2007 Suburban - MUDHORN

[JeepinPenguin]

You have an incredible amount of choices for arms. Everything from cheap eBay stuff to high end billet from Mazzulla. Its the same from end as a 07-14 Silverado 1500. You don't need new lowers unless you want long travel.

Ahh thank you so much @XJLI that is very helpful. I was kind of wondering if the Silverado and Sub shared those components too. I did go ahead and order some Zone Offroad ones since I have the BDS level as well because aren't Zone/BDS like sister companies. So I figured good compatibility there. And if I dont like them I can always send them back. But i really appreciate that feedback, I will look more broadly if for some reason these zone's dont work out.

 

[XJLI]

Zone is budget BDS. Some of the stuff is identical.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Also - anyone ever relocated the washer fluid reservoir and pump?

JeepinPenguin,

Your Suburban looks fantastic, you will get many miles and many smiles out of it. I have a former boarder patrol 2011 2500 Sub and the factory reservoir was taken out, drivers side battery was taken out and battery placed in the passenger side auxillary location. Windshild washer reservoir was replaced with a small 1 gal tank and pump that was zip tied to radiator support and fender, zip ties broke so it's just flopping around where the factor battery was. I'll try to get a picture in the morning and add it.

 

[JeepinPenguin]

JeepinPenguin,

Your Suburban looks fantastic, you will get many miles and many smiles out of it. I have a former boarder patrol 2011 2500 Sub and the factory reservoir was taken out, drivers side battery was taken out and battery placed in the passenger side auxillary location. Windshild washer reservoir was replaced with a small 1 gal tank and pump that was zip tied to radiator support and fender, zip ties broke so it's just flopping around where the factor battery was. I'll try to get a picture in the morning and add it.

@CrazyDrei Thanks so much! Man that means a lot coming from you because your burbs are awesome! I'd love a picture or two under the hood to see that setup. I read that as an option for relocating. The reason I need to relocate is because I am getting some minor tire rub on the front of the wheel well on full lock. My tires are 27707018, but I think it's the offset and backspacing of the Level 8's that caused the rub. Its pretty minor but I know won't be good for tire longevity so I need to address it. Hoping to just "push" the front of the wheel wells a bit deeper into the front bumper. On the passenger side it looks like just some trimming and cutting of the plastic support behind the bumper. Unfortunately on the driver side that fluid reservoir hangs sooooo low and is right there against the back of the front wheel well liner. So hoping relocation of that will allow some room to fix the rub issues.

My new control arms should be in today. Hopefully getting those installed this weekend. Need to have a shop take a look at my brakes too because they just feel so spongy. Hoping to have this thing 100% safe and ready to roll by Thanksgiving as I will be driving it from TN to PA for the holiday.

 

[CrazyDrei]

JeepinPenguin,

I finally took the time to get some pics. First is the windshield washer reservoir, that is just like I said before, just chilling/hanging out and bouncing on the factory battery mount plate. There is a bracket that once held it in along with a "heavy duty" zip tie, both the zip tie broke and the actual reservoir plastic tab broke off, it's still attached to the bracket but not the reservoir.

From "drivers seat" looking forward.

Just sitting and chilling there on the wire harness for the lights/strobes/sirens.

Bracket is still attached to the truck bu the reservoir is not attached to the bracket, and you can see the zip tie just hanging around.

Generic 1 gallon reservoir. OEM washer ppump thats hooked up to just the windshield hose. Rear hose is capped off and just hanging there along with the pigtail for the rear pump. You can get a reservoir just like this or two on ebay, swap the pumps into the new tanks, and re-plumb the water line to the new tanks. Pretty easy and straight forward job. You should have plenty of space in the secondary battery location.

My tiny, itsy bitsy battery, not sure how it ever starts the truck but it seems to be working so far. Replacing it will be fun.

Wire jungle connected to the positive terminal, I know one runs to starter, one runs to alternator and one goes inside the cab of and comes out under front passenger seat.

Looking up the front drivers fender where your washer reservoir is. directly behind the 2 plug connectors is the battery tray. Looks like there might be enough room for 35s in here.

Hope this helps with the windshield washer reservoir relocation.

On a side not, your tires rub from the offset of the pretty rims. When i had 33x12.5s on factory rims, no rub, on aftermarket off-set rims, they rubbed.

Vacuum boost brakes are spongy on these trucks. You can bleed them, it will help.

Also, you are thinking about the BDS 4" lift kit. Did you ever look into a body lift? $400 for 3" lift, you will fit 35s, and absolutely no change to factory suspension geometry. If will also give you enough room to put an auxiliary 11gal tank that 2500 Suburbans have.

