Kelso's 2004 2500 Suburban build and adventures

[jeep-N-montero]

We spent a lot of time camping in Eastern Canada growing up (in the 80's and 90's)and it was always so clean, so sad to see that changing and becoming just like everywhere else. I may have to copy some of your ideas for our 2003 Yukon XL 2500, about to tackle new shocks by end of the week.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

We spent a lot of time camping in Eastern Canada growing up (in the 80's and 90's)and it was always so clean, so sad to see that changing and becoming just like everywhere else. I may have to copy some of your ideas for our 2003 Yukon XL 2500, about to tackle new shocks by end of the week.

Let me know what shocks you end up installing and your thoughts on them please.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Let me know what shocks you end up installing and your thoughts on them please.

They are just the Monroe shocks that have had good reviews on here, I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

Spent a few more days out with the kid and our frieds by Abraham lake. The trail down from the highway was short but steep and washed out and very loose rock. I spun a couple times crawling up and my buddy said the rear locker never engaged, maybe I didn't spin enough? I was low range, 1st gear and let off as soon as it spun to change my line.

Pulled off for some lunch along the river on the way home. I intentionally hung myself up on a ledge in 2wd and gave it the beans and both tires definitely spun.

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[DavidS]

That's absolutely gorgeous landscape. Bringing in some trail bikes or kayaks would be awesome too!

 

[Kyle Kelso]

We've had quite a bit of snow this past week and temps down to -20C. I've run dedicated winter tires on our trucks and cars every winter for the last 7 or 8 years but I had planned on running 1 tire year round on the 'burb. I've never been pleased with winter tires in deep snow (off roading) which I intend to do more of this winter with less highway commuting. I've been surprised by the Bridgestone Revos on the truck this summer (I bought a used set for cheap to replace the bald tires when I bought it) as they weren't as bad as I expected. I didn't get into very aggressive terrain but they got me everywhere. We got out on some trails in the snow yesterday and, well they were not quite useless! They seem ok on the snow covered roads but in loose snow I was spinning and sliding in 4wd where the jeep with old BFG MT was in 2wd still!
I had my mind set on 255/85r16 and with very limited selection had decided on the ST MAXX. I have however began contemplating staying with the 285/75r16 which opens the door to many other options. I like the ST Maxx but there are cheaper and potentially better options. I've been eyeing the Falken Wildpeak AT3W but also considering going with a more aggressive tire. I joined Tread Lightly with a free membership from Smitybilt and am eligible for extra Falken tire rebates which would save me a good bit of coin over the 255 Coopers. I do like the narrower tire though with a bit more height...
Wish more manufacturers made 255/85r16!

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[chilliwak]

Nice looking pics Kyle. Good to see a Canadian guy out there takin er for a rip. Cheers, chilli...

 

[Martinjmpr]

WRT tires I'm happy with my Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws but I'll admit that I've never really tested them in deep snow. They seemed to do very well during the few snow storms we had last winter that put no more than 4 - 5 " of snow on the ground.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

Well, I need to pump the brakes and hold off on buying tires, or anything really. Have to pull in the reigns on our spending.

In my train of thought on this matter I've been thinking about something and I would value the thoughts of those who have been following along here and when shopping for the rig. Admittedly I tend to form an idea, determine it is excellent (all of mine are, obviously), and dive right in.
When I bought this truck we needed the cargo room for two large dog crates in addition to our gear and for that it has been perfect for us. We have since lost our bigger dog and with only 1 kid the Suburban is unnecessarily large and costly to operate. That's ok for camping but the majority of it's use ends up being just running about and often solo or me and the kid.

I'm sure I could sell it and at least get my money back out of it, so I'm not worried about loosing money selling it, and I've been considering getting a mid size SUV instead. I love Toyota but used ones are unreasonably expensive and I've been looking at Xterra's instead. Should be able to pocket a bit of coin for repairs going to something with similar mileage and it would save a bit on fuel for it's daily usage. Decreased size would be of benefit on trails and with efficient packing should be adequate for our camping trips and adventures.

Am I being silly thinking of swapping rigs so soon just to try to save fuel? I knew what I was getting into and if we had both dogs it wouldn't even be a thought on my mind now.

Set me straight, oh wise ones

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[bald.eagle]

I love my Suburban and have had the same debate with myself. We have three kids, so the cargo space is definitely used- we usually keep the third row in so the kids can spread out. It's quieter that way.

I've argued with myself over trying to get a midsize SUV that would be more economical, but by the time I replaced my Burb with something newer/smaller/"better", I would have to spend a few thousand more on top of anything I recouped from selling the truck. Would take a long time to break even on any day to day savings, and would put any mods on hold for sure. I'd be stuck driving a "more ideal" vehicle but have no play money to use on it. Just food for thought.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

I love my Suburban and have had the same debate with myself. We have three kids, so the cargo space is definitely used- we usually keep the third row in so the kids can spread out. It's quieter that way.

I've argued with myself over trying to get a midsize SUV that would be more economical, but by the time I replaced my Burb with something newer/smaller/"better", I would have to spend a few thousand more on top of anything I recouped from selling the truck. Would take a long time to break even on any day to day savings, and would put any mods on hold for sure. I'd be stuck driving a "more ideal" vehicle but have no play money to use on it. Just food for thought.

