The Adventures of Sylvester, the 2018 Suburban 3500 HD and our 2017 Airstream 27FB

[Geotrash]

Got the Bilstein's installed yesterday. Had the shop do it because they had it up on the rack for the rear diff anyway. Too early to tell if there is a significant ride difference. Took my FIL out for a ride in it yesterday evening after I got it back from the shop and neither of us could detect any difference. If anything, maybe a wee bit stiffer. But we're gonna haul the camper down to Williamsburg this weekend, so we'll see if there is any meaningful difference loaded down.

 

[nsogiba]

Glad you liked Niagara Falls! That's right in my neck of the woods. The weather here has been brutally hot and humid (by our standards).

 

[Geotrash]

Glad you liked Niagara Falls! That's right in my neck of the woods. The weather here has been brutally hot and humid (by our standards).

It was super hot when we were there, too. Thankfully we had shady campsites. Half of my family is from Jamestown and I can remember needing a light jacket some summer evenings when I was a kid.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Got the Bilstein's installed yesterday. Had the shop do it because they had it up on the rack for the rear diff anyway. Too early to tell if there is a significant ride difference. Took my FIL out for a ride in it yesterday evening after I got it back from the shop and neither of us could detect any difference. If anything, maybe a wee bit stiffer. But we're gonna haul the camper down to Williamsburg this weekend, so we'll see if there is any meaningful difference loaded down.

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I do think our trucks ride stiff but the shocks should show better on the highway. Looking forward to your review! We will be doing a trip to OH in September and to the beach in NC next month. When we go to OH we will be going fully loaded with kid, two adults and a giant dog for a week+. Love the HD rearend because no squat. My wife’s poor Lexus rides low with the same load LOL

 

[Geotrash]

I do think our trucks ride stiff but the shocks should show better on the highway. Looking forward to your review! We will be doing a trip to OH in September and to the beach in NC next month. When we go to OH we will be going fully loaded with kid, two adults and a giant dog for a week+. Love the HD rearend because no squat. My wife’s poor Lexus rides low with the same load LOL

Which beach in NC? We'll be in Rodanthe over Labor Day weekend.

And I'm also optimistic that the ride will be better on the highway - especially loaded down. The camper tongue weight tended to overwhelm the factory shocks going over rough spots like bridge abutments when towing. So if there is an improvement there, the Bilsteins were worth it.

And the lack of squat is awesome, I agree. The tongue weight on our camper is a smidge over 1,000 lbs, plus 5 people, a large dog, tools, and 39 gallons of gas and 2 kayaks on top. The WDH bars on our hitch are only moving about 300 lbs to the front axle, and there is still almost no squat. It's awesome.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Dude this thing is sick! Excuse my ignorance but is it a 6.0 with no DOD/AFM and a 6L90?

Wheel and tire package is beautiful!

 

[swathdiver]

Dude this thing is sick! Excuse my ignorance but is it a 6.0 with no DOD/AFM and a 6L90?

Wheel and tire package is beautiful!

Yeah, and it's a 1-ton (3500)!

 

[Geotrash]

Dude this thing is sick! Excuse my ignorance but is it a 6.0 with no DOD/AFM and a 6L90?

Wheel and tire package is beautiful!

Confirmed. And thank you! I feel lucky af to have been in a position to buy it last year. I did not come from money.

 

[Dantheman1540]

Confirmed. And thank you! I feel lucky af to have been in a position to buy it last year. I did not come from money.

That’s probably the best work truck combo I’ve ever driven, the 6l90 is awesome.

Can’t wait to see more!

 

[Geotrash]

So, I am extremely happy to report that the Bilstein 4600s are far superior in ride quality when towing. It really made a significant difference on our trip yesterday pulling the camper. My wife noticed it as well and is relieved because it was uncomfortable for her previously. No more hard slams on bridge transitions and the chucking is totally gone. Wow.

 

[Bigburb3500]

So, I am extremely happy to report that the Bilstein 4600s are far superior in ride quality when towing. It really made a significant difference on our trip yesterday pulling the camper. My wife noticed it as well and is relieved because it was uncomfortable for her previously. No more hard slams on bridge transitions and the chucking is totally gone. Wow.

Glad to hear the shocks made a huge difference! We will be out in Oak Island mid/end of Aug

So, I am extremely happy to report that the Bilstein 4600s are far superior in ride quality when towing. It really made a significant difference on our trip yesterday pulling the camper. My wife noticed it as well and is relieved because it was uncomfortable for her previously. No more hard slams on bridge transitions and the chucking is totally gone. Wow.

Great to hear the shocks made a noticeable improvement! Crazy to think your shocks, by mileage, were nearly new but shot… wonder if GM just puts defective parts on sometimes?

We will be headed to South Port area. We gave up on the Outter Banks a few yrs back because it’s getting a bit run down (compared to 10yrs ago) and it takes so long to actually get to any areas except Nags Head/Kitty Hawk. We much prefer the Wilmington area then going to Ft Fisher for the 4x4 access or down to North Myrtle Beach.