Heep on posting pics, and lets see some action shots too!

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Hope this helps with the windshield washer reservoir relocation.

On a side not, your tires rub from the offset of the pretty rims. When i had 33x12.5s on factory rims, no rub, on aftermarket off-set rims, they rubbed.

Vacuum boost brakes are spongy on these trucks. You can bleed them, it will help.

Also, you are thinking about the BDS 4" lift kit. Did you ever look into a body lift? $400 for 3" lift, you will fit 35s, and absolutely no change to factory suspension geometry. If will also give you enough room to put an auxiliary 11gal tank that 2500 Suburbans have.

Heep on posting pics, and lets see some action shots too!

Thanks @CrazyDrei for all the information! This is super helpful.

Current future mods still to do include the potential reservoir relocation, then a platform/drawer system in the back, and then I am hoping to get her out for a little adventure and get you guys some action shots!

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay in updates, work has been crazy lately. With that being said, no major updates, but I took the 'burb on her first real journey. Drove the 600+ miles from Nashville to Pittsburgh and back over the Thanksgiving holiday. Truck did amazing. Cruised without any issues at 70mph the whole way, with one hand on the wheel. She just glided. On the way up I averaged (according to the trip computer) about 16.9mpg. Thats all uphill out of the TN Valley and into the hills of PA. On the way back, all downhill, I got 17.5mpg's. I was pleasantly surprised with that. And with the 31 gallon tank, I was very happy with just one fuel stop each way.

I still have some trimming/re-positioning of the front wheel liners to avoid rub at full lock. maybe I should have gone with 33's and not the 34's lol ooops. But I'll figure that out. Also thinking that maybe a Wilco Tire Carrier needs to be moved up on the list of purchases because that full size spare laying in the back is kind of hindering future mods/plans. Also can't lie, I do want to put a roof rack and some round lights up top (yes because it will look cool). But that isnt a top priority right now.

But to make this post not totally worthless, here are a couple of pictures from my drive over the holidays showcasing my awesome co-pilot!

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Little bit of an update - started my next little project. Building a basic AF drawer system in the back to hold things like dirty hiking boots, camp stove, firearm, axes, roadside tools, etc. Random items that find their way into the truck occasionally that I'd like to keep either tucked away nicely, locked away, or just stowed out of the from time to time.

Above the drawer, implementing a unique design to allow a platform to be erected to give me a fully flat surface in the back. This is to be used for: sleeping on, giving my dog a large flat space in the back during road trips, or just if I need to haul a big flat thing haha. No pics as of now since I forgot to take pics during the process. But it's only in draft stage. It's fully assembled now but taking it out to paint, carpet, and add some final details.

Hoping to finish it up this weekend. Stay tuned!

 

[JeepinPenguin]

This was the only picture I took during the construction phase, early on, first time assembling. This is not fully assembled, nor finished. But a sneak peak and proof that you can have ABSOLUTELY ZERO carpentry skills and still build a cargo box. I promise it looks even better now, and will look even better after another weekend on it adding on final touches.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Thanks @CrazyDrei for all the information! This is super helpful.

Current future mods still to do include the potential reservoir relocation, then a platform/drawer system in the back, and then I am hoping to get her out for a little adventure and get you guys some action shots!

JeepinPenguin,

Just a fllow up, I finally relocated and installed the new windshield washer reservoir.

My write up of the installation.

Can't wait to see the finished cargo drawer.

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Hey guys!

Just wanted to report back that I finally made some serious progress on the interior drawer/storage/sleeper solution.

So again to caveat, I have 0% craftsman skill. This is all done off of rough knowledge of how things work/should work, and designing off an image in my head. The plan was to build a respectable sized drawer to keep an assortment of items in like: camp gear (cooking items, food, hatchet, etc.), tools/recovery items, firearms during long distance travel, extra boots, etc. whatever. Then on top of that, I wanted to be able to have a flat surface to still haul items and potentially create a larger flat surface similar to a truck bed if I needed to load sheet goods or other large flat items. I also wanted a nice flat platform for my dog to ride on during long drives so she had somewhere to lay down since my second row is captains chairs. And finally, if it could also work as a sleeping platform if I'm out solo camping, that would be sweet too. Keeping all this in mind, I also wanted to be able to still utilize ALL my seats if I needed to. That means the two captains chairs in the second row, and my third row as well. Never know when all your buddies wanna go have a good time, you need to be able to take everyone. That was the reason I did not take the third row out and build a much deeper drawer/two drawers. Trust me, I thought about it.

