Considering Suburban over smaller 4x4.. your experience?

ExpoGeorgia

Observer
As of recent I have had an interest in the 97-99 Chevy Suburban K1500 and I'm looking for some input from current and prior owners regarding trail and offroad capabilities of the vehicle. My previous 4x4 was a 94 Toyota Land Cruiser and I was considering on getting a 97 with lockers, but the Suburban is able to tow more weight, can be had for half the cost and parts are much cheaper for the 5.7 Vortec!

My intensions with my next build are to handle average backroad trails (nothing like Moab) while being able to carry all gear with enough room to sleep inside of the vehicle comfortably. I know size is a limiting factor as far as trail riding but as I said I'm not taking it through tight spots.

How is the Suburban in mud, hill climbing, and other rough terrain?

How often do front end parts need to be replaced and can they handle frequent trips offroad?

For those who own Suburbans (any year), tell me about your experience and ownership. Would you go with a smaller SUV?

Plans are 6 inch suspension lift and 315's to start
 

Skinny

Active member
A 1/2 ton Suburban leaves a lot to be desired in the strength category, especially with bigger tires and loading up to the GVW. Plus the Vortec 5.7 has a lot of problems such as troublesome fuel injection. Not a bad motor but every one I've ever touched came in needing a retrofit EFI kit, distributor gear, every cooler line replaced, etc. Plus the frontends are expensive to keep tight just in stock form. I would vote either stick with a 2500 and think about a straight axle. The Cruiser was certainly a much more rugged truck although limited in the power department.
 

bfdiesel

Explorer
Start with a 2500. My 96 does good for mild stuff. Great for road trips and if I took the third row out I could sleep in it. I have no experience with the 1500 ifs, but have had good luck with the 2500 versions. With going to put 315's and a lift just start with heavier duty.
 

Bojak

Adventurer
Go a little older to a square body burban. You will be glad you did. Based on your profile name I would love to talk with you as I am in Atlanta as well. Love to source some local trails and routes with someone in the area.
 

98dango

Expedition Leader
Every one hear likes the 73-91 I personally like the 92- 99 and 99 and newer. I say find a 2500 but a 1500 will Do. My Tahoe did what I thought it should stock. It had a limited slip rear and all the goodies. A Surburban is big but smaller than my superduty and I get in plenty of places I probably should not with it.

That said the steering is junk there are upgraded systems I never went that far but look in to it.
 

Erik N

Adventurer
My '88 V20 is like a billygoat. Tight turning radius, decent clearances, reliable. My '96 K2500 is good for churning thru cookie-dough sand w/ it's 454.
Had a beach beater Exploder, wasn't big enough to sleep in.

Trust me, there is no going back!
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0270.JPG
    DSCN0270.JPG
    246.4 KB · Views: 135
  • IMG_3995.jpg
    IMG_3995.jpg
    424.1 KB · Views: 132
  • P1020674.JPG
    P1020674.JPG
    71.4 KB · Views: 138
Last edited:

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Only look at one's that lived in non salted road locations! Just sold grandpas 3row 1500 a couple of months ago. Thing was so rusted up from living in Michigan we had the rear calipers freeze up and burn down while going across town. After that he said sell the damn thing. It looked new doubt it ever carried more than 3 people more than 20 times. Quality is not all that impressive his prior one was a better truck early 90's version had less rust and still is in the family with 320,000 miles on it. The 2003 he had lots of issues with it.

You want a little more space than your old LC I had a 93 and moved up to a Sequoia for the added space and modern safety and comfort for the family. Size wise the Sequoia is right at the max for tight trail use but I've done some and it was pretty damn good. The 4.7L V8 is down right perfect except you have that TB and water pump service at 100k. Prices for private sale nice clean Sequoia's are not bad but used dealer lots the prices are stupid HIGH!!!! I paid 21K for our single owner private sale 07 Limited AWD Sequoia with 64,000 miles on it. Typical soccer mom wanted something newer. Very nice truck smaller easier to deal with than the Suburban and just better quality vehicle all around.

We sold the 2003 1500 burb after 2hrs parked out on the street with a sign on it. 110,000 miles very nice Michelin LT tires super clean body and interior and rusty bottom side for $8000 no questions asked. Pretty sure its in Mexico now.
 

