2002 Suburban 4x4 z71 G80 Adeventuremobile/home/photostudio

[kins18q]

My girlfriend and I are planning a year long trip from the tip of Baja to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska to begin in Oct 2016 when we are both free of commitments. She is a professional outdoor/adventure photographer who is readying herself for the leap from part time to full time. This trip will be her springboard.

Loose Itinerary
Oct, Nov: Utah/AZ Desert: Canyoneering/packrafting/shenanigans
Dec: Baja: Surf and eat mammoth portions of tacos in Baja
Jan, Feb: Rockies: Try to ski 100 days in 2 months....60 is more likely
March, April: Pacific Northwest: Skiing and mountaineering in the cascades and Canadian rockies
May, June: Alaska: Spend as much time as looking/being in the Alaska range, thumb wrestle a moos, skinny dip in the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe bay
July, August: Undetermined: Stay in Alaska? head back south for more fun in the lower 48? Apply for jobs...

Things we wanted in our adventuremobile:
4x4/Ability to get us to trailheads
Reliability
Highway comfort
Room for a sleeping platform (I am 6'2")
Room under the platform for climbing gear, fridge, cold weather clothes and camping gear,
Light Color interior/exterior for extended time in the desert
Sunroof for stargazing, photography and for me to hang out of and flash people when my girlfriend is driving...
Roofrack for cargo box, bikes, tools etc
TOTAL BUILD BUDGET $10,000

We were thinking we should go as small as we thought we could live out of for a year. For maneuverability, capability, mileage, and for keeping te vehicle for aftert the trip was thru. We were originally thinking Land Cruiser. Too expensive. Then for a long time Gen 3 Montero. Same size, half as expensive. Or a truck with a camper shell. What we really wanted was a Sportsmobile 4x4 E series or Chevy Savanah for under 10k.... Not gonna happen. If you can't have a sportsmobile, get a SUBURBAN! You can have 4x4, and pass through to the cabin just like a van. But no standing of course. A poor man's sportsmobile!

Here is where the story of Aberdeen begins. After having a few Montero's fall through, we broadened our search and I stumbled apon a white 2002 Suburban 4x4 z71 with 135k listed for 5500. Got the VIN, called the Chevy dealer. Its got the G80! Drove that thing, brought it to the mechanic who said it needed 2400 bucks in routine wear and tear maintenance, but otherwise was in great condition (engine and transmission wise). Got it for 4200.

4200+fees+1900 (intake manifold gasket, valve cover gaskets, oil change/filter, air filter, new hoses, and one other thing that is eluding me) at mechanic and we are at 6600.


We took her on a 1000 mile trip from San Diego to Death Valley and back right after we got her out of the shop. Along the way she was named Aberdeen. Old, American and kinda redneck, just like the suburban. Survived with only some dirt in the rear bumper and some pinstriping.

Removed the running boards so there's less to drag


Added a mount for a shovel. 1 quickfist, 1 mini quickfist (the shovel narrows out near the blade) mounted to the crossbars with stainless hose clamps. 11 bucks.



And for the hi lift. Three quick fists+three stainless clamps, just to be safe. About $15




Did a few other things like add some stuffing to the front seat (it was owned by a large person before us). Fixed a sagging roofliner, etc.

Things to do in the future:
Fridge
Solar
Cargo Box
Bike mounts
Tires
Sleeping platform
Kitchen setup
Traction ladders (leaning towards waffleboards since they can be used for bridging, traction, and kitchen table)
Kitchen table+bench from waffleboards
2 inch lift? undecided

I will try to update as things come along. Any advice/ideas is greatly appreciated!

 

[mires]

So did you check out Kurt's former home while in Aberdeen or Riverfront park by any chance?

 

[legendaryandrew]

I like the minimalist attitude, and the fact that you guys actually are DOING it! Nice rig, and Aberdeen sucks. I don't live far from it. Nirvana is awesome though.

 

[kins18q]

Kurt's former home? I'm missing something. Yea we drove by Aberdeen on the way to Death Valley. Also we.were relentlessly listening to this song that day https://youtu.be/aqDu47GbQWk

We are trying to keep it under 10k so it will have to be minimalist. Plus we don't like spending money on aestetics! Function over form!

 

[legendaryandrew]

Kurt, as in Kurt Cobain. Nirvana lead singer, grunge band from the 80s and 90s. He was born and raised in Aberdeen, hence the citys sign saying 'Come as You Are' on it. One of their songs.

