My 03 Z71 Suburban and plans - Also my introduction lol

[DavidS]

Hey guys. Long time lurker. Finally decided to make an account and become active here. I bought my Burb back in January after selling my 07 Tahoe which I bought after my 04 Tahoe 8 months prior. Thought I was "upgrading". Anyway 03-06 are my favorite years but Ill spare you all my weird reason.

Mods so far are zero. 1 month after I bought it the transmission went out. That put a damper on things. Anyway kind of a blessing in disguise because now I know its fresh and can travel with confidence. Oh the A/C Evap Core went out too. I replaced it myself for 75 bucks and a days labor. Beats $1000 bucks.

What I plan to use my suburban for is what is driving my mods. First for foremost this is a family hauler and daily driver for the next year or so.

First order of business now is the god awful worn out suspension and soft tires. This thing drives and rides like its on marsh mellows. I found a gentleman on tahoeyukon forum thats makes a sweet coil over setup for the front. Im going to go for that and ditch these torsion bars. In the process I plan to lift the rear 1 inch and and match the front to it.

The primary use of my burb will be hauling two dirt bikes to races and camping there and going family camping while carrying kayaks etc.

First mod will be a roof rack -
Im looking at ARB and SmittyBuilt. Cost plays a role but quality is importanter to me. Who has what? Pros and Cons.

Which leads to the RTT. I will be using one. Not sure if Ill pony up the cash and get a hardshell or much cheaper folding one. Input please

Folding Pros - cost-more space per dollar, more size options, less roof space taken up during transit, annex available or can be used to as part of an awning
Folding Cons - Taller profile and not as sleek as hardshell, longer setup and take down, possibly not as strong in windy conditions

Hardshell pros - sleek and low profile, easy setup and take down
Harsdhell cons - Cost, space available inside, space used on roof rack is a constant, no annex or overhang of any kind.

As of right now Im going to go with a folding one. One though here is I can put some some super long cross bars and mount some kayak J carriers to those and have the tent in the middle of those for transit. I could also put more gear on the Roof rack in front of the tent. Mostly totes with sleeping bags, life jackets etc. keep the roof as light as possible.

This will free up the area behind the third row(four and sometimes 6 kids go camping with us. plus we are new to camping and figuring it out as we go. Please share thoughts and lessons learned.) for Coolers, camp stove, tables, extra ground tents and food. A fridge/freezer is a great idea but I can't justify that amount of cash for the short trips we do now. I also have a hitch hauler I use with a nice size metal box for chairs etc. I guess the roof rack will free up this space too. Thats sort of the plan for now for functionality. There are other little things I want to do like new carpet, rear seat heaters etc but that stuff isn't priority.

Poser Pic. I was parked there for work lol



Edit : Forgot to mention I want to add dual battery setup as well to power LED lights that I will mount on all sides of the roof rack. Should help when setting up in the dark

 

[Burb One]

Welcome!

There's a quite a few of us GMT800 owners on here, with different builds. Someone recently posted a link to all/most of them if you search around for "suburban". I have gleamed quite a few ideas from here and look forward to your build!

I have atomic's coilover setup (with a 6 inch lift) and love it. It's the best mod I have done. Plan on unladen, raising your rear more than the front (IE not just leveling). With stuff in the back (and bikes?), it will squat down a lot. You can get h2/eibach springs for the rear, and/or use up to 2 inch spacers easily (I believe your z71 springs are already longer than most 1500). The coil overs can then adjust the front, to what you feel is a comfortable angle for your CV's for your type of use (Flatter the better) or to get level

There was a factory option for dual batteries, so GM sells a kit you cna find on ebay/ GMpartsdirect, etc. that will give you a battery mount location behind the coolant tank up near the firewall on the passenger side. It's ideal.

Depending on what is on top, I would be careful about weight on the RTT. I really like ARB's alumninum series, but cost pushed me towards Curt's cheap $150 rack off amazon. I'm not on the roof much myself so the trade off of strength loss, the curt has made up for in price, and weight. It weighs maybe 25 pounds. total, and is strong enough for a few 100 pounds worth of stuff (I just keep extra parts, a bucket toilet, and firewood up there) Maybe for bike races you want a stand platform, so you probably want something stronger, the ARB aluminum series is great for that, and they are very well made. I am not sure of Smittybuilt.

I'm sure someone else will chime in on a RTT. The suburban gives a great platform for building a sleeping platform and storage internally as well. A lot of/ most of us have some sort of drawer, sleeping platform inside if you peruse there's a ton of pictures/ good ideas!

