upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
Well, after a long search and even longer evaluation process of what would be the best rig for our family travels we settled on, and eventually found a cream puff of a 2004 Suburban 2500.
…but let me start back a bit to color the backstory a bit…
After the birth of our first kiddo we picked up a sweet little FJ Cruiser with some nice goodies to replace our high miles 60 series for our family adventure mobile. We used the FJ to move from Jackson, WY to Colorado at the time and had a lot of great outings locally in CO as well as southern UT. Last spring we decided to forego my career and move back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and live a bit simpler life and have more time to spend with our kiddo. While the FJ was/is a great little rig for putting on miles, then tackling challenging routes wherever, we found it was pretty tight with the three of us and our chug, or pugwawa if you will (its a Chihuahua Pug mix). While we made it work, packing all of us, and all the gear to be self sufficient for a week, plus our mountain bikes and related gear, well, we were maxing things out. Add the fact we picked up a sweet new 23 foot ultralight travel trailer and it was evident we would benefit from a vehicle switch. The nail in the coffin was the fact our second kiddo is on the way, coming in late April, ok, ok, I get it, we need a bigger rig. While the FJ was wonderful and absolutely without any hesitation going to take us anywhere without any fear, we also have my old 80 series Land Cruiser I have had for 15 years now. It was my go to overlander before we all started using that word. So, the plan is to keep that rig for trips needing a bit more technical ability. What that left us with is the need for a spacious rig that we can cover big mileage, get down dirt roads, and moderately difficult two track type trails. The other big requirement is towing, while our camper is only 4,200lbs, we wanted something that is unfazed by crosswinds, and under stressed. I am so turned off by built looking overland rig these days (I point my finger at myself here too, my Cruiser always got more attention than I cared for) that I want this truck to go completely under the radar. Clean, anonymous, and stealthy. Lastly, I wanted to be able to transport our mountain bikes on trips inside the vehicle BEHIND the second row seats… You can probably see where I am going here….. Ok, one more thing, I lied, I want to be able to stealth camp IN this vehicle without folding seats….
So, we were set on a Sprinter at one point, but that doesn't give you 4wd (in our price range) and has a weak towing capacity. We considered a crew cab half ton or 3/4 ton pickup, but especially where we are living now, crew cab pickups are both high on resale and low on upkeep and condition. The Ford Excursion, tempting, especially with the 7.3 Powerstroke but I don't want to deal with a diesel living in a place where we go over a month at time with temps below zero. The Excursion in a gasser was ruled out for ride and economy. I know, economy is totally relative here.. haha
So, one of the, if not THE longest running model name in history, the Chevy Suburban kept coming back as our best fit vehicle. I started this search early last fall. People love their burbs…. Most have half a bazillion miles on them and despite the love, don't really take care of them. Its not really an enthusiast vehicle per say so they don't get the love as some other vehicles. While I love the older solid front axle burbs, I wanted something modern, comfortable, and yes, even the dreaded Chevy IFS. After 100's of hours of online sleuthing, I found the candidate, a 2004 2500 Burn, in south east Michigan that had never seen salt. It spent its life in Texas and by the looks of it, was babied. Now signs that it ever had a brake controller and the paint finish is near perfect as well as the interior. The guy I bought it from is a meticulous car guy. I saw his place and his other cars, and the BINDER of info he saved about the car and everything he had done to it and was done by the previous owner. He towed a Corvette back from Texas with it, then basically kept it in a heated garage since last summer. The day I drove it home, sadly was the first day it saw salt.
The specs… 6.0, 4.10's, tow package, G80 auto locker, a new set of off brand 285/75/16's, and a Ranch Hand bumper mounted brush guard (actually a super stout unit). Has some goodies like the extending tow mirrors and looks and drives like new. I have only been able to find a few minor issues with the truck honestly. A faded part of the dash (under a dash cover), a dash light on the HVAC that is out, and a ding in the brush guard. I paid a premium but was fairly comfortable with it since it was such a clean rig in a condition that is next to impossible to find in the midwest.
