Hello from IA

[Gxgn]

After two years—and a few detours in Raptor territory—I finally made the switch to the Grenadier. I picked up a Trialmaster from Red Nolan (a dealer often praised on this forum, and my experience matched that sentiment).

Mine’s in shale blue with contrast accents. I was originally looking for a mushroom color, but the right opportunity came up through Red Nolan (shoutout to Rick, who handled the sale), so I made the trip to pick it up.

Initial impressions:

• It drives a bit better than the one I tested back in 2023.
• The steering adjustment wasn’t too challenging, and the 900-mile return trip gave me a good chance to get familiar with the truck.
• I traded in a Raptor—on the way to the dealer it cruised down the interstate in the left lane; the return in the Grenadier was more in the right lane.
• Fuel economy was slightly lower than expected: the dash showed about 15 mpg, but calculated manually it was closer to 13 mpg. Most of the drive was at around 80 mph on stock BFG tires. Do others see better numbers at highway speeds when not carrying much?
• Quick tips from the dealer—like setting a FAV button to disable ADAS alerts and resetting the tire pressure warning—helped keep things smooth on the way back.
• Bluetooth performance is solid—better than what I had in the Raptor.
• The windshield protection film installed by the dealer was a nice touch and added some peace of mind for the long drive home.
• Heating/cooling worked fairly well as long as I kept in auto. Manual mode was a hit and miss.

Short-term plans:

• Adding a set of sliders—probably going with Rock Slide Engineering.
• Installing a driver-side grab handle.

I haven’t seen another IG in Iowa yet, so if you’re local, feel free to reach out—it’d be great to connect.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

After two years—and a few detours in Raptor territory—I finally made the switch to the Grenadier. I picked up a Trialmaster from Red Nolan (a dealer often praised on this forum, and my experience matched that sentiment).

Mine’s in shale blue with contrast accents. I was originally looking for a mushroom color, but the right opportunity came up through Red Nolan (shoutout to Rick, who handled the sale), so I made the trip to pick it up.

Initial impressions:

• It drives a bit better than the one I tested back in 2023.
• The steering adjustment wasn’t too challenging, and the 900-mile return trip gave me a good chance to get familiar with the truck.
• I traded in a Raptor—on the way to the dealer it cruised down the interstate in the left lane; the return in the Grenadier was more in the right lane.
• Fuel economy was slightly lower than expected: the dash showed about 15 mpg, but calculated manually it was closer to 13 mpg. Most of the drive was at around 80 mph on stock BFG tires. Do others see better numbers at highway speeds when not carrying much?
• Quick tips from the dealer—like setting a FAV button to disable ADAS alerts and resetting the tire pressure warning—helped keep things smooth on the way back.
• Bluetooth performance is solid—better than what I had in the Raptor.
• The windshield protection film installed by the dealer was a nice touch and added some peace of mind for the long drive home.
• Heating/cooling worked fairly well as long as I kept in auto. Manual mode was a hit and miss.

Short-term plans:

• Adding a set of sliders—probably going with Rock Slide Engineering.
• Installing a driver-side grab handle.

I haven’t seen another IG in Iowa yet, so if you’re local, feel free to reach out—it’d be great to connect.


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Wow - the red white and blue! We all know it’s for France and Hambach but you can pretend it’s for the US of A. I had the guys at Front Range Gear in Anamosa help me out with a new set of mounts for an Alu-Cab awning on my Grenadier. Local sheriff couldn’t resist following that weird truck with the Wisconsin plates - all the way to the shop.

 

[Gxgn]

Wow - the red white and blue! We all know it’s for France and Hambach but you can pretend it’s for the US of A. I had the guys at Front Range Gear in Anamosa help me out with a new set of mounts for an Alu-Cab awning on my Grenadier. Local sheriff couldn’t resist following that weird truck with the Wisconsin plates - all the way to the shop.

I’m not too far from Anamosa, let me know next time you are in the area. Good to know we have some local outfitters, didn’t realize we can get accessories locally.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

I’m not too far from Anamosa, let me know next time you are in the area. Good to know we have some local outfitters, didn’t realize we can get accessories locally.

They’re Alu-Cab dealers and a build shop. In fact, I think they are the only Alu-Cab dealer in the area. Father and son - really cool guys. I don’t think they do suspension and stuff like that - but if you need sliders, racks, awnings, RTT’s, bull bars, winches - they could do it.