i was with a friend of mine today and we had to do some shit for his dad in a muddy ass field

my buddy has a 96 chevy Z71 with a 6" pro comp lift and 35" BFG mud T/As

we got stuck in 4hi so he threw it in 4lo and worked his way out
as we were slowly making our way out, white smoke started coming out from under the hood so he killed the engine and popped the hood
when i opened the hood i couldnt see much and it didnt smell like smoke, it smelled like steam
we let the steam clear and lo and behold the whole right side of his radiator was gone. :nuke:
the plastic part where the hose connects to the tank was thrashed
all the water ran out and the truck was rendered useless
so we call another friend with a lifted chevy Z71 and he said his truck was in the middle of a field with the exact same problem
so my question is:
Is this a common problem with stock chevy radiators?
what is the best type of radiator to replace it with and prevent this from happening again?
i suggested an aluminum radiator with an electric fan
would that help?

i wish i had some pics of his truck and the place where this happened
it was pretty hardcore offroading

The Aluminum would be a better choice. A two row aluminum is supposed to cool better than a 4 core brass. I have heard of several plastic tanks coming off the cores on those. Make sure the electric fans are pulling enough air. I think there are a few places that are doing combo deals with alum. radiators and twin electric fans. Kinda $pendy, though.