Anyone using a Suburban

Wanderlusty

Explorer
One thing I always thought would be neat would be if someone grafted on the rear section from a Blazer onto the Sub. A little less overhang ad a better departure angle. Kinda like an early Tahoe...

Maybe one day...when dreams and $$$ match up....
 

flywgn

Explorer
Our daughter and son-in-law bought our '94 Sub and turned it into a "Pre-Runner" and they still use it for family trips (only three in the family, plus Whisky, the wonder dog).

Diana and I have owned three Subs and if it hadn't been for our having a goose-necked horse trailer to deal with, we would still own one.

We had a custom-built roof rack out of light-weight aircraft aluminum that matched perfectly the roof mounts and those roof mounts were reinforced from underneath with a plate that runs stem-to-stern beneath the factory mounts.

Andy changed out all the suspension, Fabtech I think, and tweaked a bunch of other stuff. He also put a new 350 in it after the original one reached the 200K mark.

I really liked the Suburban for Diana and me. It was never more appreciated than in April 1999 when we were camped on the Baja west coast and one of those sudden spring rainstorms roared in from the Pacific and proceeded to flatten our tent in the middle of the night. We managed to get our sleeping bags, the two of us, and Scooter, the 'not-so-wonderful' dog, in the back of the Sub and have a relatively peaceful sleep. I'm not sure two adults and five--FIVE!!!!:Wow1: --kids would be so peaceful, but they would be 'relative'.

We had the Sub in a bunch of tight spots, including a couple of places in the Anza-Borrego and Death Valley, and when the kids took over the Baja Pin Stripes were permanently etched into the body. It was completely stock except I had switched out the OEM shocks for Rancho 9000s--not the best choice but an improvement over the original stuff.

Allen R.
 

flywgn

Explorer
Here's a shot of the three Subs on a Baja trip in April '99. The kids' '90 (or '91, I can't remember), followed by us (I'd forgotten about the Smitty-Bilt and lights additions), and our friends (w/three boys) in the rear.

The two whites are 1500s and the blue one is a 2500.

At that time we were still using the stock roof racks.

On edit: Sorry 'bout the small pic. I was in a hurry when I scanned it in. :(
 

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Colorado Ron

Explorer
bigreen505 said:
Thanks Ron, I may have to come check that thing out!

Anytime! I was impressed after testing the mileage on her. I went 170 miles three times, and put 10 gallons on the dot in every time. So that comes out to 17 mpg. Not bad for such a big beast.
 

blaze one

Adventurer
Glad to see another Chevy on here . 17MPG ! that is way better than i expected . Is that Highway or City ? If it is city i am going to be Pi**ed to say the least , since my S10 Blazer only gets 14mpg in the city .
Good choice on the truck though , throw up some pictures when you have a chance .
My Dad drives a 1990 Silverado , and it is coming up on 270,000 KMS , and has been across Canada 3 times , and many many other long trips and only left us stranded once ( water pump went ) . And that is with a 8'9" camper on the back too . Great engine/drivetrain to put it clearly .
Have fun .
 

Colorado Ron

Explorer
That mileage is mixed. I live outside denver so its driving to denver and around. I did drive very conservative. I wanted to see what it would get if I was in a pinch. SO I set cruise usually around 65 on highway, and didnt gun it taking off from redlights.
 

The Swiss

Expedition Leader
My parents had a 1976 Suburban with a pop-up roof from a VW fitted on it. The interior was basic but practical.
Front: two captain chairs with a electrolux in between.
Second row: captain chair in the middle and on the right, cabinet with stove on the left. The stove was installed in a way that we could cook from the inside as well as from the outside, if the weather permitted.
Rear: Sleeping platform, about 5.11 long with ample storage below, narrow, low cabinets on both sides.

We took that thing from 1983 through 1988 all over Europe. Nicest travel probably was the trip to the North Cap, the Northernmost point of Europe. My parents then gave the Burb to my sister (still hate them for that ;) ), and she lateron sold it to some dudes that planned a one year trip from Europe to South Africa. Not sure if they ever left and what happened to the Burb.

I can see if I find some old paper pics I can scan (Then I just need somebody explaining me how to post pics :eek: )
 

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