 

[Geotrash]

Great to hear the shocks made a noticeable improvement! Crazy to think your shocks, by mileage, were nearly new but shot… wonder if GM just puts defective parts on sometimes?

The shop seemed to think the old shocks were still working as designed. My take is that the valving in the Bilsteins is different, making for a different set of ride parameters. The OEM shocks are optimized for a vehicle carrying 2 tons of armor plating. Even fully loaded for camping, it's carrying less than half that load.

We will be headed to South Port area. We gave up on the Outter Banks a few yrs back because it’s getting a bit run down (compared to 10yrs ago) and it takes so long to actually get to any areas except Nags Head/Kitty Hawk. We much prefer the Wilmington area then going to Ft Fisher for the 4x4 access or down to North Myrtle Beach.

Makes sense. We love the Rodanthe area because it's still relatively undeveloped compared to Kitty Hawk, so it still has the sleepy beach vibe feel. And, the campground there has some of our favorite sites of anywhere we've been because we can back our camper right up to Pamlico Sound.

 

[Geotrash]

Another awesome weekend getaway without the kids is in the books. We found a little county-run campground near the mouth of the James River called Chickahominy Riverfront Park, and it's a hidden gem! It's right on the Capitol Bike Trail, so there's a ton of great, shaded bike riding available. And it's also on the water, so we can kayak, too. We rode 15 miles on our bikes Saturday and paddled for an hour and a half on Sunday. Heaven on earth!

 

[pwtr02ss]

Another awesome weekend getaway without the kids is in the books. We found a little county-run campground near the mouth of the James River called Chickahominy Riverfront Park, and it's a hidden gem! It's right on the Capitol Bike Trail, so there's a ton of great, shaded bike riding available. And it's also on the water, so we can kayak, too. We rode 15 miles on our bikes Saturday and paddled for an hour and a half on Sunday. Heaven on earth!

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Thats looks awesome!

 

[Geotrash]

I picked up the Suburban from the shop this afternoon. I heard a little bit of pinion/gear mesh noise when coasting for the first 3-5 miles, but it quieted down completely by the time I got home, 15 minutes later. Now the break-in process begins. I have to do the first 100 miles in 15-20 mile increments at speeds less than 55 mph, followed by a compete cool-down between trips. That's perfect for taking my wife out to dinner in the country around here.

From 100 miles to 500 miles I can go up to 65 mph, for 30-40 minutes, so that's lots of trips to Costco. No towing until the 500 mile break-in is complete, so they say. I'll comply, but it means we'll need to use one of the Yukons for a weekend camping trip coming up. Se la vie - just happy to have the problem fixed.

And, he installed the Lube Locker gasket I gave him to make future maintenance easier.

 

[Geotrash]

I'm up to 170 miles on it since the rebuild and it's quiet as a church mouse. I'll put the remaining 330 on it over the weekend and next week. Just made an appointment at the same shop for Friday morning so they can pull the cover, check the backlash and wear pattern again, flush out any metal, and fill 'er up with fresh fluid. Since I tow with it almost exclusively and it's kept in a heated garage when it's at home, he's going to put 75W-140 in it instead of the regular 75W-90. Having them do the inspection, drain and fill the first time keeps my warranty from the shop intact.

 

[Bigburb3500]

I'm up to 170 miles on it since the rebuild and it's quiet as a church mouse. I'll put the remaining 330 on it over the weekend and next week. Just made an appointment at the same shop for Friday morning so they can pull the cover, check the backlash and wear pattern again, flush out any metal, and fill 'er up with fresh fluid. Since I tow with it almost exclusively and it's kept in a heated garage when it's at home, he's going to put 75W-140 in it instead of the regular 75W-90. Having them do the inspection, drain and fill the first time keeps my warranty from the shop intact.

500 miles goes fast… we don’t tow much but use ours mainly for road trips and it’s funny how quick those miles rack up! Glad the downtime wasn’t that long

 

[Geotrash]

Gonna make this the Airstream build thread, too! It's coming along nicely. It's parked in front of the house and we're slowly making minor mods and getting stuff moved into it. I posted some photos on one of the Airstream FB groups and got some really nice messages from people who couldn't believe I'd found one in such great shape for the price, and so close to home. So that feels good to hear.

So far, I'm just hanging up command hooks where we need them and organizing the interior space. There is a TON of storage *inside*, but not so much outside, so a fair amount will be in bins in the Suburban. But we knew that going into it - that's how Airstreams are. My wife was bummed that we wouldn't have the same kind of towel storage rack on the bathroom wall that we had in our old camper... until she remembered that the reason why we had it in the first place was because there wasn't enough closet storage. But now we have more than we need, so everything has a place. My OCD is pleased.

Also, looking at the way Airstream does some things makes me wonder why SOB (some other box) manufacturers don't do it that way. Then I remember that they're all built down to a price point instead of up to a standard, and good parts cost money. Example: Airstreams use sealed wheel bearings and 225/75r16 tires. There are a whole range of load range E commercial light truck tires that fit and provide better reliability than trailer tires. LT tires are rated for similar weights but have much higher speed ratings. Ergo, they're a stronger tire and lots of owners choose Michelin LTX. Blowouts and wheel bearing failures on Airstreams are almost unheard of.

