Hi Evrybahdi (Dr Nick). '12 Tahoe lowered (Hector)

[Drwinlied]

Hello all,

New member with a 2012 Tahoe. I've had it for a about 8 months now. I use this to haul the family and my atv's. I made the mistake I'm sure thousands have made and didn't quite have the foresight I needed when purchased. Assumptions were made with my satisfaction with current toys and also the towing ability of Hector in case I wanted more / bigger toys. You know where this is going...

I can say with full certainty I now know more than I ever thought I would about GM RPO codes and what I need to look for in pictures to ensure the towing is where I need it in case I replace Hector (of which I'm considering) with another from the GM stable of barges.

There are definitely some quirks and features of the ol' chap, the highlight of which being it was already lowered when I purchased it (something I've said I'd NEVER do; purchase a pre-lowered rig). Boy, does it ride ROUGH. I absolutely love how it doesn't wallow in corners though. I'm fine with it being lowered but would love to lessen the harshness of it.

I have no idea how much it's lowered or how to address replacing ANY of these components if they need it. I'd be fine trying just new shock/strut but I'm confident there is more to it than that.

Regardless, I'm here to learn. Even if I get rid of Hector, I'll still be in the right place for knowledge of his replacement.

I'm also in the market for new tires, as the fronts have a habit of going flat in a few days. Could be the tires (the sidewalls appear fairly old), could be the wheels (factory GM 20"). Either way, I'm trying to figure out if some AT 275/55/20's will work/not rub. If I ever bite the bullet on an enclosed trailer/SxS I'll need to seriously consider a lot more than just if the tires rub. But, at that point, I'll likely be replacing with something with the HD Trailering package...which is nice of GM to keep separate than the Tow package...again...RPO codes.

For a while I considered biting the bullet and replacing all the hardware...bought a MaxCool 4k external trans cooler (or whatever it's called, it's been in the garage for months lol), Tekonsha P3 brake controller...then did a TON of research which lead me to just replace the damn thing if needed. *sad trombone

Anyway, I ramble. So I'll stop now. Look forward to learning. I doubt I'll have much to offer, as this platform doesn't have many secrets anymore, but hey...never know. I do have the RPO list (2 of them, one of them is good...) so you know...got that going for me. I'll figure out how to post a pic of Hector too, eventually.

Take care!

 

[Drwinlied]

Now with 100% more hector; welp the thumbnail sucks but the full pic is there.

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

 

[Miami-Dade]

Welcome from Miami Beach Robert!

Your 2010 Tahoe looks to be in excellent shape. Looks like your ready to hit the road right now.

Thank you for making paragraphs!! Makes it a lot easier to read your interesting post. Some people just do not believe in doing that.

Looking forward to seeing a pic of Hector.

Now with 100% more hector; welp the thumbnail sucks but the full pic is there.
View attachment 263061

 

[wjburken]

Welcome to the forum from Iowa.

 

[Rocket Man]

Welcome from Oregon. Nice looking truck.

 

[Jason in DLH]

Nice rig! If I were to name my Yukon it would definitely have to be “Rusty.”

With regards to the suspension: if you have the time, desire, and patience to do the work yourself it’s really not that hard to change it. Especially with the plethora of Youtube videos out there. Unless your truck is named Rusty.

In regards to the tires:

I always use the following site to do conversions from mm to inches and for a good comparison from your current setup to the tires you want... https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=265-70r17-285-75r17
You can put your current tire/wheel in and see how it compares with the 275/55/20.

Welcome!

 

[Drwinlied]

Nice rig! If I were to name my Yukon it would definitely have to be “Rusty.”

With regards to the suspension: if you have the time, desire, and patience to do the work yourself it’s really not that hard to change it. Especially with the plethora of Youtube videos out there. Unless your truck is named Rusty.

In regards to the tires:

I always use the following site to do conversions from mm to inches and for a good comparison from your current setup to the tires you want... https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=265-70r17-285-75r17
You can put your current tire/wheel in and see how it compares with the 275/55/20.

