'Burb buying advice

[chilliwak]

That looks nice and very similar to the one I'm eyeing up, except that is the equivalent of $21,000 canadian plus I would need to get it home and import it.
The one I found here is under $7000! Maybe it doesn't run or something... lol

Nevermind, the problem with the one I found is that it sold already. Dang guy didn't have time to meet yesterday...

I have recently seen a 2000 something white surburban with a 6.0 for sale in the Vancouver area for $2000. Yes it was high mileage and yes it was beaten but it gives you a prespective of what you can get for your money in Canada. For 7k you should be able to get a very nice example of a `Burb´!! Ow by the way Kyle welcome to the site. Always good to see another Canadian here. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[Kyle Kelso]

Thanks Chilli

So for all of you who have been living with your suburbans for a while, are you happy with your choice of rear door? I like having a tailgate and it would seem to me that the lift glass with tailgate would be perfect for a somewhat covered sitting bench. This was only an option on the GMT400 right? I think on the gmt800 I would prefer the lift gate over the barn doors for a sheltered access area. I only ever thought I'd want barn doors when looking at the older models with the roll down window in the tailgate to avoid failures.
Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe the barn (or ambulance) doors wouldn't be better for access when the trailer is hitched up and/or the canoe is on the roof.

Anybody wish they'd have done it different or really happy with your decesion?

I found a rougher, high mileage '99 2500 base model with the 350 and barn doors for quite cheap a couple hours away. Wasn't advertised as a 2500 so I skimmed past it at first.

 

[upcruiser]

Thanks Chilli

So for all of you who have been living with your suburbans for a while, are you happy with your choice of rear door? I like having a tailgate and it would seem to me that the lift glass with tailgate would be perfect for a somewhat covered sitting bench. This was only an option on the GMT400 right? I think on the gmt800 I would prefer the lift gate over the barn doors for a sheltered access area. I only ever thought I'd want barn doors when looking at the older models with the roll down window in the tailgate to avoid failures.
Now I'm starting to wonder if maybe the barn (or ambulance) doors wouldn't be better for access when the trailer is hitched up and/or the canoe is on the roof.

Anybody wish they'd have done it different or really happy with your decesion?

I found a rougher, high mileage '99 2500 base model with the 350 and barn doors for quite cheap a couple hours away. Wasn't advertised as a 2500 so I skimmed past it at first.

I searched for a barn door specifically. Yeah, as you mentioned, for towing and for hauling our canoe I wanted to still be able to access the rear. The canoe blocks one of the doors still but I can still pull bikes out using the other side which is key. Another nice thing with barn doors is that you can affix fold down shelves on them for cooking and food prep. I also think they look better, more ultilitarian and old school. It's also nice to be able to stand on the back bumper and strap stuff on the load bars. Without barn doors I don't know where I would air out my stinky bike clothes. ;-)



An awning extending off the back would be key though. We haven't used ours for anything other than camper base camping then day trip stuff but if we were running the truck with a sleeping platform in the back or a RTT, I would slap my awning to the back just to keep rain out when opening the back doors. The shape of the doors and roof slants back in a way that your bedding would get wet. Also, my biggest complaint is how where I live and we get a ton of snow, you have to sweep the snow off above the back door or you will dump a pile inside when you open them. Same goes for the front 4 doors for that matter. I miss the days of rain gutters....

 

[Martinjmpr]

WRT Door choice, yes you are correct, only the GMT-400 'burbs had the drop gate/lift window option. IMO that's the best possible setup, but then again I like tailgates. Suburban soccer moms, though, apparently hate tailgates and that's why almost no modern crossovers or SUVs have them anymore, sad to say.
.
I would like to have found a barn-door 'burb but in reality, I have no complaints about the one piece liftgate (and it's actually two pieces, as you can open just the window if you want to, with a simple push button. That's a nice feature to have if you want to just throw something in the back without opening up the whole gate.)
.
It's also nice that the lift gate provides rear shelter in inclement weather.
.
We tow a trailer and haul 2 kayaks and have no problems opening the tailgate with everything hooked up. That's because we don't use bow or stern straps for the kayaks, they are strapped in on the sides only (our kayaks have indentations for the Yakima rack crossbar so that keeps them from moving fore and aft.)
.
The lift gate also gives a more unobstructed rear view and also a rear wiper (though the rear wiper on my 'Burb is almost useless: The glass is curved and the wiper doesn't "stick" to the glass so it doesn't do a very good job of keeping snow off the rear glass.)
.
FWIW 2004 was the last year for barn doors. All Suburbans/Tahoes from 2005-up have the lift gate.

 

[upcruiser]

Martin's comment about unobstructed view is a good point. Barn doors make a blind spot right in the center plus with no rear wiper you pretty much can't see out the back windows when driving on messy roads.

