(Another) Forest Living Suburban Build Thread

[Burb One]

Just got back from Yellowstone/ Grand Tetons.... First time I had ever been there.. unbelievable spot in the world. I will definitely be back....

Also, nothing better than the 2400 mile trip in a 220,000 mile vehicle. Only thing I had to do was change the oil before leaving

It was also the first time I had driven farther in one day than the extended fuel tanks would comfortably allow. Must say the suburban now has a bigger range than our bladders can take. Ended up not going under 1/3 left total capacity, because of pre-plannied stops based on sightseeing and gasbuddy, but even then, looks like the range at 70mph would be around 850 miles to empty and if cruising at 80 is around 750. With a jerry can of fuel on the back I would be close to my wish of 1000 miles.

We didn't do much off roading this trip (Just a few stretches of 20-30 miles to get to some camping spots in NF a few nights), but the truck was a dream on the highway. Only problem is that fully loaded on some slight grades, the truck would downshift while in cruise control needlessly. Going to look into tuners to possibly stop that from happening.

Going to try and paint the truck in the monstaliner this weekend. We will see how my schedule works. I think it will be a nice change from the black in the sun:costumed-smiley-007

 

[Jelorian]

Been wanting to take mine up there for sometime now. Looks like an awesome place to check out. Definitely want to check out some full size friendly trails later this year. Maybe we can plan something.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Just got back from Yellowstone/ Grand Tetons.... First time I had ever been there.. unbelievable spot in the world. I will definitely be back....

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Sounds like a great trip. Yes, that area is magical. Wife and I will be taking my 78 year old mother to Yellowstone in about 3 weeks - she's never been there and we promised to take her a few years ago. We'll be pulling our trailer and Mom will stay in cabins while we camp nearby.
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Only problem is that fully loaded on some slight grades, the truck would downshift while in cruise control needlessly. Going to look into tuners to possibly stop that from happening.

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I've noticed the same thing, it's quite jarring for the truck to suddenly lurch into 2nd gear on a long climb. I'm not sure a tuner will help, as I think it's more related to the fact that the transmission only has 4 gears and there seems to be a large gap between 2 and 3. My solution to this issue is, quite honestly, to just tap the brake pedal to turn off the CC when I'm ascending a long hill.
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Also, when climbing a steep pass, especially pulling the trailer, I manually shift the transmission down to 3rd or even to 2nd if necessary. I find that manually shifting before the transmission shifts itself keeps the transmission a little cooler.

 

[boll_rig]

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Sounds like a great trip. Yes, that area is magical. Wife and I will be taking my 78 year old mother to Yellowstone in about 3 weeks - she's never been there and we promised to take her a few years ago. We'll be pulling our trailer and Mom will stay in cabins while we camp nearby.
.

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I've noticed the same thing, it's quite jarring for the truck to suddenly lurch into 2nd gear on a long climb. I'm not sure a tuner will help, as I think it's more related to the fact that the transmission only has 4 gears and there seems to be a large gap between 2 and 3. My solution to this issue is, quite honestly, to just tap the brake pedal to turn off the CC when I'm ascending a long hill.
.
Also, when climbing a steep pass, especially pulling the trailer, I manually shift the transmission down to 3rd or even to 2nd if necessary. I find that manually shifting before the transmission shifts itself keeps the transmission a little cooler.

I do the same thing when in cruise control, tap the breaks to turn off cruise then gas up slightly.

I agree with you geno, got to be one of the things that bugs me the most on trips. Let me know if you find another way to solve the issue. And 1000 mile range is a dream for me, nice work!

I will give you my best one for my stock tank which I've been trying to do for a few years and that was drive from Salt Lake City to Boulder. 530 miles.. Finally did it this fall. On top of not stopping for gas I actually never pulled the vehicle over for the entire drive making it to Boulder in 6 hours and 20 minutes. When I stopped for gas I put 31.4 gallons into the tank :Wow1: I averaged 16.5 mpg going about 80-85. One of the reasons I am trying to avoid going up in tire size.. Love my mileage. Usually can get 18-19 going 55-65. seems the 1500 will do it.

But I hear ya Ray, thinking I want that 6 in lift eventually!

Geno, the trip sounds/looks incredible. Still in awe of what you've done to your vehicle.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Speaking of MPG on Sunday the wife and I did a trip scouting out camping locations. We went all the way down to St. Elmo, then down to Salida, and came back through Canon City and Woodland Park. Total mileage ~360, took just under 20 gallons: 18.5 MPG! It's actually the longest trip I've ever taken where I wasn't pulling a trailer. Just shows that on the highway the 'Burb can return impressive MPG numbers. Of course, in town it's a pig and the EPA rated 14mpg is a dream - my in-town mileage tends to be around 11!

