How much money is involved in this conversion?

way2hip

New member
Guys, I bought a dually 2007 Duramax/allison 2x last year. Sold the steel contractor's bed, boxes, and overhead racks. The truck sat on the dealership lot for 4 years before I picked it up for 26k. Sold the contractors stuff for 4k and drove to Florida and paid 6k for an all aluminum bed.

Now I am really thinking of getting ready for retirement and what to do to make this truck my living quarters while I travel as far and wide (personal safety important-not going to Saudi...) as I wish. There is only me and the Misses. I have been lurking on here for quite awhile. This is a great forum full of so much expensive and hard learned knowledge. I am seeking advice from forum members about my idea...

1. Should I convert my 2x into a 4x and elevate the rig? I think somebody said that you should put a dodge rearend on it. I have a fantastic diesel and the best tranny on the market. How much mpg will I be losing? I am currently getting 18-20 mpg and I haven't chipped it yet. 2 very good mechanics who I respect told me not to chip it for the mpg...any thoughts on that. They said wait till after warranty is up if I want to do that.

2. How much money is involved in really getting a factory supplied truck up to specs for shocks, extra sway bars, elevation, conversion to 4x....GULP????

3. I would love to do a project of building from scratch...but my goodness who has the huevos to spend 2-4 years and oodles of cash to do it? I really am currently leaning towards the throw something on the back of the truck like a BigFoot or something. My aluminum bed is almost 8 ft wide and about 11 ft long. I am more of a pragmatist than anything else. So, not too worried about what my fellow human thinks about the "look". How people come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars for Unimog and Expedition stuff is beyond me. Do you think my 1 ton dually can handle a BigFoot turtled on my platform? What kind of gas mileage are guys getting with this type of setup on a 1 ton? Will I have nice control of my rig with dually and additional shocks and sway equipment..or will I be all over the road in the wind?

4. If I am going overseas with my rig like Europe should I spend the extra troubles getting set up with as much diesel appliances or just stick to propane? I have read many articles on the forum addressing this issue. If you were building your own box versus buying a used turtle to put on your platform which way would you go?

Sorry about so many questions...I am digging this website...
 

Ponyracer

Adventurer
Wow, first off, is your truck an 07.5 or an 07? In other words does it have all the new emissions stuff and have to run the new low sulfur diesel? If so, your going to need to remove it before taking it around the world. I wouldn't guess that small town europe "petrol" stations are going to have the fuel needed for your truck.

2nd, your truck should have an AAM axle, which is the same as under my dodge. Unless chevy put in something crazy (doubtful) then there will be no benefit to swapping.

3rd, unless you can do alot of the work yourself and have friends with a salvage yard at your disposal I would keep your flatbed and sell the truck. Buy a 4x dodge and get to travelling. You will not be converting your truck to an IFS 4x without a TON of time and $. Your best bet would be to go to a solid front axle, a 78-79 ford D60 front axle is the popular swap for the new chevy's iirc. That axle, in take out condition brings 1000-1500$ all day long. Expect another 1000$ invested in gears, brakes and seals MINIMUM (thats without an arb air locker or similar.) Google chevy SAS (solid axle swap) for a couple companies that make kits for your truck and can do the install if needed. That's the easy part. Now you need to mod your tranny to convert it to a 4x, prob mod the computer, wiring harness I'm sure. Other option is to get a divorced transfer case, chevy/ford np205 or an atlas/stak case. Stockers, few hundred dollars, atlas or stak several thousand dollars.

Plus brakes, plus front abs problems, plus front leaf springs (unless you have the $$$$$ for a 4 link and coil overs), plus drive shafts, plus shop time, down time, etc etc etc

Trust me, going to be easier and cheaper to buy a different truck. And if your going to carry that much weight in questionable terrain and poor countries without "service" departments, buy something with a solid front axle. Ford or dodge, pick your poison. Chevy's are great on road, but do some reading on the IFS, I will never understand why chevy made the jump and refuses to switch back. Ever seen a GM produced 4500/5500 450/550? Didn't think so, the IFS can't handle the weight. GM would rather cut themselves out of the market all together. Morons....
 
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98roamer

Explorer
Put a slide in camper on the back with some storage boxes on the side and go. Travel a bit and see if the 2wheel drive really stops you from seeing what you want to see. The are plenty of people that travel with 2wd and are fine. Keep it simple and go.
 

