First Overlanding trip in the Suburban

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Gilbert

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Hello everyone. This is only my second post here. I joined the Overland Bound community a while ago, but I recently got my rig and very recently went on my first trip. I purchased a 2010 Chevy Suburban Z71. It is my daily driver as well as my overlanding rig. It remains stock. For the most part, it will remain stock for the near future because I have a warranty for 4 years, then I plan to add a 2-4" lift and leveling kit. The only things I added so far was a roof basket and a 2500 ARB awning. In the near future, once my michelin street tires wear out, I plan to put on BF Goodrich KO2 tires. Also, once my stock battery goes out, I would like to get 2 deep cycle batteries and a dual battery isolator installed that way in the future I can run a winch, fridge, a light bar, and generally power devices in my vehicle without fear of killing off the starting battery. Those are my current plans. If anyone has suggestions, I would live to hear them.
Now for my first trip in the Suburban. My girlfriend and I left the East Los Angeles area in Southern California and headed west to the Pacific Coast Highway where we drove up to a campground in Ojai, CA. We spent one night in Ojai. We then packed up and drove east on the 126 and then north a bit to a camp ground in Castaic, CA. After another night. We proceeded north to an off road trail called Alamo Mountain Loop which I read about in my book called "California Back roads and 4-wheel-drive Trails". It was an easy trail, but we took a few of the optional trails which definitely challenged me (a novice off road driver in a large rig). There was one fairly steep hill that we went down without a problem, then we hit a dead end in the trail and realized that we had to go back up that steep hill. I was worried because I currently have Michelin street tires which are pretty worn. I put the Suburban in 4hi and it didn't seem to have a problem at all climbing the hill. Again, I'm a new off road driver, in a new rig so I have a lot to learn about my rig and my driving capabilities. All in all we had a great time. We learned a lot about setting up and packing up camp, sleeping in the Suburban, and driving off road. It was excellent adventure. I can't wait for the next one


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TerryD

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Looks like a fun trip! A coupe tips for you, letting some air out of your tires when you are off-road can soften the ride as well as improves your traction, even with street tires. The second thing is you probably should run in 4lo as going slow in 4hi causes excessive heat build up in your transmission due to running under stall engine speeds and is easier on the clutches because your higher engine rpm provides a more stable pump pressure.

It looks like you have a good start though! Good luck!
 
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Gilbert

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Looks like a fun trip! A coupe tips for you, letting some air out of your tires when you are off-road can soften the ride as well as improves your traction, even with street tires. The second thing is you probably should run in 4lo as going slow in 4hi causes excessive heat build up in your transmission due to running under stall engine speeds and is easier on the clutches because your higher engine rpm provides a more stable pump pressure.

It looks like you have a good start though! Good luck!
I thought about letting some air out after it got a little rough, but then I realized that I did not have a proper tire deflator or a basic tire pressure Guage so I couldn't could how much air I was letting out. All I had was a pump. An ARB EZ deflator is currently in my Amazon shopping cart.
Thank you for the advice on 4lo. My average speed on this trip was just under 13mph. Under which speeds would you recommend putting the vehicle in 4lo?

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Craig M

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Nice!

My last rig was a 2005 Z71 and I loved it. I just did bumpers, a leveling kit, shocks and 33" tires and it was surprisingly capable, though I did bang it up a bit on rougher trails.

If you can find an offroad park near you, that is a good place to get comfortable with what you and your rig are capable of, in a semi-controlled environment. Even better if you have a friend with a 4x4 and some experience that can go with you.

Here's my old Z71 in 'Overlanding' mode!

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Gilbert

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I currently have 32" tires. Before winter, I plan to get as large of a tire as I can, without needing a body lift of suspension lift and using my stock chevy rims. I'm not sure what tire size that is exactly. And I'm currently running Michelin LTX M/S^2 P265/65/18. And I eventually want to get a leveling kit. I hate how the front is noticeably lower than the rear.
I love what you did with your suburban. The RTT with drop down room and awning look great.
There is one off road park near me in Azusa, CA. I will have one. of my uncles go with me one day. Their vehicles are a 2014 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hardrock and a 1980s chevy Blazer.
Thank you for the advice.

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Craig M

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You can raise the front a little bit by just tightening up your tortion bars. If you check out youtube there are a ton of tutorials. Just be conservative (maybe an inch or so) and be aware that it will change your geometry some so your front may be a bit stiffer, and you may get ever-so-slight positive camber. That said, being 7-8 years old, the bars are probably sagging a bit anyways, and that might bring you back to stock height and correct some slight negative camber.

It'll also offset the weight of your grill guard (just remembered you have one), which is surely impacting your front-end height.
 
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TerryD

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I thought about letting some air out after it got a little rough, but then I realized that I did not have a proper tire deflator or a basic tire pressure Guage so I couldn't could how much air I was letting out. All I had was a pump. An ARB EZ deflator is currently in my Amazon shopping cart.
Thank you for the advice on 4lo. My average speed on this trip was just under 13mph. Under which speeds would you recommend putting the vehicle in 4lo?

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Your owners manual should give you a max speed for low range but if you feel like you need 4wd you should probably be in low range, excluding highway driving in snowy or rainy conditions where the "auto" seeing you probably have comes in handy. 4hi is mainly for paved road traction when it's slick. Read your owners manual and that will give you some good info.
 

