2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Explorerinil,

Whats a cyclone profiler? Thanx for watching the videos and following our crazy adventures.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Later GMT800 6.0 Vortec Max Escalades and ESV models are a good source for the 9.5 14 bolt. I believe they also came in all 07-up models. Swap in a Hummer H2 E Locker and 4:56 gearset

4BT,

That's a great suggestion, I have actually been looking for a 9.5" 14 bolt or a 12 bolt to swap in when and if I finally break the 10 bolt. eLocker would be fantastic however I already had an Eaton eLocker in the truck last fall and it was a worthless piece of crap that broke within a week, now stuck with a bad aftertaste in my mouth if I do put a locker in it will only be a Detroit Locker. I am very happy with the 4.10 gears and have no reason to go to 4.56s until I put 40s on the Suburban.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 
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CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Another fun day trip to Death Valley.

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This trip we ended up having a little longer of a day than I intended, 512 miles total and over 200 in the dirt exploring the Lippincott and Hunter Mountain areas.

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We started with Boxcar Cabin, which location is supposed to be remained a secret.

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This is the welcome sign outside.

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Inside had another well put together sign. This was a cabin for a nearby mine and is maintained for guests to use. Two rooms inside, one bedroom with a bed frame and a kitchen with a table and a wood burning stove.

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Outhouse a hundred feet up the trail.

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You just never know what surprise awaits you until you open the outhouse door.

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Pile of rocks at the Lippincott Pass turn off. Kids spent an hour climbing up and down this magical pile.

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Suburban ready for the long journey ahead.

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Overcast sky made for a quick and very uneventful 2wd drive up the pass. With the Easter crowds receding, this was much rougher ride than the last time we went down the pass around Thanxgiving.

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Foundation remains at the Homestake Dry Camp.

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Old water tank that must have been used to bring water to the Lippincott Mine.

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Not sure what this is other than a vending/dispensing machine.

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Still gloomy and overcast, we continued to the Racetrack to watch the rocks that slide across the playa.

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Kids spent an hour running around the dry lake bed.

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We made it to Teakettle junction as the sun came out from behind the clouds.

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The green teakettle is the one we left after Thanksgiving, even though they are cleared regularly ever couple of months ours remained. The angry bird looking pitcher is my contribution this trip.

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We headed back via Hunter Mountain Rd, and shortly after Lost Burro Gap we came to an intersection. To the right is a quick run up to the Lost Burro Mine and left was a cool looking trail called White Top Mountain Rd. We drove the road to the end, found this repeater near the end.

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Another repeater on the way to the summit of White Top Mountain.

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This was one of the most sketchy trails I have done in Death Valley and it took the Sub within feet of the White Top Mountain summit from where I had a birds eye view of the valley below.

I have reached the number of pics I can post in a single posting, the adventure will be continued in part 2.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Continued from previous post.

PRESS Ctrl F5 to reload the page if the images do not load the first time around.

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Another vending machine looking thing at the mining camp.

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Water storage tanks.

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Not too much left of the cabin in the mining camp near the end of White Top Mountain Rd.

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All that's left of this mining truck.

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We continued up the fun, fast and winding Hunter Mountain Rd and came up on the Hunter Mountain Ranch cabin.

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It was getting dark and my camera was not co-operating to get the colors I wanted, this cabin only had a bed frame and looks like travelers have stayed here in the past.

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I did not let the kids out to explore this area due to the Hantavirus potential.

Overall it was a great trip with way more miles covered than I expected. I also found out that the Suburban was more than capable and happy going up Lippincott Pass in 2WD. I have a few videos from the trip and will get them uploaded soon.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

chilliwak

Expedition Leader
Thanks for posting those great pics Crazy. Looks like a couple guys used that old steel cabinet for target practice. Cool pics and a cool journey. Cheers, Chilli...:cool:
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Couple fun videos from the Death Valley Trip.


This is the bottom up run of Lippincott Pass Rd. Once again I ran this trail in 2wd high. My buddy in the 4runner and another one in the Jeep had to use 4wd low. Looks like 37" tires and 4.10 gears are exactly the combination I originally wanted to be able to run 4x4 Jeep trails in 2wd.


White Top Mountain Rd was my favorite trail of the day. The last minute I climb in 4x4low up to the ridge and follow the narrow off camber trail past two repeaters and all the way to the summit of White Top Mountain.


It was getting dark and we were near Hunter Mountain Ranch Cabin, so we drove the short trail to the cabin and explored before the sun went down.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument!

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I have been doing a lot of day trips due to wife's work schedule however we finally got the same days off and decided to head out to the remote north rim of the Grand Canyon via Gold Butte and Parashant National Monuments.

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We started our adventure in the Riverside Ghost Town right outside Gold Butte where the kids ran around the abandoned buildings and I had time to deflate the tires.

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Boys playing in an abandoned building.

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Main street of this little town.

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As we enter Gold Butte we are greeted by the sign warning of tortoises crossing, I am so glad that it's not tortoise season yet.

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Kids are showing mom the right way to scale the CCC Cisterm at Whitney Pocket.

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This is the first time the 18month old went up and down the stairs by himself.

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View of the dam from the highest point in the canyon I could scramble up.

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Recent rains let the grass grow lush and green inside the cistern.

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Climbing up to the farthest part of the cistern.

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Sandy beach in the middle of the desert.

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This could be very relaxing on a hot summer day if there was water in the trough.

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Little one wants to climb to the top.

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Nearly at the middle of the rock.

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After a quick drive through Gold Butte we finally made it into Arizona and into Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument.

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BLM has numerous warnings about road conditions.