Welcome!

yeah ol Hector is pretty scaly underneath. It'll do for a few years though. But living in the midwest, you're just not going to avoid it. Unfortunately, the passenger side has some pretty rusty spots in the bottom of both doors and a small bit on the front fender. Body work is so incredibly expensive it really is a tough pill to swallow getting it taken care of...plus it's black so the shops either salivate or just straight refuse it when it comes to detailing/fixing. I simply do not have the tools, room (for the work or tools), desire, or patience (haha) to do body work. Alas, I'll support my local businesses.

I definitely don't want to have to change it's name to Rusty so I'll have to fix eventually. But it's nearly Snow-Time in WI (should be already, dangit) so sounds like a problem for next year.

 

[Jason in DLH]

I’m pretty close to you in northern MN. We’ve been sledding and building snowmen for quite some time now.

I got a quote to fix all my rust and the body shop said about $7000. Decided not to do that! I’ve been fixing it as much as possible.

 

[BlackBearPerf]

Welcome to the forum. Like the Jack Burton profile pic!

 

[soulsea]

Hi Drwinlied!

 

[Drwinlied]

Someone absolutely mangled their door into mine the other day. Could see it as soon as I walked out of the grocery store, clear as day, even through the 1" thick layer of salt from winter roads. I hate people.

On the plus side it is on the drivers door which was the best door on the whole thing.

Then today the rear lift gate stops working. Can still use manually but fob, interior, or rear latch button don't work. Not sure if cold/snow/ice related or not, but I'm sure none of that stuff helps. I'll give him a wash but tomorrow its supposed to be like -30degrees so probably not for a few days haha.

 

[Rocket Man]

Someone absolutely mangled their door into mine the other day. Could see it as soon as I walked out of the grocery store, clear as day, even through the 1" thick layer of salt from winter roads. I hate people.

On the plus side it is on the drivers door which was the best door on the whole thing.

Then today the rear lift gate stops working. Can still use manually but fob, interior, or rear latch button don't work. Not sure if cold/snow/ice related or not, but I'm sure none of that stuff helps. I'll give him a wash but tomorrow its supposed to be like -30degrees so probably not for a few days haha.

Damn. And DAMN.

 

[Drwinlied]

Good news everyone, the power hatch has decided to start working again.

Bad news everyone, my wife signed us up for safe driver crap and I have to have big brother in Hector for 3 months. I'm an unhappy camper

 

[Rocket Man]

Good news everyone, the power hatch has decided to start working again.

Bad news everyone, my wife signed us up for safe driver crap and I have to have big brother in Hector for 3 months. I'm an unhappy camper

Yeah the hell with that safe driver crap. Allstate kept adding that to my account, I never asked for it. They never sent the stupid tracking thing but I ended up telling them to F off, went with Progressive and lowered my rates without anything watching how I drive. Otherwise it would go up instead of down.

 

[Drwinlied]

Hector Updates!
Nothing fun. The oem rear latch struts finally blew. Rockauto, less than $20, and literally 3 minutes and they are good as new.

However, perfect timing because I'm eyeing expensive upgrades to my sxs (turbski), I have a clunk in the front suspension. Might be bushings/etc or might be time to replace the kyb's.

Now, the real big question, do it right with a spindle drop (so much rust, please no), do coilovers or similar, keep same setup, go to stock ride height (haha jk).

 

[Rocket Man]

Did you at least get that safe driver spy thing out of it?

 

[Drwinlied]

Did you at least get that safe driver spy thing out of it?

Yeah thankfully. I work from home so not much driving anyway; just the principle of it.

 

[Rocket Man]

Yeah thankfully. I work from home so not much driving anyway; just the principle of it.

Exactly. I switched companies because Allstate kept trying to sign me up for that. No matter how many times I said no. Then my new policy documents would come and it would say the “drive wise” discount had been applied even though I never installed that tracking device because I kept saying NO. My agent kept apologizing, saying he didn’t know why they kept saying that so I switched to Progressive. Creepy.

 

[Drwinlied]

Exactly. I switched companies because Allstate kept trying to sign me up for that. No matter how many times I said no. Then my new policy documents would come and it would say the “drive wise” discount had been applied even though I never installed that tracking device because I kept saying NO. My agent kept apologizing, saying he didn’t know why they kept saying that so I switched to Progressive. Creepy.

The only racket bigger than insurance is the cost of exhaust systems