2006 GMC Savanna Gear/Locker options and suspension ?

bRONZed

New member
I picked up 06 2WD 1500 w g80 axle, couple months ago in the process of restoring half the conversion and creating camper van. Looking for gear and a locker type option. Anybody have any experience with this? Looking to not get stuck in sand n mud, adding front coil lift, rear spring assisted shocks and block to get some larger wider tires and wheels to help float her through. I plan on towing a side by side (4000lbs) with trailer. I am used to a 1 ton express and this thing is sloppy in comparison to the handling of the 1 ton loaded. I dont want to tow until the suspension is figured out, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

1stDeuce

Explorer
Do you mean off road gear, like winches and stuff or rear axle gears to go along with changing to some sort of different rear diff and larger tires??

What gears are in it? What engine? Re-gearing needs to be accompanied by re-programming the PCM to account for the new gear ratio. The G80 is a great locker for a van that doesn't have low range and isn't TOO rear-heavy. Lots of builds end up with the rear axle at or above GAWR, and your little 10 bolt will not like running that heavy. I love the G80, but I understand how they work and I try not to abuse them. They will lock 100% if they haven't been broken, so they are true lockers, they just require a bit of wheel spin before they engage.

The #1 thing you need to do to keep from getting stuck in sand and mud is to learn to AIR DOWN for those conditions. Lockers do not help at all with sand, and trying to get through muddy sections of road with lots of throttle and tire spin is how you grenade the G80 and still end up stuck. Have good tires for the terrain you will be in and some sort of solution for airing up and you're really going to do pretty well. Slightly wider tires do help with sand, but depending on the mud, they may not be much use. In southern utah and the surrounding areas, the roads turn to slime when it rains and you'll find that skinny tires probably do better for that... If you're mud bogging in a 2wd van, you're not right in the head anyway, so it's about dealing with the accidental exposure to bad conditions more than trying to get through for fun... That being the case, as set of cable chains is a good way to get out. You will still want to air down, but you'll at least be able to move when things get slick...

Of course some extra ground clearance is always nice. I doubt you'll get much out of the rear "spring assisted shocks". I would recommend a set of supersprings or something like that to carry extra weight at stock height, but if you want more height, an add-a-leaf is the way to go, perhaps even in combination with a short lift block. I've tried air bags and didn't really like them. They're good for a vehicle that is light, then heavy, then light, but for a fairly fixed weight vehicle, getting the spring pack to hold the weight is the best option IME.

The 1500 van is NEVER going to ride like a 3500. It is going to be fairly soft, and it will HATE being even close to GVWR. If you can build a light rig, then it will work well and ride much better than a 1-ton, but if you are going to fill it with heavy cabinets and gear, then you'd be better off to ditch it and find a HD van which would probably come with better axle gearing, a heavier suspension and rear axle, and a bit more stibility when heavily loaded.

Give us some more info and you'll probably get more advice, which is typically worth about what you pay for it... :)

Happy building!!
 
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bRONZed

New member
Thanks for your response, so I havent been able to id the axle ratio. My best guess with the G80 it is the 3.73 as the original paperwork shows the first owner bought it off the lot (4.10s if special ordered). I dont plan on upgrading the tire too large but definitely larger and wider that the stock ones. I have very little experience with posi traction as most of my other rigs were either locked or open with a boat load of travel. If I am safe with limited slip than I may not need to lock it? I took the kids out last weekend in it and we hit some washes on the trail with deep sand. I hit it with some speed and momentum and made it through both times. Later in the day an old dodge cargo van did the same but didnt fair well and had to be pulled up the trail and out of the trail. My general goal is to have it pre runner style, ie decent clearance, aggressive tires, and a rear end that will spin both wheels. I would say 80-90 percent of the places I have off roaded , with good clearance, in az are 2 wheel driveable, and I barely engage the 4wd in my sequioa /1st gen 4runner or any other jeep I have owned over the years. I was thinking about doing a receiver mounted winch that could be mounted to a front or rear receiver in the event I get stuck and would be swappable to the sequioa or 4runner for those more technical trail runs/stucks.
I like the idea of chains, never thought about that for mud, we dont get a lot of mud out here but when it rains, its some nasty sticky stuff which I wont be traveling in on purpose. However, monsoon season brings unpredictable rain storms. I was comparing my 1500 to a cargo 1500 and noticed that the cargo version had an extra spring (4 instead of 3) so I think adding a spring or swapping out the pack may be a good idea to get more clearance and better handling. She is already pretty heavy with high top and conversion, I only plan on adding an RTT, awning and camp gear (stove, ect). No cabinets or full build outs and all the exterior moldings have been removed while the interior is still pretty much stock conversion van, minus door panels removed and a folding table in their place.
 