 

[kins18q]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh yes I know of this Kurt fellow. Didn't know he was from Aberdeen though

 

[justcuz]

I think the plastic stuff will come off the bottom of the body too. I would suggest a taller E rated tire for your travels. Big block 2500 front torsion bars or Ford keys. Hummer H2 rear springs. Keep the factory Z71 Bilsteins. Should get you about 1.5 to 2" of lift so you can run a 285 tire. Maybe some lower body protection, like mud guards or bed liner below the lower belt line. Rear locker and Polish LSD/traction control in front (light brake application to stop the spinning wheel and transfer power to tire with most traction).
Simple, low key and will not attract a lot of attention. Once you get your platform built put all your recovery gear inside out of sight of opportunists.

 

[rayra]

have the exact same vehicle as you, but in black. Been doing some odds and ends on it, slow progress. Some of the ideas might be useful to you. I don't have a comprehensive build thread yet, just various topics scattered about.
The sunroof might not work well as a top hatch, if you don't delete the center console so you can stand on the floor there.
I'm still planning an 8" deep platform / storage drawer setup, I'll have a topic on it soon, been working on the SketchUp plans for it this month and already gathering parts. Hope to build it this winter. But it will be full width and reach to the back of the 2nd row seats. That's ~54" IIRC. It's about 103" from the inside of the rear hatch to the back of the front seats. So foldign the 2nd row down and adding a filler panel to the front of the drawers will give more than enough sleeping length (I'm 6'). I'll have a topic up on that next month in the Storage section. And I still havent finished sewing my vehicle mounted shade awnings. I think that might be of particular interest to you -
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...eas-for-a-lightweight-compact-flexible-design

On radio antenna mounting and wiring and console and soundproofing the rear body area
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...ling-and-heavy-gage-power-lines-under-vehicle

Farting around with roof-mounted solar panel design ideas
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...king-for-vehicle-solar-panel-roof-mount-ideas

An interim MFC / MWC mount idea
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/135929-Jerry-Can-MWC-MFC-stowage-box-build

Some LED strip lighting on the rim of the rear hatch
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/148118-LED-Strip-lighting-on-the-vehicle

I'm wanting to add a lot of power options in my rear platform design, for powering all sorts / flavor of things. That will be detailed in my platform build thread. I've posted a bunch of details here and there, can't be arsed to dig that up right now.
Also considering a roof-rack mounted lightbar solution, coupled with some rack-mounted anderson power-pole connectors or something similar that will allow multiple locations for some area / work lights to be plugged in. Campsite lighting, lighting repairs etc.
A few other ideas that would be useful for venturing back into the southwest deserts. And that might be useful to you (and others) and especially so in the same exact vehicle.

 

[upcruiser]

Your reasoning behind your vehicle choice is pretty similar to why we bought our 2004 2500 Burb last spring. We have had a number of Land Cruisers, still have an 80 series but the Burb trumps them for ability to haul stuff and be stealth. We have two little ones now and racked our brains on what we wanted to travel with for over a year. We were making an FJ Cruiser with a RTT work when we first just had our oldest little one. Almost scored a sweet deal on a low mileage Sprinter but it fell through. It's hard to out do the value of a used Suburban. You can carry everything you need inside the vehicle, have a ton of room still to sleep inside, and be completely under the radar and not advertise, hey look at me and all my gear! And hey, we are probably sleeping in here! On top of that, there are few vehicles that are as comfy for long day in the saddle. Since it's just two of you traveling, you have a lot of options on how to set the interior up. Since we have two kids and a dog we have a bit less. I still was going to build a sleeping platform behind the second row seats but we like to travel with our mountain bikes inside and out of the weather, skis too so we are considering getting another RTT for long trips again. This is definitely the most flexible platform I have had though, and for people who ski, climb, bike, it's great since you can configure them so many ways. We went the 2500 route since we have a 23' travel trailer we use to base camp with for some of our stuff and wanted the rig to be taxed less for long term reliability. We gave up some in mileage and a bit stiffer ride on the highway. For 2 people and not towing you will be completely stoked with the 1500.

Here is our thread with thoughts and experiences thus far, some might be applicable to you http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/139683-Going-domestic-project-vanilla-aka-the-family-tankster-2004-Suburban-2500

 

[kins18q]

I'm thinking there will be holes where the plastic panels are. Not sure I'm interested in that much work...what do you recommend for tires? It's got 265 70 17s yoko geo AT right now. We would like it to be a bit taller but same width or narrower. With 90% on road. Already got the rear G80 locker. Would that lift maintain factor ride quality? I am thinking it needs new shocks I think they might be original...I would love to get new shocks and a couple inches lift, that's it.

