2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s
- Thread starter CrazyDrei
- Start date
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
I'm impressed you were able to do Mengel pass in a Suburban. Did you scrape the back end going up or down the rock ledges on the West side?
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
2006 Denali XL
6.0 Vortec
Non selectable AWD
Magnaflow dual exhaust
Ford keys up front (2.5" level/lift)
3" rear spacers
Bilstein 5100 shocks all around
Trail Blade M/T Mud Terrain Tire 33x12.50R22 tires
1.25" wheel spacers up front
2" wheel spacers in the rear
07 Tahoe front brake calipers/rotors
Front and rear crossdrilled/sloted rotors
Hydroboost with HD power steering pump
Front wheel well trimming and folding to eliminate wheel rub.
Dual battery setup up front
HD towing mirrors.
All interior and exterior light converted to 6000k LED
Custom folding spare tire carrier
Trying to convince him to join ExPo and do a write-up on his build.
Cheers!
Looks great! How are the cv angles at 3"? Do the denalis also max out around 2.5" or is there a difference between the trims
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Martinjmpr,
I had absolutely no problems going through Mengel Pass. Compared to my local trail where I have been testing the truck's abilities Mengel Pass was relatively easy. Not a single scratch, ding or dent even though I ran the most difficult line I could see without a spotter.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
08Sierra,
CV angles were never extended past the factory suspension travel range, they are just at a steeper angle. Since we did not extend the CV angles on my Sub or the Denali past the factory angle limits there is no extra potentially catastrophic strain on the CVs. It's the same suspension as any 1500 GMT800 tahoe/sub. When I initially installed the keys in my sub I cranked them so much I had 5.5" lift with 1.5" of suspension travel and the truck rode like crap so I dropped it down to 2.5" lift. When I helped my Denali friend with his level kit we started out with 2.5/3" crank and he really liked it so I have not messed with it any more.
Mechanically the Vortec 6.0, non selectable front diff and transfer care are the only differences between the trims. I disabled the non functioning autoride in Denali when we did the level kit and Bilsteins. Inside the Denali has way more luxurious gadgets.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
VIDEO: Ubehebe Crater to Racetrack Playa timelapse
Second of three timelapse videos from the Death Valley day trip. After Titus Canyon we headed up towards Scottys Castle which is closed and turned west towards Ubehebe Crater. It was really windy and cold at the Crater, nobody wanted to join me for the walk over to Little Hebe or the hike down into Ubehebe crater. We got back into the trucks and took on the 26 mile journey to Teakettle Junction and onto the world famous Racetrack Playa.
Racetrack road was in a fantastic condition, very well graded with virtually no erosion, my tires were deflated to 25psi I maintained a comfortable 30-40mph.
I stopped the timelapse when we arrived at the Southern most end of the playa where all the moving rocks are. Spent over an hour watching the kids run around the dry lake bed. We then continued onto Lippincott Pass.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Second of three timelapse videos from the Death Valley day trip. After Titus Canyon we headed up towards Scottys Castle which is closed and turned west towards Ubehebe Crater. It was really windy and cold at the Crater, nobody wanted to join me for the walk over to Little Hebe or the hike down into Ubehebe crater. We got back into the trucks and took on the 26 mile journey to Teakettle Junction and onto the world famous Racetrack Playa.
Racetrack road was in a fantastic condition, very well graded with virtually no erosion, my tires were deflated to 25psi I maintained a comfortable 30-40mph.
I stopped the timelapse when we arrived at the Southern most end of the playa where all the moving rocks are. Spent over an hour watching the kids run around the dry lake bed. We then continued onto Lippincott Pass.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Last edited:
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
VIDEO: Lippincott Pass top down in Death Valley
This is the last of the three most spectacular passes in Death Valley CA. We did it top down because my friend has a Denali XL and does not have the low range required for the bottom up trek. The pass is very well graded and maintained, washouts are minimal and the drive was very smooth. Next time I am in the area we will run this pass bottom up.
