Hey y'all!
I'm new around here, and new to overlanding. A year or two ago I got the bug for a full-size SUV to road trip in—and simultaneously discovered the overlanding community (Expo, OB, etc). Last October I picked up a very cheap, and mostly well cared for 2004 Z71 Suburban ("build" thread on ExPo). Despite the 130" wheelbase, I've found the Suburban to be shockingly capable. And, the space inside is addicting.
This weekend, everything finally came together. My buddy and I (who drives a very capable GX470) drove up NF-2530 just outside of Brinnon, WA and spent the night under the shadow of Mount Jupiter.
There are several things I wanted to test:
Driveway practice:
Our route. Didn't make to the last flag because of snow:
The view was okay I guess
The pup had a great time, and was totally exhausted
So did I
I learned many, many important lessons for future trips—so I'd call it a success.
Sorry for rambling—I'm just so excited to have the opportunity to test all of this gear. I was worried that I was becoming a poser who drives around with a clean rig full of gear.
Excited to be here and part of this community. Look forward to meeting some of you in person this year.
OB4244
I'm new around here, and new to overlanding. A year or two ago I got the bug for a full-size SUV to road trip in—and simultaneously discovered the overlanding community (Expo, OB, etc). Last October I picked up a very cheap, and mostly well cared for 2004 Z71 Suburban ("build" thread on ExPo). Despite the 130" wheelbase, I've found the Suburban to be shockingly capable. And, the space inside is addicting.
This weekend, everything finally came together. My buddy and I (who drives a very capable GX470) drove up NF-2530 just outside of Brinnon, WA and spent the night under the shadow of Mount Jupiter.
There are several things I wanted to test:
- General shakedown run before dragging my wife and two girls into the middle of nowhere
- My Goal Zero Yeti 400 + ARB 50L combo
- Test my rig's offload capability for things like PNW Trail Run and NW Overland rally. Specifically, is the wheelbase a limiting factor—and do I need a lift.
Driveway practice:
Our route. Didn't make to the last flag because of snow:
The view was okay I guess
The pup had a great time, and was totally exhausted
So did I
I learned many, many important lessons for future trips—so I'd call it a success.
- My hitch is more of a problem offload than the 130" wheelbase. I smacked that sucker hard 3 or 4 times when crossing several road washouts.
- My Yeti 400 is good for nearly 2 solid days of fridge duty. Anything more and I'll need to run it off my battery (I picked up a new AGM battery just in case), or augment with solar.
- Putting an ice pack or frozen water bottles in the fridge is cheap insurance. I learned this lesson because I accidentally unplugged the fridge and lost all of the cold food.
- We had to turn around because of snow—and it honestly wasn't much snow. It was just hard and thick because of the temperature. I started to question buying my Yeti before buying traction aides (Maxtrax, TRED, etc). Next time.
- Not such much of a lesson—but did confirm that my Suburban's G80 "locker" does in fact work, and is effective.
Sorry for rambling—I'm just so excited to have the opportunity to test all of this gear. I was worried that I was becoming a poser who drives around with a clean rig full of gear.
Excited to be here and part of this community. Look forward to meeting some of you in person this year.
OB4244
