2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

[CrazyDrei]

Thanks, I am a little Iffy on the "Viking" shocks however. I may get kings or fox for those instead of the Viking.

burbinkojack,

Vikings cost just a hair more than QA1s I'm rocking, don't know who makes either one and re-brands them as their own, I would go with king or fox next time just because their customer service is top notch and they actually stand behind their product unlike QA1 that just sells it and has been avoiding my emails and phone calls since the shock broke.

Cheers!

 

[autism family travels]

Yep....That's exactly what I am afraid of. I am working with king soon on supplying a set of remote resi coil overs for my patriot so I might as well get a set for my suburban too.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Yep....That's exactly what I am afraid of. I am working with king soon on supplying a set of remote resi coil overs for my patriot so I might as well get a set for my suburban too.

That's awesome, keep me posted with what you come up with, I want to see pics.

My first order of business is to relocate the battery to the auxiliary location, then to reinforce the fender/core support attachment points. Then I will be ready to tinker around with the front end, want it to look similar to the pic below but much better reinforced to take the abuse I put the truck through and I would have to do King or Fox remote resi shocks too.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[chilliwak]

Wow a King set-up would be a serious upgrade! Cheers, Chilli..

 

[CrazyDrei]

Couple of Videos from the last Death Valley Trip


Driving from Ubehebe Crater to Crankshaft Crossing.


Super long video of Steele Pass, working on the the time table of Eureka Dunes, Dedeckera Canyon, Steele Pass and Marble Bath. Have a couple more videos and adventures, will get them up as soon as I have some free time.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[chilliwak]

Thanks for posting those vids Crazy. Always fun to watch..

 

[autism family travels]

only way to fly Chilli! The only thing I am struggling with is the chasis on my burb is starting to look a little "RED" so to speak. So I am not sure if I want to sink the money into it if it's only going to crumble away in a few years. I have to see what I can do to stop the carnage...

 

[AlexCold]

Never really been a "hater" of this project. The only thing I questioned in my mind was using those coil-overs for a "heavy" truck like this. Not that they couldn't work, just more how long they would last. And the upper shock mount not really being built to support the whole vehicle. But what I've appreciated about this thread is the "let's go do it" attitude vs the "let's talk about it for 2 years" attitude that you typically see. I really hope you can find some nice FOX or KING coilovers that will really change things, especially when you're running 40s!!

 

[XJLI]

King makes 6" travel 2.5s. JD Fab recommends them with their mid travel coil over setups on the GMT800.

https://www.polyperformance.com/sho...performance-series-coil-over-reservoir-shocks

 

[CrazyDrei]

only way to fly Chilli! The only thing I am struggling with is the chasis on my burb is starting to look a little "RED" so to speak. So I am not sure if I want to sink the money into it if it's only going to crumble away in a few years. I have to see what I can do to stop the carnage...

burbinkojack,

That's the fine line in these trucks. They are old, mine is 2000, that's 18 years old and 250k miles on it, parts are wearing out and getting replaced, the frame is getting weaker, things are starting to break or crumble. I'm in a weird position that few people can be in, I only work 3 days a week, I have to take at least 3 days a week off which gives me one day to wrench on the truck, one day to travel and once day to come up with ideas of what to do next.

If you have the tools (Harbor Freight), know how (YouTube) and time these trucks are ridiculously easy to work on and the parts are dirt cheap, I just replaced two brand new window regulators for under $35 shipped for both of them!!!!

Weigh your options and go from there. GMT800 is an amazing and capable platform, however little changes make huge improvements in drivability and encourage the driver to push the truck way beyond it's limits and break things.

Good luck with your build and adventures!

 

[CrazyDrei]

King makes 6" travel 2.5s. JD Fab recommends them with their mid travel coil over setups on the GMT800.

https://www.polyperformance.com/sho...performance-series-coil-over-reservoir-shocks

XJLI,

I like JD Fab stuff but I can not justify spending $800 on two coilover towers when a very similar product for a JK sells for $100.

I love to have the King setup however at $525 per shock I can not justify that expense.
King 6" coilover with remote reservoir

Fox also makes a 6" remote reservoir shock for $289 which is an option
Fox 6" coilover with remote reservoir

And QA1 makes a non remote reservoir adjustable coilover shock for $159
QA1 6" coilover adjustable shock

I found this FOA spring rate calculator which is the best thing that FOA makes, would not touch their shocks due to poor craftsmanship.
Coilover spring rate calculator
How to take measurements for coilover spring calculation

14" 2.5"ID 1,000lb coil springs are $210 each, so not including coil over mounts a beefier front end would run $1,470 for King, $998 for Fox and $738 for QA1.

JD Fab brackets are another $800, UCAs and beefed up tie rods are another $1,200. $3,500 for king setup, $2,800 for QA1 setup. I am looking for ways to cut costs big time and get the total down to around $1,000 but absolutely no more than $1,500 to make this possible.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Never really been a "hater" of this project. The only thing I questioned in my mind was using those coil-overs for a "heavy" truck like this. Not that they couldn't work, just more how long they would last. And the upper shock mount not really being built to support the whole vehicle. But what I've appreciated about this thread is the "let's go do it" attitude vs the "let's talk about it for 2 years" attitude that you typically see. I really hope you can find some nice FOX or KING coilovers that will really change things, especially when you're running 40s!!

AlexCold,

Yes, the upper mount is definitely not designed to support the weight of the Sub especially as hard as I drive it, but with AFP brackets it help up remarkably well and I wish I did the swap five years ago when I bought the truck. I now want more wheel travel and this is where you have to pay if you want to play. I doubt that I will actually ever get King or Fox remote reservoir coilovers on the truck but you never know. As of right now I'm in the rough draft stages of how to add a couple inches of front wheel travel without breaking the bank or dropping the diff like everyone does.

I will start looking for a set or rims and cheap used beat up 40s to start figuring out how to get everything to work well together. I do know that I have to replace the hard AC lines with flexible ones before I even think about bigger tires.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[autism family travels]

burbinkojack,

That's the fine line in these trucks. They are old, mine is 2000, that's 18 years old and 250k miles on it, parts are wearing out and getting replaced, the frame is getting weaker, things are starting to break or crumble. I'm in a weird position that few people can be in, I only work 3 days a week, I have to take at least 3 days a week off which gives me one day to wrench on the truck, one day to travel and once day to come up with ideas of what to do next.

If you have the tools (Harbor Freight), know how (YouTube) and time these trucks are ridiculously easy to work on and the parts are dirt cheap, I just replaced two brand new window regulators for under $35 shipped for both of them!!!!

Weigh your options and go from there. GMT800 is an amazing and capable platform, however little changes make huge improvements in drivability and encourage the driver to push the truck way beyond it's limits and break things.

Good luck with your build and adventures!

Yep. I have to weigh my options. I may say screw the uber build on the suburban, and do a budget fun build. Spend the money on the patriot for cool stuff. I have a similar situation, but I work for myself. I can take time when I want.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Spent a day playing in the sand dunes.

My Jeep buddy did awesome with his TruTracks and ventured deeper into the dunes than I wanted to try. My 4runner buddy traded his truck in for a RAZR equipped with sand paddles and rocked the dunes. Meanwhile I did not make it as far in as the Jeep or as high as the Razr, I did manage to have a lot of fun, especially Highmarking the Sub on 80-100 ft high dune.


More videos and trip pics coming soon.

Say tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[autism family travels]

For playing around...you can't beat a well built UTV. (one of the many services I provide in my shop!)…..Awesome the ole burb is kickin again!!!!