There are some very narrow sections and my Sub was on the wide end of what I would comfortable take here. A full size Ram or F250/350 would be a much tighter squeeze, doable but a lot more intense.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
This is the last of the three most spectacular passes in Death Valley CA. We did it top down because my friend has a Denali XL and does not have the low range required for the bottom up trek. The pass is very well graded and maintained, washouts are minimal and the drive was very smooth. Next time I am in the area we will run this pass bottom up.
There are some very narrow sections and my Sub was on the wide end of what I would comfortable take here. A full size Ram or F250/350 would be a much tighter squeeze, doable but a lot more intense.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Last edited:
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
misfit1,
Ford torsion bar keys are indexed 10-15 degrees more aggressively than GM 1500 torsion keys. Which means that they put more tension on the torsion bars thus creating a "lift" or placing the vehicle higher up in the travel arc of the wheel. When you replace the stock GM keys with Ford (F150) torsion keys your GM will sit 2-4" higher. Hope this helps.
Andrei
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
1 year update: Still sticking to my budget
It's been a little over a year when I started this build and one year since I joined ExPo. This has been exactly the experience that I was looking for and I hope that everyone enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed everyone's feedback. Looking back and over earlier posts is quite entertaining however 35k highway miles and over 2k off road miles I think the adventures speak for themselves.
I am only counting the upgrades that I have done to the truck to create a perfect overland travel vehicle for my family. Routine maintenance and repairs are not on this list because the truck has seen no maintenance other than oil changes for the last 150k miles I have driven it. I am also not including the Bilstein 5100 shocks that my buddy gave me for all the work I did on his truck.
Damages so far:
$250: wheels and 37" tires
$115: Skyjacker shocks
$33: 3" rear spacers
$18: Ford torsion keys
$20: 2" wheel spacers
$19: Tie rod sleeves
$50: 4.10 front differential
$50: 3" body lift
$120: 4 used Toyo Open Country MT tires 37x13.50R17
$40: 2 Toyo Open Country MT spare tires 35x12.50R17
$20: 17" aluminum Tahoe rim
$175: 4.10 rear gears and master install kit
$91: hitch
TOTAL: $1,001
I have acquired all the parts for the next few projects and should get them done rather quick.
4.10 gears:I just bought 4.10 rear gears with a master install kit on eBay, along with the front 4.10 diff I got several months ago the official gear upgrade will go in sometime in the next several weeks.
Rear hitch: I also bought a rear hitch that is a 3 piece bolt together that I will replace the current one with while raising it 4-6" for greatly increased departure angle, still need to cut, bend and drill new side brackets to get the raise I am looking for.
Relocate spare tire: I don't like how low the spare tire hangs. After adding the 3" body lift I have nearly 6" of clearance between the spare and the body of the truck. I cut out the factory spare tire holder and in the process of creating and welding new brackets to mount the hoist much higher up.
Travel, adventure and explore: I have done everything I have originally set out to do and we are resuming our weekly adventures especially now that the weather has cleared up.
I built a pretty nifty hitch mounted spare tire carrier for a friend which he tested out with my 35" spare in Death Valley and it worked flawlessly, going to post some pictures and build one for my Sub as well soon.
Craigslist tires have served me way better than expected: $120 tires have lasted 15k miles but I can not run 2/32 tread for much longer, so new tires will be arriving soon. I want 10ply, 37x12.5LT that weigh less than 75lbs each.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
It's been a little over a year when I started this build and one year since I joined ExPo. This has been exactly the experience that I was looking for and I hope that everyone enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed everyone's feedback. Looking back and over earlier posts is quite entertaining however 35k highway miles and over 2k off road miles I think the adventures speak for themselves.
I am only counting the upgrades that I have done to the truck to create a perfect overland travel vehicle for my family. Routine maintenance and repairs are not on this list because the truck has seen no maintenance other than oil changes for the last 150k miles I have driven it. I am also not including the Bilstein 5100 shocks that my buddy gave me for all the work I did on his truck.