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Ultimate millenials stay out sign.

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Original plan was to follow Grand Gulch wash to Grand Gulch Canyon, up the canyon, over to the mine, and onto Twin Point overlook for the night.

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Entrance to the Grand Gulch Canyon marked with the cow scull.

We went up all but the last 100 yards of the canyon as the 6-12" rocks turned in to 2-3ft and then 3-4ft boulders. The trail was impassable to the Sub, and after scratching up the running boards a little we tuned around and headed to a different area to make camp for the night.

Continued in part 2.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument! Continued from previous post.

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After a disappointing turn around we headed to Tassi Ranch which we have always wanted to visit.

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Main cabin.

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Back side of the cabin that faces the natural spring with refreshing fast flowing water.

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Other side of the cabin.

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Horse stable.

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Last building on the property of the Tassi Ranch.

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Found some cacti blooming along the drive.

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Closeup of the blooming cactus.

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Wifey picked a perfect spot for camp at the apex of two washes which provided a comfortable breeze all night long.

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Our old Walmart tent disintegrated after a decade of use, so we upgraded to a TeePee.

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Another view of the camp.

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Boys watching the campfire before the sun sets below the mountains.

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Exiting Grand Canyon Parashant

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Leaving Gold Butte to return back home.

Great trip where we had a chance to explore several new areas, and found many more yet to explore later this summer.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
I got a PUMA!

We have been enjoying the truck in much more remote places I have even taken a vehicle on regular basis and dialed in most of the quirks, however there has been one concern that I have not yet addressed and it was just a matter of time. AIR. I always deflate my tires to 20psi for loose and sot trails and 15psi if there will be technical obstacles involved. I also drive the truck back home 100+ miles as is with 15 or 20psi until i can hook it up to my at home compressor.

My 12v compressor that I found in a dumpster at a truck stop 20+ years ago has served me well however it takes 20+ minutes to inflate one 37" tire to 30psi, I don't have the time to wait that long.

I always wanted the Puma due to it's power and 100% duty cycle however was not pleased with the size and weight. I had a pleasure of using a friend's Smittybuilt 2781, MV-50 and Viair 450c. Neither of which was meeting my requirement. So I started budgeting for the Puma and figuring out how I want to put air in my ties on the trail. Holding the air chuck on was not an option, inflating one tire at a time seemed ridiculous also. I drew up a 2-way air system with all the required components and decided that a central tire inflation setup would be ideal for my application.

Puma finally arrived and most of the parts for my central air system started to trickle in from China (eBay). I could not leave the Puma at home so I simplified my air hose setup by getting rid of a manifold and running a T-connector so i can inflate two tires at the same time to the same pressure.


Three trips in with the portable Puma and I can not be any happier with both the compressor, setup and the price. Managed everything for under $250 shipped. I inflated all 4 Sub tires from 15-40psi and 4 stock Rubicon tires from 20-40psi in less time it took to inflate 4 32x12.5R17s from 17-35psi with a Viair 450.

Eventually I will divorce the two, permanently mount the Puma in the truck and run a 3-5gal tank.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

yoggie

Member
You have to love a good on-board air system! I have 35s on my jeep and air down whenever I am wheeling (typically 12 PSI since I am not on beadlocks). One tip I have learned is dont waste your time with an air tank if all you are doing is airing up tires. What you end up doing is get a quick blast of air if you prefill the tank to 100-150 PSI and then you sit there forever while you fill the tires and the tank. It just seems faster in the end to go without the tank.

Another great trick I figured out was to run hoses to all four tires at once. For my 2 door jeep, I have the hoses coiled and stored under my front seats, but a long van will need something a little different, but still easy to put together. I added an air gauge for airing down and a shutoff valve pre-set for 25 PSI. I turn on the pump, connect the 4 hoses to the tires, the pressure valve will shut off the air to the tires once it hits 5 psi and the pump will shut off shortly thereafter once it hits its 100 PSI shutoff. So when the pump shuts off, I know I am good to hit the road. I will double check to make sure but I rarely have to add any air to the tires once they have had time to level out. The jeep is closer to 50/50 weight distribution and I always make sure to use flat ground, so your mileage may vary.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
You have to love a good on-board air system! I have 35s on my jeep and air down whenever I am wheeling (typically 12 PSI since I am not on beadlocks). One tip I have learned is dont waste your time with an air tank if all you are doing is airing up tires. What you end up doing is get a quick blast of air if you prefill the tank to 100-150 PSI and then you sit there forever while you fill the tires and the tank. It just seems faster in the end to go without the tank.

Another great trick I figured out was to run hoses to all four tires at once. For my 2 door jeep, I have the hoses coiled and stored under my front seats, but a long van will need something a little different, but still easy to put together. I added an air gauge for airing down and a shutoff valve pre-set for 25 PSI. I turn on the pump, connect the 4 hoses to the tires, the pressure valve will shut off the air to the tires once it hits 5 psi and the pump will shut off shortly thereafter once it hits its 100 PSI shutoff. So when the pump shuts off, I know I am good to hit the road. I will double check to make sure but I rarely have to add any air to the tires once they have had time to level out. The jeep is closer to 50/50 weight distribution and I always make sure to use flat ground, so your mileage may vary.

Yoggie,

That was my original plan but I ordered all my air parts on eBay and they have not yet arrived. So I decided to take everything that I had and make a portable two tire inflation setup. Once all the parts arrive I will run a hose to all 4 tires with a pressure regulator so I can inflare all 4 at the same time to the same pressure.

I am not sure about the air tank yet, I will divorce the two and see how the compressor works without the tank and go from there.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

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