09 suburban road trip from Germany to Kazakhstan

[fabybaby]

Hi guys ! I am planing a extensive road trip with my 09 suburban, going from Germany through Russia and eventually all the way to Kazakhstan and back, I was hoping you could give me some tips on how to prepare my truck for this adventure in terms of preventative maintenance etc.
It has currently 106k miles on it, this road trip would add about another 6-8k miles through rough terrain

im planing on taking as many spare parts as needed, as parts availability will be more than limited on this trip.
I’ve already got myself a hitch rack that’s going to carry 4 jerry cans of 20 liters and 2 spare wheels.

any tips ?

 

[Tonyv__]

Have fun and say Hi to Borat for me

 

[Dantheman1540]

Front CV axle would be a good idea as well as enough oil to do a change, same with some water/coolant. Maybe some random sized fuel line and wire as well as stuff to splice with just incase.

 

[Bill 1960]

Dashcam!

 

[wsteele]

There have probably been better times for exploring Russia. What were you planning route wise?

 

[gooffeyguy]

You'll be pushing the range for an oil change even if you get one right before you leave and right when you get back. So plan on either taking the stuff to do one or find a place somewhere to get one done while on the trip.

 

[petethepug]

Tire plugs and the tool. Consider running coolant that doesn’t have water to avoid boil overs. Run a kill switch for jacking prevention

 

[exp500]

Tools and Spare Parts, Shop Manuals, Scanner, tow straps. Long way between civilizations, or tow trucks.

 

[TollKeeper]

Extra radiator hoses, and water pump, And Heater Core hose plugs. Blow a tire, and it might take out the rear heater lines. The plugs allow you to plug that line at the firewall, and continue. It also allows you to plug the whole system off is the heater core pops.

Extra CV shaft, and U-Joints.

 

[BG1988]

Hi guys ! I am planing a extensive road trip with my 09 suburban, going from Germany through Russia and eventually all the way to Kazakhstan and back, I was hoping you could give me some tips on how to prepare my truck for this adventure in terms of preventative maintenance etc.
It has currently 106k miles on it, this road trip would add about another 6-8k miles through rough terrain

im planing on taking as many spare parts as needed, as parts availability will be more than limited on this trip.
I’ve already got myself a hitch rack that’s going to carry 4 jerry cans of 20 liters and 2 spare wheels.

any tips ?

disable AFM (if equipped ) using a obd2 chip to increase reliability otherwise on road it's fine


OIL change is required before the trip...

inspect for leaks before hand and check oil/fluids , every 1,000 miles bring extra oil.. 8qt minimum. (many rigs seem to burn, half to 1qt every 1k miles) check and make sure both cooling fans are working..



Remember your HEATER is a cooling fan i.e if thermostat stat fails stuck closed


also an extra air filter (change it before hand as well)


high quality Duct tape will help get out of a bad situation..


extra light bulbs head lamp bulbs and other bulbs



take water and food as well enough for at lest 5-7 days


Spare belt make sure it's the correct one...

spare 12 volt battery nothing worse then trying to start it with a dead battery or jumper that can self jump the suv
Spare Alternator (optional...) check return policy before buying

 

[Rocket Man]

I just want to see pictures and follow along. What an epic trip.

 

[Geotrash]

On long trips, I keep a spare alternator in a waterproof expedition bag strapped onto the spare battery tray up front. And I keep a pry bar in my tool kit so I can lever the old one out if it goes. Goodyear makes all terrain tires with Kevlar designed to be pretty much puncture proof. When I lived in Alaska, I ran Goodyear Duratracs on everything because they were the only thing that would hold up to the slate-covered roads north of Fairbanks. I went from changing 1-2 tires every trip to never having to change tires again.

I would definitely change all belts, hoses, plugs and wires if they weren't already recently done as part of a 100K service. I would also change the water pump and the coolant tees at the firewall with brand new OEM parts, and plastic heater hose tee down by the water pump too. Disable AFM either with a tune or with a Range device. Check your oil cooler lines and make sure they're not leaking badly. A little seepage is normal on these, but you don't want them giving way. Oil should be easy to find almost anywhere, but I would definitely at least carry a spare oil filter, and replace the air filter before departing.

These trucks are reliable, I think you'll be fine. What an epic trip!

 

[a4edwin]

Wow! Make sure you leave enough room to get in! Lol

 

[swathdiver]

Hi guys ! I am planing a extensive road trip with my 09 suburban, going from Germany through Russia and eventually all the way to Kazakhstan and back, I was hoping you could give me some tips on how to prepare my truck for this adventure

Jerry cans and ammo cans man! Lots of 'em! Don't forget the MREs and First Aid kits with Quick Clot and Israeli Bandages...

 

[swathdiver]

One a more serious note, you don't want to overload your truck with everything including the kitchen sink.

Your truck's curb weight is around 5900 with a full tank of fuel and that gives you about a 1500 pound payload capacity, including you and your passengers. Of course, if you run at max capacity, you increase the stress on the suspension and steering and fuel mileage will be less as well.

If you run 4 Load Range E tires with a 5th as a spare, you won't need a sixth and probably won't even need the 5th. That space underneath could be used to store other things.

The Toyota Hilux is popular in that part of the world and the run tires about an inch shorter than yours, their most popular size seems to be 265/65R17. I did not look and see if the 265-70-17 is obtainable out that way. Is there 2-Day shipping from Amazon in Kazakhstan?

I recommend that you change all of your fluids before leaving (differentials, transfer case, transmission, radiator) and then put a couple hundred miles on the truck afterwards to see if anything else needs addressing. Bring your own oil filters and 2 gallons of oil. Does your truck have the updated valve cover? It reduces oil consumption.

 

[Doubeleive]

I love how people assume these things will break down around every corner. lol
if you do ALL your required 100k maintenance and maybe a fresh battery, radiator and hoses, then you should be fine
I would mostly be concerned with a couple spare tires, maybe as spares fuel pump, suspension end links, alternator, extra fluids if something springs a leak.
anything major happens and your screwed anyway, luckily gm has a worldwide parts network so you can get stuff almost anywhere.

 

[fabybaby]

Hi ! Thank you guys for all these helpful tips ! Ive only now had time to get back on the forum !
I’ll try to answer everything in short,

as far as spare parts, I was planing on taking, spare hoses, oil filters, air filter, bulbs, head gasket, transmission filter/ gasket, trans fluid, lots of engine oil lol

I do have a Haynes repair manual that I keep in the car.

just had the following done to the truck.
New brakes all around,
New valve covers
New Engine mounts,
All fluids changed,
New differential seal,
New battery, waiting on wiring kit for 2nd battery,
New plugs and spark wires,
Alternator has been replaced a few months ago,
Waiting on new radiator as mine is quite busted up from highspeed autobahn driving

 

[fabybaby]

I’ll be going on this trip alone, so plenty of room to take stuff,

was going to take a proper Jack and Common Tools aswell as 4 jerry cans and two spare wheels,
Just outfitted the truck with CB and ham antennas aswell as LTE booster antennas.
Im Lucky to have a couple Friends who speak Russian in case i need help with anything.

 

[fabybaby]

 

[soulsea]

My biggest worry for you is how the burb is going to handle all the variations in gasoline quality as you get farther east. These US ecus and engines aren't the best for adapting to poor quality fuel. Don't know if there's anything you can do about it, but if it were me I wouldn't do this trip in anything but a diesel vehicle.