"Adventure/Overland" Build Ideas

[MadDogDelpho]

Oh that's definitely going on my list, only $20? that's a great deal hahaha.

 

[MikeLade]

I am totally interested in your build. You'll literally be Cadillac camping! Sweet! Don't know if that is a widely used term, but that is what I refer to car camping as (sans Cadillac). I have already done a complete brake job with stock components, so I won't be doing that upgrade anytime soon. You planning to install custom bumpers or have something else in mind? I have only found one front so far that fits our rig and caught my interest and that was an ARB for like $1500

My bumpers will be custom. They'll be 3/16" plate with 1/4" or 3/8" mounts and bracing. There will be a winch mounted between the frame rails up front.

For the rear, same material will be used. However, we are using a pair of off the shelf swing out carriers from jeeps (sitting in the scrap bin at work) and the quarter panels will be cut so the bumper can wrap around and provide protection should I come off of an obstacle and not have the vertical clearance.

I figure I'll be in both bumpers around $500 in material. I haven't decided if we are going to have the pieces laser cut or take the time to do it with a grinder or plasma.

I am also wondering at what point do you need to worry about gearing? That is, if you put heavier wheels and tires on, when does gearing become a concern or is it at all?

I have stock 4.10 gears and don't plan on upgrading until I go to 35s. Probably go to 4.88 as long as I get myself a daily. I don't want to run a 6000lb truck with 4.88 gears as a daily.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

I am also wondering at what point do you need to worry about gearing? That is, if you put heavier wheels and tires on, when does gearing become a concern or is it at all?

Depends on your gearing......

3.73's are good for 33's (or close), stepping up to 35's does limit the low-end grunt. I certainly wouldn't be spending a ton of time mud-bogging with 35's unless you had 4.56's or lower.

I ran some 35's on my Suburban for a week, saw my mileage drop about 1mpg on average, and that was with about 400 of 600 miles on highway driving at 65+. Anything in-town or stop and go, I probably saw about 2-3mpg less.

 

[jarydM]

Thanks a lot. What bushings are you referring to exactly? Reason that I ask is that I am wondering if it would be wise to replace anything else in the back as I'm doing the shocks and springs?

@MadDogDelpho nailed it. Ball joints and Control arm bushings in the front. I've gotta do mine still, have all the parts, just need a day to take everything apart.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

My bumpers will be custom. They'll be 3/16" plate with 1/4" or 3/8" mounts and bracing. There will be a winch mounted between the frame rails up front.

For the rear, same material will be used. However, we are using a pair of off the shelf swing out carriers from jeeps (sitting in the scrap bin at work) and the quarter panels will be cut so the bumper can wrap around and provide protection should I come off of an obstacle and not have the vertical clearance.

I figure I'll be in both bumpers around $500 in material. I haven't decided if we are going to have the pieces laser cut or take the time to do it with a grinder or plasma.



I have stock 4.10 gears and don't plan on upgrading until I go to 35s. Probably go to 4.88 as long as I get myself a daily. I don't want to run a 6000lb truck with 4.88 gears as a daily.

You posted after I did.... those 4.10's will be fine with 35's.

 

[MikeLade]

You posted after I did.... those 4.10's will be fine with 35's.

Yeah I was typing when you posted lol.

We will see how it goes. I may end up building a trailer for supplies and recovery gear so we can sleep in the truck. If I'm towing, the 4l60 is going to hate me. Trucool 40k trans cooler will go on this summer for sure.

 

[Lutha]

The extended links are to keep the angles of the rear sway bar close to factory, and provide "close to factory" handling. You don't need to run them (I didn't on my '01 Suburban), but I do on my '04 Yukon XL. But for $20, well worth the "why not?" factor.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Rough-C...ngler-07-17-/282394293097?hash=item41c002f369

And as far as shock spacers, I just used these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rear-Shock-...c-2000-2006-/271840977220?hash=item3f4afc2144

Thanks! So did you notice any difference in ride quality or wear on components between the two? Obviously, I am not a suspension maestro. Also, I thought you were referring to coil spacers, not shock extenders. Why didn't you just go for the extended shocks?

