2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s
- Thread starter CrazyDrei
- Start date
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
03Tahoe,
That looks great especially with the Cognito UCAs, do you have a close up of the upper and lower limit strap mounting points? Sweet looking rotors too.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
DAY TRIP: Rainbow Gardens Trails
This is a fun OHV area just outside Las Vegas between Sunrise Mountain and Lake Mead called Rainbow Gardens Trails. There are three main designated trails with several connectors and spurs off the main three to explore. Along the Kodachrome Trail there are many shortcuts which are much more challenging than the main drag. Two of my Jeep buddies came out to play and show off their 01 two door and 17 four door trucks.
Interestingly enough but Nevada OHV rails resource guide online has this particular trail marked open to dirt bikes, quads and side-by-side as long as they are OHV registered but the trail marker sign states otherwise.
Go figure that it decided to rain while we were out on the trail and let Rainbow Gardens live up to it's name.
Kodachrome Trail
Cool parking spot after the first obstacle.
Rear suspension articulation with the solid axle and lack of front IFS articulation.
Wheels tuck in perfectly inside the fender flares with no rubbing on the fender flare on the inner fender.
Rear right still has a few inches left to go down and over a foot to go back up.
The most fun and exciting trail, however we spent more time playing on the obstacles than taking pictures.
Lava Butte Trail was an easy 2wd trail with a fun little obstacle that we played on at the end.
Approximately 20" ledge
Suburban rolls way less than the Jeeps due to the limited travel of the IFS and the weight of the motor as well as 16-18" of rear wheel travel.
Speaking of the rear wheel travel at nearly full extension.
Easy work of the 20" ledge.
No problem going up completely perpendicular to the ledge also.
View from the front looks boring due to the never ending 130" wheelbase (same as the Defender 130, hmmmm).
Last fun obstacle that the Jeeps did not want to cross, 4 foot deep ditch.
I should have stood in the ditch for a better scale.
The light shining through just in front of the rear left tire is a 3ft wide and deep chunk of dirt that slid when I drove the front wheel on it.
Overall this is a great OHV area with several great trails, numerous obstacles to practice navigating technical terrain and best of all the trail head is within Las Vegas proper. I shot a couple videos and will get them edited and uploaded within the next few days.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
This is a fun OHV area just outside Las Vegas between Sunrise Mountain and Lake Mead called Rainbow Gardens Trails. There are three main designated trails with several connectors and spurs off the main three to explore. Along the Kodachrome Trail there are many shortcuts which are much more challenging than the main drag. Two of my Jeep buddies came out to play and show off their 01 two door and 17 four door trucks.
Interestingly enough but Nevada OHV rails resource guide online has this particular trail marked open to dirt bikes, quads and side-by-side as long as they are OHV registered but the trail marker sign states otherwise.
Go figure that it decided to rain while we were out on the trail and let Rainbow Gardens live up to it's name.
Kodachrome Trail
Cool parking spot after the first obstacle.
Rear suspension articulation with the solid axle and lack of front IFS articulation.
Wheels tuck in perfectly inside the fender flares with no rubbing on the fender flare on the inner fender.
Rear right still has a few inches left to go down and over a foot to go back up.
The most fun and exciting trail, however we spent more time playing on the obstacles than taking pictures.
Lava Butte Trail was an easy 2wd trail with a fun little obstacle that we played on at the end.
Approximately 20" ledge
Suburban rolls way less than the Jeeps due to the limited travel of the IFS and the weight of the motor as well as 16-18" of rear wheel travel.
Speaking of the rear wheel travel at nearly full extension.
Easy work of the 20" ledge.
No problem going up completely perpendicular to the ledge also.
View from the front looks boring due to the never ending 130" wheelbase (same as the Defender 130, hmmmm).
Last fun obstacle that the Jeeps did not want to cross, 4 foot deep ditch.
I should have stood in the ditch for a better scale.
The light shining through just in front of the rear left tire is a 3ft wide and deep chunk of dirt that slid when I drove the front wheel on it.
Overall this is a great OHV area with several great trails, numerous obstacles to practice navigating technical terrain and best of all the trail head is within Las Vegas proper. I shot a couple videos and will get them edited and uploaded within the next few days.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Old Griz,
I am very interested why you advise to take the 37s off? My 37s weigh less than all but three 35" AT tires and one 35" MT tire so weight is not an issue. I broke several parts due to the vehicle's age, installation of broken parts which were free and driving style which would break a 2500 axle just as quick.
As far as 2500 axles go, I think its ridiculous to spend more than my truck is worth to make it less capable off road. Chevy 14 bolt rear axle is much stronger and I will be able tow much more but on the trail I loose nearly 3" of ground clearance, gain weight and did I mention spending $5,000 to have a much less capable off pavement vehicle.
Cheers!