 

[Burb One]

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Sounds like a great trip. Yes, that area is magical. Wife and I will be taking my 78 year old mother to Yellowstone in about 3 weeks - she's never been there and we promised to take her a few years ago. We'll be pulling our trailer and Mom will stay in cabins while we camp nearby.
.

.
I've noticed the same thing, it's quite jarring for the truck to suddenly lurch into 2nd gear on a long climb. I'm not sure a tuner will help, as I think it's more related to the fact that the transmission only has 4 gears and there seems to be a large gap between 2 and 3. My solution to this issue is, quite honestly, to just tap the brake pedal to turn off the CC when I'm ascending a long hill.
.
Also, when climbing a steep pass, especially pulling the trailer, I manually shift the transmission down to 3rd or even to 2nd if necessary. I find that manually shifting before the transmission shifts itself keeps the transmission a little cooler.

Yep, while trailering I definitely do the manual shift method and don't use cruise. However for these long trailerless cruises, it would be nice to enlist cruise control for places like 5 and other long straight semi-flat stretches. I will update if I find anything- it looks like most of these tuners are able to adjust shift points, so they might be useable.

For everyone's mpg figures, I agree I have always been able to get 17 ish overall on long trips. Now with the 33's and extra weight/height I seem to get 13-16 overall for my trips, depending on how much is off road. With the 6k lb race trailer I get around 11 now. Still amazing mileage for the amount of vehicle in my opinion.


Jelorian- Let's plan something!

 

[Burb One]

First layer done! Really digging the color ( it's a little more gray than in the picture) definitely going to help with heat.

 

[rayra]

Oh my word. It's gonna be cool, but oh wow.

/That's one solution to having a black Suburban!

 

[Burb One]

Oh my word. It's gonna be cool, but oh wow.

/That's one solution to having a black Suburban!

Haha you don't like it?

It's definitely less gloss/white than in the picture. Maybe a tad lighter than "ship gray"
I debated leaving the rub bars black, but decided against it. I figure I can always plastidip them black, if i Like. I'm leaving the wheel arches, handles, and side mirrors black, along with the top bars etc.


Planning on getting the second coat on this afternoon after work. I'll get some pictures of it in the wild this weekend!

 

[upcruiser]

Truck is looking good. Nice shots from Jackson. My wife and I lived there till a few years ago. No shortage of amazing views, miss it but not the craziness of tourists in summer not the cost of living. :Wow1:

 

[boll_rig]

I'm digging it! can't wait to see the finished product!

 

[rayra]

oh I like it, I just can't imagine doing it to my daily driver. If/when I get something else to drive around town, I might consider such a thing. But have to sell off the old pickup first, but after 30yrs I can't seem to let it go just yet.
I've already picked up a set of 'desert pinstripes' on my Sub, and I'm fairly indifferent about it, just wash and wax it extra and they mostly go away. But having bedliner sides has appeal to me, especially in SoCal / high desert farting around. Pesky sagebrush, creosote, manzanita.

 

[Burb One]

oh I like it, I just can't imagine doing it to my daily driver. If/when I get something else to drive around town, I might consider such a thing. But have to sell off the old pickup first, but after 30yrs I can't seem to let it go just yet.
I've already picked up a set of 'desert pinstripes' on my Sub, and I'm fairly indifferent about it, just wash and wax it extra and they mostly go away. But having bedliner sides has appeal to me, especially in SoCal / high desert farting around. Pesky sagebrush, creosote, manzanita.

Very true on a daily...

Even with it really just being a towing/ haul/ camping rig, I figure it looks a lot better than the pinstripped fading black paint... However I will miss the character. Many a times, a few "extra" lifted silverados pull up next to me with never seen off the road shiny paint jobs and I get the quote "wow you really use that thing!" no ********, it's a truck!

The other nice thing was I had a ton of rock and tree dents in various places,and I bondoed them and smoothed them out. They are gone now!

I got the second coat on yesterday. This morning, must say it looks pretty good! It's not a perfect job, and there is a few touch up spots I will have to hit, if I ever get around to it. It looks 100% good at 5 ft, and 80% at a few inches. I did give myself a proof of concept yesterday. When I went on the roof to do the second layer, I left the back ft uncovered as a last spot to stand/ lay before getting off the roof (and I could then paint that layer from a ladder). That area's black paint I couldn't even put my knee on it was so hot. The 90% covered first layer area was at least 30 degrees cooler in the sun!

 

[rayra]

Hell that's worth it alone. After all day messing with that storage drawer build, my damned Liftgate was too hot to close bare handed.

 

[FBJR]

They also make a reflective paint for roofs. If you see lots of sun it may be something to consider.