Chevrolet Suburban 2500 Overland Build

[ThundahBeagle]

I've thought about it several times. I haven't done it yet since some of it had to be cut to fit the lower mounts of the brush guard. I've already cracked it on the drivers side from a rock on a tight turn. If it gets ripped off somehow off road or wherever, I won't be replacing it.

You can see by my picture above that even before lifting, you gain quite a bit of clearance and approach angle just by removing that chin strap. I have a metal bumper but if I'm not wrong, yours is plastic. I'd be nervous that when it ripped off, it might take some bumper with it

 

[Neon Paradise]

You can see by my picture above that even before lifting, you gain quite a bit of clearance and approach angle just by removing that chin strap. I have a metal bumper but if I'm not wrong, yours is plastic. I'd be nervous that when it ripped off, it might take some bumper with it

It is plastic, you're right it probably will. I think I'm just looking for a good reason to cut the front bumper like the Border Patrol GM trucks. This Search and Rescue setup has the exact same Warn Brush Guard as I do, but I am hesitant to cut the bottom two mounts off to make it look right with the bumper. I don't feel like it'll hold up with 2/4 mounts removed.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

It is plastic, you're right it probably will. I think I'm just looking for a good reason to cut the front bumper like the Border Patrol GM trucks. This Search and Rescue setup has the exact same Warn Brush Guard as I do, but I am hesitant to cut the bottom two mounts off to make it look right with the bumper. I don't feel like it'll hold up with 2/4 mounts removed.
View attachment 208611View attachment 208612

Yeah. I like that. But they are taking half the bumpah as well. Even just that one strip at the bottom. I thought that was separate?

Anyway, nice build. I like that era Tahoe as well. It sort of went back to a minimalist exterior kind of like the big 2 door Blazer Silverados from 92 to 94. I like the 2000 to 2006 as well, but that design has a little more business in detail. These are simple but rigged looking

 

[mface7]

Its a major pain to get out on my own, and I cause cosmetic damage to each when I do. I use a hand truck to move it once I get it out.
View attachment 208238
But it leaves a good size area for me to load whatever onto it and I like having the slide out capability like my friends 4Runner.
View attachment 208239

Since it is metal on metal, there is a fair amount of noise on rough roads. Not only does the box bounce up against its tie downs, the yellow handle for the tray vibrates against the tray. To reduce the cacophony on unimproved roads, I added a black padded shelf liner underneath the box. This makes it impossible to slide out and remove on my own, but it helped a lot.

Really like this drawer/slider set up. Planning something custom for my '98, so might take some inspiration from this.

 

[Sparksalot]

Next item up was to do something about the cloudy headlights that were affecting the light output. I thought about buying new factory style headlight assemblies on Amazon, but saw many replacements were plagued with water intrusion issues. I've never personally polished a headlight, but I thought I would give it a shot this time. I bought the Meguiar's Heavy-Duty Headlight Restoration Kit after reading some reviews online. After opening the kit and looking at what I needed to do, I was hit with instant regret in my decision. I should have done this prior to the brush guard installation.
View attachment 208601View attachment 208602
I'm not a lazy person, but this was a major pain. I will never do this again.
View attachment 208603

I used the same kit for thecopcar. in my case, they frosted over again way too fast. I bought new lights, with lamps, and replaced the whole thing.

 

[Neon Paradise]

I used the same kit for thecopcar. in my case, they frosted over again way too fast. I bought new lights, with lamps, and replaced the whole thing.

Thats what I was worried about too. I actually went and bought some Krylon UV resistant clear coat and sprayed the head lights. Seems to be holding up so far. If it fails, I'll just buy a new set.
For the ones you used, were they OEM or aftermarket?

 

[Sparksalot]

I used the same kit for thecopcar. in my case, they frosted over again way too fast. I bought new lights, with lamps, and replaced the whole thing.

Thats what I was worried about too. I actually went and bought some Krylon UV resistant clear coat and sprayed the head lights. Seems to be holding up so far. If it fails, I'll just buy a new set.
For the ones you used, were they OEM or aftermarket?

I did not use any clear coat, so you might have better luck.

This is the set I used for replacement.

 

[Neon Paradise]

About two years ago, the original muffler was damaged and developed a rattle at certain rpm. So I decided to revisit an old favorite of mine. The Flowmaster 40 Series Delta Flow. It was a direct muffler swap. Single in, dual out. Here is a short clip that I took last year.


While it sounds pretty good outside, the interior drone at highway speeds are bad. When I tow a car trailer, it becomes deafening over time. I tow a car trailer maybe one or two times a month as part of restoration project for some 90s cars, and I've taken to wearing some Bose noise canceling headphones during those roadtrips. One day I will replace it, I just don't know what direction I will go.

 

[Neon Paradise]

Averaged 11 MPG from MD to NJ over about 220 miles. Not bad!

 

[Neon Paradise]

From MD to SC was about 412 miles. 8.8 MPG Average

 

[tjZ06]

Nice to see the RIG'd swing works well for you towing. I just put it on my rig recently and will be towing with it as well.



-TJ

 

[Neon Paradise]

Nice to see the RIG'd swing works well for you towing. I just put it on my rig recently and will be towing with it as well.

View attachment 225862

-TJ

It's been good to me and the wedge really does prevent it from shaking around back there. I've only tightened it twice during my time with it and it really didn't need it. Getting the locking pin out to service the wedge is the only annoying part about it.
That and it has to be a drop hitch to effectively use it.

 

[Neon Paradise]

Before I had the roof rack and lights installed, I wanted to have the roof and hood paint issues corrected. The roof and hood had many rock chips that started to oxidize. I dropped it off to have it all sanded down and repainted. Luckily with black cars, color matching is rarely an issue.

 

[Neon Paradise]

To protect the hood from getting damaged again, i purchased a hood shield from AVS. It's held up pretty well so far and I don't see any potential issues with it in the future.

 

[Neon Paradise]

I decided I wanted a more traditional look when it came to aftermarket lighting. It was very difficult finding older style lights since nearly everyone has transitioned to the more efficient LED bar types. I was only able to find 4 of the 6x9 lights by Eagle Eye lights in the black finish after hours on the internet.

 

[Neon Paradise]

Because I couldn't find a 5th light in the black finish, I ended up having to find a stainless steel model.

I sanded it, used some textured black spray paint and finished it with some uv resistant clear coat. It turned out pretty good and we will see how it fairs.

 

[Neon Paradise]

Unfortunately I could not find a light control box that could handle five lights with 100w bulbs each. I had to swap out the traditional h3 bulbs with LED equivalents from the most reputable brand I could find that would fit in the housing.

 

[Neon Paradise]

The roof rack I went with is the bolt together Defender rack from Smittybilt. I ordered the 4.5'x6x.5' model. I purchased the mounting equipment that kept the factory roof rails. I have not installed the shovel/axe mount yet due to theft concerns. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. It has added some wind noise but I haven't noticed an MPG decrease from the rack.

 

[GLOCKer]

Nice "little" truck. I like it!

 

[Neon Paradise]