Burb feedback please

[Nullifier]

Ok so my reg cab tacoma has been great but now with the baby I need more room. Since we plan on another kid as well larger rigs are going to be the wave of the future for us. So my wife is ecouraging me to sell the tacoma and build the Burb. We have been using it to camp out of recently and already have the Norcold 60l, oztent, foxwing awning, and mega warrior basket on it. I have to admit I like using the rig for camping it is much more comfortable.

My concerns are full size with IFS, Lift and traction control. The truck is a 2002 V-8 automatic 1500 LT series. I am am thinking 33-35" tires for it. No hard rock crawling would be done. Sand, muddy trails, fire roads dirt roads etc. I know I can crank the torsion bars but was hoping for some other alternatives to achieve minimal a mild lift and improve onroad / offroad performance.

So is it worth upgrading and if so what drivetrain and suspension issues should be I be concerned about.

 

[02TahoeMD]

You may want to check out some forums like z71tahoe-suburban.com or fullsizechevy.com to get some more info on the rigs, but I do not think you would have any problems using a Suburban for your purposes. It is easy to lift one of these a couple inches using only spacers and F150 keys to crank up the front bars. I added 2" spacers and the keys and can easily fit 33" tires under there, and the project only took about 3 hours total.

If you dont want to modify the suspension any then you can always add a 3"body lift and get the extra clearance for your tires. But, a BL is a big project and would be a bigger mod to the vehicle than the above listed spacers and keys.

A known weak point is the GM 10 bolt rear axle ( which I have ) so perhaps switching one of them out for a 14 bolt would be a good idea for you, but that would depend on how much you actually do off road and in truly rugged terrain.

I do love my Tahoe and have found it to be perfectly adequate for my travels. No reason why you couldnt use yours....look around here on the domestics section and there are lots of very capable Subs.

 

[1leg]

With IFS i wouldn't go over 33's on a 1500.

A good website for fullsize chevy is http://coloradok5.com/forums/index.php it's a pay site but a few of the forums are free

 

[klmore]

I have a 2006 2500 Sub and find it to be perfect. I have a large family and it works space wise. It is heavy as hell and I've added a supercharger to push the weight around. I'm also adding a Dana 60 up front and taking out the IFS.

I've had a series of Jeeps and one early Bronco, but space wasn't an issue back then. Although I had to modify all of those to fit my needs as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[leverett]

well if ifs is a concern there is always the option of an sas as for traction control and cleance DO NOT DO A BODY LIFT that is the worst thing you can do with a good set of jack stands and the right tools you can do a lift kit in your drive way and a locker in the front or even a limited slip will give you the traction you need and if you still have traction problems put a selectable locker in the rear if you put a locker in front do not spool it dispite the low price you will not get that burb anywhere