Edit: Also get a good big transmission cooler if you haven't already to protect your new tranny! The stock one is inadequate. At minimum a B&M super cooler or if towing, I really recommend a Trucool, extra large (details in my build). I tow, and it helps tremendously. Also, a good transmission temp gauge is good insurance (scangauge II, etc.)

 

[rayra]

Welcome aboard. If you've been lurking you've probably already seen my noise about maintaining GMT800s, if you haven't, first link in my sig. That's also where the aforementioned listing of other GMT800 owners here.

"new to camping" + '6 kids go camping with us' - skip the RTT fad completely. Get yourself an 8-man 2-room + fly and vestibule ground tent for 1/12th the price and far greater the comfort of an RTT. AND skip all that ladder climbing BS. AND fit everybody in the tent. The RTT is only going to hold a couple adults and maybe two small kids.
Seriously, there's a huge range in variety and quality and pricepoint for a big ground tent. And don't buy that BS about setup time. It's only a few minutes difference. And with the ground tent (or pop-up trailer) you dont have to pack up camp to go drive somewhere.

 

[DavidS]

Welcome!

There's a quite a few of us GMT800 owners on here, with different builds. Someone recently posted a link to all/most of them if you search around for "suburban". I have gleamed quite a few ideas from here and look forward to your build!

I have atomic's coilover setup (with a 6 inch lift) and love it. It's the best mod I have done. Plan on unladen, raising your rear more than the front (IE not just leveling). With stuff in the back (and bikes?), it will squat down a lot. You can get h2/eibach springs for the rear, and/or use up to 2 inch spacers easily (I believe your z71 springs are already longer than most 1500). The coil overs can then adjust the front, to what you feel is a comfortable angle for your CV's for your type of use (Flatter the better) or to get level

There was a factory option for dual batteries, so GM sells a kit you cna find on ebay/ GMpartsdirect, etc. that will give you a battery mount location behind the coolant tank up near the firewall on the passenger side. It's ideal.

Depending on what is on top, I would be careful about weight on the RTT. I really like ARB's alumninum series, but cost pushed me towards Curt's cheap $150 rack off amazon. I'm not on the roof much myself so the trade off of strength loss, the curt has made up for in price, and weight. It weighs maybe 25 pounds. total, and is strong enough for a few 100 pounds worth of stuff (I just keep extra parts, a bucket toilet, and firewood up there) Maybe for bike races you want a stand platform, so you probably want something stronger, the ARB aluminum series is great for that, and they are very well made. I am not sure of Smittybuilt.

I'm sure someone else will chime in on a RTT. The suburban gives a great platform for building a sleeping platform and storage internally as well. A lot of/ most of us have some sort of drawer, sleeping platform inside if you peruse there's a ton of pictures/ good ideas!

Edit: Also get a good big transmission cooler if you haven't already to protect your new tranny! The stock one is inadequate. At minimum a B&M super cooler or if towing, I really recommend a Trucool, extra large (details in my build). I tow, and it helps tremendously. Also, a good transmission temp gauge is good insurance (scangauge II, etc.)

I found that thread and been reading it all day. Had shoulder surgery may 9th and off work so I'm just reading about options and getting ideas.

The coilover is the mod I'm most excited about. I learned with racing dirt bikes suspension is EVERYTHING which is why once I found it I'm going with it. As for the dual batteries i thought the OEM system was for diesels. I'll look more into it as I get closer to actually doing it. I saw those arp aluminum roof racks. I'll probably end up spending some cash there. The rack will see serious use with me and my family. Sleeping inside isn't an option because I literally need every seat lol. This site has tons of great builds and ideas. Been looking at a few tahoe builds too. Those are easy to transfer to a burb. I'll search for your build. I need to protect my transmission. You're 100% correct. I'll look into the scan gauge too.


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[DavidS]

Welcome aboard. If you've been lurking you've probably already seen my noise about maintaining GMT800s, if you haven't, first link in my sig. That's also where the aforementioned listing of other GMT800 owners here.

"new to camping" + '6 kids go camping with us' - skip the RTT fad completely. Get yourself an 8-man 2-room + fly and vestibule ground tent for 1/12th the price and far greater the comfort of an RTT. AND skip all that ladder climbing BS. AND fit everybody in the tent. The RTT is only going to hold a couple adults and maybe two small kids.
Seriously, there's a huge range in variety and quality and pricepoint for a big ground tent. And don't buy that BS about setup time. It's only a few minutes difference. And with the ground tent (or pop-up trailer) you dont have to pack up camp to go drive somewhere.

