Spot - 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 2500

AlexCold

Observer
We recently had an issue with my wife's daily driver, so we needed something to replace it. My 86 Suburban is nice but it didn't have the safety features that I would like for my family, so I happened to be on Craigslist (surprise surprise) and I noticed a decent looking GMT800 Suburban at a decent price. I went and looked at it and it wasn't too bad. I offered $500 less than asking (an already low price) and he said something in between and I said I would think about it. The next day I get the call that he's ok with my first offer and here we are.

It's a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0/4L80E combo with 163k miles. Interior is in decent shape and only some typical leaks under it, but nothing terrible. My plans are simple; a reliable, mild family adventure vehicle. Like everything I work on, it can escalate but right now I want to keep it at a near stock level.

First "mod" I've done is install 285/75R16 Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws. I love my Falken Wildpeak MTs on the squarebody but I wanted something less aggressive with a mileage warranty. At $167 each from Walmart, I'm happy so far with the 200 miles I've put on them. Ill probably buy these for my Sierra when I'm done with the Cooper ATPs (which suck).

Here's how it sits when I bought it. I've since installed the tires and cranked the keys for ~1.25" lift. There was minimal rubbing at stock height. I may do the RC 3" lift since it's cheap and would level the truck. I don't hate how it rides now, I more dislike how low it sits.
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TNSG

Member
My son and I are working on my 2009 2500. Ex-gubmint ride. 3/1 TC lift and bumper coming up next month or so.
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AlexCold

Observer
My son and I are working on my 2009 2500. Ex-gubmint ride. 3/1 TC lift and bumper coming up next month or so.
Yeah these are good rigs, and designed to carry a lot of gear and armor plate.

Hows the truck and your adventures coming along?

Truck's running great but unfortunately I'm going to sell it. I just couldn't get the mileage much higher than 13 mpg which wasn't going to work for me long term. Since the monthly fuel costs were going to kill me, we decided to get a new vehicle instead. Considering I work for GM, we decided to get a diesel ZR2, which I've grown very fond of.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Yeah these are good rigs, and designed to carry a lot of gear and armor plate.



Truck's running great but unfortunately I'm going to sell it. I just couldn't get the mileage much higher than 13 mpg which wasn't going to work for me long term. Since the monthly fuel costs were going to kill me, we decided to get a new vehicle instead. Considering I work for GM, we decided to get a diesel ZR2, which I've grown very fond of.

AlexCold,

Yeah that's the biggest problem with the 2500s, the extra weight and thirstier motor sucks down gas making it hard on your wallet. 1500s are 800-1,200# lighter and way less thirsty, before I put the roof rack on I consistently got 16-18mpg running between Las Vegas and LA or Salt Lake and that was with 4-6people and at least 1,000# of gear. Right now with 37s and 4.10s I average 14mpg mixed driving and 11.5mpg off road on trails.

Diesel ZR2 is an awesome platform and is virtually the same size as GMT800 silverados.

Looking forward to your next rig and adventures.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Truck's running great but unfortunately I'm going to sell it. I just couldn't get the mileage much higher than 13 mpg which wasn't going to work for me long term. Since the monthly fuel costs were going to kill me, we decided to get a new vehicle instead. Considering I work for GM, we decided to get a diesel ZR2, which I've grown very fond of.

This is a kind of cautionary tale. On a forum like ExPo, people love to chime in and say "get the biggest/baddest/toughest/roughest vehicle you can. Don't worry about the MPG."

But once you have the vehicle and have to live with it, YOU are the one who is shelling out nearly $100 every time it needs a fuelup, not those random strangers on the Intertoobz.

For people who are retired, or who have a short commute (like me - mine is 10 miles each way and only 3 days/week) it's easy to say "diregard the MPG, it's not important." But if you have a long commute and the big rig is your primary vehicle, poor MPG hurts.

Most of us have a limit on our spending, and every extra dollar that goes to put fuel in the tank is a dollar we can't spend on something else. The "extra capability" that a heavier vehicle brings you can often be elusive and hard to measure, but the extra cost is right there, in your face, every day.
 

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