 

[SexyExy]

I've had 3 Subs so far. IMO, a great combination would be a 1996-1999 2500 with 5.7 V8. I had a 1999 2500 with the 7.4 big block. Great engine, no real problems but not great for city driving due to mpg. And parts did seem to be a lot more money. If not towing heavy, I would stick with the smaller V8 and make sure my gearing is matching the size of tires to keep the unit from lugging at high speeds. I switched to an Excursion in 2005 when it became impossible to find a new 3/4 ton Sub since GM went crazy with nothing but 1/2 tons on the new design (2005 and newer for about a year). I would really try to find a barn door unit....rear visibility is not an issue and I've had both tailgate and barn door versions. If the truck is even slightly lifted, you're going to hate the tailgate because you won't be able to reach in to pull anything out.

Biggest problem I had with the Suburbans of those years was the worlds worst brakes. Very squishy and not confidence inspiring. It seems to be a very common problem on the 1996 to 1999 trucks, both 1/2 and 3/4 ton versions. My 7.4 units had factory hydro boost, yet it was still terrible in brake feel. I spent money trying to fix the issue but nothing helped.

 

[Ramblejam]

Hi Kyle,

Here's one up your way that is selling this Thursday (2 March): https://www.rbauction.com/2008-CHEV...vId=9734927&id=ci&auction=EDMONTON-AB-2017299

Don't know a thing about the truck, but maybe worth registering to bid; could snag it for a great price. These are easily 300k mile trucks, so the mileage wouldn't concern me if it has seen decent maintenance over the years.

 

[rayra]

Yep, I generally speed. I spend a good portion of time looking behind me. The 6"+ blindspot in the center was a deal breaker for me re barn doors. The Liftgate works nice enough and you can replace the pneumatic pistons fairly inexpensively (rockauto.com plug!) and as mentioned it makes a good shelter.

And the overhead Liftgate can serve in other ways as well

(I'm re-working that btw, making the left half white, the right half red)



But you don't want to let your nephew stuff the tailgated gmt400 vehicle full of people and innertubes and try to back out of your mountain / river house carport with the glass up.

 

[Tinbanger]

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/6017254980.html

Here is a real gem. I have an 08 suburban 2wd with the g80. Seeing some of these makes me want to sell it and go old school.

 

[rayra]

That's a lovely restoration job but the guy is crazy if he thinks he's getting out everything he put into it.

And for $13k you can get a 2007 K1500. 26 years newer. Heck I only paid $6k for my '02 with 116k mi on it.

 

[kojackJKU]

I have a 2005 GMT800 Z71. I love the size.....I do have a love hate relationship with my suburban, but its from the fact that my father owned it before me, and he was not up on fixing stuff. Lost a wheel on the highway, lost the brakes, don't have ac now, etc....but slowly its getting revived....

 

[chilliwak]

Cheap fixer uper Burb for sale in B.C.

https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=d8e4243847e40b5a21912ba835b8de4b&oe=592607DC

(follow link for pic)

$1500 Canadian in Surrey near Vancouver. Looks like you would have to tow it home!:Wow1:

Or this one.....

https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=dc8157a7177d682de727c2c19632121f&oe=593BD06C

(click link for pic)

another cheapy at $1500:wings:

 

[superbuickguy]

I have two that are relevant to this conversation.

a 2004 Denali XL

and a 1985 Suburban 3/4 ton diesel


I'm keeping the Suburban, parting out the Denali (despite that I just drove it 2500 miles to California and back). I've also owned a 1993 Suburban (350). I paid almost exactly the same dollars (including costs of necessary repairs) for both of them (just under 3k). The Denali had 184k, the Suburban (a guess) about the same miles.

Impressions:
The Denali gets 13 mpg in Seattle driving and got a best of 18.6 on the highway. It's typical highway economy is 15-16. We have 3 dogs, a English Mastiff and two Bloodhounds. We had two cages, our gear for a week, and my wife and I comfortably in the 'burb along 2 other (flat) dog cages for a friend who was in an HHR. It drives very nice and is quite comfortable. I have an H3 Hummer with a 5.3 and I am totally missing the power of the 6.0.
If you're towing a trailer, this thing is equipped for it - it has a trans temp gauge, all the wiring necessary for a brake controller, and a button that firms up the shift points so that you don't burn it out towing a trailer. It comes standard with 4 seat heaters and individual control for HVAC (front, back, side to side) and a DVD player for the kids (that can be listened to solely by headphones thus allowing the parents to rock while the kid listens to Barney - or whoever this year's annoying-kids-show-is)
It IS AWD - which means that you do not have 4 low.
Which leads me to impressions.
It has a lot of electronics that fail. Mind you, the safety stuff, the engine stuff, the trans stuff are rock solid reliable but all the other 'features' fail pretty often. The rear wiper doesn't work, fogs don't work, lights are abysmal, and countless little things that just don't work. This one has a salvage title - and it's obvious it was wrecked at some point in its life.
Mechanicals - GOV locks suck. There, I said it, it is failing in mine, it's failing in a friend of mine's Suburban - it is not a feature but an issue. The air ride system says there's a problem, but it actually works - so I ignore the warning light. That said, it's not a cheap fix if it fails and many (like Land Rover owners before them) simply eliminate it. Idler arms are an issue (and they come in 2 parts, so be wary of that) - and they are also an issue in the prior generation.
That said, I'll end on a positive - the power, the economy, towing ability, the ride comfort are really, really nice and demonstrate why no one else even comes close to selling as many of the Suburban-based trucks.

which informs why I'm parting it out (the motor is going in my 76 Corvette and the trans will eventually end up in my H3). It's job is to be my suburban until my real suburban is done.