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1stDeuce

Explorer
Check the RPO code sticker on the passenger door. That will give you the axle ratio. GU6 is 3.42, GT4 is 3.73, GT5 is 4:10. It'll definitely be a G-code, so if not those, then google the code you have and see what it is. It should also say G80 in your case...

If you have 3.73's, then you're not doing bad. If you have 16" wheels already, some 265/75R16's would probably be OK, and a good bit wider and a bit taller than your current tires. If you have 15" wheels, then some 31x10.50's would be a step up. 30x9.50's a bit smaller but better fit probably... Or you can go aftermarket, but stay with 16" wheels at the biggest for best offroad performance. The more sidewall the better!!

You would be surprised how much better your 2wd van will do in soft conditions with less tire pressure. I once stuck an empty 2500 cargo van in a sandy area working on the traction control programming. I let the rear tires down to about 15psi and drove right out like it hadn't even been stuck! That was with 245/75R16's, and the fronts were still at 60psi. I suspect that at 30psi all around, I wouldn't have been able to get it stuck. How low you have to go is a function of tire size and weight, but a little experimenting will tell you how low you need to be in general for soft terrain. Even though it's only 2wd, airing down the front tires too will help much more than airing down just the rears. So long as you have a way to air back up, it's much easier on the truck and the trail than getting a big run at it and hoping for the best...

If you're in AZ, then you know what happens to roads in the SW when it rains. Cable chains will get you out when even 4wd has trouble. Airing down will do wonders for that situation too, as it allows the tires to conform to the terrain and shed a bit of mud, rather than being a hard round slick that makes a slight depression and then can't get out... It pains me to see people dug right in with chains on in soft conditions because they didn't know enough to air down and get the tires to float...

The G80 is a bit of a limited slip normally, and I would recommend against running synthetic gear lube, as it works better with a bit more friction from normal gear lube. Friction modifier also a no-no for the G80. If one tire loses traction and begins to spin, the G80 has a governor that latches and causes the clutches to bind up fully, forcing both tires to spin until torque is reversed. Changing to any other diff, including an easy locker of any kind means changing the carrier, which is fairly expensive, especially if you don't have to change gears. On the other hand, if your RPO sticker doesn't say G80, but you have GT4, then dropping in an easy locker is much, uh, easier... :)

A winch is nice if there are trees around. So are front and rear tow points, though the aftermarket receivers for these vans hang down quite low... For most desert use, you really shouldn't be stuck if you adjust tire pressure accordingly. Your conversion van has quite a bit of weight on the rear axle, and that should keep you moving in all but the roughest conditions.
 

1stDeuce

Explorer
FWIW, I run a Viair 400C on my truck, and this is the route I would recommend. It's plenty fast for airing up from reasonable off-road pressure to reasonable on-road pressure. I mounted it under the truck and plumbed it to the back bumper. Wired it with a relay, and the control runs through a pressure switch that turns it off when it reaches 100psi or so. I don't have to remember it, and it always works when I need it. I do not have it plumbed to an air tank, as I see no benefit to increasing the volume that I need to bring up to my desired pressure...

Basically, if it runs off a 12v outlet (lighter plug) it's going to take a long time to air up your tires. If it ONLY uses battery clamps, it'll generally be faster. There are some options out there, and lots of youtube vids that cover comparisons and improvements... If you want something portable, you might check into the Viair 400P, which is a "portable" version of the 400C.

<Edit>
It looks like there is a Viair 88P that's a pretty decent setup for the money. You might try that as a first option...
 
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