2013 Suburban About To Follow Me Home

[bobsburban]

Bought a truck for our 46th anniversary. Found a 2013 black on black leather 2500 from an older Florida couple who had it since new. Used it to tow a boat to and fro, so there's some surface rust here and there which I'll get cleaned up. 200k miles, runs out fine, no issues. I'll pick it up tomorrow afternoon and swap some stuff over from my 1500 - like the ARB air compressor, perhaps the big radiator if it fits, etc. Will get fluids and stuff changed after the first of the month and see what other maintenance needs are present. Pretty sure that tires will be coming around before winter. The K02s that are on it have a little life left but not a ton.

Going to keep the 1500 for a few weeks and make sure this new one is good and then really get to work on it between now and next year.

Pix after I get it cleaned up.

 

[intheburbs]

That should be a solid vehicle.

FYI - I've owned my 2008 2500 for 11 years, have done a lot of heavy towing all over the US, and have never done anything with the coolers/cooling system other than fluid changes.

 

[Hoesgottaeat2]

First off, congrats on 46 years!!!

Looking forward to pics of the one owner '13 after you get 'er cleaned up

 

[Airman68]

I dont see many 2500's up here (WI). Is the 2500 rear suspension any different than the 1500? I have a 2008 1500 XL and I tow a #5000 boat with air bags but it could be better.

 

[intheburbs]

I dont see many 2500's up here (WI). Is the 2500 rear suspension any different than the 1500? I have a 2008 1500 XL and I tow a #5000 boat with air bags but it could be better.

Most folks mistakenly think the 2500 is simply a "beefed up" 1500. It's not. Remove the body, and what's left are two completely different trucks. Literally.

The GMT900 2500 trucks actually carried over the GMT800 frame and running gear - torsion bar front suspension, leaf springs rear and no rear swaybar.

The 2500s are so awesome because
1) They were never made in high volumes, so GM just raided its parts bins using known/durable components, which in some cases was total overkill like the 10.5" rear axle.
2) Because their GVWR was 8600 lbs, that made them exempt from government/state CAFE/mileage requirements, so they never got the stupid stuff like AFM.

 

[Airman68]

I would actually prefer the GMT800's but I can't find any up here that aren't totally rusted to crap. I think the rear leafs would make for much better towing, IMO. What engine does it have, 6.0?

 

[bobsburban]

I would actually prefer the GMT800's but I can't find any up here that aren't totally rusted to crap. I think the rear leafs would make for much better towing, IMO. What engine does it have, 6.0?

Yes, the 6.0. Hoping to get pix tomorrow. Been really rainy and not expecting it to let up much but we shall see.

 

[bobsburban]

So the skies parted long enough to mow the lawn and snap a photo. Black on black (leather) with drug dealer (or secret service - who ya wanna be associated with?) tint. Hope to get more after I get it cleaned up a bit. And it quits raining.

 

[Coveman]

Its a solid rig, hope she’s a keeper!

 

[stubbs]

Nice truck! Looks like those are probably 285/70R17s (33s) on the H2 wheels, so you've got a mild lift too. At minimum cranked front torsion keys but it looks similar to mine that I've lifted about 2" front and rear and still had to do some trimming and front fender liner reshaping to not rub.

 

[waveryd]

So the skies parted long enough to mow the lawn and snap a photo. Black on black (leather) with drug dealer (or secret service - who ya wanna be associated with?) tint. Hope to get more after I get it cleaned up a bit. And it quits raining.

Great looking rig! The 2500's are getting more scarce by the day. I have an '04 Yukon XL 2500 with pretty much all the available options for the day. I don't think I will ever sell it. I like everything about it other than the 8.1l fuel economy. My dream vehicle would be a Duraburb but that's definitely out of my price range for now.

Great looking truck! Enjoy it.

 

[bobsburban]

Thanks. Finally did a deep dive with my mechanic on the new beast yesterday. It's in about the same shape as the 1500 'Burb was when I got it. Leaking radiator, needs all fluids changed out, and new shocks and bump stops. That's really about it. Good news is I still have the other aluminum radiator I had repaired in hopes of selling it after it let go and Cold Case sent me a replacement under warranty for the 1500. So it's going in early on even though it's just a bit of weeping in the plastic side. Previous owner had a Tru-Cool transmission cooler installed so I don't even have to worry about that - other than doing a better job of mounting it when we switch radiators. Bilstein 5100s all around and repair the passenger side torsion key where some jack-leg tightened it on a diagonal instead of keeping it vertical. Have no idea how the hell you do that.

Other odds n ends like a broken drivers side door pull where someone trying to get in the car pushed down on it too hard but basically it's in good shape. Need to get the passenger air bag replaced and see how badly the stealership screws up the dashboard. May be doing another Dashskin after that, plus a door panel. Switching the onboard air compressor over from the 1500 and then I'll sell it.

Nice truck! Looks like those are probably 285/70R17s (33s) on the H2 wheels, so you've got a mild lift too. At minimum cranked front torsion keys but it looks similar to mine that I've lifted about 2" front and rear and still had to do some trimming and front fender liner reshaping to not rub.View attachment 433928

You nailed that on the head. I wondered if those were H2 wheels. The tires are 6 year old K0-2s, so slicker than bat shit in the rain but I'm going to try to nurse them through until the first of the year. That white looks good, too.

 

[bobsburban]

So after we installed the aluminum radiator and got the cooling system sealed, I pulled our Winnebago 1706FB back over the hill towards the rifle range where I camped in August during a match. Didn't unload the trailer other than sweaty clothes and a few items in the fridge when i got back so it was still at towing weight. Threw the generator and some other weight in the back of the 2500 for grins and hooked everything up except the sway bars to pull it down to a level parking lot. 600 lbs hitch weight? Is that the best you got, buddy? I didn't measure wheel well height but there was no apparent load on the rear. I put the bars on the WDH and headed off for Montlake "mountain", which is what I pulled the trailer over on the way to the range on top of the next mountain over. The pull coming up from the lake is only 2.5 miles or so to the top with a 6% grade. In the 1500, I needed second gear at 5000 rpm to hold 40 mph. With the 2500, I could use third gear at 3500 rpm and hold 60 mph. I know it isn't the Rockies - we'll be there next summer - but the beast will pull.

 

[bobsburban]

And you thought the government was inefficient...

A set of the stock-looking fender flares from Real Truck to keep the rust on the rear wheel wells from spreading (hopefully). Evansville, Indiana to Chattanooga, TN