2007 Suburban - MUDHORN

[JeepinPenguin]

Hey everyone!

Recently joined the full size domestic crowd! used to have a wrangler many moons ago but life circumstances somewhat forced me into leasing a car for practicality sake. My lease ends in February and so I had started my search for my next vehicle. My needs were pretty simple: 4WD, seat 4 grown adults comfortably, and potentially also haul up to 3 dogs. Plus the obligatory weekends worth of goodies required for a good time in the woods. An SUV was definitely going to be the solution and at max occupant capacity of adults and dogs, I knew I needed to go fullsize. Looked at Sequoias' and Expeditions and Tahoes and Suburbans. And just something about the Suburban got me hooked. I like being unique and in my area you dont see many built ones driving around. Got lucky and came across this one at my local chevy dealer.

Specs:
2007 LTZ
4WD
5.3 V8 with only 120K miles on it!
All black leather interior

......Picked it up for a cool $12k. Pretty happy with that considering how great of condition it is in.

Plans include:
Interior:
- Delete all the "wood grain" and silver plastic panels. I am going to get some vinyl and wrap them something else on my own. Maybe some cool camo pattern or something. Not sure yet.
- Has captains chairs 2nd row, still on the fence if I will keep those or swap for a bench
- Thinking I will pull the third row out and leave it all empty back there or go with a TruckVault drawer system.

Exterior/Mechanical:
- Mild lift. I dont do anything crazy and really just want to have a bit or a more aggressive stance. Would love some help and opinions on lift options! Currently thinking maybe a BDS 4inch.
- 33" ish tires. Depending on lift size.
- 17 or 18" wheels. Thinking Black Rhino Armory's
- Gears? Not sure with 33/34 inch tires if I'll need to regear or not. If so, 4.10's? Thoughts?
- Eventually wrapping the whole truck a new color. (hood/roof has some minor paint fading and sun damage that I'd like to conceal)

Well thats it for now, and here she is! (Still need a name for it)

 

[fitt]

Nice rig!

 

[mobydick 11]

I too have wondered why people don't use them ,as they are good vehicles. they are one of the top towing vehicles around . I hope you were lucky and got the back barn doors . I just put a 2.5 inch front and a 1 inch back ,lift and level kit in 09 gmc Sierra today sits real nice now .

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Nice rig!

Thanks! Hoping some upgrades start to arrive in the mail soon so I can post more progress pics. Interior updates coming first.

 

[JeepinPenguin]

I too have wondered why people don't use them ,as they are good vehicles. they are one of the top towing vehicles around . I hope you were lucky and got the back barn doors . I just put a 2.5 inch front and a 1 inch back ,lift and level kit in 09 gmc Sierra today sits real nice now .

Yeah I agree, they tow well, have a ton of room, and can be reliable if taken care of. Plus they just look mean when built right. Really looking forward to standing out some. Need to decide on what brand and size of lift I am going to go with so I can get it ordered. Along with wheels and tires. Also - did not get rear barn doors. But I am kind of okay with that as I like the idea of the rear hatch being able to shelter from rain if need be.

 

[XJLI]

BDS's kit is nice, if I had one of those I'd probably start out with some Fox C/Os and a good UCA; and put whatever coils in the back to lift it a little. H2 coils I think?

 

[Martinjmpr]

I hope you were lucky and got the back barn doors .

2004 was the last year for cargo doors. No GMT900 (07-14) Suburban or Tahoe ever had them.

For most users the lift gate is far superior. It's nice to be able to access the back of the truck in the pouring rain without getting wet.

 

[mobydick 11]

I have not followed them so sorry was not up to date . i just remembered the the cargo doors were great if you had a trailer . even on my current pick up the tail gate won't open as it hits the electric tong jack.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I have not followed them so sorry was not up to date . i just remembered the the cargo doors were great if you had a trailer . even on my current pick up the tail gate won't open as it hits the electric tong jack.

On my 04 Suburban I could clear the electric tongue jack. Barely, but it would clear it.

Also on all versions of the Suburban that I'm aware of, even if the lift gate doesn't open, the rear window opens separately so you can still access the cargo in the back.

Example:

 

[CrazyDrei]

Congrats on the new toy and welcome to the Suburban life. Didn't see if you mentioned anything about the G80 rear locker. But 4.10s will be perfect for turning 33s or 35s, however do not fear the gear, run 3.73 and see where they are lacking. Look forward to your build and adventures.

 

[mobydick 11]

I had one about 16 years ago . had leather and all the goodies , it was very nice to drive . If i recall it was a bit hard on gas ,so i would not go more gear then you need .You must be in the south to have found one so clean .

 

[JeepinPenguin]

BDS's kit is nice, if I had one of those I'd probably start out with some Fox C/Os and a good UCA; and put whatever coils in the back to lift it a little. H2 coils I think?

Thanks @XJLI thats kind of the road I was leaning towards going down. A BDS 4inch lift with coilovers. a bit pricey but you pay for quality (most times) and I want this to ride nice. And learning from experience with my dad and his JK, suspension is definitely somewhere its ok to invest money in on your rig.

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Congrats on the new toy and welcome to the Suburban life. Didn't see if you mentioned anything about the G80 rear locker. But 4.10s will be perfect for turning 33s or 35s, however do not fear the gear, run 3.73 and see where they are lacking. Look forward to your build and adventures.

Thank you @CrazyDrei ! You're trucks are so awesome. I've browsed through your threads multiple times. I need to check and see what rear end this has. I am not familiar enough with them to know off hand. But I haven't seen any locker controls anywhere in the cabin yet so I am guessing no I dont have a locker?

 

[JeepinPenguin]

I had one about 16 years ago . had leather and all the goodies , it was very nice to drive . If i recall it was a bit hard on gas ,so i would not go more gear then you need .You must be in the south to have found one so clean .

Yeah I am in Tennessee. I'm from Pennsylvania and was looking for some up there too that maybe I could fly home and pick up and drive back, but even if I got lucky and found a lower mileage one, its frame had been beaten with harsh northern winters and salt. So I feel pretty happy and lucky with my score on this one.

 

[Todd780]

Thank you @CrazyDrei ! You're trucks are so awesome. I've browsed through your threads multiple times. I need to check and see what rear end this has. I am not familiar enough with them to know off hand. But I haven't seen any locker controls anywhere in the cabin yet so I am guessing no I dont have a locker?

Check your glove box door. There should be a sticker with all the codes. If I recall correctly GT4 is 3:73 and GT5 is 4:10. If it also says G80 on the sticker, you have the locking diff. No controls for it anywhere in the cabin.