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I won't have any play money for the suburban for a few years either. I'm really trying for a career change and it's going to be a big income reduction for 2 to 3 years when it happens. My thought process is to try to pocket a few bucks in the swap or maybe straight across but not looking to get "newer or better" necessarily. My biggest hesitation is long term reliability. Which gets from 240,000km to 300,000km with the least money spent essentially.

I feel like I'm derailing the thread, but I guess it is mine...

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[rayra]

I'd stand pat with the Suburban as-is.

Unless you are commuting a high number of miles every day, I don't think there'll be any 'economy' in swapping one used SUV for another. Better the devil you know. Consider too that right now, these years, the parts are widely and cheaply available. Can the same be said for parts for the other vehicles you are considering?* There is also no such thing as 'too much' room. A Suburban is no larger than a full sized standard cab longbed pickup. It will go down any 'forestry dept' -maintained road. Jeep trails? maybe, maybe not. You want ot go crawl around in tight technical crap like that, get a Jeep. Or a Suzuki Samurai. They can be had cheap and your Sub can readily tow a toy like that on an outing. But if as you say money will be very tight, you aren't going on a lot of trips nor can afford to go break or damage something on a tight trail, anyway. Be consistent and thorough in your reasonings.



* just today I replaced my Suburban's radiator, water pump, thermostat, upper and lower hoses, for under $300 in parts (via rockauto). What would that cost on an Xterra?

 

[TBthwacker]

Well I got my racks up and awning installed. It looks really far off the side but its about in line with the widest part of the body, well within the width of the mirror. I want room for a shovel between it and the tent. Tent is assembled, just waiting to load it. I ordered another hardware set from Smittybilt so I can bolt it to the 3rd crossmember, should be here in the morning. I'm not sure if I could find the insert for the aluminum extrusion locally but I didn't have time to look. Tomorrow is going to be rushed to get to an out of town wedding! Didn't get much work done yesterday as my wife planned a little birthday hike for me. It looked like quite an effort to get up top of the little falls but it looked like a perfect slide off! Next time...

Awesome action shot!
I have the same truck and setup similar. 2400lbs payload with center buckets and 3.73 rear. I tow a 3500 pound popup camper and its racked up for canoes and bikes.

 

[Kyle Kelso]

I'd stand pat with the Suburban as-is.

Unless you are commuting a high number of miles every day, I don't think there'll be any 'economy' in swapping one used SUV for another. Better the devil you know. Consider too that right now, these years, the parts are widely and cheaply available. Can the same be said for parts for the other vehicles you are considering?* There is also no such thing as 'too much' room. A Suburban is no larger than a full sized standard cab longbed pickup. It will go down any 'forestry dept' -maintained road. Jeep trails? maybe, maybe not. You want ot go crawl around in tight technical crap like that, get a Jeep. Or a Suzuki Samurai. They can be had cheap and your Sub can readily tow a toy like that on an outing. But if as you say money will be very tight, you aren't going on a lot of trips nor can afford to go break or damage something on a tight trail, anyway. Be consistent and thorough in your reasonings.



* just today I replaced my Suburban's radiator, water pump, thermostat, upper and lower hoses, for under $300 in parts (via rockauto). What would that cost on an Xterra?

You might be spot on there. The Xterra is a lot smaller and with the large rtt we loose the ability to load any gear on the roof. I can't see the smaller space working for us without at least a bin or two on the rack. I get distracted by the desire to tackle more technical terrain but it's really not our objective and for the amount of driving we do the fuel economy difference is not a game changer. I still want to add a winch and more aggressive tires when funds permit but we'll stick with the suburban for it's ability to comfortably gobble up gear and miles with ease.

Heading out in the morning for a quick overnighter with just me and the kiddo (and dog) at a spot we found on our little wheeling trip a few weeks ago. It's warmed up quite a bit, hopefully it doesn't get too sloppy but the trail in was very easy to that point.

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[Kyle Kelso]

Went out yesterday for a quick overnighter at a nice looking camp site we found on our trail run a couple weeks back. Other than all the garbage and broken glass left under the snow it was a nice spot, creek runs right along 2 sides. It got quite cold in the evening but seemed to warm up overnight. Kiddo had a ton of fun exploring and pretending to be my scout leader the whole time! It has been warm the last week so most of the snow melted but as I suspected a couple big hills were very iced over in the shade. I aired down to 30 psi rear, 20 psi front and it helped a lot. Next time I'll go 25 all around so the cold pressure ends up around 20.

Puckered up pretty good coming down the steepest icy hill with a turn and narrow bridge at the bottom. Started sliding and then a Jeep coming toward me pulled onto the bridge so I lost the option to keep rolling. Front end caught traction luckily but the back whipped right around and I got a little worried about tipping it over into the ditch! In the end I just did a sweet park job off the trail for the Jeep to pass
He was rocking big Nitto mud grapplers and tried putting one tire on the dirt bank but with open diffs it wasn't happening. He just went up the bank and through the bush to get up, not really treading lightly but at least he got out! I tried crawling on the tracks in the AM on our way out with no success but the G80 worked great and I just put one tire off the track on the dirt bank and drove right on up the hill.

Being so cold at night I decided to let the dog sleep in the tent with us. I lifted her up easy enough, but getting her down was interesting! Haha

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