 

[BigDaddy13440]

Yeah I was typing when you posted lol.

We will see how it goes. I may end up building a trailer for supplies and recovery gear so we can sleep in the truck. If I'm towing, the 4l60 is going to hate me. Trucool 40k trans cooler will go on this summer for sure.

Forget the trailer. Depending on how much gear you have to take with you, you could just build a full-length cargo rack on top. Have it extend from the top of the windshield all the way to the hatch when it is opened, you'll have just over a 48" wide x 108" long "bed" for all your gear to set in. It'll also give you a very easy way to mount any LED light bars on all four sides.

And, if you have a tarp with you and a few bungee cords and some rope, you could attach the tarp to the rack, and tie the opposite corners off to a tree, pretty much a lean-to to sit under and relax after dinner.

A buddy has a 26' trailer he takes camping, and when I go to spend a night or two, I sack out in the back of my XL. Two big heavy sleeping bags on the floor, and a blanket on top is all that I need.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

Thanks! So did you notice any difference in ride quality or wear on components between the two? Obviously, I am not a suspension maestro. Also, I thought you were referring to coil spacers, not shock extenders. Why didn't you just go for the extended shocks?

The KYB's weren't available 2-3" longer with the same ends in the MonoMax series, at least that I could find.

And as far as coil spacers, I have 2" steel ones from E-bay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2000-SUV-GM...-2-Lift-Kit-/172068171546?hash=item28100fef1a

 

[Lutha]

@MadDogDelpho nailed it. Ball joints and Control arm bushings in the front. I've gotta do mine still, have all the parts, just need a day to take everything apart.

Agreed, that is where I am having some issues as well.

 

[Lutha]

Forget the trailer. Depending on how much gear you have to take with you, you could just build a full-length cargo rack on top. Have it extend from the top of the windshield all the way to the hatch when it is opened, you'll have just over a 48" wide x 108" long "bed" for all your gear to set in. It'll also give you a very easy way to mount any LED light bars on all four sides.

And, if you have a tarp with you and a few bungee cords and some rope, you could attach the tarp to the rack, and tie the opposite corners off to a tree, pretty much a lean-to to sit under and relax after dinner.

A buddy has a 26' trailer he takes camping, and when I go to spend a night or two, I sack out in the back of my XL. Two big heavy sleeping bags on the floor, and a blanket on top is all that I need.

That's cuz he's bringing everything else! HaHa. Spent quite a few nights in the back of the hoe while traveling, but it was just me and the dog. I have to accommodate more now. Can't speak for Mike, but this is the type of trailer I'm referring to: http://adventuretrailers.com/trailers/chaser/

 

[MikeLade]

Forget the trailer. Depending on how much gear you have to take with you, you could just build a full-length cargo rack on top. Have it extend from the top of the windshield all the way to the hatch when it is opened, you'll have just over a 48" wide x 108" long "bed" for all your gear to set in. It'll also give you a very easy way to mount any LED light bars on all four sides.

And, if you have a tarp with you and a few bungee cords and some rope, you could attach the tarp to the rack, and tie the opposite corners off to a tree, pretty much a lean-to to sit under and relax after dinner.

A buddy has a 26' trailer he takes camping, and when I go to spend a night or two, I sack out in the back of my XL. Two big heavy sleeping bags on the floor, and a blanket on top is all that I need.

Trailer would be single axle and would not be very big. I would be going out with a 4 door jk and he has basically no storage space. Even if I'm not towing the trailer, it will be convenient to have it rather than packing the truck or having to climb around to get stuff off the roof.

Other thing is, it's easier to unhook the trailer on Sunday so I can take the truck to work Monday. When you get home, it's a pain in the ass to have to unpack the whole truck lol.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Yeah I was typing when you posted lol.

We will see how it goes. I may end up building a trailer for supplies and recovery gear so we can sleep in the truck. If I'm towing, the 4l60 is going to hate me. Trucool 40k trans cooler will go on this summer for sure.