So last photo you saw a few posts ago was a teaser. Here I got the top assembled and put on, and got the drawer face attached. (the drawer uses 500lbs slides, thats why I just went with one wide drawer instead of two smaller ones, it should easily hold anything I put in there)


I used piano hinges to attached the tri-fold top. So all I have to do is fold down the second and throw row, and boom, full flat surface.


But I can also fold the surface all the way back and it stacks on top of itself and I can use all my seats and seat 6 people again (soon to be 7 once I get my next project done).


Then started working on the details: upholstery, handles/locks, etc.


From the inside


Ran out of material so thats why the last section is still raw. Ordering more and will finish throughout this week hopefully. Cant wait to test it out! since it rests on the seats when folded, it easily holds my full weight to lay on it. And for now the spare rides there until I get that situation resolved...

Still to add to it though is the last section of carpet, need to rubberize or carpet the inside of the drawer, and want to add cargo tie downs in strategic locations on the top so that I can strap a cooler down on there so it doesnt slide around when driving.

let me know what you guys think!

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Got that final section upholstered yesterday, also ordered some new camping goodies, including a sleeping pad. Gonna start testing out some layouts before adding final touches to the platform system which will include: tie downs, separators for the drawer, and then still need to stain or finish the drawer face.

Exterior mods to come: just ordered rear spring spacers to get rid of the negative rake, going to remove the side steps, front bumper trim job coming soon, and also considering to a carbon fiber vinyl wrap on the hood and roof since those are the two places the clear coat is peeled and looks the worst. Thoughts?

 

[JeepinPenguin]

Update:

Got one afternoon of clear skies this weekend - so went ahead and did the quickest update I could and got a little extra ground clearance and better looks in the front...

Before


After


Also had all the windows tinted on Friday as you may notice the tint visor on the windshield.

Coming this weekend are tow mirrors, a new unique set of emblems (FINALLY HAVE A BUILD NAME AND WILL REVEAL IT WHEN NEW EMBLEMS ARE IN! ) New HD Coils and coil spacers going in the back to address the sag. Hood and roof wrap coming soon too.

 

[rayra]

Decent start. Real trick is keeping up the momentum

How are you securing that spare? Hell of a projectile if you have an accident.

Wishing mine was five years newer. My paint's starting to crap out all over.

 

[nitro_rat]

JeepinPenguin,

I finally took the time to get some pics. First is the windshield washer reservoir, that is just like I said before, just chilling/hanging out and bouncing on the factory battery mount plate. There is a bracket that once held it in along with a "heavy duty" zip tie, both the zip tie broke and the actual reservoir plastic tab broke off, it's still attached to the bracket but not the reservoir.

From "drivers seat" looking forward.

Just sitting and chilling there on the wire harness for the lights/strobes/sirens.

Bracket is still attached to the truck bu the reservoir is not attached to the bracket, and you can see the zip tie just hanging around.

Generic 1 gallon reservoir. OEM washer ppump thats hooked up to just the windshield hose. Rear hose is capped off and just hanging there along with the pigtail for the rear pump. You can get a reservoir just like this or two on ebay, swap the pumps into the new tanks, and re-plumb the water line to the new tanks. Pretty easy and straight forward job. You should have plenty of space in the secondary battery location.

My tiny, itsy bitsy battery, not sure how it ever starts the truck but it seems to be working so far. Replacing it will be fun.

Wire jungle connected to the positive terminal, I know one runs to starter, one runs to alternator and one goes inside the cab of and comes out under front passenger seat.

Looking up the front drivers fender where your washer reservoir is. directly behind the 2 plug connectors is the battery tray. Looks like there might be enough room for 35s in here.

Hope this helps with the windshield washer reservoir relocation.

On a side not, your tires rub from the offset of the pretty rims. When i had 33x12.5s on factory rims, no rub, on aftermarket off-set rims, they rubbed.

Vacuum boost brakes are spongy on these trucks. You can bleed them, it will help.

Also, you are thinking about the BDS 4" lift kit. Did you ever look into a body lift? $400 for 3" lift, you will fit 35s, and absolutely no change to factory suspension geometry. If will also give you enough room to put an auxiliary 11gal tank that 2500 Suburbans have.

Heep on posting pics, and lets see some action shots too!

You know, the "auxiliary" position you're referring to is the normal position for the GMT900's. Is the bottom of the bumper whacked off your border patrol truck? They just relocated the washer reservoir to inside the engine compartment because it's under that "battery tray" and exposed when the bumper cut is done.