Saiyan66

Adventurer
Well there are alot of questions here, but I will give it a shot one by one. First I need to ask you a couple questions though. Do you plan on sticking to mostly highways and improved dirt roads or are you going to be doing more "off the beaten path" exploring in your rig? How far away from civilization and for how long are you thinking? Answer those and we can steer you along better.

1. The 4x4 conversion is not super hard to do, however to do it right is expensive. You should call a company called Off Road Unlimited here in California. They specialize in straight axle conversions on GM's. That is the way you will want to go if you keep your truck and convert it to 4x4. A leaf spring setup is going to be the cheapest and I believe the lowest lift height you can get is about 6". That is going to be pretty big for a dually and would comfortably run 35" tires with no rubbing. Not sure you can get lower than that once you get all the bracketry and such under the truck. The truck will be bombproof and very capable with this setup however. The GM rear end is a 14 bolt 11.5" ring gear AAM axle. Same as a Dodge as mentioned before. No need to do anything but maybe change gears (depending on tire size) and add a locking diff if it doesn't have one. If your truck does have all the emissions stuff attached, you can always do the deletes and run any type of diesel you want in it. I think the mechanics you were talking to may have been erring on the side of caution because when people say "chipping" a GM, it usually means buying a tuner and cranking up the power with no other equipment to support it. If you were to buy a tuner and leave it on a stock or near stock setting you would be fine. It will void your warranty, but for some that isn't much of a worry. Tough to say where your MPG will end up with a 4x4 conversion and a tuner.

2. Doing the 4x4 conversion with quality components will start at about $6k and go up from there. All depends on how nice of stuff you want. Once again call ORU and they can help you.

3. The dually should be able to handle 90% of the campers out there and obviously that is the easiest way to get on the road. Building is fun but you can burn up YEARS doing it before you even get to go anywhere. With the proper shocks and sway bars you will be comfortable driving it on the road I am sure. Even larger campers ride well on duallys under most conditions. High cross winds are a problem for any high profile vehicle though so that would just be something you would have to either get used to or pull over and hang out until weather passes.

4. The appliance question depends on you really. If you are going to spend lots of time away from everything (civilization) then the diesel appliances are a must. Being able to have one fuel source that is very common at almost all gas stations is a huge logistical bonus. If you will have semi-regular access to propane filling areas (like maybe once a week or so) then propane is probably a fine choice. If I was building my own box I would probably still go propane with everything, because I know that with a 10-15gal tank I could be fine until I get near a fill station. But that is just my type of travelling and where I would want to go. My wife doesn't dig extended stays in the boonies.
 

chilliwak

Expedition Leader
First off Way2hip, welcome to the site. We have an unspoken rule here, always :Wow1:pOST LOTS OF PICS! I think you should start by attaching a winch to your truck and then go off into the bush and see if you get stuck the places you would like to go. Use the winch to pull yourself out, and you are none worse for wear. That way you can determine if you need 4by4. As mentioned above, lots of people get by with 2 wheel. Secondly, if you want, you can build a cool canopy for your truck if you have basic carpentry/steel fabrication skills. Look at the build part of my signature and see how I built mine. Lastly, but most importantly, if you really need 4 wheel drive, consider getting another truck. Even if you do do the extensive work to convert your rig to 4by4, you will still need parts sometime. A custom converted vehicle is hard to get parts for. I hope this helps. Cheers Chilli.:)
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Put a slide in camper on the back with some storage boxes on the side and go. Travel a bit and see if the 2wheel drive really stops you from seeing what you want to see. The are plenty of people that travel with 2wd and are fine. Keep it simple and go.

This.

And a locker. Lift it a little if you find you need it after you've tried it a while.

Get a diesel hydronic to heat the camper and pre-heat the engine. Keep the propane for cooking. Cooking with gas is best. The 5 gallon tank in my camper lasts 2-3 months if used only for cooking. Lasts only a few days if I use the furnace for heating.

Add some extra batteries and some solar, and tote a small 2000w generator for when you need to top off the batteries, or a 3000w if you want to run a rooftop a/c unit.

If you find 2WD just won't do it for you, then get a 4WD truck and swap the camper over to it.
 

Carlyle

Explorer
Put a slide in camper on the back with some storage boxes on the side and go. Travel a bit and see if the 2wheel drive really stops you from seeing what you want to see. The are plenty of people that travel with 2wd and are fine. Keep it simple and go.