We are embarking on a 2 month trip with it this spring with our new family addition and planning on working our way south and west before zig zagging up the coast, crossing into Canada before working our way back. Towing our camper, and likely doing some multiple day trips leaving the camper behind at times and camping in the backcountry.
Things I know I would like to do at this point are as follows… add a brake controller, level the rake out of the rig a bit (raise the front a touch), remove the 3rd row seat and build a storage and sleeping platform that essentially folds in half giving me space for the bikes on one side with storage on the other side. When the bikes are out, a full width bed. Considering adding a second battery for a fridge down the road. Also need to do some sort of onboard air, thinking an ARB compressor.
I have been a long time Land Cruiser/Toyota guy with a brief dabble with Land Rovers but have little experience with domestic rigs. I have done a TON of reading but nothing first hand. Would love to hear any suggestions from the experts here on stuff to get ahead of or upgrade prior to doing a lot of rough dirt driving with the truck. The reason we went 2500 was for the bigger frame, brakes, tranny, motor, axles, suspension, etc in order to have a lot of extra capacity and not put much stress on the truck. I truly think of this thing like a domestic version of a Land Cruiser wagon, with way more hauling/towing ability. I am hoping the picture in my head I have painted holds true. ;-)
I am the type of person who likes to zig when others zag and part of the draw to me for this rig also has to do with the fact that a Suburban, especially an IFS Burb is a bit of an overlander underdog. The popular overland rig options have become unappealing to me because so many folks in this hobby build them now. I know, kind of lame but I like to do things differently. When I built my 80 there weren't many people "wheeling" with them at the time and enjoyed that bit of being different. People love to bash GM, I kind of want this rig to prove the naysayers wrong a bit. Plus living in MI again, its kind of fun to drive local.
Here are a few pics of the truck as it sits now, will keep this thread updated with our trials and tribulations and experiences traveling with it. I first wanted to call it the family truckster but feel Family Tankster is more appropriate. haha
…but let me start back a bit to color the backstory a bit…
After the birth of our first kiddo we picked up a sweet little FJ Cruiser with some nice goodies to replace our high miles 60 series for our family adventure mobile. We used the FJ to move from Jackson, WY to Colorado at the time and had a lot of great outings locally in CO as well as southern UT. Last spring we decided to forego my career and move back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and live a bit simpler life and have more time to spend with our kiddo. While the FJ was/is a great little rig for putting on miles, then tackling challenging routes wherever, we found it was pretty tight with the three of us and our chug, or pugwawa if you will (its a Chihuahua Pug mix). While we made it work, packing all of us, and all the gear to be self sufficient for a week, plus our mountain bikes and related gear, well, we were maxing things out. Add the fact we picked up a sweet new 23 foot ultralight travel trailer and it was evident we would benefit from a vehicle switch. The nail in the coffin was the fact our second kiddo is on the way, coming in late April, ok, ok, I get it, we need a bigger rig. While the FJ was wonderful and absolutely without any hesitation going to take us anywhere without any fear, we also have my old 80 series Land Cruiser I have had for 15 years now. It was my go to overlander before we all started using that word. So, the plan is to keep that rig for trips needing a bit more technical ability. What that left us with is the need for a spacious rig that we can cover big mileage, get down dirt roads, and moderately difficult two track type trails. The other big requirement is towing, while our camper is only 4,200lbs, we wanted something that is unfazed by crosswinds, and under stressed. I am so turned off by built looking overland rig these days (I point my finger at myself here too, my Cruiser always got more attention than I cared for) that I want this truck to go completely under the radar. Clean, anonymous, and stealthy. Lastly, I wanted to be able to transport our mountain bikes on trips inside the vehicle BEHIND the second row seats… You can probably see where I am going here….. Ok, one more thing, I lied, I want to be able to stealth camp IN this vehicle without folding seats….