PS. I would love to see some trail pics of your 8.1 rig, I bet you never unhook that 4 horse trailer from it, would be a shame to waste all that power just to be a commuter.
VisionxOrb
Observer
I think he was talking about the 2500 front Diff/CVs like Burb One did. also I dont think weight is as much of an issue as leverage in a 35 vs 37". the 37" is a much larger lever for the terrain to work against the front cvs/diff and chew them up.
I havent checked but with loseing 3" of ground clearance from the 14bolt, I think your thinking the 14Bolt FF from a 1ton not the 14 bolt 9.5 SF that was available in some halftons.
That being said Im a fan of what you have done but I do think the 9.25 front diff and large CVs is a good idea at some point.
Not to clutter this up but if someone is looking to swap a halfton 5link 14sf this thread has some good info
https://www.performancetrucks.net/f...nsion-22/9-5-14-bolt-5-link-rear-swap-425023/
I havent checked but with loseing 3" of ground clearance from the 14bolt, I think your thinking the 14Bolt FF from a 1ton not the 14 bolt 9.5 SF that was available in some halftons.
That being said Im a fan of what you have done but I do think the 9.25 front diff and large CVs is a good idea at some point.
Not to clutter this up but if someone is looking to swap a halfton 5link 14sf this thread has some good info
https://www.performancetrucks.net/f...nsion-22/9-5-14-bolt-5-link-rear-swap-425023/
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CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Old Griz and VisionxOrb,
My bad, for some reason I was thinking about the 14 bolt rear end. Yes, as a matter of fact I am looking for a 9.25 front diff. Then I would need to get K2500 CV axles and spacers. I like what BurbOne did with his truck in the front.
I am putting together a list of the next set of upgrades I have in mind for the Sub and will let everyone know shortly, but in the mean time I have a few more adventures to go on this spring.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Thats a lot of flex there Crazy! Me like. Looks like those fender flares were just what you needed. Your suspension upgrades seem to work well too. Looks like you had some fun on your trip. Cheers, Chilli....
Chilli,
It's so weird to see the rear flex and the front just stay the same. Yeah the fender flares are perfect, and the downsizing to a 1.25" wheel spacer in the rear as well as 12.5" wide tire is exactly the look and performance I have been looking for. We did about 50 miles off the pavement and numerous 4x4 low obstacles and everything is holding up excellent. Have several more longer trips planned in the near future.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
VIDEO: Lava Butte Trail
Lava Butte trail is an easy trail in the Rainbow Gardens trail network that is commonly used to introduce people to off-road driving. Timelapse heading from south to north with a couple pretty good views of the Lava Butte itself. Best part of the trail is that the trailhead itself is in the city of Las Vegas proper!
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Lava Butte trail is an easy trail in the Rainbow Gardens trail network that is commonly used to introduce people to off-road driving. Timelapse heading from south to north with a couple pretty good views of the Lava Butte itself. Best part of the trail is that the trailhead itself is in the city of Las Vegas proper!
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
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twodollars
Active member
CrazyDrei, thanks for inspiring me to make 37s fit on my 94 burb. Just as soon as I can wear out my 33s.....
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
VIDEO: Redstone Rd trail
This is the last trail I did a timelapse of in the Rainbow Gardens Trails area. The entrance is difficult to find but the trail is on Google Maps, takes you to a really cool Redstone (Red Rock Navajo sand stone formation) that is otherwise inaccessible from the paved road directly. Really fun and tight trail.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
This is the last trail I did a timelapse of in the Rainbow Gardens Trails area. The entrance is difficult to find but the trail is on Google Maps, takes you to a really cool Redstone (Red Rock Navajo sand stone formation) that is otherwise inaccessible from the paved road directly. Really fun and tight trail.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
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CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
Twodollars,
You are welcome, I would recommend looking for a used set on craigslist just so you know how to fit them on before you get brand new ones.
Good luck and show us some pics when you get them on.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
DAY TRIP: Gold Butte revisited
Gold Butte National Monument is a little gem of a park that's tucked away between Lake Mead and Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument. It's about equal distance from Las Vegas and Saint George and offers numerous vistas, rock climbing areas, camping and miles of OHV trails that connect the neighboring Lake Mead and Grand Canyon Parashant. Our last trip we focused on exploring the petroglyphs however this time we went to explore several trails I have been eyeing for the last few months: Gold Butte ghost town, Catclaw Wash trail and Uranium Ridge.
As usual we stopped on the south side of Riverside Bridge to deflate the tires, let the boys run around after a two hour drive and map out our day.
After 25 miles on a pothole ridden paved road with numerous washouts we finally made it to Rocky McRockface and Whitney Pockets. The dirt road from here on is so much smoother than the pavement.
Whitney Pockets parking area.
Boys found the now dry water trough.