I ordered a 3" lift for it as well. Airstream wants $3500 for the mod, but the OEM parts are only $250 from eTrailer and they can be installed in an afternoon. It will help with getting into some of the boondocking spots we like to camp. So I'll post pics of that project once it's done.

Big trip planned for the weekend, too. My wife will be gone Friday and Saturday night with her sister for her birthday, so I'm taking the Airstream almost 8 miles away to a campground with full hookups for 2 nights, so I can test all of the systems and do a full shakedown before we take it on a longer trip. So far, what we love the most are all of the windows and skylights, and the exposed aluminum walls inside. It's such a different, more open and elegant feel than our old camper. We could get used to this!

 

[Bigburb3500]

Gonna make this the Airstream build thread, too! It's coming along nicely. It's parked in front of the house and we're slowly making minor mods and getting stuff moved into it. I posted some photos on one of the Airstream FB groups and got some really nice messages from people who couldn't believe I'd found one in such great shape for the price, and so close to home. So that feels good to hear.

So far, I'm just hanging up command hooks where we need them and organizing the interior space. There is a TON of storage *inside*, but not so much outside, so a fair amount will be in bins in the Suburban. But we knew that going into it - that's how Airstreams are. My wife was bummed that we wouldn't have the same kind of towel storage rack on the bathroom wall that we had in our old camper... until she remembered that the reason why we had it in the first place was because there wasn't enough closet storage. But now we have more than we need, so everything has a place. My OCD is pleased.

Also, looking at the way Airstream does some things makes me wonder why SOB (some other box) manufacturers don't do it that way. Then I remember that they're all built down to a price point instead of up to a standard, and good parts cost money. Example: Airstreams use sealed wheel bearings and 225/75r16 tires. There are a whole range of load range E commercial light truck tires that fit and provide better reliability than trailer tires. LT tires are rated for similar weights but have much higher speed ratings. Ergo, they're a stronger tire and lots of owners choose Michelin LTX. Blowouts and wheel bearing failures on Airstreams are almost unheard of.

I ordered a 3" lift for it as well. Airstream wants $3500 for the mod, but the OEM parts are only $250 from eTrailer and they can be installed in an afternoon. It will help with getting into some of the boondocking spots we like to camp. So I'll post pics of that project once it's done.

Big trip planned for the weekend, too. My wife will be gone Friday and Saturday night with her sister for her birthday, so I'm taking the Airstream almost 8 miles away to a campground with full hookups for 2 nights, so I can test all of the systems and do a full shakedown before we take it on a longer trip. So far, what we love the most are all of the windows and skylights, and the exposed aluminum walls inside. It's such a different, more open and elegant feel than our old camper. We could get used to this!

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NICE!!! Love the way Airstreams look!

Is it heavier or lighter than your previous trailer?

 

[89Suburban]

Gonna make this the Airstream build thread, too! It's coming along nicely. It's parked in front of the house and we're slowly making minor mods and getting stuff moved into it. I posted some photos on one of the Airstream FB groups and got some really nice messages from people who couldn't believe I'd found one in such great shape for the price, and so close to home. So that feels good to hear.

So far, I'm just hanging up command hooks where we need them and organizing the interior space. There is a TON of storage *inside*, but not so much outside, so a fair amount will be in bins in the Suburban. But we knew that going into it - that's how Airstreams are. My wife was bummed that we wouldn't have the same kind of towel storage rack on the bathroom wall that we had in our old camper... until she remembered that the reason why we had it in the first place was because there wasn't enough closet storage. But now we have more than we need, so everything has a place. My OCD is pleased.

Also, looking at the way Airstream does some things makes me wonder why SOB (some other box) manufacturers don't do it that way. Then I remember that they're all built down to a price point instead of up to a standard, and good parts cost money. Example: Airstreams use sealed wheel bearings and 225/75r16 tires. There are a whole range of load range E commercial light truck tires that fit and provide better reliability than trailer tires. LT tires are rated for similar weights but have much higher speed ratings. Ergo, they're a stronger tire and lots of owners choose Michelin LTX. Blowouts and wheel bearing failures on Airstreams are almost unheard of.

I ordered a 3" lift for it as well. Airstream wants $3500 for the mod, but the OEM parts are only $250 from eTrailer and they can be installed in an afternoon. It will help with getting into some of the boondocking spots we like to camp. So I'll post pics of that project once it's done.

Big trip planned for the weekend, too. My wife will be gone Friday and Saturday night with her sister for her birthday, so I'm taking the Airstream almost 8 miles away to a campground with full hookups for 2 nights, so I can test all of the systems and do a full shakedown before we take it on a longer trip. So far, what we love the most are all of the windows and skylights, and the exposed aluminum walls inside. It's such a different, more open and elegant feel than our old camper. We could get used to this!

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Happy for ya brah!