And here's what I could find on his vehicle:
"Longer than a Suburban, the Chevy Avalanche combines the passenger-pampering comfort of a Tahoe with the load-hauling capability of a long-bed Silverado pickup. Continues: Offers the "utility of an eight-foot bed yet needs seating for four, five or six people...The key to its versatility is its clever Midgate, which is like having a second tailgate between the cabin and the pickup box. Normally, the Avalanche can carry five adults in comfort and a large amount of cargo in a covered, 5-foot 3-inch indestructible bed. But when you need more space, the rear seats fold down, the Midgate folds forward, and voila! You have an eight-foot bed capable of hauling 4x8-foot sheets of plywood. And your plywood, or drywall, stays dry inside the covered bed, out of the rain....The people who designed this truck were into fishing, hunting and boating; they knew the needs of outdoor enthusiasts, and they have provided for those needs with flush-mounted cargo lights that illuminate the bed, foldaway tie-down hooks, and footholds and handholds for climbing onto the bed. The hard cargo cover over the bed is made of a highly rigid material that can easily support your weight."
Okay, and as I look, I did find this:
This is like a demonstration of the size expansion.
Here's another video similar to this:
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/0...olet-avalanche-mid-gate-transformation-video/
And I can't include this other link because it's too lengthy a URL, but it notes how they used this feature to turn the truck into a stealth camper with the lid on. However, that's a 2012, and not sure if that would work with this vehicle.
I saw some other discussion on video for the vehicle and I think it was directly in conjunction with RH, but I cannot find it anywhere. But based on watching a few of these videos, use of the midgate could (I would think maybe, but still watching videos) give him the possibility of at least some climate control in the bed. And just located this: "2004 Chevrolet Avalanche 5.3L specs: mpg, towing capacity, size ... Built on the Silverado chassis and powered by either a 5.3L or 8.1L V-8 engine, the Avalanche is a four-door vehicle capable of seating six in its SUV-like interior, while still providing a 5ft. truck bed. Or, by folding down the Midgate and rear seating, one person can reconfigure the cargo area in seconds to provide either an open, or fully enclosed and lockable 4ft. x 8ft. cargo box."
I'm wondering if he could have done very long distance trips on this and disposed of remains en route from Las Vegas. Also still wondering how this vehicle would stack up against his prior vehicle.