I have saw one or two of those threads lol

The RTT is primarily for my son and I when going to races and the misses and I when camping. You have a valid point though. We have been using two ground tents and the setup time isn't bad at all. The main thing for me with the RTT is your up off ground and setup time is less but like you said it's nothing huge. I'm not doing over landing just yet so once I'm parked I'm staying for a bit. All good points though. Thanks. I could put that $2000 bucks in to something else. Like gas for a Yellowstone trip




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[tbisaacs]

Another one! Muhahahahaha


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[DavidS]

Another one! Muhahahahaha


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Yes. Been looking at all the Suburbans in here. Plenty of them lol. Man I thought I had it all planned out then started reading and looking at pics of what you all have done with your burbs. Good stuff.


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[DavidS]

Maiden off-road voyage today. Took my "the chariot" out today(named by my kids) and learned a few things. I have the G80 locker in the rear which is awesome. I have next to zero ground clearance and probably need some skid plates and these side step bars are NOT going to work. So many trails we wanted to go down but lack of ground clearance was the single most limitation. Suspension and tires are still my first priority. I think the 2 inch lift in the rear and level the front to it combined with 285s will be a huge improvement. Following suspension my priority shifted from roof rack to Electric fans and a transcooler. My temps were getting higher than I wanted them to be during the crawling today. I don't have a trans temp but my engine temp was a bit above 210 so I know the trans was warmer than I'd like. After that I'll do a roof rack. Really sucks we didn't make it to the top today because of suspension and tires. Anyway here are the pics. I guess I need to take more lol

 

[Burb One]

Sounds like a good time! (Love the chariot name haha)

I would check your coolant, etc. I have never had my engine temp gauge budge on either of my trucks, even in 110+ slow moving off road/ LA traffic..... The cooling system I believe is the same for the 5.3's and 6.0's and so with the 5,3's it is more than adequate I believe. Might be worth to check the cooling system/ radiator/ etc., or may have been extra hot

 

[chilliwak]

Welcome to the site DavidS! You will find lots of friendly members here that can give you good advice. Our GM guru is Larry, a certified tech and a guy who builds great trucks. For suspension could I suggest looking into BDS? They have a great waranty and are reasoanbly priced. For shocks you will probably go with Bilstein to get the best bang for your buck. Thanks for posting up. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[DavidS]

Sounds like a good time! (Love the chariot name haha)

I would check your coolant, etc. I have never had my engine temp gauge budge on either of my trucks, even in 110+ slow moving off road/ LA traffic..... The cooling system I believe is the same for the 5.3's and 6.0's and so with the 5,3's it is more than adequate I believe. Might be worth to check the cooling system/ radiator/ etc., or may have been extra hot

Funny you should mention that. I got the low coolant level this morning. I'd be willing to bet the water pump is going out. I've already replaced those plastics T fittings up by the fire wall. Thanks for the heads up.

Welcome to the site DavidS! You will find lots of friendly members here that can give you good advice. Our GM guru is Larry, a certified tech and a guy who builds great trucks. For suspension could I suggest looking into BDS? They have a great waranty and are reasoanbly priced. For shocks you will probably go with Bilstein to get the best bang for your buck. Thanks for posting up. Cheers, Chilli...

Thanks for reply. I'll be going with Atomic Fab coil over setup in the front and eliminating the torsion bars all together. As of now I'll be using bilstein 5100 front and rear unless I find a better shock for the money.

 

[rayra]

Might have air trapped in the cooling system, after breaching it. Also suggest coolant swap.
I've worked mine pretty hard in the summer heat and haven't had any overheating issues, including a deliberately abusive slog over a 4000' pass with both ACs on full and outside temps at 104F. Never went past 205 indicated.
But for slow-crawling I'd prefer the electric fans too. My '02 has the same plastic fan as yours. My '05 Tahoe has the dual electric setup. Considering putting electrics in my Sub. There a few conversions outlined on YouTube. And some aftermarket kits. But I'm thinking to pull a setup from a wrecking yard.

Couple other things to be aware of.
These vortec engines run hotter than old SBCs. And the base thermostat is 195F. Expect 'normal' temps around 205F
The routing of the trans lines thru the radiator tank serves more as a cold-climate warmer for the trans, than as a cooler. And there's only about 60-70F of room between 'normal' operating temp and Death.
There is a problem in our year range with Castech heads, chiefly on the passenger side, that can lead to coolant in the crankcase. The 'factory fix' is $5. And works. See the first link in my sig.

