03 Tahoe "Wife" Build

[coreys88burban]

if it was me, id go:

-yellow fog lights mounted in a small custom bumper (nothing drastic but a definate step up from the large chevy bumpers(trust me youll lose the airdam very easy, dont ask how i know hahaha)

-one pair of driving lights- good lights and mounted on the front bumper (rood mounted will reduce mpg and give a glare on drivers eyes, although with blue not as much)

-bushwacker cutout fender flares (flares give more room for taller ires with less lift so more clearance with less height/body roll) with 2.5" to 4" suspension lift and 33 to 35" tires with 15" to 16" wheels

-skid plates

-sidewinder steps (similar to amp research's electric steps but smaller so use 4, one at each door) agian more clearance then they come down ehen you open the door.

TELL US MORE ABOUT..your location, use, terrain..ect..ect...ect

and imo if your not going in really muddy areas a locker will be a waste of 500 bucks, ive seen larger trucks get places you coulnt believe without a locker, although that truck should have limited slip and thatll be plenty as the gm lsd is superior

 

[Little Red]

Did you get the Z71 package on the Tahoe? Definitely a must if you plan on using it off-road.

I was also going to suggest you check out 02TahoeMD’s profile, but looks like you did already.
His Tahoe is awesome, certainly one of the nicest I have seen.

 

[flamewerks]

I just got a 2002 Tahoe, and in the not even 6 weeks I've owned it, I've put 9000km (~6000miles) on it! Great truck! I've never owned a truck, and nothing domestic before but so far I couldn't be happier with it.

BUT mine has the Autoride, you should check if yours has it as well. If you do, you might run into some problems if you use the spacers/keys. I've wanted to do the same, but from everything I've read I'll end up running into trouble with a small lift.

I'm also planning on going with 285/75R16. I will be going with Nitto Terra Grapplers. I had a set of Nitto winters, and a set of Nitto summers on my previous Bimmer, and they were awesome, highly recommended. Good luck!

 

[coreys88burban]

yea nitto grapplers are great tires from what i hear, unless you cant stand noise cuz they are loud

 

[flamewerks]

Really? I always heard they are very quiet for the type of tire they are and also I know for a fact that Nittos always balance EXCELLENT. (I used to be a tire monkey

 

[coreys88burban]

Really? I always heard they are very quiet for the type of tire they are and also I know for a fact that Nittos always balance EXCELLENT. (I used to be a tire monkey

heres 33"
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUXUkaEVxMw&feature=related"]YouTube - Nitto Mud grappler howl[/ame]

 

[hovenator]

On my second pair of Nitto Terra Grapplers. Excellent tire with a smooth quiet ride and great balance. The Mud grapplers, on the other hand, are pretty noisy. Another good choice in the Nitto line is the new Trail Grappler. Just my .02.

 

[alaskaboy]

mods

I think you need to work on that key chain. For petes sake!:sombrero:

 

[02TahoeMD]

Another vote for the Nitto Terra Grappler, I think the road noise is actually less than that of the Wranglers that are on my work Expedition. (dunno which kind they are, sorry....) I would not hesitate to buy them again, though when the time comes I will take a hard look at the Trail Grappler.

 

[goldenbeagle]

So much great information...thank you all!!

I took a 7hr trip to NY this weekend with the wife and kids. I took the 14 hour round trip to talk to the wife and get a feel for exactly what she had in mind compared to exactly what I think needs to be done. The bonus to the weekend was we visited family in up-state NY and they were getting hammered with "Lake Effect" Snow and it was blizzard conditions for 3 days straight. I made the wife drive every day to get a feel for the truck and also to give it a little test in bad weather. I honestly got to say...the Tahoe did great with everything (sorry I got no pics to share).

“Coreys88burban” asked for more information about my location, use, terrain, etc….I should have started off with this..but it’s never too late to explain the details.

My family and I live in Walkersville. MD (Just outside of Frederick, MD). We are an outdoors family (Hiking, backpacking, climbing, surfing, kayaking, etc) Prior to this purchase we were exploring in a Chrysler mini-van (packed with gear, 3 kids, 2 adults, and our dog)….needless to say it wasn’t easy (but memories with or without a top notch rig are more important). I have a Jeep TJ, even though I have a bunch of money sunk in it…we still can’t fit the whole family in it. After many years of keeping my mouth shut, my wife finally came to the conclusion the mini-van had to get the gettin.