So, we were set on a Sprinter at one point, but that doesn't give you 4wd (in our price range) and has a weak towing capacity. We considered a crew cab half ton or 3/4 ton pickup, but especially where we are living now, crew cab pickups are both high on resale and low on upkeep and condition. The Ford Excursion, tempting, especially with the 7.3 Powerstroke but I don't want to deal with a diesel living in a place where we go over a month at time with temps below zero. The Excursion in a gasser was ruled out for ride and economy. I know, economy is totally relative here.. haha
So, one of the, if not THE longest running model name in history, the Chevy Suburban kept coming back as our best fit vehicle. I started this search early last fall. People love their burbs…. Most have half a bazillion miles on them and despite the love, don't really take care of them. Its not really an enthusiast vehicle per say so they don't get the love as some other vehicles. While I love the older solid front axle burbs, I wanted something modern, comfortable, and yes, even the dreaded Chevy IFS. After 100's of hours of online sleuthing, I found the candidate, a 2004 2500 Burn, in south east Michigan that had never seen salt. It spent its life in Texas and by the looks of it, was babied. Now signs that it ever had a brake controller and the paint finish is near perfect as well as the interior. The guy I bought it from is a meticulous car guy. I saw his place and his other cars, and the BINDER of info he saved about the car and everything he had done to it and was done by the previous owner. He towed a Corvette back from Texas with it, then basically kept it in a heated garage since last summer. The day I drove it home, sadly was the first day it saw salt.
The specs… 6.0, 4.10's, tow package, G80 auto locker, a new set of off brand 285/75/16's, and a Ranch Hand bumper mounted brush guard (actually a super stout unit). Has some goodies like the extending tow mirrors and looks and drives like new. I have only been able to find a few minor issues with the truck honestly. A faded part of the dash (under a dash cover), a dash light on the HVAC that is out, and a ding in the brush guard. I paid a premium but was fairly comfortable with it since it was such a clean rig in a condition that is next to impossible to find in the midwest.
We are embarking on a 2 month trip with it this spring with our new family addition and planning on working our way south and west before zig zagging up the coast, crossing into Canada before working our way back. Towing our camper, and likely doing some multiple day trips leaving the camper behind at times and camping in the backcountry.
Things I know I would like to do at this point are as follows… add a brake controller, level the rake out of the rig a bit (raise the front a touch), remove the 3rd row seat and build a storage and sleeping platform that essentially folds in half giving me space for the bikes on one side with storage on the other side. When the bikes are out, a full width bed. Considering adding a second battery for a fridge down the road. Also need to do some sort of onboard air, thinking an ARB compressor.
I have been a long time Land Cruiser/Toyota guy with a brief dabble with Land Rovers but have little experience with domestic rigs. I have done a TON of reading but nothing first hand. Would love to hear any suggestions from the experts here on stuff to get ahead of or upgrade prior to doing a lot of rough dirt driving with the truck. The reason we went 2500 was for the bigger frame, brakes, tranny, motor, axles, suspension, etc in order to have a lot of extra capacity and not put much stress on the truck. I truly think of this thing like a domestic version of a Land Cruiser wagon, with way more hauling/towing ability. I am hoping the picture in my head I have painted holds true. ;-)
I am the type of person who likes to zig when others zag and part of the draw to me for this rig also has to do with the fact that a Suburban, especially an IFS Burb is a bit of an overlander underdog. The popular overland rig options have become unappealing to me because so many folks in this hobby build them now. I know, kind of lame but I like to do things differently. When I built my 80 there weren't many people "wheeling" with them at the time and enjoyed that bit of being different. People love to bash GM, I kind of want this rig to prove the naysayers wrong a bit. Plus living in MI again, its kind of fun to drive local.
Here are a few pics of the truck as it sits now, will keep this thread updated with our trials and tribulations and experiences traveling with it. I first wanted to call it the family truckster but feel Family Tankster is more appropriate. haha
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