Kelso's 2004 2500 Suburban build and adventures

[Martinjmpr]

Puckered up pretty good coming down the steepest icy hill with a turn and narrow bridge at the bottom. Started sliding and then a Jeep coming toward me pulled onto the bridge so I lost the option to keep rolling. Front end caught traction luckily but the back whipped right around and I got a little worried about tipping it over into the ditch! In the end I just did a sweet park job off the trail for the Jeep to pass

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:Wow1: Yikes! I don't "off road" much in the Winter anymore for just that reason. When there's snow or ice on the road, you can go from "everything is great" to "OH *******!" in a fraction of a second, and while the prospect of a long hike back to pavement is unpleasant in the Summertime, with Winter temperatures in the Rocky Mountains it can be deadly.
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Anyway, as Rayra said, I would strongly recommend that you "hold what you got" vs go to another, smaller SUV. First of all, you've got a semi-unicorn of a vehicle there. That is, while 2500 'Burbs are not quite "unicorns" they're darn rare compared to the 1500 version. With stronger components all around, I think you'd find a switch to a lighter-weight vehicle would be a real step down in terms of ruggedness.
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And second, you may not think you've gotten spoiled by all the space in the Suburban, but you're wrong. Try to shoehorn camping gear, car seats, kids and dogs into a mid-sized SUV and you'll be kicking yourself in the butt for getting rid of that. The one experience I have with that was back in 2013 when the Wife and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park with her son, daughter-in-law and their then- 1 year old. By the time the 4 adults and 1 baby got into my 2007 4runner, the area behind the back seat was packed almost to bursting with the stroller and all the other "gear" as well as our cooler. And we didn't even have any camping gear!
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And don't get me wrong - I'm not saying you CAN'T go off roading with a family in a mid-sized. Hell, people do it all the time. I just think that right now you've got almost a perfect vehicle and there's no reason to switch horses mid-stream.
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I also concur that spare parts for a Chevy Truck are going to be substantially less expensive than anything for an import brand.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

Well I finally remembered to replace the front diff actuator today while doing an oil change and greasing. I'm a bit disappointed in myself for being so lazy as I never checked any of the gear fluids myself, just took the word of the mechanic shop that did the oil change when I bought it. (They said all the gear oils looked fine)
The front diff fluid on the actuator is like a slurry and super grey! I don't have any gear oil on hand so I didn't drain it today but replacing the diff fluids just made it to the top of my list! Also noticed the steering box is definitely leaking. I've never seen any drips but its got freah fluid all over after previously spraying it off, so a new steering box is on the list too.

I also have to re-rivot the ladder onto our rtt! Left it set up to air out after our camping trip and hooked the guy lines to the ladder instead of anchoring into the ground. Wind shifted and flipped it right over shut! Fortunately it doesn't appear there was any structural damage to the tent and the ladder brackets remained in place, just the rivots all let go and the ladder flew off! Found it leaning against a car beside me, super lucky it didn't hit any windows or appear to leave any scratches or dents, definitely crapped my pants when I went out and found it like that!

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[ferg101]

If you haven't picked tires yet, I will 100% recommend the cooper st/maxx over the wildpeak AT3W. I've had both and the st/maxx is the best all-around tire I've had. I currently have the AT3W and with 6000 miles on them, they are going in the trash.
All 4 out of round, and Falken won't replace them.

Also despite both being E-load tires of nearly identical weights, the Falkens have a much thinner sidewall


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[mjmck]

Enjoy seeing the pictures!

 

[Kyle Kelso]

We'll we've been up into above freezing temps a good amount last month so figured we'd go camping for Easter again. Turns out mother nature had other plans and temps dropped to -10 to -15C with more snow all weekend! DANG! It's been a relentless winter here! Still got a few winter camping nights in training though.

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[Gummee]

I love my Suburban and have had the same debate with myself. We have three kids, so the cargo space is definitely used- we usually keep the third row in so the kids can spread out. It's quieter that way.

I've argued with myself over trying to get a midsize SUV that would be more economical, but by the time I replaced my Burb with something newer/smaller/"better", I would have to spend a few thousand more on top of anything I recouped from selling the truck. Would take a long time to break even on any day to day savings, and would put any mods on hold for sure. I'd be stuck driving a "more ideal" vehicle but have no play money to use on it. Just food for thought.

I'm the oldest of 3 boys. Dad finally broke down and bought a full size van.

In your case, I'd say '4wd van' to keep the peace.

M

 

[chilliwak]

Looks like a fun camping adventure Kyle, even though it was cold. Thanks for posting pics. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[Kyle Kelso]

So we picked up a king sized 4" matress topper for pretty cheap. It is too wide and too short for the 6' x 8' floor space of our tent but I trimmed a few inches to fit the 6' width and added that strip to the length.
It is MUCH more supportive than the original mattress, which you could just squeeze to nothing, but I thought I'd try adding it on top of the original mattress for 5* comfort. No dice! Couldn't get it any where near closed. I pulled out the original mattress and it closed up nice and easy and the small gap made tucking in the extra fabric way easier. My feet will be the only ones hanging off, I'll just throw my clothes there.

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[chilliwak]

Way to get your gear together you kick ass Albertan. Eh? Cheers, Chilli....-.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I would second the st maxx , they have the widest footprint of all the 255/85 and work rather incredibly in all conditions

 

[Kyle Kelso]

Lower tax bills than expected plus a crap-ton of overtime last shift equals new tires on the 'burb!
Hopefully I can get them out on dirt soon, not just a sand pile in a parking lot

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[Robn69]

Here are a couple pictures of the winch mount.

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I know this is a old post. But did you have to chop out the cross tube to make enough room to get winch up in?

 

[Johnston]

I know this is a old post. But did you have to chop out the cross tube to make enough room to get winch up in?

Didn't have to remove anything. I had to grind a little off the front skid plate but I had an aftermarket steel skid plate.