2001 Suburban K2500 - Summer Camping & Winter Commuting

[snowblind]

Hi All. Greetings from Utah!

I picked up a sweet 2001 Chevy Suburban 2500 a few months back to serve as a camping vehicle/mountain commuter. Camping duties will consist of 3 or 4 summer trips of 5 days or less. There will be some dirt road and light trail duty but off-road capability is not a big priority. Winter commuter duties consist of a 6 mile drive from 4000' to 8500' on one of the snowiest roads in the USA. The ability to plow through 12"+ of fresh snow, handle safely on ICE and perform in very cold conditions is a BIG priority.

Specs are: 2001 K2500 LT with 8.1 litre V8, 3:73 gears, 4-speed auto, tow package, 140amp alternator, limited-slip rear and skid plates. It has leather, sunroof, power windows, rear A/C, etc but doesn't have the computer climate control and bose stereo.

Here are some shots from the day I picked her up. Vehicle is a total cream-puff. Mileage was only 82,493.











More updates to come.


Matt

EDIT - Here are some of the latest photos.

Picked up some 2007+ center caps.
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Depo headlights.
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Hella MicroDE Fog Lights.
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Spyder LED Tail Lights
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Sony Head Unit with Nav. 8" speakers in console
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USB Charging, HDMI and AUX in. Bass Control and Aux Light switches in background.
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[Kaisen]

Looks like a clean Sub! I had a 2001 equipped similarly but with 4.10s. Digital climate control wasn't available until 2003.

You'll love it! Let me know if you have any questions, mine has 249K miles so I've seen it all

 

[snowblind]

Thanks Kaisen.

I do love it. I picked her up at the beginning of March and have put maybe 1500 miles on. No camping runs yet but as a home depot hauler it is awesome. Easily swallows items and loads that appear way too big. Loaded EIGHT full size (265/75/16) truck tires on rims no problem without even putting the 2nd row seats down! Loaded 20 bags of mulch and could have loaded 20 more.

LOVE THAT CHEVY SUBURBAN! :wings::wings::wings::wings:

 

[snowblind]

Initial Maintenance

I took the Burb into the dealership shortly after I picked her up for an oil change and a once over. As stated earlier mileage was <83,000.

Dealer found leaking power steering lines, leaking steering gearbox and leaking driver's side front shock. From my research these repairs are fairly typical for these trucks. Dealer recommended replacing steering box and doing scheduled trans and coolant maintenance for some UNGODLY EXPENSIVE TOTAL. I declined.

I'm going to degrease the steering box and lines and see how bad these leaks are. I'm thinking it may be a temporary result from overfilling. If not I will order a new box from http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/ and the lines through http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/. The current steering is definitely waaaaay to sloppy for my tastes. I'm looking at upgrades from http://www.cognitomotorsports.com/, http://bulletproofsteering.com, http://dmaxstore.com, etc. I've done a good bit of research but I would love to hear from any people actually running these products.

I will probably do the powersteering and rear diff fluids at home along with the steering upgrades. Thinking I'll have the coolant flushed, trans flush, transfer case fluid change and chassis lube done at my mechanics. Any thoughts from you guys with experience. Some jobs are super easy but some are such a PITA that it's worth paying a shop!


Matt

 

[snowblind]

I took the Burb into the dealership shortly after I picked her up for an oil change and a once over. As stated earlier mileage was <83,000.

Dealer found leaking power steering lines, leaking steering gearbox and leaking driver's side front shock. From my research these repairs are fairly typical for these trucks. Dealer recommended replacing steering box and doing scheduled trans and coolant maintenance for some UNGODLY EXPENSIVE TOTAL. I declined.

I'm going to degrease the steering box and lines and see how bad these leaks are. I'm thinking it may be a temporary result from overfilling. If not I will order a new box from http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/ and the lines through http://www.gmpartsdirect.com/. The current steering is definitely waaaaay to sloppy for my tastes. I'm looking at upgrades from http://www.cognitomotorsports.com/, http://bulletproofsteering.com, http://dmaxstore.com, etc. I've done a good bit of research but I would love to hear from any people actually running these products.

I will probably do the powersteering and rear diff fluids at home along with the steering upgrades. Thinking I'll have the coolant flushed, trans flush, transfer case fluid change and chassis lube done at my mechanics. Any thoughts from you guys with experience. Some jobs are super easy but some are such a PITA that it's worth paying a shop!


Matt

 

[Bennettbf]

We got our first Suburban around the same time - a 2001 1500 LT with 138K on the clock. We took her up to the Keewanaw this weekend with the full load out for a three night camping trip. It all fit in the back, including the spare beer cooler. Best of all, was the 15.3mpg that we enjoyed - that was very surprising.