A short hike from here was the Cistern of Whitney Pockets, Cement Dam built in the 1930's by the civilian Conservation Corps to collect water.
There are steps leading up to the top and back to the bottom of the cistern dam.
Inside the dam, there is a secondary dam at the far end of the dammed area that was used when there was limited water and functioned as an upper smaller tank.
Another short hike from the parking area is a storage room or whats left of it.
There used to be a wall on the left side of the hueco and a door in the middle at one point.
Around the corner from the storage room in another hueco there is ruminants of what used to be an oven or a smoker, the boys could not resist exploring.
We stopped at Devil's Throat again, 4Runner looks proportional to the Sub when parked behind it, even the 32" tires on the 4Runner look similar to the 37s on the Sub.
Finally made it to the Gold Butte ghost town, and it was highly uneventful. Several building foundations and a horse coral remain.
Boys found an old pickup.
Not much left of the truck other that the steering wheel and engine block, can't even tell the make of this antique.
We continued on Catclaw Wash trail all the way to Lake Mead. It's amazing that 5-6 years ago I was in this very same cove diving and spearfishing from a boat and this spot was nearly 35ft underwater then.
Rinsing off the tires and under carriage. Several hours later I found out that my 17 year old park neutral position sensor does not like water and had to be cleaned so I can get the Sub out of 4low.
Local donkeys guard and walk the National Park/ BLM boundary daily.
Sine I don't have a Jeep I was not comfortable driving the Jeep trail and stuck to the much less intimidating Overton Arm option.
The last trail we did was called Uranium Ridge, a really fun super steep, narrow trail with numerous tight switchbacks and ending with a climb to the top of a mountain at the southern tip of the ridge.
The Jeep did not make it to the top, mostly due to driver inexperience and being traumatized by the near death experience of the switchbacks.
Great trip filled with lots of exploring and adventuring. We had a wide variety of toys and all had their strengths and weaknesses yet we all had a great time.
I am working on several time lapses from this adventure and will post them in the next few days as I finish editing them.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
Gold Butte National Monument is a little gem of a park that's tucked away between Lake Mead and Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument. It's about equal distance from Las Vegas and Saint George and offers numerous vistas, rock climbing areas, camping and miles of OHV trails that connect the neighboring Lake Mead and Grand Canyon Parashant. Our last trip we focused on exploring the petroglyphs however this time we went to explore several trails I have been eyeing for the last few months: Gold Butte ghost town, Catclaw Wash trail and Uranium Ridge.
As usual we stopped on the south side of Riverside Bridge to deflate the tires, let the boys run around after a two hour drive and map out our day.
After 25 miles on a pothole ridden paved road with numerous washouts we finally made it to Rocky McRockface and Whitney Pockets. The dirt road from here on is so much smoother than the pavement.
Whitney Pockets parking area.
Boys found the now dry water trough.
A short hike from here was the Cistern of Whitney Pockets, Cement Dam built in the 1930's by the civilian Conservation Corps to collect water.
There are steps leading up to the top and back to the bottom of the cistern dam.
Inside the dam, there is a secondary dam at the far end of the dammed area that was used when there was limited water and functioned as an upper smaller tank.
Another short hike from the parking area is a storage room or whats left of it.
There used to be a wall on the left side of the hueco and a door in the middle at one point.
Around the corner from the storage room in another hueco there is ruminants of what used to be an oven or a smoker, the boys could not resist exploring.
We stopped at Devil's Throat again, 4Runner looks proportional to the Sub when parked behind it, even the 32" tires on the 4Runner look similar to the 37s on the Sub.
Finally made it to the Gold Butte ghost town, and it was highly uneventful. Several building foundations and a horse coral remain.
Boys found an old pickup.
Not much left of the truck other that the steering wheel and engine block, can't even tell the make of this antique.
We continued on Catclaw Wash trail all the way to Lake Mead. It's amazing that 5-6 years ago I was in this very same cove diving and spearfishing from a boat and this spot was nearly 35ft underwater then.
Rinsing off the tires and under carriage. Several hours later I found out that my 17 year old park neutral position sensor does not like water and had to be cleaned so I can get the Sub out of 4low.
Local donkeys guard and walk the National Park/ BLM boundary daily.
Sine I don't have a Jeep I was not comfortable driving the Jeep trail and stuck to the much less intimidating Overton Arm option.
The last trail we did was called Uranium Ridge, a really fun super steep, narrow trail with numerous tight switchbacks and ending with a climb to the top of a mountain at the southern tip of the ridge.
The Jeep did not make it to the top, mostly due to driver inexperience and being traumatized by the near death experience of the switchbacks.
Great trip filled with lots of exploring and adventuring. We had a wide variety of toys and all had their strengths and weaknesses yet we all had a great time.
I am working on several time lapses from this adventure and will post them in the next few days as I finish editing them.
Stay tuned for more shenanigans!