This makes the best sense on a budget, I've gone many places on 2wd and many people have gone much further. In the meantime your fuel mileage will be better.
 

way2hip

New member
Yah, my truck is the early 07 classic..so i don't have all of the aggravation of the 7.5. I just plain got lucky on that pick.
 

way2hip

New member
Guys, thanks for the leads and the knowledge base. It really is fantastic that nubies can gleen information from experienced people. Much appreciated. Pardon me while I follow leads.

Speaking of winches. Should I put the winch on the tail or nose of the truck? I"ve read several opinions about this. I understand the rational behind both sides. If you put it on the tail of the truck can it also be switched to the nose of the truck if you have a receiver up there also and electrical? Teach me..
 

silvrzuki77

explorer
We are planning on doing the exact conversion you are talking about probally a little taller tban you would need. My friends 06 duramax is currently 2wd. Rockkrawler suspension sells a coilover conversion using a newer dodge axle allowing you to retain your abs system. I found a 06 dodge axle for 600 bucks and they delievered it off of craigslist. Coilovers are expensive no matter what but FOA shocks are local to me and we got a awesome deal. Biggest problem which really isn't too bad is a transfer case. We are looking a using a divorced 205 that way don't have to worry about speed sensor and what not. Obviously having it already is cheaper but where is the fun in that!
 

TurboChris

Adventurer
As far as chipping goes....in my opinion there is NO downside. Diesels get the most amazing gains from aftermarket software...if you decide to do it...you'll be VERY impressed. It can present a problem with warranties...although technically they "can't void your warranty on something that breaks unless they can show it was caused by the installation of the "chip". (See Magnusson-Moss warranty act) but some dealers WILL use it as an excuse to not cover something and in that case you'd have to find a dealer that is "chip friendly" (more and more every day) or take em to court. ie; If they deny you coverage on your cooling system because you have a chip...you'd win.
 

Ponyracer

Adventurer
2wd is possible depending where you want to go but 1 good stuck and the cost of getting un stuck.....you could put quite a dent in the cost of your 4wd conversion. Plus for me it's a piece of mind thing, yes I wheeled for alot of years in a water pumper bug on 33's so I've seen where a 2wd can go but unless your in the desert and hp and wheelspeed is king then go to the 4x4.

Winches, 1.5 times the vehicle weight, so I'd def look at a 15K. I have compaired the hydro and elect til the cows came home and they both have there benefits. I will be going to an electric for 2 reasons. 1. no leaks, 2. The newer trucks use hydroboost, so your ps pump is already controlling the steering and brakes. I don't like the idea of adding another chore unless your boosting the system or running an aux engine pump just for the winch. Yes I know, the winch won't affect normal driving but what if it did just 1 time? I like my steering and brakes thanks anyway.

If it were me, with your setup I'd put a grill gaurd on the stock bumper and have a custom reciever built in with a HD reciever mount. you can wire up quick connects front and rear easily enough. Nothing is worse than getting stuck with a forest behind you when the winch is bolted to the front. If you do go with a solid mount, look into a pull pall, could save your bacon.

By all means, rear locker and multi mount winch with some good E rated tires and see how you like it, and if you need 4x. If you do convert down the road it won't be money wasted as you need those items anyway.
 
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EXP-T100

Adventurer
way2hip dont know if you wonted to keep the suspension independent or go sold axle but i have done a hand full of sold axle swap and its always way more than you would think, on a toyota weather your talking and 86 pickup or an 04 taco you are looking at a cool 5k to 10k if your not using any fancy axle like a dynatrac. if you wont to keep in independent find a truck thats been totaled (not in the front) and pull every thing. The easy cheap way is to get another truck thats a 4x4. But like a lot have said you will be amazed how far you can get with just a locker in a 2wd truck.

Josh
 

60beforetruck

Active member
Hey new hear but, I do do have a 04 duramax with a dana 60 under the front end. LOVE MY FRONT END! I used a Offroad Unlimited kit with Atlas springs and bilstein 7100 shocks. The truck rides great. Not cheap to do but worth it. You can always bolt in the IFS. I sold a lot of my parts to a guy with a 2wd truck.

The duramax and allison is great but no straight axel is what gets GM.

Brian
 

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