upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
It's a great way to get deep into the backcountry and see stuff you can't get to with a truck. It's amazing what this Mukluk can shoulder
Going domestic, project vanilla aka the family tankster, 2004 Suburban 2500
- Thread starter upcruiser
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It's a great way to get deep into the backcountry and see stuff you can't get to with a truck. It's amazing what this Mukluk can shoulder
bigskypylot
Explorer
Looks good, Kristian. I'm bummed I didn't get a chance to get up to see you guys and Cody and the Roam crew when I was up there. Had some stuff come up and had to cut the trip short. I really wanted to get up to the Keweenaw
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Next time. You would have been buried in the white stuff on the Keweenaw anyway. Probably saved yourself from some hardship.
Pacific Northwest yetti
Expedition Medic
Yeah so I mentioned it above but we just bought a new Duramax Colorado crew cab with the long bed. Might have to start a new thread for it but we are pretty stoked. What a great rig. It's got the G80, integrated brake controller, towing package, the full optioned integrated touch screen stuff with apple car play. It also has the collision avoidance and lane assist package. We are replacing Julie's trusty old Outback which has been an incredible car with ZERO problems. The fact that this Colorado can beat the Subies mileage and yet still tow 7,600 lbs is just amazing, let alone ride so nice. Here are a few pics.
I would love to hear how you like it, how it does. A review of sorts when you have had it. I stopped into my local dealer and asked about a Zr2 W/ carpet delete and Bed delete. But they have yet to get back to me. The lot here in town cant keep them in stock, a lot of farmers are buying the base model and dropping a flatbed on them. Thanks and happy trails.
bigskypylot
Explorer
After a 5,000 mile trip with a family of four, a dog, a camper, and a bunch of gear, how did the Suburban do? Awesome. Exceeded my expectations mostly. I think it all came together near Mesa Verde National Park near the 4 Corners. We were climbing a steep grade and breezed by a Defender 130 camper with Swiss tags. It would be considered one of the ultimate overland rigs by pretty much any jaded overland enthusiast. Exotic, diesel, camper conversion..... They struggled to maintain 45mph up the grade, windows down, both occupants looked pretty hot and weathered inside. We rolled by at 65, front and AC playing, listening to music with no wind or road noise...... towing a big camper behind us. Yeah, the Defender looks sexy, I am a sucker for it myself, but in the real world where would I rather be with my family?? No question, not in that. It might have a slight edge offroad, but with a camper in an identical wheelbase, its pretty much null. Now I am going to be provacative... For North America, if you want to cover miles, see remote areas on bad roads, and carry alot of gear, or people... or both, the Suburban is the best platform... period.
I might get flamed, but flame on. The only thing it really lacks is the overland cool sex appeal of a hipster filtered, sepia toned image of a Defender with an arm in frame, sporting a Rolex, while loading a Belgian Browning.... :ylsmoke: But if you can overcome your ego and let go of image for a minute, its brilliant, in fact its more of the thing that those status symbols try to be. Blue collar, honest, classless, used by heads of state, used by the working man, ubiquitous. All the things that a Defender or an expensive to import 70 series Land Cruiser are not in North America, even if adults are playing dress up trying to portray this image. If you are focusing on getting more followers on your social media feed, the Cruiser or Defender is hard to compete with though. #overlandhipstergram with #randominspirationalquote Ok, I might be a bit harsh but holy hell the current image of car camping is getting way to serious, and elitist. Maybe its just a southern Cal city thing... Anyway, I digress...
So yeah, we had zero issues with the truck. It performed great. To recap, mine is a 6.0 with 4.10's and 285's. Our camper is tall and fairly wide so the headwinds made it work hard on the freeway. The fact that it still would cruise into a stiff headwind towing the trailer at speeds my 80 series would only dream of kept me from wishing I had waited to find an 8.1. Really the only time I felt underpowered was climbing passes in CO at altitude with the camper in tow. Big surprise right? So if I lived in UT or CO, yeah, I would definitely want the 8.1 for doing what we are doing. But since that isn't our main gig I can live with it. Fuel economy was 9-10 towing, not great but not that bad considering. We still had good range with the fuel capacity, which also lets me feel comfortable not springing spare fuel for the off pavement adventures since the range is pretty good. Tranny temps never got anywhere I was worried about either. I think for sure we would have been running hot with a 1500 Burb on the big grades with our setup. So yeah, really happy with our choice of rig.
Pet Peeves?
The drive by wire that our 2004 has. Its terrible, especially when you are trying to crawl slowly in technical terrain. The modulation is very difficult, making surges and jerkiness hard to avoid. I never felt that with any of the 1500 Silverados or Burbs I have driven so I am going to assume the pre drive by wire 2500's don't have this issue.
