same bumper that would be available on the AAV edition Canyon? Correct? That you installed aftermarket on the A T four X. Yep. But this also includes those really heavy duty and robust cast iron tow hooks. Yep. It was designed with this truck styling in mind. So it’s not gonna look weird when You bump, you know, so g for example, you could do a different front rear bumper or keep a stock front and get a rear and sometimes the styling doesn’t look cohesive. This looks fine and it’s in fact what they offer from the factory.

Nick Psomas (35m 36s):

Yep. And it’s, and the cool thing too is it bolts right up, it comes with all the sensors pre-wired, everything’s good to go. You literally just put the bumper on and plug it in. So that part’s nice as for the installs concerned. So for us, we weren’t having to take all the sensors and move everything, so that was fantastic. On top of the bed rack, we have the alley cab awning, the shower room and the rooftop tent. And I can say this is my first time also with an Audi cab product and this thing is massive. Yeah,

Sean P. Holman (36m 1s):

They’re, and it’s really nice. They’re big, but they’re definitely one of the highest quality tent providers that you can get. I mean just the, they’re, they’re big, they’re a little bit bulky, but the, the quality is almost unbeatable. Yeah, they’re really good. I

Nick Psomas (36m 13s):

Was pretty impressed with it. So it’s a pretty cool system. One of the cool things that we did on this truck that I am happy with was the power system we developed. So in the Gear pod we have an entire onboard power storage system. It’s locked and basically it transitions from, it’s a ruddock manager with battle borne batteries. And so as you’re driving it charges the batteries as you key off, it automatically switches to the solar and the solar will power it as, I mean obviously wherever you are at a campsite. So it’s nice to have those kind of things. We also ran some extra power to plug in, so you can use USB and one 20 volt AC stuff

Sean P. Holman (36m 49s):

And it’s nice that it’s in the, the gear pod that’s mounted to the rack. So rather than being buried in the bed, like a lot of people do it where you have to crawl in and do it as to plug in or utilize it. It’s in the gear pod that’s at eye level. That’s between the uprights of the lightener rack floating above the bedside. You open it up and you have everything that you need is right there staring you in the face and it’s because the lightener stuff comes lockable, everything’s still fully secured. So it’s kind of the best of both worlds. This is the first time I think I’ve seen somebody do a full battery system inside a box and it, it just works. It’s just, it’s, it’s a great idea.

Nick Psomas (37m 22s):

Yeah, Bernard did the same thing. We weren’t sure when we thought of it as well, but we vented the box to make sure that it’s still enough airflow going through there. It’s all sealed and waterproof so it’s should be a pretty cool system. We’ve been through quite a bit of weather at this point now between expos and, and we built this thing so time to be, you know, test of time. We’ll see. But so far so good and we’re thrilled with the location as well. and I

Sean P. Holman (37m 44s):

Also noticed that you’ve guys have the Prince cab rack that’s over the cab and the all cab tent actually floats above it. Yeah, but it gives you some additional storage. Still allows full use of the, of the moon roof, but you also have a cell phone extender mounted to it and you have some other options if you need to temporarily throw some soft bags up there, no problem. And it just adds more flexibility. Yep. Also, I noticed when driving it, you guys have the mag flow exhaust on it as well, so definitely is a lot more lively than the muted stock exhaust.

Nick Psomas (38m 15s):

I mean it’s hard to make a four-cylinder turbo sound good, but they managed to do it. And inside the cab also we got the Midland radio system. We’ve got Azo GPS unit, we have a bunch of quad lock mounting systems for your phone and tablets. So you’re pretty much, I mean this thing is a turnkey ready to go out of the box, go anywhere in the world type of vehicle.

Sean P. Holman (38m 34s):

So it’s gonna be pretty fun to see who wins it, I guess, at the end of the year, which Matt explained. So thanks for walking us around and people can go to Peak Suspension dot com. Yep. And Peak

Nick Psomas (38m 45s):

Suspension on Instagram and Facebook. Cool. Thanks Nick. Yep. No problem.

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (38m 49s):

Sounds like a cool truck. I wish that I had enough money to bid on it. Well,

Sean P. Holman (38m 53s):

When You sell the TRX, because you can’t handle the stress of owning it or it’s stolen out of your driveway before the ball don’t get

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (38m 60s):

Why? Why, why do you

Sean P. Holman (39m 0s):

Gotta say that then you get the insurance money and

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (39m 2s):

Don’t do me dirty

Sean P. Holman (39m 3s):

Label to afford this truck. Oh,

Jay “Lightning” Tilles (39m 5s):

Maybe I will. The Truck. Show Podcast is a production of truck famous LLC. This podcast was created by Sean Holman and Jay Tillis with production elements by DJ Omar Kahn. If you like what you’ve heard, please open your Apple podcast or Spotify app and give us a five star rating. And if you’re a fan, there’s no better way to show your support than by patronizing our sponsors. Some vehicles may have been harmed during the making of this podcast.