The “New to us” Tahoe is being built for long haul…we have many plans this summer for exploring more of CO, CA, NV, etc. In a year we also plan on heading from Maryland to Alaska. (Hope this gives some insight on what it will be used for).

So after a long weekend, a lot of great on the road conversation, and a few moments of silence (aka - wife not agreeing with me), I compiled a list of ideas.

Lift – 2in (F150 Keys, Coil spacers, etc)
Tires – 33’s (BFG AT’s or KM2’s)
Wheels – Black Soft 8’s (?)
Armor – Z71 Shields, Custom Rock Sliders
Front Winch Bumper (unsure what kind)
Smittybilt winch (Got one laying around)
Defender Roof Rack
Cobra CB
Custom (Rear inside) storage system
Navigation System (up in the air on model)

I ordered some of the parts this morning…as money allows more will be added.

Any comments or further ideas (Please keep them coming).

Safe Traveling Folks!

:smiley_drive:

 

[flamewerks]

I have a Jeep TJ, even though I have a bunch of money sunk in it…we still can’t fit the whole family in it. After many years of keeping my mouth shut, my wife finally came to the conclusion the mini-van had to get the gettin.
:smiley_drive:

Congrats on the wife! Most others would have made you get rid of the Jeep! haha

Soft 8's definitely look cool on Tahoes. Check out tahoeyukonforum.com Any info you need is on there, as well as some pics of guys with Soft 8's.

As for Nav, I have a Garmin Nuvi 3750, and I used it for a recent road trip to the Grand Canyon (6000km in total). It did pretty good, although there were a couple times in the cities that it was wrong. Also, I've never owned one before so I have nothing to compare it to. Another thing is, from Edmonton to Vegas, I think you make one 4 turns over the nearly 4000miles, so it didn't really get put to use too often :sombrero:

For storage, I bought a metal Toolbox at the local hardware store. I can snap a pic tomorrow, it fits right in the trunk, and although it doesnt look too big, it fits a ton. BUT since you have 3 kids, I imagine you will want to keep the 3rd row seat, in which case most metal boxes won't fit.

HTH,

Jens

 

[goldenbeagle]

Congrats on the wife! Most others would have made you get rid of the Jeep! haha

Soft 8's definitely look cool on Tahoes. Check out tahoeyukonforum.com Any info you need is on there, as well as some pics of guys with Soft 8's.

As for Nav, I have a Garmin Nuvi 3750, and I used it for a recent road trip to the Grand Canyon (6000km in total). It did pretty good, although there were a couple times in the cities that it was wrong. Also, I've never owned one before so I have nothing to compare it to. Another thing is, from Edmonton to Vegas, I think you make one 4 turns over the nearly 4000miles, so it didn't really get put to use too often :sombrero:

For storage, I bought a metal Toolbox at the local hardware store. I can snap a pic tomorrow, it fits right in the trunk, and although it doesnt look too big, it fits a ton. BUT since you have 3 kids, I imagine you will want to keep the 3rd row seat, in which case most metal boxes won't fit.

HTH,

Jens

The kids fit fine without the third row. So please snap a pic of the box...would like to see it.

I will also check out the Garmin you are talking about. I have been doing some research, but have not decided fully on what I will purchase.

 

[flamewerks]

I'll snap a pic tomorrow when there's some light. As for the gps, honestly, the only reason why I bought that one is because it looks like an iPhone :sombrero:

 

[alexrex20]

if someone has noisy Terra Grapplers, they need to rotate their tires more frequently and/or get an alignment. they are notoriously some of the quietest AT tire on the market. many of my friends run them and have nothing but good things to say about them. they typically get 50kmi(!) out of a set.

 

[Sock Puppet]

I just ordered one of these when Amazon was offering a discount. It came out to $85 shipped. I really wanted the lifetime traffic and was satisfied with the 3.5" screen (as opposed to the 4.3" wide screen.)

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B001ELJ9P6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295492382&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Garmin nüvi 265/265T 3.5-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator with Traffic: Electronics[/ame]