Erik N

Adventurer
Plans are 6 inch suspension lift and 315's to start

Keep it stock. Look at this shot of the '88 traversing a canyon hillside, between fishing spots. Steeper than it looks, and a sheer cliff downhill 200' to the river. A bit of a butt-clencher... NO WAY I would have done that in a lifted truck.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN0889.jpg
    DSCN0889.jpg
    536.4 KB · Views: 216
Last edited:

airjammer

Observer
Love Suburban. I've owned 2.

My 1997 K1500 was brilliant. It had a mild lift and 33 inch. BFGs on Weld rims. I'm 6-2 and had sleeping room with GF and yellow lab. It can haul massive amounts of gear. Also, it had the clam shell rear doors...

Pick your line and they will take you further than you think.

Idler arm and Belt tensioner were the most expensive issue. Driven from moab to canyonlands via hurricane pass no problem. Frequented Kane Creek. Also from Found Mesa road to Dark Canyon and back to Cheese Box and Hite bridge. 350 Vortech and 40Gallon tank.

I miss it.
 

SlowJoe

New member
I had a 1993 1500 2 wheel drive suburban with the 5.7 and 4L60E. It had 280K miles on it when I got rid of it. It had the transmission and rear axle rebuilt, but never had any issues with the motor. I took care of it, but did not necessarily baby it when I drove it. I hauled trailers that I really had no business hauling and drove at speeds that would have gotten me a serious talking to by officer friendly if he saw it. It was a great vehicle and never let me down. I really liked the fact that most everything on it was still repairable by me with no special computers or equipment. Now I have a 2001 2500 4X4 8.1 suburban. I really like the new suburban, but it has had several electrical issues. The ABS module was acting up. It is an expensive part, and even more so if you have to get someone else to replace it. I was able to find out how to re-solder the connections on the circuit board and repair it. The dash cluster has issues with the gear shift indicator and mileage not showing up most times. Apparently this is a solder joint issue as well. I need to take it apart to re-solder these connections as well, but haven't had time to bother with it. I had a cam sensor go out and apparently they dont make them for the 2001's anymore. I was able to find out there were a total of 4 left in the country at GM dealerships in this nation and I bought 2 of them. Issues like this really rub me the wrong way. I like the vehicle, but I really do not like all of the failure prone fluffy garbage that vehicles come with these days. They designed these new engines with cam sensors, crank sensors, individual coil packs and a distributor did the job just fine before. The 8.1 and 4L80's are good items though, and hopefully they will live for a while. I am getting really tempted to build an older suburban and get rid of this new one, and if I had more time I would probably do it. For the money mine would sell for I could build a really nice older suburban that would be more reliable than mine now and would be lots more heavy duty.

I do recommend the 2500 version in whatever year you get though. The 4L80E's are lots more heavy duty, and even if you do not tow or haul heavy, they will last longer. The rearends are beefier and they are just generally a lot more heavy duty than the 1500's. I am not sure a 6 inch lift with an independent front suspension is a good idea for a suburban, but I certainly am not an expert on the subject. IFS is more fragile than the straight axles for sure, and when you start messing with axle joint angles, and add in big tires and off road use into the equation you are likely to break stuff often. If you really feel like you will be going places that you need a lift like that, you should probably consider the older generation with the solid axles, or go ahead and plan on converting the new one to a solid axle. The cost to lift it with IFS would most likely be very close to the cost to swap in a solid axle, and there is no comparison about durability. I think in general, Suburban's are great vehicles for what they do. They haul anything you can fit inside, or hook to it. They are roomy and comfortable. They are reliable. They are cheap to repair. They are as good on gas as a lot of smaller vehicles are. The only negative is that it is not a jeep. That seems obvious, but it is big and heavy and simply will not be able to go lots of places where a Jeep can. They are plenty capable, but have their limitations.
 

1meanz

Mullet Club Chairman
A 1/2 ton Suburban leaves a lot to be desired in the strength category, especially with bigger tires and loading up to the GVW. Plus the Vortec 5.7 has a lot of problems such as troublesome fuel injection. Not a bad motor but every one I've ever touched came in needing a retrofit EFI kit, distributor gear, every cooler line replaced, etc. Plus the frontends are expensive to keep tight just in stock form.