 

[kins18q]

Awesome work rayra. We will post our build of the platform too. We are also planning on an awning. Will most likely steal your ideas!

 

[legendaryandrew]

I went with Fox 2.0 on my GMT800 burb, and it rides much better than the stock suspension

 

[Loubaru]

I have to go to Aberdeen from time to time for work and accidentally passed by his old house while running. It was insanely depressing...it probably didn't help that I ran by a meth head walking with a microwave about 1/8 mile from his house. The Park is also tiny and wasn't really kept up. Anyways, unless you are a die hard fine its not worth the trip. Aberdeen has also slowly been eroding away as the pulp/paper industry in the states dies out so the whole town is a little depressing IMO.

 

[rayra]

Awesome work rayra. We will post our build of the platform too. We are also planning on an awning. Will most likely steal your ideas!

Great, glad to be of service.

Hell I even have the exact same tires as you. Tire wise I've seen some folks posting about 285s with a bit of rubbing. But a 2" suspension lift might offset that. Or offset rims. and a 75(%) profile will give you taller / narrower. Don't know what if anything is available in that range though.

I'm thinking about a small suspension lift as well. I've cranked the torsion bars a bit, nose rose about an inch, ride is still comfy. I'm going to put fresh rear springs and shocks in it next year and see where it sits. I've got a lot of parking structures in my routine life, so I can't go much higher without trouble. I'll have to check my usual parking structures and see how much clearance I have to work with. I plan an LED light bar on the roof, but it will be mounted between the forward ends of the Z71 roof rack, so no height increase there.

But all that's ok as my build also is 'stealth'. Most of the stuff I'll be doing won't be blatantly obvious. People that know the gear will spot things, average person won't. You known the terrain we have around here. Some more skid plates and yoke armor is in order. Especially with a 130" wheelbase. Need to re-work the tow hitch, tuck as much as I can higher up so I'm not tearing things off. Been doodling ideas for some sort of roller on the bottom of the receiver, trying to figure something that will help it slide off things, without making the clearance problems much worse. Maybe just weld some sort of skid plate on it so it slides instead of snagging. Thinking about some kind of sheet metal guard for the underslung spare, too.(TM, lol) Something that lashes to the tire. Too many sharp rocks around here. Aluminum plate maybe. Dunno. I need to get under there with a tape measure and some cardboard and start planning things out. Also want to see if it's worth trying to mount a poly potable water tank under there somewhere. can't carry too much water in SoCal deserts. usplastics.com has all sizes and shapes of tanks, something will fit. But if the space is too small I'll just get more MWCs from LCI.com and fab up a roof rack that lays them on their back, for off-road outings.

Can't find a bumper / brushguard I like either. They're either massive and heavy like a Ranch Hand, or skimpy like a prerunner. Looking for Goldilocks. A few nice features in some of the others, but their aesthetics kind of suck, mish-mash of shapes, tubes and angles. Been working on some designs in that area and shopping wire-feed welders, but that's a long-range project, year or more out. And it's been 25-30yrs since I did much welding (gas and arc). I'll get that stuff put in a build thread in a couple months. Already have a silly name for that.

Anyway, tons of options and possibilities with these vehicles and good aftermarket support, so just about the only limit is the size of our wallets.

 

[justcuz]

I'm thinking there will be holes where the plastic panels are. Not sure I'm interested in that much work...what do you recommend for tires? It's got 265 70 17s yoko geo AT right now. We would like it to be a bit taller but same width or narrower. With 90% on road. Already got the rear G80 locker. Would that lift maintain factor ride quality? I am thinking it needs new shocks I think they might be original...I would love to get new shocks and a couple inches lift, that's it.

Not sure about holes behind the current panels, my daughter has a Z71 Tahoe, so I'll have a look. I run 285/75X16's on my 2000 that's about a 32.5" tire on stock GM 7" aluminum wheels. The ride may stiffen a bit, with suspension upgrades but not horribly. Coil spring spacers do nothing to improve your load capacity. You'd be surprised how long the Bilsteins last. On the G80, watch the you tube videos on this rear axle, as long as your throttle applications are not creating a large rpm difference between axle speeds you should be OK. Too much throttle will kill them though.
I think you are on the right track and with all the different locations you plan to go, you should be able to keep most of your stuff inside, out of sight.