You can rebuild to a 4l65e pretty reasonably...

 

[MikeLade]

You can rebuild to a 4l65e pretty reasonably...

It's an Escalade AWD so it has a 4l65e in it already. Truck has 193k on it and the trans has less than 30k on it. It's fresh but I'd rather protect it best I can than kill a $1600 rebuild.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

It's an Escalade AWD so it has a 4l65e in it already. Truck has 193k on it and the trans has less than 30k on it. It's fresh but I'd rather protect it best I can than kill a $1600 rebuild.

In that case, I don't think the trans will "hate" you for towing a little single axle trailer....do you have a beast sun shell in it?

 

[MikeLade]

In that case, I don't think the trans will "hate" you for towing a little single axle trailer....do you have a beast sun shell in it?

It's was a stock rebuild. Lost the band and clutches due to a bad TPS not providing proper signal to the ecu for line pressure.

I didn't have the space to pull the trans myself at the time so I had to pay for R&R as well. There wasn't room in the budget for the beast shell.

 

[Lutha]

I just finished the Nivomat swap with the lift, tires, and treads aspect of this build and I could not be happier. I did the 2 inch coil spacer in the rear from supreme suspensions, Moog Z71 coil springs, Bilstein 5100s (front/rear), and extended sway bar end links in the rear. The tires are 285/75/16 General Grabber X3s and the wheels are 16x8 with 4.5 inch backspace. I already had Truxx lift/level keys in front with Bilstein 5100s up there. They just adjusted the keys to level.

I also had to replace the upper and lower control arms up front anyways so I went with the Moog Problem Solver series that have extra camber/caster adjustment in the upper arms. I have absolutely no rubbing and I have not trimmed a thing. I'm not sure why that is but perhaps it is the extra alignment adjustment? The alignment tech said they were able to achieve "perfect" alignment. That is a guess on my part though. Anyways, I'm quite pleased. It rides better now than it did before and I can't wait to get it on some trails. Thanks to everyone on this forum that has shared their experiences with this swap.

 

[Countryboy07]

Looks great! Seeing these 16" and 17" setups has really got me thinking of trying to find some 16x10 MT classics and 305/70/16 for our Yukon. Probably won't happen, but I've always been a fan of the classic look

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I just finished the Nivomat swap with the lift, tires, and treads aspect of this build and I could not be happier. I did the 2 inch coil spacer in the rear from supreme suspensions, Moog Z71 coil springs, Bilstein 5100s (front/rear), and extended sway bar end links in the rear. The tires are 285/75/16 General Grabber X3s and the wheels are 16x8 with 4.5 inch backspace. I already had Truxx lift/level keys in front with Bilstein 5100s up there. They just adjusted the keys to level.

I also had to replace the upper and lower control arms up front anyways so I went with the Moog Problem Solver series that have extra camber/caster adjustment in the upper arms. I have absolutely no rubbing and I have not trimmed a thing. I'm not sure why that is but perhaps it is the extra alignment adjustment? The alignment tech said they were able to achieve "perfect" alignment. That is a guess on my part though. Anyways, I'm quite pleased. It rides better now than it did before and I can't wait to get it on some trails. Thanks to everyone on this forum that has shared their experiences with this swap.

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How are those X3's treating you? Debating them against KO2's.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I also had to replace the upper and lower control arms up front anyways so I went with the Moog Problem Solver series that have extra camber/caster adjustment in the upper arms. I have absolutely no rubbing and I have not trimmed a thing. I'm not sure why that is but perhaps it is the extra alignment adjustment? The alignment tech said they were able to achieve "perfect" alignment. That is a guess on my part though. Anyways, I'm quite pleased. It rides better now than it did before and I can't wait to get it on some trails. Thanks to everyone on this forum that has shared their experiences with this swap.

View attachment 187001 View attachment 187002 View attachment 187003 View attachment 187004

Looks great! So let me get this straight, you replaced the LCAs and the UCAs? Were they damaged or just worn out? And what wears out on them? Bushings and things like that, made of rubber or plastic?