I'm terrible with starting conversations so this is my introduction.
I am still new to overland and offroading altogether so now that I have that part also out of the way here is my build post:
I purchased a 2008 GMC Yukon. It was on 22" rims that looked nice but weren't offroad worthy. Over this year I found a set of 17" rims on facebook marketplace.
They also came with all season tires that were in fantastic condition but the price was good. Few months later and I ended up scoring a set of 6 BFG KO3's
with approximately 70% tread for a price that just worked out great. Got them mounted to the rims a week later, have the all seasons still as a backup and
the 22's are also still around.
2008 GMC Yukon
5.3 with a odb2 AFM disabler
4 spd auto
4x4 with a G80
And here is the Yukon with the BFG KO3s aired down.
My first big upgrade I worked on installing was a light bar. I settled on installing it behind my grill after watching someone do the same on a Tahoe. At first
I thought the light would be blocked or limited but it clearly wasn't interfering. Once I saw how much light was given I decided I am doing the same.
Followed along with the video on how they mounted and ran the wiring. I'll do a write up but my pictures of the process never happened. I watched a video
on removing the grill. It worked better in the video on removing the grill than it did for me. I ended up loosening my grill enough I could work behind it.
So with the grill situation settled I found a metal bar running across in front of the radiator that did have some holes in it that conveniently would fit
the mounting screws on the light bar. The included screws however were not long enough to fit through the bar and have the nut screwed on. I have a set of
nuts and bolts from Harbor Freight and swapped them out. I did have to line up the bracket on the bottom of the light bar with the screws so they would line
up with the metal bar. Getting a nut onto them was 50/50. The driver side of it was easy but the passenger side one took forever to screw on.
Now by this time it's already dark out so I did test that it worked by connecting to my battery and just confirming the light bar turned on and was giving
off enough light through the grill. Following day I ended up connecting it to the battery in a better way and running the switch into the cab following the
path used in the Tahoe video I watched. Ran it up by the battery, underneath the hood and in through the passenger door. Ran it underneath the dash and
through the gap between the center console and the radio. Confirmed it worked once again using the switch.
This light bar gives off more light than my headlights so that's nice. I also have two spotlights that came with it but I have yet to decide on how to use
them. Maybe I will mount them to the hood. Perhaps I'll mount them in the rear and use them for backing up at night. That is a project for next year once
it gets warm out again.
Here's an interior shot of using only the light bar.
I did install a backup camera that ended up needing more work done to my hatch handle. Once I popped the 4 bolts loose on the hatch handle I discovered the
plastic in the handle was broken so I had to glue the connectors back onto it so the bolts would catch it again. Took some work to get that task done. To
buy a replacement handle was around $200 so that was out of the picture. I got the piece off and glued the connectors so for about $8 to fix it, might have
been cheaper than that and it's still holding up after a few months. Spent more time fixing and worrying about that than I did with the camera. I also
fixed the glass hatch button since I had it off with the handle. Should probably note the truck came with an aftermarket Sony radio with a camera hookup. So
my camera hooked up to that no issue. I have the camera wired to the lights so it won't turn on unless the lights are on. I powered the camera off the
wiring that was in the handle. The wiring in there goes to the license plate lights and that doesn't power on unless the lights are on. As long as I have
the lights on I can choose to open the camera and see what's behind me. I did read I could connect a wire to a green wire somewhere under the dash that
tells the truck it's in reverse and it will trigger the reverse camera overide but I haven't felt like doing that. I'm fine with it for now, it's not a
priority.
Next up is replacing my headlights. I recently replaced a burnt out bulb because the low beam went out. Today I found out my high beam is burnt out.
Going to try and run some LED bulbs and see how they perform. Halogen bulbs really lack light so hope to get better results on LED.
Current state of my headlights:
If you want any other pics of the Yukon for whatever reason let me know otherwise I'll most likely do a quick update after I replace the headlights and that will probably be it for awhile.
In the future I would like to get a better radio setup, get an air compressor and work on some tools to keep in it/work on it. Possibly some additional phone/tablet/camera mounts. If anyone has some suggestions or recommendations on any of those please send them to me.
