To lift or not to lift….old suburban

[ThundahBeagle]

Well my wife made the decision for me. She fell out of the lifted GX470 while trying to get in it yesterday. She said one lift is enough!

If your wife is 4' 11" I would say no more lift! Ha ha

I've leveled my truck and may put blocks in the rear, but I have step boards. They are helpful for her and for securing the kayaks

 

[Cahaba Overland]

Well my wife made the decision for me. She fell out of the lifted GX470 while trying to get in it yesterday. She said one lift is enough!

If your wife is 4' 11" I would say no more lift! Ha ha

I've leveled my truck and may put blocks in the rear, but I have step boards. They are helpful for her and for securing the kayaks

It was 100% an angry reaction, but I’m definitely not challenging her on it for a few months. Been married 17 years and I know better. It was one of the more comical falls that I’ve seen, but I’m not telling her that either.

 

[Xdtitan]

Have you looked into bushwhacker cut out fender flares. Reason I ask is my brother has a 97 k1500 pickup we've been building for 6yrs he has a 3" lift and cutout flares 35" tires always says he should have just gone with the cut out flares 33" ish tires and bilsteins 5100 series shocks he lost more with the lift than he gained. Looks cool though

 

[Billiebob]

I had one way back ( 2 door blazer ) and a little extra ground clearance would have helped because the frame is so low. I lived in mine for a summer ( out of necessity) but the rear end blew up leaving a stop light one day and I couldn't afford to fix it at the time and had to get rid of it. I still miss this truck though and would grab another one up in a heartbeat if it was in good shape.
I don't know how rough a torsion key lift would would make the ride, I always wanted to solid axle swap mine and run 35s but never had the chance.
I keep telling my wife I want to find a suburban to do this with but she tells me I'm only allowed 1 project at a time and I already have the Jeep compass, Jeep LJ, and 2 trailers lol.
View attachment 217948

Sell it all and focus on the LJ..... trailers are great but the Compass and the Blazer are dogs compared to the LJ. Add lockers, good 33MTRs and you won'r get stuck in a puddle.

I have a TJR plus a trailer

Trailer on a firewood run...


Loaded with chimney debris..... work


And with the slide in camper, OSB BOX..... major downsize in rubber, from 255/85R16s to 185/100R16s.... loving that change... might have lost rhe 2" lift too


For me, the TJR does everything

 

[Red_Leaf_Overland]

Sell it all and focus on the LJ..... trailers are great but the Compass and the Blazer are dogs compared to the LJ. Add lockers, good 33MTRs and you won'r get stuck in a puddle.

I have a TJR plus a trailer

Trailer on a firewood run...
View attachment 218780

Loaded with chimney debris..... work
View attachment 218781

And with the slide in camper, OSB BOX..... major downsize in rubber, from 255/85R16s to 185/100R16s.... loving that change... might have lost rhe 2" lift too
View attachment 218782

For me, the TJR does everything

Lol unfortunately I no longer daily drive the LJ . It's got a 3 link front, upper triangulated 4 link rear, outboarded rear shocks, jk 44 axles locked front and rear with 4.88 gears and 37s.... and so on lol
I don't know how easily I can get the family in the tj for long trips ( wife, 2 year old and 12 year old dog lol).

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Sell it all and focus on the LJ..... trailers are great but the Compass and the Blazer are dogs compared to the LJ. Add lockers, good 33MTRs and you won'r get stuck in a puddle.

I have a TJR plus a trailer

Trailer on a firewood run...
View attachment 218780

Loaded with chimney debris..... work
View attachment 218781

And with the slide in camper, OSB BOX..... major downsize in rubber, from 255/85R16s to 185/100R16s.... loving that change... might have lost rhe 2" lift too
View attachment 218782

For me, the TJR does everything

Nice Jeep, but shame on you, ha ha, for equating the type of Blazer of which we speak with a Jeep Compass, sir! That's 50 lashes with a wet noodle! We aren't talking about the 2019's. We are talking abou the K5 and k1500's.

Seriously though, they are not in the same ballpark.

Full size 1990's GMT400 Blazer a dog? By what metric?

.could carry that amount of firewood WITHOUT needing a trailer, and maybe still carry more people than a 2 door Wrangler at the same time
.V8 power 210hp, over 300 ft/lb torque
.4x4 via floor shifter
.shorter wheelbase than a typical pickup truck of today or even then. Not far off from a 4 door JLU jeep
.111 in wheelbase, 187 LOA
(I believe a JLU is around 116/ 163? Or so)
.elbow room, anyone?
.cargo room, anyone?
.passenger space?
.stock roof rack. Rare that they dont have them
.good luck sleeping IN your Jeep Wrangler if need be
.pretty comparable towing. NOPE. BETTER towing...7,000 lbs to the JLU's 3,500
.came in automatic and (albeit rarely) standard
.Eaton G80 auto locker. Not selectable, true, but you can kick it in by feathering the gas pedal, if you are on the right terrain and know how.

Maybe the K5 and K1500 isnt the rock-crawler but that doesnt seem to be your angle either.

By the way, very nice scenery you are driving around in, and again, nice Jeep!

 

[Cahaba Overland]

Have you looked into bushwhacker cut out fender flares. Reason I ask is my brother has a 97 k1500 pickup we've been building for 6yrs he has a 3" lift and cutout flares 35" tires always says he should have just gone with the cut out flares 33" ish tires and bilsteins 5100 series shocks he lost more with the lift than he gained. Looks cool though

That’s a good approach and something to look at. Thanks