2001 Yukon XL 2500 6.0 Build and Questions Thread

[Jacobm]

Hi all-

I'm very new to overlanding but living in Idaho it seems to be the thing to do. I recently bought a 2001 GMC Yukon XL with the 6.0, 4:10s and G80 locker with intentions to build it into an expedition rig. Right now it's bone stock, save for an amber light on the roof from its days as a survey rig. It has 127,000 miles and I paid $4500. It's in pretty good shape, nothing beyond some deferred maintenance items to address. I will try to get some pictures of it this weekend to post.

Current plans: New tires, levelling lift kit, upgraded tie rods and pitman/idler arm support kit (not sure if I'll need this but it needs the steering refreshed anyway), 2 or 3 drawer sleeping platform and storage behind the second row. I'm short, so I'm fairly sure I'll fit without needing to fold the seats down. This would enable me to leave the platform in full time. I haven't figured out exactly what I want back here yet. I plan to keep it looking like a work truck at least for now, and I plan to avoid any modifications that are too out there. Eventually I'll be adding some MOVE bumpers, rear tire carrier, etc, but for now it's going to be fairly stock and I'll stick to well travelled forest service roads. Luckily Idaho has plenty of places to get to. When it's done I'd like it to be fairly self-contained for extended weekend trips. I don't have much desire to be "on the road" for more than 4 or 5 days straight, and mostly I'll be making weekend trips.

Now for questions: The truck has some very worn Toyo AT tires on it in 235/85/16. I need to replace these before winter. I'm suffering from analysis paralysis on tire choices, so I've narrowed it down to all of them that fit on the stock wheels, which are 6.5 inches wide. I think the widest tire I could safely mount on there is a 265, but I'm looking at 235/85s, 265/75s, and 255/85s. The four tires I keep coming back to are the Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws, Toyo AT IIs, Cooper ST Maxx, and the ******** Cepek Extreme Country. Those all run around $750-1000 installed in my area. I plan to use this truck in the snow, dirt, gravel, and light mud. It doesn't rain too terribly much here but it's good to be prepared. I may occasionally do some towing with the truck, mainly cars on flatbeds. What size and tire should I choose? I will not be daily driving this truck, it's a dedicated adventure/truck stuff rig so a little comfort and noise sacrifice can be made if it means a much better tire for the overlanding bit.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

We have the same truck but a 2003 and has 3.73's, I ran 235/85's on my previous diesel Chevy truck and the Yukon, they are a good balance for towing power and rough dirt roads. The Cooper at3's are what I had on the truck and were amazing in the snow and rain as well as beat them up during hunting season in the mud and rocks, now have Big O A/T's on the Yukon and really like them. We live just south of you in Utah and will never run a mud terrain on any of our vehicles again due to the terrain, mud tires are great for the 5% of the time you see mud on the trail but are not great the other 95% of the time.

 

[mike g]

I have 265/75 r16 KO2s on my 01 Yukon and I’m happy with them. Recently spent two months in Baja then a winter in Alaska and they did well in all conditions.

 

[lilkia]

Hey Jacob welcome to the 2500 burb club. Sounds like you got a good deal on a great truck.

Im currently running 265/75r16s on mine. I have a neighbor running 285/75r16s on the stock wheels with no problems. The 255/85s are a great size for the vehicle. Skinny enough for snowy roads but just wide enough for loose sand.

As for the platform try sleeping back there with the 2nd row in place before you commit. It may work just fine but is too cramped for me.

Dont worry too much about the expensive super heavy duty steering components unless youre going to be in the rocks. The stock ones are beefy enough for running forest roads and two track.

 

[06Burb]

I have an ‘06. I’m running 285/75-17 Goodyear Duratracs on H2 wheels. No rubbing and great on/off-road manners. When I rebuilt my front end, I used Rareparts tie rod assemblies, they’re a great improvement over stock. For camping, I remove the third row, fold the second row captains chairs flat and use a 6” memory foam mattress.

