Texman 2001 Yukon Denali XL

[texman]

Purchased this yukon last spring so the NM governor would let me in the state parks even though we have a house in NM. bought it cheapish. had 150k miles and been in West Texas it's whole life so no rust at all, i am the 3rd owner, no wrecks just a small kiss the right rear quarter. ended up fixing all the stuff i said i wouldn't since it was just for pulling a boat a mile to the ramp and back. Clear coat gone totally from the hood and roof. patches gone elsewhere.
So far to the rig:
1. new oil pan, oil cooler lines, valve cover gaskets and rear main. no more leaks and i did not do all that (beyond my abilities and capabilities) mucho dinero!
2. new battery, hvac controller and blend door, alternator, windshield, rear rotors and all new discs, new window motor and frame, new factory autoride shocks replaced and compressor, and various parts as i have been clearing codes like evap, o2 sensors, ABS module, kept Rock auto in business during Covid. etc. As of today no codes!
3. ended up getting a GM Tech 2 clone and did software updates that it did not have.

i do not plan to lift. Looked into it and for me and where i live and will go, this should be a good rig, i hope. May remove the steps and do something to the front bumper....
I know most folks here are not a fan of denalis for overlanders because of the full time AWD and autoride stuff. My plan is forest service roads and not looking to rock climb and i dont really have any places close for that anyway. it has 265/75/17 so 31.5" stock tire size on it.

built a platform that is somewhat different than what i have seen out there. Since she is yukon xl and can hold full plywood sheet size, and since i am about an empty nester, i decided to go with a 4x8 platform and make it a two seater camping rig. The plan for the drawer platform was to make the thing a one piece slab that had all the components included internally-water tank, batteries, pumps, outlets, solar hookup, battery monitor, battery disconnect, etc. i went a rather large water tank, 42.5 gallon that is 48x36x6 , i have 4 x 16 ah Lion batteries in parallel, so 64 ah in total, pump and accumulator, switches, 100 watt renogy, iceco 12 fridge, joolca hot water set up, and a tri fold 6" mattress. getting close to being ready to test it all out on shakedown cruise.

 

[texman]

couple more pics

 

[buellconvert]

Definitely agree on taking the steps off, that'll help to give at least give the appearance of more ground clearance haha and I love the rear storage unit

Sent from my SM-A115U using Tapatalk

 

[texman]

yep, i doubt i will ever be "legit" here unless i am running some 38" tires and a 6" lift, but that's ok. played that game when i was younger. Factory spec is 8.4" of ground clearance (not sure where that is measured, maybe rear diff?) even with lifts and a 36" tire i gain 2.25" of ground clearance. just does not seem worth the price of admission for my area. A 2020 rubicon is 10.8" stock.

so to explain the platform more- water tank behind front seats then the two drawers on each side. 1/2' ply on bottom and 3/4" on top with 3/4 all around. drawers are 1/2" on casters instead of expensive slide extensions. the middle cavity between drawers has the pump, accumulator tank and the four batteries as well as the water fill, vent and supply lines.
the pic below from top to bottom is water fill, battery monitor, battery disconnect, sae connector for solar and a multi switch/outlet for all the pumps and lights etc.
i did learn that traveling with a full tank requires a plug instead of the vented cap due to slosh coming back through vent.

The water connects to a quick connect at the rear and i added two more outlets for lights, fans, fridge etc. (bottom pic) left drawer is the sink and faucet from sams cutting board $8 and a stainless half pan 6" deep for sink. i'll have to connect faucet at setup and the faucet mounts in the drawer. right drawer has the colemen dual fuel
the drawers are 20.25" by 58". i put some rollers on saw horses to slide in and out. i can do it by myself, but even with no water it is not the easiest. But it is all there in one unit.
for safety reasons, shouldnt all this be strapped/tied down to vehicle in case of roll over ?

 

[texman]

filled up the water tank all the way and found a leak of course. at a joint in the fill line. i will try and get some pics of the setup with everything in, but i think this is gonna work! i have the milliard 6" tri fold mattress that fits nice and when folded leaves plenty of room for the things that dont fit in the drawers like : propane, toilet, cobb oven, solar panels and frig. even room for the dog that way.