'99 Tahoe - Expedition Build!

[Spargman]

some more progress over the past few days...

The Bilstein 5150's with their heavier valving were simply not valved heavy enough for this rig. So I went with application specific 5100's (they're for lifted rigs) and they are awesome.

I had them on the highway today and they absorbed bumps nicely but still gave a nice tight feel. I actually like the 5100's more then the Bilstein HD's I had on the rig before it was lifted...a little bit softer so the ride isn't as rough.

We also installed a new EGR valve a few days ago b/c simply cleaning the EGR didn't work (electrical short).

Tomorrow is mostly transmission stuff working with the install of a larger cooler and swapping out the tranny fluid.

 

[Spargman]

Some BIG updates this week.

Yesterday I received my package from Viking Offroad - photos to follow tomorrow! This is the highest quality recovery gear I have ever seen, I'm blown away from the fit & finish so far of everything. This gear is our lifeline for when we need recovery, so i will post a review on everything throughout and at the end of this trip...but from what I've heard, their gear is all top of the line.

ARB bumper arrives on Friday and custom center console should be here early next week!!

Last week I finished installing my rock sliders. To test them, we lifted the truck on a auto lift just by the sliders.... and they didn't budge..these things are beasts.

Also, the final date for departure is the 10th (next week). It took a lot longer to finish this rig then we thought, but it's almost done.

Tomorrow I will have lots more photos for everyone!

 

[Spargman]

Ok, tons of photos folks!

Here is the new stance of the rig! 4.5" lifted in the rear (springs, no blocks) and ~5" lift up front. IMHO this stance looks awesome and with a 35" tire, it would look incredible (i have 33's on)

Once the ARB bumper is on with the Superwinch, I'm guessing it will drop ~ 0.5" and sit more level.

Group 34 battery, Sears PLatinum Marine edition - has the same CCA as the auto, but quad terminals on top...I have this as my secondary truck battery and another one in the trailer. The group 34 fits perfectly and has a higher reserve then the group 78's

I got really luck with this part - my 14bsf did not have a tab for the e-brake and Dave (@ Crum's Welding) was installing the rock sliders he built when he made a quick bracket and welded it on...perfect fit

Some photos of the rock sliders. These are amazing and can literally hold the weight of our rigs. If you go this route, one side you can easily bolt on (use Grade 8 hardware), but the other you will have to weld unless you want to drop the tank.

Here is my OEM vs the new Z71 bump stop I purchase from LMC. B/c I'm riding my suspension close to the lower bump stop, the Z71 change for me was perfect

 

[FellowTraveler]

I like those rock sliders

Way cool build!

More views of the rock sliders and how they attach would be nice.

Have a safe and joyful trip!

 

[cowboy63645]

That is a great looking rig! I am going the same route with my suburban and cant wait for the oarts to start rolling it

 

[Spargman]

Way cool build!

More views of the rock sliders and how they attach would be nice.

Have a safe and joyful trip!

 

[Spargman]

That is a great looking rig! I am going the same route with my suburban and cant wait for the oarts to start rolling it

Thanks! Def post some pics as you build it!!

 

[Spargman]

Ok guys, out first site is up and running and I'd like to invite everyone here to follow us. In the next few days I'll have the digital map up which tracks our rig via satellite (SPOT connect)

Also, there will be a few youngsters watching us via facebook, so please keep the commentary on the fb page appropriate

I'll definitely keep posting on this forum throughout the expedition...so always feel free to ask questions and comment!!
O3E (Out of Office Explorers) - click "like" and you will receive updates.

 

[Spargman]

Loving the build!

Thanks Chris!

Some toys came in this week! I called up Viking Offroad a few weeks ago and was lucky enough to grab the owner. I had lots of questions b/c I was still pretty weak on my recovery gear and wasn't sure what to go with. We had a long discussion for the type of rig I had and what I planned on doing with it, my budget and then he put together a sick package for me based on his recommendation.

I had always heard of Viking Offroad's infamous quality and their synthetic cable being the best in the industry...but I was seriously blown away by everything when it came in - it's all top notch. I know a few guys that have run their cable for years and swear by it. Once i use this stuff in the field, I'll def post up some videos.

I went with their 3/8" synthetic line w/thimble (17k lb capacity), 3/8" synthetic extension, 3/4" Van Beast Shackles, Trasharoo, synthetic repair kit and some other odds and ends.

With all of us running IFS (Independent Front Suspensions), one of the big pushes for me upgrading to synthetic winch line was the 30lb savings on my front end; not to mention this stuff is much safer then steel cable.

 

[Spargman]

Some really good news and updates!

We left NJ @ 4am on the 15th and drove like mad to reach Flagstaff AZ by the 17th...and we made it. We first camped out in St Louis, then in New Mexico. The first leg was really long...we stopped around 2:30am local time as neither of us were in any condition to drive further.

Even though we hauled across many states, the scenery was amazing and the trip was a lot of fun.

I was at about 3k miles on my synthetic oil when I left NJ so I knew I needed an oil change along the way. After sleeping in New Mexico, the gentleman running the KOA site pointed me towards a small town on old Rt 66 that had two auto shops. I went to the first and they did not have full synthetic oil, went to the second, same story. So, I found a Napa store, bought the oil and filter I wanted and drove back to the second shop...and for $15, he changed my oil. Really friendly guys and they let me borrow a wrench to tighten a leaky valve on one of my calipers and even did a quick one over on the truck for me...this town was almost exactly like the movie Cars...very cool experience.

On the road right outside Oklahoma - over the next few days, you WILL see more equipment on this rig. We ran out of time and bought a few boxes of parts with us.

Our first destination was the Overland Expo in Flagstaff. We were a Feature Vehicle there and the ONLY chevy in the group...let alone a Tahoe. The reception to our build was pretty amazing and three guys from other Chevy forums stopped by to check us out!

For anyone thinking of building an Expedition ("Overland") style rig, I highly recommend going to the expo next year.

Enough of my rambling, here are some pics from the Expo

This thing was a monster...it's seriously hard to consider how big this is until you're next to it....but think $500k+ w/bullet proof windows

The actual Land Rover Camel Trophy team truck...they flew the team members and x2 of their rigs to the event

Another GlobalX truck - met the founder, nice guy

The world renowned Turtle Expedition team - very nice couple

I have hundreds of more pics & videos I'm hoping to post soon!

 

[BurbanAZ]

glad to see u got to update ur build thread some, it was good getting to meet u at the expo

 

[firesq14]

nice tahoe! i have a 99 burb. what arb bumper did you put on? was there a mod for it?

 

[Funrover]

That was a great build. The rig looks great and seems to be taking care of you also. Thanks for this thread, I don't see many of these used as an expo rig. They seem like a great platform for a expo famil and such.

 

[Spargman]

That was a great build. The rig looks great and seems to be taking care of you also. Thanks for this thread, I don't see many of these used as an expo rig. They seem like a great platform for a expo famil and such.

This rig is a GREAT platform for overlanding within the US/Canada....for this trip we're close to 4k miles and I haven't come across terrain I was not able to handle (within reason of course). It's a very comfortable cruiser and overall I'm really excited about how it turned out.

A photo to show depth:


going up the hill!

 

[Spargman]

Going down the hill....this thing was pretty steep...hard to get the perspective from the video