I have a 1985 Suburban, diesel, 4x4, turbo. It doesn't ride as well, is beyond slow (glacial) but it is dead nuts reliable and does everything I NEED the suburban to do. Tow my stuff to the trail head, go camping for a week, haul my dogs in adequate comfort. It doesn't have a DVD player, heated seats, power mirrors, or the ability to run 80 mph and get 18 mpg. It gets 15-17 mpg and will get 22-25 mpg when I'm done (putting a 5 speed in it). I'm lifting it so that I can run 35s and will use softride springs. It will never, ever ride as well as the Denali and its lifted height will require stairs so my dogs can get in. It is solid axle, a 12 bolt front/14 bolt semi-float in the back (which aren't optimal, but do save on weight).

So why would I do this? give up comfort, negligible fuel economy, and lots of creature comforts for the same money? because it's my RV. When I'm driving it I'm not in a hurry to get anywhere quickly - I'm on vacation. My DD is a H3 Hummer and that varies with my mood - next will probably be a new Corvette or perhaps a new pickup... but their job is to do what I need them to do - reliably get me to work. You mentioned getting a cheap commuter car to go with your Suburban - My 2 cents is why not buy a cheap Suburban, build it to your spec, and get an expensive commuter?

No matter what, have fun, post pictures of your build and don't let the turkeys keep you from having fun with your rig.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

So I went to see an '06 2500 at auction today. I've never bought anything at auction so I was kind of excited to go but also nervous about the process. I didn't find out about it until a couple hours before the auction started and it was an hour and a half away so I didn't get much time to look it over before it hit the block (about 10 minutes...). It was at 202,000km and was a base model with cloth seats and a front bench which I like, but it looked like a fleet vehicle and was probably treated as such. It had rusted right through one quarter panel already. Bidding started higher than I was willing to pay with such little time to investigate it and not be able to test drive it.
An '04 2500 LT popped up a few hours away when I got back home with just under 240,000km listed for a reasonable price. I'm hoping to get out there in the next couple days (I need a ride from the Mrs) and likely bring it home. It has the second row captains chairs though. I'm not sure if that's good or bad for us... I planned on a bench seat for a barrier to keep carge behind the seat but I'm not sure if it really matters enough to worry about it. Anyone have any insight on that?

Another thought/question pertains to installing radios. It looks like there would be room in the console to install a single radio where the cubbie is but I plan on installing two, a cb and a vhf. I'm not experienced in the matter so I might be overlooking options but it seems like the open floor space with the front bench seat would be best for that purpose, no? Anyone installed a radio (or better yet, two) in a truck with the center console?

 

[rayra]

The gap between the 2nd row seats is only about 9". Strategically placing a large piece of cargo across it takes care of it completely. It also serves well when using the 3rd row seats. The bottoms of the 2nd row fold up and forward, against the backs of the front seats. With one up it's easy to bend over and practically walk right back to the 3rd row.


As for radios, the factory dash-connected center console came with either a tape deck or a hollow plastic insert with slots for 4-5 CD jewel cases. It's a hollow structure that nestles into a rectangular indent in the bottom center of the dash. It's also not symmetrical, it sort of cants towards the driver. But only a couple degrees, so it's not really a hindrance to a passenger operating the radio.
The true / actual center console, between the front seats, with a center storage bin and an open tray and cupholders forward works as a standalone console but also butts together with the other console to make one large continuous center console. It has a lot of nice features for both front and 2nd row passengers. But it also doesn't hold very much for its bulk. And there's a lot of wasted space under the cup holder section.

If you can build things, it would be easy to custom make something with a lot more features, capacity or multiple radios. my Sub is my daily driver, I wanted to keep most of my mods less obvious. I first tried to figure a mount for two radios (Ham and CB) in that dash-connected console, but couldn't figure a way without a lot of butchery. And frankly wanted them out of sight. So I went ahead and too it out and replaced it with a custom- / scratch-built console with a sliding door to conceal the radios.

You can read more about it here, bunch of build pictures -
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...ling-and-heavy-gage-power-lines-under-vehicle


I've managed to cram in far too many gadgets into my '02 Sub

/and that's just the front seat


/I keep toying with the idea of a build thread. Thinking of calling it 'Los Angeles -Class Attack Sub' of some other play on words. But with all the gadgets I'm cramming into it maybe I just need to call it the Batmobile. But of course 'BATMOBL' is taken in CA. Would have looked sweet in their new / retro gold on black plates, too.