I am still new to overland and offroading altogether so now that I have that part also out of the way here is my build post:
I purchased a 2008 GMC Yukon. It was on 22" rims that looked nice but weren't offroad worthy. Over this year I found a set of 17" rims on facebook marketplace.
They also came with all season tires that were in fantastic condition but the price was good. Few months later and I ended up scoring a set of 6 BFG KO3's
with approximately 70% tread for a price that just worked out great. Got them mounted to the rims a week later, have the all seasons still as a backup and
the 22's are also still around.
2008 GMC Yukon
5.3 with a odb2 AFM disabler
4 spd auto
4x4 with a G80
And here is the Yukon with the BFG KO3s aired down.
My first big upgrade I worked on installing was a light bar. I settled on installing it behind my grill after watching someone do the same on a Tahoe. At first
I thought the light would be blocked or limited but it clearly wasn't interfering. Once I saw how much light was given I decided I am doing the same.
Followed along with the video on how they mounted and ran the wiring. I'll do a write up but my pictures of the process never happened. I watched a video
on removing the grill. It worked better in the video on removing the grill than it did for me. I ended up loosening my grill enough I could work behind it.
So with the grill situation settled I found a metal bar running across in front of the radiator that did have some holes in it that conveniently would fit
the mounting screws on the light bar. The included screws however were not long enough to fit through the bar and have the nut screwed on. I have a set of
nuts and bolts from Harbor Freight and swapped them out. I did have to line up the bracket on the bottom of the light bar with the screws so they would line
up with the metal bar. Getting a nut onto them was 50/50. The driver side of it was easy but the passenger side one took forever to screw on.
Now by this time it's already dark out so I did test that it worked by connecting to my battery and just confirming the light bar turned on and was giving
off enough light through the grill. Following day I ended up connecting it to the battery in a better way and running the switch into the cab following the
path used in the Tahoe video I watched. Ran it up by the battery, underneath the hood and in through the passenger door. Ran it underneath the dash and
through the gap between the center console and the radio. Confirmed it worked once again using the switch.
This light bar gives off more light than my headlights so that's nice. I also have two spotlights that came with it but I have yet to decide on how to use
them. Maybe I will mount them to the hood. Perhaps I'll mount them in the rear and use them for backing up at night. That is a project for next year once
it gets warm out again.
Here's an interior shot of using only the light bar.
I did install a backup camera that ended up needing more work done to my hatch handle. Once I popped the 4 bolts loose on the hatch handle I discovered the
plastic in the handle was broken so I had to glue the connectors back onto it so the bolts would catch it again. Took some work to get that task done. To
buy a replacement handle was around $200 so that was out of the picture. I got the piece off and glued the connectors so for about $8 to fix it, might have
been cheaper than that and it's still holding up after a few months. Spent more time fixing and worrying about that than I did with the camera. I also
fixed the glass hatch button since I had it off with the handle. Should probably note the truck came with an aftermarket Sony radio with a camera hookup. So
my camera hooked up to that no issue. I have the camera wired to the lights so it won't turn on unless the lights are on. I powered the camera off the
wiring that was in the handle. The wiring in there goes to the license plate lights and that doesn't power on unless the lights are on. As long as I have
the lights on I can choose to open the camera and see what's behind me. I did read I could connect a wire to a green wire somewhere under the dash that
tells the truck it's in reverse and it will trigger the reverse camera overide but I haven't felt like doing that. I'm fine with it for now, it's not a
priority.
Next up is replacing my headlights. I recently replaced a burnt out bulb because the low beam went out. Today I found out my high beam is burnt out.
Going to try and run some LED bulbs and see how they perform. Halogen bulbs really lack light so hope to get better results on LED.
Current state of my headlights:
If you want any other pics of the Yukon for whatever reason let me know otherwise I'll most likely do a quick update after I replace the headlights and that will probably be it for awhile.
In the future I would like to get a better radio setup, get an air compressor and work on some tools to keep in it/work on it. Possibly some additional phone/tablet/camera mounts. If anyone has some suggestions or recommendations on any of those please send them to me.
