Aberdeen Washington: 2002 Suburban 4x4 z71 G80 Adeventuremobile/home/photostudio

[Burb One]

Went to Zion for the week. Had a few objectives. See Crawford Arch, a rarely visited arch in Zion that requires some climbing/canyoneering to access....
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Run rock canyon, a remote canyon requiring a hour of driving through soft sand.
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Bike Gooseberry Mesa!
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Truck pics are on their way!

Looking good!

I second the leave the hitch in there, or getting a hitch that rides higher up (The one I have is a CURT that is ~2 inches higher. It was like $120 on Amazon, shipped prime (weighs like 100 pounds). It acts as a great skid plate, many times I would have ripped off my bumper if it wasn't there. Also makes for a strong pull point.

Looking forward to seeing more pictures!!!

 

[kins18q]

More Zion/Gooseberry Mesa Pics

 

[kins18q]

And Some

 

[justbecause]

how cold is that water?

 

[AA1PR]

adore what you've done with the rig, appears you have much more planned
if you ever go with a winch in my build thread is a simple way to get one mounted
cant wait to see where your build goes

 

[kins18q]

how cold is that water?

In some of the canyons its snow runoff soooo it can get pretty chilly. But the one pictured above rain runoff so around 45-50 degrees. You can't have too much neoprene!

adore what you've done with the rig, appears you have much more planned
if you ever go with a winch in my build thread is a simple way to get one mounted
cant wait to see where your build goes

Thanks! Will check it out. Winch is a possibility, but we are nearing the budget and we still have the sleeping platform to go, so the winching with the hi-lift is likely what we will be stuck with if it comes to that!

 

[greasyfingers]

I'm in for ideas. I just bought the same truck. I'm not a chevy fan but I can't get an Excursion for a reasonable price. I did get a lot of bang for the buck

 

[kins18q]

Niiiiice greasy! Any questions you've got send em my way, I'll do my best to answer. I think the Z71 looks better than the excursion any way
'

 

[kins18q]

THE BIG UPDATE

I am sick and tired of how difficult it is to get things posted on this damn forum!!
I was planning on a bunch of pictures but nevermind here comes the finished product.

So it's been a while since the last update, and a whole lot has happened. Have not had time to post with all the building and travelling. 70 Hours of builgin over the course of 2 weeks followed by a 3 week trip from San Diego to Eugene, OR for the Olympic Trials in the track and field and a backcountry tour of OR and Northern CA. Crater Lake, Umpqua National Forest, Lava Beds National Monument, Lassen Volcanic, and Tahoe. Oh, and my buddy/training partner made his second Olympic team so now I plan my trip to Rio to coach him there.

Anyway here is the build.

Took out the seats and grinded the second row bolts right off. My girlfriend is a ************.



Made this thing out of a piece of 3/4 inch Birch for the side fascia/storage cabinet. We decided to go with a low platform for head room with full length storage cabinet down behind the driver's seat. We didn't have a jigsaw so we actually coping saw/hammer+chiseled out the holes and hit the edges with a router. Came out pretty neat I think.



Sleeping platform pieces and drawer/lockbox for camera equipment. The box we built around the drawer is weight bearing and acts as the front third of the sleeping platform. The drawer opens into the footwell behind the front seats.



Almost there.



Finished! I'm on the left, my buddy the talent behind this build is on the right.



A man with his masterpiece



Pics from the trip and with the mattress are at @katcarney on instagram

 

[rayra]

Interesting design concept, certainly adds a lot of cubby storage and I notice you took out the driver side cargo trim panel, which give you a lot more volume to cram stuff. But I'm really surprised at the 'permanent' deletion of the 2nd row seats. Won't you ever have passengers? And I'm not seeing what in your design required their mounting bolts to be ground off. They could have just as easily been used as anchors for your storage bin / camera vault.

But it looks good. An effective mini-RV in the making. Almost like a teardrop build inside the back of a Suburban.

 

[pappawheely]

Went to Zion for the week. Had a few objectives. See Crawford Arch, a rarely visited arch in Zion that requires some climbing/canyoneering to access....

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Looks tasty!

 

[kins18q]

Interesting design concept, certainly adds a lot of cubby storage and I notice you took out the driver side cargo trim panel, which give you a lot more volume to cram stuff. But I'm really surprised at the 'permanent' deletion of the 2nd row seats. Won't you ever have passengers? And I'm not seeing what in your design required their mounting bolts to be ground off. They could have just as easily been used as anchors for your storage bin / camera vault.

But it looks good. An effective mini-RV in the making. Almost like a teardrop build inside the back of a Suburban.

Removing the trim panel was key. Would have removed the passenger side trim too if it didn't house the read AC. Permanent deletion of the second row was a tough call... But we are really glad we did it! After all we will be living in this thing for a year. After this 3 week trip it was well worth it. It makes for a flat footwell area between the bed and the front seats, so we aren't constantly smashing our feet on 2.5 inch bolts! Also, it allowed us to install the drawer that opens into the footwell. I made it a lockbox for the camera gear. The side fascia is permanent, so really half of th second row seats will never go back in. Plus if we want to carry more passengers eventually, the third row can still be put in easily. The platform is easily removable in a few minutes and because the third row is built to fit between the wheel wells it still fits without removing the cabinets. And the passengers would get Limo-like Leg room!

The footwell and drawer











The hinged rear storage trunk. We went with the hinged trunk rather than the drawer for cost, space efficiency, and weight

 

[kins18q]

Seriously, this basic uploader sucks. I have no idea how anyone gets their pictures right side up.

 

[kins18q]

My girlfriend is obsessed with hippos


Picked up this homeless hitchhiker dude at Shasta

 

[onemanarmy]

Upload to photobucket or similar and then copy/paste the link.

Should be oriented the correct way and be bigger for viewing pleasure.

I've yet to find a forum with a built in uploader worth anything.