Looking to see how many of you have overlanded/off-roading a Tahoe? I'm not sure why people are preferably going with the suburban's as they're larger and heavier, maybe because of the large fuel tank? I was looking at GX470's but the market is crazy expensive and they get purchased instantly if you can find a deal, so I looked out my search and found myself to my Chevy roots and looked at the Tahoe specs and other than the Angle Of Approach and Angle Of Departure being bad, I don't see why this would be a bad vehicle to overland/off-road (Mildly, don't need it to be a rock crawler).
GMT900, Anyone overlanding/offroading these?
- Thread starter socalls
- Start date
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there is a couple members on here that have done there vehicles up, can't think of there names to tag at the moment but hopefully they will see your post and chime in, the search function on here is kind of broken but there are some post's out there. try googling "tahoeyukonforum overlanding" that might get you some hits.
Jason in DLH
Cheeseburger and Fries
@Tozan has a build thread going.
Sparksalot
Elite Member
Overlanding in a Hoe? Are you nuts?
Nice,
LOL, love the sarcasm, wondering why you went with a PPV vehicle as those come lower from factory right?
LOL, love the sarcasm, wondering why you went with a PPV vehicle as those come lower from factory right?
Thanks, will check his out, hopefully he see's this and chimes in too
Sparksalot
Elite Member
Run what ya brung is the simple answer.
in reality I knew nothing about the PPV specifically. I bought the first one on a lark, to use for camping and pulling my teardrop trailer. Then I started learning the specific things about the model. THEN I learned about overlanding. The kinds of places I like to go are no problem for the PPV. Except for washboard roads. Those are brutal. You ever want to outrun a cop hits some washboards. Not that you’re going to outrun Motorola.
Because I was worried about sidewall cuts and to deal with dirt, I added a set of KO2s. They’re the bomb.
I also started adding enough stuff to the Hoe, that a rear seat delete became attractive. At the same time I lost my job and company car, so I needed a daily. Buying an ex K-9 unit was perfect because I had interior parts and the new Hoe needed them.
Sparksalot
Elite Member
Psst @Tozan @Bill 1960 another overlander here.
Sparksalot
Elite Member
@socalls if you look at the 3rd pic above, I’ve removed the air dam. I kept scraping it.
@Bill 1960 has done a border patrol trim to his bumper.
on an outing to Oklahoma I got into more rocks than I care for, but had fun. Only weeks after did I catch the chin scratches.
I don’t think you could officially call it Overlanding, but we take our Yukon on some pretty gnarly 4X tracts and Forest Roads. I see a lot of the same people with their Rubicon’s and TRD Pro 4Runners, a few always watch us go by, I think they really want to use that recovery stuff on us. 
@Tozan has a wonderful thread going that spans years of discovery and modifications. He documents his successes and mistakes. Really great stuff.
In the end, if you are going on some Black Diamond tracts, you will be better served with a Rubicon, decked 4Runner, Land Cruiser (including the Lexus Prado), but for most anything else, you can do a lot for a lot less.
Good luck.
@Tozan has a wonderful thread going that spans years of discovery and modifications. He documents his successes and mistakes. Really great stuff.
In the end, if you are going on some Black Diamond tracts, you will be better served with a Rubicon, decked 4Runner, Land Cruiser (including the Lexus Prado), but for most anything else, you can do a lot for a lot less.
Good luck.
I don’t think you could officially call it Overlanding, but we take our Yukon on some pretty gnarly 4X tracts and Forest Roads. I see a lot of the same people with their Rubicon’s and TRD Pro 4Runners, a few always watch us go by, I think they really want to use that recovery stuff on us.
@Tozan has a wonderful thread going that spans years of discovery and modifications. He documents his successes and mistakes. Really great stuff.
In the end, if you are going on some Black Diamond tracts, you will be better served with a Rubicon, decked 4Runner, Land Cruiser (including the Lexus Prado), but for most anything else, you can do a lot for a lot less.
Good luck.
When you say Black Diamond tracts, would you give an example? I'm pretty new to this scene overall so some of the slang and/or terms are new to me
Mine’s set up for off road exploration. We are more into day trips and return to the motorhome for a comfortable night. I chose the Tahoe because it’s comfortable, shorter wheelbase than a Suburban, and towable on all four wheels. There’s a thread with my build info in the “Under Construction” section of the forum.
Mine was formerly operated by the border patrol. It did a bunch of off-roading long before I acquired it. They ran them basically stock suspension but cut the front for better approach.
Mine was formerly operated by the border patrol. It did a bunch of off-roading long before I acquired it. They ran them basically stock suspension but cut the front for better approach.
Black Diamond (Double Black Diamond - Ultra difficult, Intermediate - Blue Round symbol, Easy/Beginner - Green square) is a way to describe the difficulty of the trail, similar to ski trail designations, hiking trails, etc.
Here is one Club's way of describing it.
https://mhjc.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=241053&module_id=184968
boarder patrol does.... but they have Z71 4x4 offroad package
Is there such package for regular cars? I cannot seem to find any GMT900 with a z71 package and 4wd
Tozan
Overlander
I do a couple thousand miles of off road trips a year and at least 30 miles minimum each week.
We set up this campsite after running off road for a couple hours the night before.
It is pretty capable off road I have a 4 inch lift running 35 inch tires I did not cut any metal just plastic up front. It is comfortable running 65 to 75 mph on most desert roads.
If it is cold out I put the side walls on the 270 degree awning with a fire pit inside to keep warm.
Cooking is done on my fold out table attached to the tire carrier. Inside is a full size 5 inch foam mattress with storage underneath and a 12 volt 37 qt. refrigerator. I have been on trails in Nevada, California, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and a few famous trails in Moab Utah.
We set up this campsite after running off road for a couple hours the night before.
It is pretty capable off road I have a 4 inch lift running 35 inch tires I did not cut any metal just plastic up front. It is comfortable running 65 to 75 mph on most desert roads.
If it is cold out I put the side walls on the 270 degree awning with a fire pit inside to keep warm.
Cooking is done on my fold out table attached to the tire carrier. Inside is a full size 5 inch foam mattress with storage underneath and a 12 volt 37 qt. refrigerator. I have been on trails in Nevada, California, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona and a few famous trails in Moab Utah.
Tozan
Overlander
A lot of areas I go to do not have cell service so, my choice of communication are a Ham radio and a satellite phone. The Ham radio is more reliable. The switch box controls driving lights, other outside lights and power outlets in the back.
We even go where the buffalo roam. This is near the North rim of the Grand Canyon.
We even go where the buffalo roam. This is near the North rim of the Grand Canyon.
Dam, you just made me want this even more lol, I think I should go with the SSV based on what some people have mentioned, but I do like the amenities of the LTZ but when I decide to lift it, I think their will be issues if it has air suspension from factory, what do you recommend? I think I will need skid plates, rock sliders and trim bumpers, the last one is/could be free but the skid plates and rocks sliders not sure where to get them
Tozan
Overlander
So far as I know the air suspension can be replaced but, you might need to do a delete on it. Maybe some others know the details better and will add their comments.
I do not have skid plates or rock sliders but, I may add one or two in the future Most of the stuff like the motor is well protected but, there are a few things that are soft and could use some protection. But so far plates and sliders are pretty low on my list,
Why are skid plates and rock sliders low on your list? Are you high enough that you feel you won't hit anything? Do all Tahoes have some sort of protection as you mentioned?