First time ever I napped in the passenger seat on the way back. As much as we loved our Mazda B4000, this is easily the best vehicle I've ever taken camping.

B

 

[Haakon]

12" of new snow won't be a problem with decent tires. My 2000 Sub would go through more than that with ease on 285/75/16 BFGs.

Nice score, that should last you for many years to come.

 

[Keanan]

You might already know this but, a set of dedicated snow tires will perform better than most any AT or MT tire. The AT/MT tires will get you through the mud and rocks on your way to the campsite in July, but the snow tires will get you through the six mile ice rink on your way home in January.

 

[82fb]

Very nice. I just bought its twin, with the exception of 4.10 gears. Has new 265's and going to need 285's to bring the rpm down a bit.

 

[snowblind]

Hey everybody. Thanks for the feedback. I posted earlier but the post was "waiting for moderator approval". I'm thinking perhaps the posting rules are pretty tight and I had too many web links in there.

Here are some shots from late March with new 285/70/17 General Arctimax snow tires on 17x8.5 MB TKO wheels. The Generals are definitely not as smooth or quite as the summer Michelins. They are more like an AT tire than a road tire and have proved to have excellent snow traction and a massive ability to move slush and water. The 285/70/17 tires rubbed in a few places. Mainly on the drivers front fender when reversing. I fixed most of the rub by trimming the fender liner but I will need to raise the front a little to completely eliminate it.










Matt

 

[snowblind]

Very nice. I just bought its twin, with the exception of 4.10 gears. Has new 265's and going to need 285's to bring the rpm down a bit.

I test drove one with 4.10s and it was a poor match for my needs. At 55mph it was pulling over 2000 rpm on the tach... I'm sure it tows like a beast but I don't tow.

My rig with 3.73s and the 285/70/17 tires is pulling around 2300 rpm at 75rpm.


Matt

 

[snowblind]

May Photos

Time to get the Suburban ready for summer.

Stock wheels are gone. Replaced with Michelin LTX tires on Hummer H2 wheels.

I also added a Yakima Sky Box Pro cargo box and a Thule roof rack. I installed weathertech floor mats and window "eyebrows".






The cargo box is 18 cubic feet. 1 tent, 3 sleeping bags, 3 sleeping pads and 3 camp chairs didn't faze it a bit. Maybe 2/3 full.


Matt

 

[noJeepshere]

Those Hummer wheels look good on it. What are your plans for a build up?

 

[snowblind]

Build Plans

I'm still developing the build plan. I have a few key ideas but much of the final product will be an evolution of sorts. For now decisions are based more on immediate needs, short-term enjoyment and good deals I can find on used parts.

Case in point - I never considered a cargo box and planned on using the factory roof rack. A buddy owed me money and offered the box and Thule rack for a smoking deal. I LOVE the box now and the rack is an integral part of a camping table I'm building. Box + Rack + Table + Special Discount spurred me to purchase an awning to mount to the rack. Evolution...

There are a few mechanical needs I must address.

The current steering components seem barely capable of doing their job when new. Add 80k miles and the 285/70/17s and there is obvious slop and flex in the system. Steers a LOT like my old 1972 Jimmy... :Wow1: The steering box and high pressure lines all leak a bit. Probably replace the box with a RedHead one and put in new stock HP lines. I will lift the front 1"-2" via Torsion bar preload and replacement A-arms (thinking Cognito) with upgraded tie-rods, ball joints, pitman & idler braces, etc.

The shocks are all worn and the driver's side front shock is leaking. I'm thinking Bilstein 5100 shocks all around.

As you probably know the rear springs on the 3/4 burbs are pretty stiff. This leads to a ROUGH ride over the axle on dirt roads. Since I am not doing much towing I'm seriously considering getting a set of custom Alcan springs for the back. Alcan can soften the initial travel considerably while still providing decent control for heavier loads. Airbags are always an option if I need to pull heavy stuff. Custom springs can also allow for a 1/2"-1" lowering of the rear end to level the truck without excessive torsion bar preload.

Right now I'm concentrating on getting the camping kit together. I have the main things, tent, stove, etc but need to figure out how to pack/mount it to the rig. I'm in the middle of building a custom camp table that doubles as a roof rack platform with mounts for a 20lb propane tank and a other accessories. I will post pics this weekend.

I'm open to any and all thoughts on the brands and ideas I mention above. Thanks for the feedback.


Matt

 

[noJeepshere]

I'm interested in this roof rack/camp table idea.



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