A work buddy and his wife are flying out to join us from Chicago where he will be piloting the Suburban for the week. Terence was actually my copilot on our first Desert Trip in 2009. Not worried about his driving skills as he is South African with military experience and also did extensive off-road validation for GM South Africa (Delta Motors). He already knows if we get into any spots where he doesn't feel comfortable I'll drive it. Should be a great time.
Thanks! Yeah, those 2000-2006 are the last of the good Suburban's...GM might as well killed off the Burb in 2007 and especially in 2014. The new ones are dead to me. I'd overlook the 6.0Ls for 8.1L for the engine as well as the better rear axle. 6.0L GMT800 Burbs only had the 9.5” semi float rear axle. All big block Burbs and Avalanches got the 10.5 full-floater. The older GMT400 Burbs were a better rig all the way around over the GMT800. The L29 454 isn't quite an 8.1L but it is the next best thing. L31 5.7L's aren't quite a 6.0L either but the body, electrical and overall vehicle I feel are more robust than the GMT800's. Problem is finding a nice clean ole 400 rig that isn't totally haggered out
Sounds like your friend is very skilled and the 241 t-case reduction should make it a very stable platform.
I suspect the crawl ratio of the Suburban is actually better than the truck correct?
What criteria is your assessment of the GMT400's vs the GMT800's based on? I'm interested in your professional assessment of both models. Do you feel the bodies were thinner and the wiring smaller or more complicated? I think the 800's frames were stronger since they are completely boxed.
I have both a 1993 and a 2000 K1500's.
The 1993 feels heavier and more solid on the road, but I like the 5.3 engine performance and love the 4 wheel disc brakes.
Chevy really got the brakes right on the GMT800 vehicles, I have owned mine for over 10 years and just now am I going to install new brakes.
Our 1999 was horrible on front brakes, something in GM's brake setup was horribly wrong, I knew others with the same problems. I suspect the rear wheel cylinders were too small or the proportioning valve was wrong. It would go through front brakes every 30 to 40 thousand miles.
My 2000 just passed 270,000 miles and the 1993 has 264,000 miles, both have been good vehicles.
Last year we bought a 2015 Suburban for my wife. I bought the tow package so I could have the 2 speed T-case.
As an off roader I can't say, my wife won't let it see anything other than a dirt road for now.
However it is solid and reliable so far at 13,000 miles. It's an LT with few options, 4wd, tow package, tow hooks, second row buckets and cargo shade. We got 21.7 mpg coming home from Prescott last December, I generally drive 10% above the posted speed limit on highways.
I know it does not have traditional steel bumpers and I am kind of pissed the only lube joints up front are on the tie rod ends, but it does come standard with the 9.5 semi-float (a big improvement over a 10 bolt you have to admit) and the 6 speed trans.
I was curious about the tow package gear choice of only 3.42 gears but when doing the math realized a 6 speed with 3.42 gears equals the same first gear combo/ torque application as a 4 speed with 4.56 gears. (4x3.42=13.68 and 3x4.56=13.68)
When looking at the cost of cars and crossovers, combined with the fact we keep our cars a long time and I get the GM employee discount through my Mom, it was easy to justify the Suburban purchase.