The Vortec 5.7 has fantastic reliability, you must just be unlucky. The poppet style injectors will start leaking and have issues eventually, but it's not like it's some epidemic that's blowing them up. Do the Delphi injector upgrade and never look back. I've NEVER seen or heard of a Vortec 4.3/5.0/5.7 eating a distributor gear, and replacing coolant lines is normal maintenance item. The front ends aren't any more expensive than any other front end, and if you care of them they will last. I have 220k on my stock ball joints and they are still tight....

I am not sure a 6 inch lift with an independent front suspension is a good idea for a suburban, but I certainly am not an expert on the subject. IFS is more fragile than the straight axles for sure, and when you start messing with axle joint angles, and add in big tires and off road use into the equation you are likely to break stuff often. If you really feel like you will be going places that you need a lift like that, you should probably consider the older generation with the solid axles, or go ahead and plan on converting the new one to a solid axle. The cost to lift it with IFS would most likely be very close to the cost to swap in a solid axle, and there is no comparison about durability.

A properly lifted IFS truck will still have near stock geometry and should not be any more unreliable than stock just because it's lifted. The problem with IFS lifts is tire size. With half tons the generally accepted max tire size for stock/lifted IFS is 35". Above that guys have issues with tie rods, ball joints and half shafts if they are wheeling hard. I do not know how big the 3/4 and 1 ton guys can get away with before they have problems with those IFS setups. As far as comparing the cost of IFS lift vs solid axle swap, a solid axle swap is at least double the cost of an IFS lift, and that's if you do the work yourself. Total cost involved on an SAS is big dollars. Also, the frame on these trucks doesn't arch much in the front, so in order to have any suspension travel with a solid axle you've got to run quite a bit of lift. More lift than is customary for most expedition type vehicles anyway. Chilliwack on here has a cool SAS'd GMT400 2 door Tahoe. Look it up, he's got a good bit of lift on that truck.

I agree with most on here however that if you're going to buy a Suburban, get a 3/4 ton version. You'll get at least the 9.5" semi float rear axle that is plenty strong, along with the beefier front suspension. Best bet is to get one with the 10.5" full float rear axle and 9.25" front diff. I'd hazard a guess that a stock 3/4 ton 'burb with a set of 33s would get you anywhere you need to go with plenty of room to haul stuff. I have a '98 Tahoe that I've nearly completely converted to 3/4 ton parts at this point and it is amazingly capable. The best most durable truck for the money will be a 3/4 ton suburban, and you'll get the nearly infinite supply of parts and accessories that goes with owning a domestic truck. Happy hunting.
 
im on my second suburban, both 2004 half tons, the first one was stolen, second one replaced it. My first one (Z71) took me lots of places and impressed me. My current one has been great as well. The two priorities for me are comfort and capacity. My wife and i have four teenagers and we have found with other vehicles we ran out of room for gear before room for passengers. The suburban solved that for us. Reliability has been very good - im at 170k on my current one and the motor and trans are both still smooth as silk.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
im on my second suburban, both 2004 half tons, the first one was stolen, second one replaced it. My first one (Z71) took me lots of places and impressed me. My current one has been great as well. The two priorities for me are comfort and capacity. My wife and i have four teenagers and we have found with other vehicles we ran out of room for gear before room for passengers. The suburban solved that for us. Reliability has been very good - im at 170k on my current one and the motor and trans are both still smooth as silk.

4 Kids thats the only machine built that would work. No doubt the right choice in that situation.
 

1leglance

2007 Expedition Trophy Champion, Overland Certifie
I love my 70 Burb more every day.
We just did 3 days running beaches in Baja and the rig was a pleasure on the highway and great in the sand.
So much room you have to be careful not to OVERPACK :)
Here is an old sleep setup
IMG_0179.JPG


My buddy Nick is on Expo also and his diesel burb makes my fuel injected 350 seem sad by comparison
KIMG0208.jpg


Get an old rig like mine, get a late 80's or early 90's square body but whatever you get make sure it is 3/4 ton as others have said and then try it with a very mild lift if any and 33's ....you will be very happy
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,585
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top