My Z71 with the small external cooler plumbed in series after the in-tank loop seems to keep my trans down around 160-180F in local errands.* And ~15F below my coolant temp gauge in sustained hard highway driving. Good enough for driving around. But I'm planning some towing so I'm adding a much larger trans cooler, replacing the factory cooler.
And given my southwestern haunts and conditions, I'm considering deleting the in-tank loop. Don't think I need a trans warmer. And know I don't want high engine heat added to my trans temp.
A good kit is less than $150 -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060NKA1U/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I36GK72XBDJSDZ&colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW


Another option is to add a front-mounted electric fan over the external trans cooler and add a temperature-activated switch -http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3843714&cc=1380327&jsn=478
That will give you improved trans cooling when you are crawling along. But is sort of a patch on a patch.



* I'm using an inexpensive OBDII wireless dongle that connects via Bluetooth to a cheap 7" android tablet. Using the Torque app ($5 paid version) I can display my trans temp.

 

[DavidS]

Might have air trapped in the cooling system, after breaching it. Also suggest coolant swap.
I've worked mine pretty hard in the summer heat and haven't had any overheating issues, including a deliberately abusive slog over a 4000' pass with both ACs on full and outside temps at 104F. Never went past 205 indicated.
But for slow-crawling I'd prefer the electric fans too. My '02 has the same plastic fan as yours. My '05 Tahoe has the dual electric setup. Considering putting electrics in my Sub. There a few conversions outlined on YouTube. And some aftermarket kits. But I'm thinking to pull a setup from a wrecking yard.

Couple other things to be aware of.
These vortec engines run hotter than old SBCs. And the base thermostat is 195F. Expect 'normal' temps around 205F
The routing of the trans lines thru the radiator tank serves more as a cold-climate warmer for the trans, than as a cooler. And there's only about 60-70F of room between 'normal' operating temp and Death.
There is a problem in our year range with Castech heads, chiefly on the passenger side, that can lead to coolant in the crankcase. The 'factory fix' is $5. And works. See the first link in my sig.

My Z71 with the small external cooler plumbed in series after the in-tank loop seems to keep my trans down around 160-180F in local errands.* And ~15F below my coolant temp gauge in sustained hard highway driving. Good enough for driving around. But I'm planning some towing so I'm adding a much larger trans cooler, replacing the factory cooler.
And given my southwestern haunts and conditions, I'm considering deleting the in-tank loop. Don't think I need a trans warmer. And know I don't want high engine heat added to my trans temp.
A good kit is less than $150 -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060NKA1U/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I36GK72XBDJSDZ&colid=QWZ1BSZYG6VW


Another option is to add a front-mounted electric fan over the external trans cooler and add a temperature-activated switch -http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3843714&cc=1380327&jsn=478
That will give you improved trans cooling when you are crawling along. But is sort of a patch on a patch.



* I'm using an inexpensive OBDII wireless dongle that connects via Bluetooth to a cheap 7" android tablet. Using the Torque app ($5 paid version) I can display my trans temp.

That's the trans cooler I'll be going with. I found the posts in your thread. Last one I read said you had returned from a 330 mile trip and no leaks.

 

[rayra]

~3000mi since and coolant level is unchanged. There's anecdotes online of tens of thousands of mi without further leak or repair. I'd used stuff like it long ago, as well as bronzeseal and Alumnaseal, to ok effect on an old mini-truck with an aluminum head. So I wasn't hesitant to use the stuff. And when I found the account of the stuff being used on corvette motors right on the assembly line I said hell with it and did it.

---

Just a shot a couple hours ago today, after jamming 30mi on the freeway in the mid 80F temps -

that was stopped at the curb at my destination. The red dot on the rim of the trans fl temp gauge is the peak reading indicator for this 'session'. And that's where the needle was sitting after my drive. Call that an unloaded 'cruising' temp.

 

[Jelorian]

Welcome to the boards...sorry I don't get on here as often but since you mentioned dual batteries I have some info on what I used to do mine in my build thread. Feel free to use it as a reference or baseline and go from there...or not..hahaha.

I have the same year and color as yours. Best of luck with all the upgrades. I'm interested in possibly going to coil overs as well, but need to look into a front winch bumper first.

Cheers!

Dual Interstate Batteries (Costco $79.99 each)
Retainer GM Part #14005061 (formerly 356668) - gmpartsgiant.com
Aux Battery Tray GM Part #15246518 - gmpartsgiant.com
Hold Down Bolt GM Part #11509853 - gmpartsgiant.com
Insulator GM Part #10246636 - gmpartsgiant.com
2AWG Welding Cable - amazon.com
Blue Sea Fuse Boxes 5191 - amazon.com
Blue Sea 150A fuses - Western Marine
40A Relays - amazon.com
Stinger SGP32 200A Battery Isolator - amazon.com
Split Loom - amazon.com
Marine grade heat shrink, terminals - amazon.com