Gilbert

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You can raise the front a little bit by just tightening up your tortion bars. If you check out youtube there are a ton of tutorials. Just be conservative (maybe an inch or so) and be aware that it will change your geometry some so your front may be a bit stiffer, and you may get ever-so-slight positive camber. That said, being 7-8 years old, the bars are probably sagging a bit anyways, and that might bring you back to stock height and correct some slight negative camber.

It'll also offset the weight of your grill guard (just remembered you have one), which is surely impacting your front-end height.
I will definitely look into that. Thank you.

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boss324

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Nice Suburban I don't see too many in those years in the Z71 trim. I'd recommend leveling your burb for extra clearance then 33" tires. Over time you can add quality shocks like Bilstein or Fox and components to beef up suspension (HD tie rods) as needed.

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Dan Hartman

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Nice rig! I have the same vehicle (for the most part). My 2011 Z71 Burb started stock, then I put a 2.5/1 leveling kit w/ 33" Mud-terrains. That set up looked great and worked well. I then went to a 4" lift and 34" all terrain tires, which has given me a little more ground clearance.

I have the leveling kit and will sell it to you cheep if your interested. I live just north of LA in Thousand Oaks. Send me a PM
 
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Gilbert

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Nice Suburban I don't see too many in those years in the Z71 trim. I'd recommend leveling your burb for extra clearance then 33" tires. Over time you can add quality shocks like Bilstein or Fox and components to beef up suspension (HD tie rods) as needed.

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Thank you. I waited a very long time to find this exact suburban in my price range. I am looking into a leveling kit, but I don't want to void my carmax extended warranty. The stock tire is a 265/65/18. I want to keep the stock rim and I want to get KO2 with a slight increase in the side wall size. I hope to be able to put on 265/70/18 KO2 without lifting the vehicle and without rubbing.

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boss324

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The leveling kit iirc are simply spacers shouldn't void the warranty.

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Gilbert

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Nice rig! I have the same vehicle (for the most part). My 2011 Z71 Burb started stock, then I put a 2.5/1 leveling kit w/ 33" Mud-terrains. That set up looked great and worked well. I then went to a 4" lift and 34" all terrain tires, which has given me a little more ground clearance.

I have the leveling kit and will sell it to you cheep if your interested. I live just north of LA in Thousand Oaks. Send me a PM
Thank you. That's awesome. It's nice to find someone that started pretty much where I did/currently am. Lol.
I have been looking into a level kit, but I currently have a carmax extended warranty that I don't want to void.
You said that you had a level kit on your suburban and then you put a 4" lift. Does mean that you took off your level kit to put on the 4" lift.
I'm wondering if you need both and I'm also curious why you have a leveling kit for sale. Is it new or used? Is it something that I can put on myself? Or do I need to find a mechanic that will put on parts that they don't sell?

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Dan Hartman

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I had the CCM 2.5" Front / 1" Rear leveling spacers on for about a year. I put on 305/55/20 Mud Terrain tires... the truck looked great, tires rubbed pretty bad, had to do some major trimming. I could have put on a slightly smaller tire and been fine, however I wanted a certain look. Rubbed like crazy, so I decided to go a little higher and get my CV angles back towards the stock position. So yes, I took the leveling kit off and put on a Fabtech 4" kit. I went away from mud terrain tires as I was tired of the hum.

So yes, I have the leveling kit off the truck now. I'll be posting a build summary on the suburban soon. Hopefully with photos going from stock, to leveled, to lifted.

The picture in my avatar is with the leveling kit and 33's. Its a fairly easy install if your mechanically inclined and have some basic mechanics tools.
 

tbisaacs

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I will definitely look into that. Thank you.

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For what it's worth-your Suburban is a GMT900 generation it doesn't have torsion bars. The older generation (GMT800) has torsion bar front suspension that is crude, but easily adjustable (you'll hear folks call it "leveling").

I have an an 04 Suburban Z71 (again, GMT800) and it's a great, capable vehicle. Best part is the space inside to put stuff and kids.



Only downside is the length. Any sort of sharp incline or decline and you'll have to find a way to take it at an angle. I've dragged my hitch pretty hard a few times.

Anyhow. Welcome. Smart on you for waiting until your parts wear out before modding. That being said, you can lift a GMT900 with simple coil spring spacers or adjustable bilsteins. It won't void your warranty.


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Craig M

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For what it's worth-your Suburban is a GMT900 generation it doesn't have torsion bars. The older generation (GMT800) has torsion bar front suspension that is crude, but easily adjustable (you'll hear folks call it "leveling").

I have an an 04 Suburban Z71 (again, GMT800) and it's a great, capable vehicle. Best part is the space inside to put stuff and kids.



Only downside is the length. Any sort of sharp incline or decline and you'll have to find a way to take it at an angle. I've dragged my hitch pretty hard a few times.

Anyhow. Welcome. Smart on you for waiting until your parts wear out before modding. That being said, you can lift a GMT900 with simple coil spring spacers or adjustable bilsteins. It won't void your warranty.


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Oops, sorry for the bad information. I didn't realized they went to springs.