Aftermarket options for this type of travel are weak. Would love a rear bumper with a swingout that I didn't have to custom build. Might just get one of those hitch mounted swingouts for it still versus doing a full bumper.
Breakover angle is not great. If you were going to be doing anything more than rough roads and moderate trails I could see why 5" of lift and at least a 35" would be necessary. Part of the issue outside of wheelbase is the crossmember that hangs down and makes clearance worse. It is obvious these things were designed more for heavy towing vs offroading. Thankfully Cogito seems to have an awesome suspension system that seems to check all the right boxes for this application.
Thats really my only gripes. Been loving the truck. It flies under the radar, doesn't draw attention, or hey look at me. I am confident in the drivetrain durability/reliability and love the security of knowing when on the road, that any auto parts store in any town, no matter how obscure... will have any part I ever need, cheap.
We haven't done a ton with the truck this summer as we have been doing our off dirt adventures in the Land Cruiser and a tent more so, but are in the planning stages of some fun fall and spring adventures for which we will be taking the Suburban. Its a no brainer really, any trip of length we would much rather be in the Suburban vs the 80 series.
So that's the update for now. Will probably do a better job of updates and upgrades again once we get into the fall and winter as the cold weather keeps us in more. For now its paddling, beaches, biking, and general shenanigans outside.
Since you didn't get the 8.1, the only logical compromise is a supercharger
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mps-011960018bl/overview/make/gmc
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bigskypylot
Explorer
Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking as well.
These were from the Hiawatha right off Chicago Lake. I looked up out of curiosity where Dad and I went back in '91 and it wasn't too far north at Big Island Lake. That was a fun time canoeing and portaging
bigskypylot
Explorer
I'm completely in agreement with you on the tricked out rigs (even though mine looks like a poster child for overlanding err... car camping lol. I like the stealth look with a subtle hint of something else going on. My next project is going to be that or a full-on F550 chassis or flatbed camper build.
bigskypylot
Explorer
I still think you need that ARB bull bar
bigskypylot
Explorer
I haven't really looked at diesels but how are they in prolonged cold temps without being plugged in? I ask because I was thinking my next project is gonna be a diesel and it'll be used in Montana winters with no access to a plug in at times offl@glockmeister.com the beaten path
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
I will try to make a thread with some first hand accounts of how this truck treats us. I got it for my wife so unless she wants to build it a bit, it will probably stay stock for awhile. There is a major lack of first hand accounts of these things online doing the type of travel we all seem to enjoy here so hopefully I can help shed some light. There are some nice suspension options out there already so the aftermarket is starting to fill in some needs. Our primary use for this thing is going to be for her to daily drive, transport kiddos, haul outdoor gear, as well as do work hauling building materials for our home improvement projects, her gardening projects, and towing our camper from time to time. We do intend to use the Suburban for the towing more so but I have a suspicion the Colorado will tow it with mpgs that will make us want to use it more in that capacity. We will see. I can tell you this thing feels screwed together very well. It drives well, is very refined inside and tight as a drum. We were considering this or the Tacoma TRD Off-road but wanted it mostly for truck stuff. The Tacoma definitely has an edge in pure off-road but if we were going to use a Taco for that stuff in place of the Land Cruiser, a lift and taller tires would be in the list anyway so doing the same to the Colorado would bring them close enough that I don't care. And then I still have that glorious diesel. I always said if someone brought a mid size truck to the market I would buy it so this is basically me putting my money where my mouth is because GM had the guts to do it. I had a great time touring the Atacama desert in a Chevy Luv turbo diesel which was essentially the same engine in the previous gen foreign market Isuzu/Holden/Chevy bodystyle. This Colorado is a whole mother step in refinement and ride compared to that so I have high hopes.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Since you didn't get the 8.1, the only logical compromise is a supercharger
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mps-011960018bl/overview/make/gmc
Only time I felt I needed more power was towing the camper over passes in CO but even then it was carrying more speed than the 80 series would have with no trailer so... but yeah I have 8.1 envy sometimes.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Would love that, just not in my tax bracket, haha
tbisaacs
Adventurer
Yeah so I mentioned it above but we just bought a new Duramax Colorado crew cab with the long bed. Might have to start a new thread for it but we are pretty stoked. What a great rig. It's got the G80, integrated brake controller, towing package, the full optioned integrated touch screen stuff with apple car play. It also has the collision avoidance and lane assist package. We are replacing Julie's trusty old Outback which has been an incredible car with ZERO problems. The fact that this Colorado can beat the Subies mileage and yet still tow 7,600 lbs is just amazing, let alone ride so nice. Here are a few pics.
Are you going to keep that goofy air dam?
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