Choff
Adventurer
Death Traps you call the Chev vans ??
Then I should be dead-have driven vans all my life and I am 64 years young and still driving a GMC Savana AWD
It depends on how you drive them !!!!
Why so few GM Builds?
- Thread starter vintageracer
- Start date
Death Traps you call the Chev vans ??
Then I should be dead-have driven vans all my life and I am 64 years young and still driving a GMC Savana AWD
It depends on how you drive them !!!!
Don't forget that one of the reasons Ford dominates the power and construction market is that they have extremely friendly
commercial customization abilities. The last time I bought a new truck associated with work was 10 years back, but at the time you could check every single box individually on ford, while GM made you choose from 4-5 option packages and that was it.
Ford certainly wasn't dominating on low maintenance cost or high quality. But I still bought an F250 because that is what I drove at work!
commercial customization abilities. The last time I bought a new truck associated with work was 10 years back, but at the time you could check every single box individually on ford, while GM made you choose from 4-5 option packages and that was it.
Ford certainly wasn't dominating on low maintenance cost or high quality. But I still bought an F250 because that is what I drove at work!
TexomaPowerboater
Adventurer
Kindly disagree. Perhaps I should of said a Quigley Express van is a better platform than 4x4 suburban. More space with same drivetrain. I never felt unsafe in my 02 Quigley van. Don't think new suburban's can be as easily modified as the van's either. With new ZR2 hard to say that GM is neglecting the market. Just bought a new Z71 crew cab and don't see how this model has sliped over older models. Has more horsepower with better fuel economy, higher rear end, decent control, stabilitrak and traction control, more rear leg room for kido's, 6 speed transmission, more towing/payload capacity, coil over front suspension. Hard to imagine how they could of improved it......until I saw the new 2019 model expected with more ground clearance and lift on the front.
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Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
For the price of a Quiqley, I'm sure they fixed the Express vans faults.
If I ever get stuck in another of our 2500 Express vans, I'll shoot some youtube video. They're the most dangerous vehicle I've driven, since the thankfully now defunct Econoline 350 whale tails. No shocks. No sway control. Death wobble (kinda). Get's stuck in 2" of anything. I'll quit if I get issued another one at work.
4bytruckin
New member
Long time lurker. I have one of the rare gmt400's a 2000 Tahoe z71. One of the last off the line. Currently gathering parts but will be posting a build soon. Currently it has a 4 inch lift and 33's. Forest green with tan leather interior. Sharp truck for its age.
PGW
Observer
I need to do a build thread on my 2003 Yukon XL 2500 but I've been too lazy and too busy with real world stuff. I also just don't get on the internet as much as I used to. But GM's are out there and being used, they just aren't the best platform for slathering in armorall and taking pictures in some parking lot or driveway. Here is a quick video I made from my trip Oct/Nov 2017. Did 4700ish miles roundtrip solo with no issues to some remote areas. An 'overland' vehicle is only as good as its driver and the person maintaining it.
CrazyDrei
Space Monkey
mjmck,
42.5 gal tank consistently gave me 700+ miles per fill up, in the modern round world the square body looks cooler, I like the 5.7 motor better than the 5.3 and barn doors are much more common in the older trucks.
Andrei
B
BPD53
Guest
Not having an aftermarket for overlanding made building a Chevy more difficult, but I still managed to spend a lot of money. I honestly feel sorry for the guys that have spent sooo much money just to drive down gravel roads and take a photo to post on the internet.
The Suburban has always been on my bucket list. I have a lead on a 1987 that is used by a local funeral home. I was told it has roughly 30k original miles and I know it's stored in a climate controlled garage 24/7. When they sell it I'm hoping to get first dibs. I'm looking forward to joining the full size crowd. I'll never have another vehicle I cannot sleep in comfortably.
By the way, I'm kinda in the funeral business and funeral homes are a great place to find a low mileage Suburban. A lot of funeral homes use them and most are garage kept and well maintained. We always remove all the rear seats and store them so we have access to the entire cargo area. The interiors all look great when we sell them off.
Next time your driving around look for a funeral home and you'll probably see a Suburban lurking somewhere.
thebmrust
Active member
I'm not sure what your seeing (or not seeing) but there are a LOT of GM rigs here and on Mud...
They might not be referenced by their specific model but there's a reason why the "Suburban Mafia" exists around these parts.
As for Tahoe vs Suburban... many seem to be steered to the 'burb. Again, not a HUGE size difference with similar MPG between the two platforms.
They might not be referenced by their specific model but there's a reason why the "Suburban Mafia" exists around these parts.
As for Tahoe vs Suburban... many seem to be steered to the 'burb. Again, not a HUGE size difference with similar MPG between the two platforms.
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XJLI
Adventurer
For every Tacoma build there are 10 domestic trucks (GM/Ford/Dodge) out there bone stock hunting, camping, and working without anyone noticing.
Smileyshaun
Observer
Because you can't truly be a over lander without a Toyota, a rtt,a trasharoo, lots of Gas cans and don't forget the patches on the ceiling.
My theory is that when people see true over landers
( think Australia) all you see is Toyotas so in the US it has become very popular to copy these kinds of builds when in true reality most of us just go out for a weekend or maybe a couple times a year for a week so all that is really needed is a decent set of tires and some camping gear , not 30k in accessories to live out of the vehicle for months at a time . It may also be so men can get away with "building" a rig because they tell the wife it's so the family can get away together , it's just a theory.
But honestly who cares whof the manufacturer is , just get out and explore
My theory is that when people see true over landers
( think Australia) all you see is Toyotas so in the US it has become very popular to copy these kinds of builds when in true reality most of us just go out for a weekend or maybe a couple times a year for a week so all that is really needed is a decent set of tires and some camping gear , not 30k in accessories to live out of the vehicle for months at a time . It may also be so men can get away with "building" a rig because they tell the wife it's so the family can get away together , it's just a theory.
But honestly who cares whof the manufacturer is , just get out and explore
Fullsize Chevy's don't bring in the cool Instagram points. You need all the name brand lifts, wheels, front/rear bumpers tagged in your post to get all the followers. It's kinda sad. The GMT800 is a great platform that is reasonably priced, and tons of potential. They have their issues like all brands, but most issues are easily fixed and well documented.
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
My only gripes with the modern (2007+) GM trucks is that they still have the problematic AFM (the system that shuts off 4 cylinders while cruising) and the CCSB trucks still have pathetically small gas tanks (26 gallon with no bigger option AFAIK.) The AFM and gas tank alone are enough to push the Ford F-150 to the top of my list when shopping for a replacement for my Suburban.