 

[Jacobm]

I think for now I'm going to go with some 235/85/16 Toyo AT2's. My local shop has the Toyo's 25% off, and they seem like they'll be good for the winter. As I progress I'll see about getting it to where I can run 34 or 35 inch tires at some point, but for now it's entirely stock and I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I did lay down in the back with the 2nd row up and I just about fit between the seats and the hatch, so I think I'll be okay. I tend to sleep scrunched up anyway, and if I need to stretch out I can always sleep diagonal and have plenty of room. It'll just be me back there, so there's plenty of space. I guess that's the upside to being short.

 

[Yroundrdn]

My 2500 came stock with 245s. I had to do a lot of cutting as you can see in my build thread, to get 285s in there. The rear fit with no cutting. As for the back, my box was too short at 6’ but I made a simple extension that fooled back if I add the single seat. All works great. PM or chk my build if you want to see it.

 

[Mr. Merk]

Any updated pics with the pizza cutters?

 

[Jacobm]

Not great photos for showing the width, I'll try to get some better beauty shots this weekend. As evidenced by the mud, they sit a bit wider out than the fenders, which makes me wonder if there's wheel spacers in there or if it's just wider than the fenders stock. So far I'm happy with the tires but I haven't driven the truck too much yet. I did take it on one trip a couple weekends ago and discovered that I will need to fold the seats down to be comfortable in the back, but that's okay. Just rearranges my plans a little bit. On the to-do list are:

• Front wheel bearing
• Tie rods, pitman and idler arm
• New battery + second battery in factory position, might wait on the second battery until I'm doing more electrical
• Rear main seal + trans output seal
• Leveling keys
• Wheel spacers in the back to even out the track width
• Fender flares so I can drive with the windows open and not take rocks to the face
• Drawer platform in the back
• Custom bumpers front and rear
• 12k winch and assorted goodies
• TBD additional lighting, focusing on 360 degree flood lighting as discreetly as possible
• HAM, CB, GMRS radios
• Probably a trailer brake controller at some point

 

[Jacobm]

Well it's been almost a year, but the truck is finally in the shop getting all its deferred maintenance done. Anything with a fluid is getting checked/changed, the steering is getting refreshed with Moog HD parts, the oil pan and rear main seal leaks are being addressed, as is a transmission output seal leak. I replaced the front wheel hub/bearing last month, but discovered that the ABS module is faulty and parts/labor for a brand new one is $1500. I plan to attempt a DIY replacement at home with a reman unit from eBay, since I figure $140 is worth the risk. The seller has good feedback and accepts PayPal so it's an acceptable risk for me. I also plan to experiment with cranking the factory keys and see where that puts me at leveling the stance of the truck.

Once this is all wrapped up, I'll be building a bed platform behind the second row, hopefully before the 4th of July. I have a trip planned the week after, and it'd be nice to have the thing done by then. I sure picked a crap time to be buying plywood. I hope to be able to soundproof the rear and remove the rear carpet around this time also, budget depending.

I've replaced the head unit, and I have replacement front door speakers to install. At some point I'll do the rear doors and factory subwoofer as well. The rear door windows are iffy, so they need some work as well as giving some attention to the rear door hinges. The fronts feel fine, but the rears are stiff, probably because this was a work truck and the rear seats never got used. I figure I'll try to group all the in-door work together, sound proofing as I go. I'm considering upgrading the marker lights on the doors to something a bit brighter too, as the factory incandescents have faded with age and probably weren't too bright to begin with. I've found some generic LED marker lights on Amazon for cheap, so I may get some to dissect and play with.

I also plan to add a solar shower made with 4" black ABS pipe. My back of the napkin math says a pair of 5' sections should hold 6 gallons, plus whatever the fittings will hold. I think that's just about right for rinsing off before bed. I haven't figured out how I want to attach it to the roof rack, but I did score another pair of factory cross bars off a wrecked 'Burb for $20, so I have some room to experiment.

Next winter will come lighting, a winch, and custom bumpers - plus probably some interior electrical work. Eventually H2 wheels and 285/75/17s will come too, but my 235/85/16s are brand new and doing fine so far. I'll post some current pictures tonight, but the view is largely the same - only replaced the headlights/front parking lights with OEM new ones after my attempts at polishing and clearcoating the originals failed.