Damages so far:
$250: wheels and 37" tires
$115: Skyjacker shocks
$33: 3" rear spacers
$18: Ford torsion keys
$20: 2" wheel spacers
$19: Tie rod sleeves
$50: 4.10 front differential
$50: 3" body lift
$120: 4 used Toyo Open Country MT tires 37x13.50R17
$40: 2 Toyo Open Country MT spare tires 35x12.50R17
$20: 17" aluminum Tahoe rim
$175: 4.10 rear gears and master install kit
$91: hitch
TOTAL: $1,001
I have acquired all the parts for the next few projects and should get them done rather quick.
4.10 gears:I just bought 4.10 rear gears with a master install kit on eBay, along with the front 4.10 diff I got several months ago the official gear upgrade will go in sometime in the next several weeks.
Rear hitch: I also bought a rear hitch that is a 3 piece bolt together that I will replace the current one with while raising it 4-6" for greatly increased departure angle, still need to cut, bend and drill new side brackets to get the raise I am looking for.
Relocate spare tire: I don't like how low the spare tire hangs. After adding the 3" body lift I have nearly 6" of clearance between the spare and the body of the truck. I cut out the factory spare tire holder and in the process of creating and welding new brackets to mount the hoist much higher up.
Travel, adventure and explore: I have done everything I have originally set out to do and we are resuming our weekly adventures especially now that the weather has cleared up.
I built a pretty nifty hitch mounted spare tire carrier for a friend which he tested out with my 35" spare in Death Valley and it worked flawlessly, going to post some pictures and build one for my Sub as well soon.
Craigslist tires have served me way better than expected: $120 tires have lasted 15k miles but I can not run 2/32 tread for much longer, so new tires will be arriving soon. I want 10ply, 37x12.5LT that weigh less than 75lbs each.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Last edited:
Bojak
Adventurer
Well played sir, well played. Love following your thread and keep up the shenanigans.It's been a little over a year when I started this build and one year since I joined ExPo. This has been exactly the experience that I was looking for and I hope that everyone enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed everyone's feedback. Looking back and over earlier posts is quite entertaining however 35k highway miles and over 2k off road miles I think the adventures speak for themselves.
I am only counting the upgrades that I have done to the truck to create a perfect overland travel vehicle for my family. Routine maintenance and repairs are not on this list because the truck has seen no maintenance other than oil changes for the last 150k miles I have driven it. I am also not including the Bilstein 5100 shocks that my buddy gave me for all the work I did on his truck.
Damages so far:
$250: wheels and 37" tires
$115: Skyjacker shocks
$33: 3" rear spacers
$18: Ford torsion keys
$20: 2" wheel spacers
$19: Tie rod sleeves
$50: 4.10 front differential
$50: 3" body lift
$120: 4 used Toyo Open Country MT tires 37x13.50R17
$40: 2 Toyo Open Country MT spare tires 35x12.50R17
$20: 17" aluminum Tahoe rim
$175: 4.10 rear gears and master install kit
$91: hitch
TOTAL: $1,001
I have acquired all the parts for the next few projects and should get them done rather quick.
4.10 gears:I just bought 4.10 rear gears with a master install kit on eBay, along with the front 4.10 diff I got several months ago the official gear upgrade will go in sometime in the next several weeks.
Rear hitch: I also bought a rear hitch that is a 3 piece bolt together that I will replace the current one with while raising it 4-6" for greatly increased departure angle, still need to cut, bend and drill new side brackets to get the raise I am looking for.
Relocate spare tire: I don't like how low the spare tire hangs. After adding the 3" body lift I have nearly 6" of clearance between the spare and the body of the truck. I cut out the factory spare tire holder and in the process of creating and welding new brackets to mount the hoist much higher up.
Travel, adventure and explore: I have done everything I have originally set out to do and we are resuming our weekly adventures especially now that the weather has cleared up.
I built a pretty nifty hitch mounted spare tire carrier for a friend which he tested out with my 35" spare in Death Valley and it worked flawlessly, going to post some pictures and build one for my Sub as well soon.
Craigslist tires have served me way better than expected: $120 tires have lasted 15k miles but I can not run 2/32 tread for much longer, so new tires will be arriving soon. I want 10ply, 37x12.5LT that weigh less than 75lbs each.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
cheersSent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk