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Upfitting issue - 2014 & up Caprice

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 10:16 pm
by elc32955
This letter may have been floating around for a while but this is the first I've seen it....
2014 Caprice & 2015 Tahoe Spot Lamp - Strongly Recommend Factory Order
Recently, an issue has arisen that I want to make you aware of; 2014 Caprice and 2015 Tahoe have Ultra High Strength Steel (Boron) in the A pillar which make it very difficult to install a spot lamp. It is strongly recommended that dealers, upfitters and customers order the factory SEO option. Kerr Industries, who installs our spot lamps, had to work with Engineering to develop special parts, tools and process for these new vehicles. Kerr can be contacted for assistance if field installation is required. For Caprice, another alternative is to order spot lamp provision option 7X8 & 7X9 which provides the mounting brackets installed which is the difficulty with the Boron A pillar. Dealers, upfitters, customers then can install the lamp assembly, which will reduce their cost.

Silverado is the same situation and dealer / upfitter installation is going to be very difficult. There is a ship-thru from Silao to Kerr, but it is $475 which is cost prohibitive in most situations. We are working on SEO spot lamps for Silverado to support a 2015 Special Service Crew Cab package.

We are updating the order guide and technical manual to include this information. As mentioned Kerr Industries is the best source for assistance. Please ensure your dealers, customers and upfitters are aware of this situation.

Dana Hammer
Manager, Law Enforcement Vehicles
GM Fleet & Commercial Operations
There was some information in a sales Powerpoint a while back we ran across that the higher-strength steel was being used in the 2014 but this is the first I've seen it equating to installation issues. Very interesting....

Eric

Re: Upfitting issue - 2014 & up Caprice

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 2:09 am
by K9Vic
Kerr Industries installs the spot lamps as this is not done in the factory. From what I understand they have this super high dollar machine that drills the holes perfectly each time. I would guess it is like a big drill type press that has clamps that are perfectly molded to the pillar and door (for the cut out). It probably has some super expensive diamond drill bit as well.

Here is a view of the Arlington Texas Kerr Industries factory, this is about 2 miles from GM Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade plant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBZl6Dbn7LM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Upfitting issue - 2014 & up Caprice

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:41 pm
by gregc
K9Vic wrote:Kerr Industries installs the spot lamps as this is not done in the factory. From what I understand they have this super high dollar machine that drills the holes perfectly each time. I would guess it is like a big drill type press that has clamps that are perfectly molded to the pillar and door (for the cut out). It probably has some super expensive diamond drill bit as well.

Here is a view of the Arlington Texas Kerr Industries factory, this is about 2 miles from GM Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade plant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBZl6Dbn7LM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What does Kerr do to the Escalades? For the PPV, the up fitting is done in Benicia, CA which is about 40 miles from where I live.

Re: Upfitting issue - 2014 & up Caprice

Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:59 pm
by K9Vic
I believe Kerr installs advanced electronics like DVD player screens or livery packages. There is order code VPV, but does not give any details as to what it is, just that it ships to Kerr Industries.

VPV - HANDLING CHARGE ARLINGTON ASM TO KERR INDUSTRIES