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

[Walkerfever]

I purchased a blue Denali cluster, plus the HUD display, new eyebrow panel, HUD switch panel and adapter harnesses from another member here. He used them in his Tahoe for a year and then pulled them before he sold it. I'll need to get the cluster programmed to my VIN, which I can have done through White Automotive unless anyone knows a DIY method through HPTuners or an MVI2 interface. I know I'll eventually need a HUD windshield, but there are some workarounds I can try until I need a new windshield. The original is still like new so it would be a shame to replace it.

Let me know if you run into any issues with the swap, I just finished it on mine. The windshield thing isn't so bad, I got used to it in a week or so. You'll need to trim the defrost trim panel, that's really the only thing you'd have to do other than plug and play. I ordered my cluster from WAI, so I don't have any input on the programming, sorry.

 

[Geotrash]

Let me know if you run into any issues with the swap, I just finished it on mine. The windshield thing isn't so bad, I got used to it in a week or so. You'll need to trim the defrost trim panel, that's really the only thing you'd have to do other than plug and play. I ordered my cluster from WAI, so I don't have any input on the programming, sorry.

Awesome! Thank you for the tips and willingness to assist along the way. I ordered a small piece of reflective material designed for a HUD that adheres to the inside of the windshield. Might be a waste of money and plastic but figured it was worth a try. How long did it take you to complete the job?

 

[Walkerfever]

Awesome! Thank you for the tips and willingness to assist along the way. I ordered a small piece of reflective material designed for a HUD that adheres to the inside of the windshield. Might be a waste of money and plastic but figured it was worth a try. How long did it take you to complete the job?

I did the cluster and HUD separately, so hard to say. Nothing was overly difficult, the harness makes things a breeze for the most part. Maybe an hour or two total? I did have to hunt down a nut and screw to mount the HUD unit, and I think I had to put a block of rubber on the side of the heatsink to level it up and keep vibrations down. I need to design something and 3d print it to fit around the heatsink fin that'll space it out like it needs. Let me know if you run into that and I'll do some measuring and printing.

 

[Geotrash]

I did the cluster and HUD separately, so hard to say. Nothing was overly difficult, the harness makes things a breeze for the most part. Maybe an hour or two total? I did have to hunt down a nut and screw to mount the HUD unit, and I think I had to put a block of rubber on the side of the heatsink to level it up and keep vibrations down. I need to design something and 3d print it to fit around the heatsink fin that'll space it out like it needs. Let me know if you run into that and I'll do some measuring and printing.

Thank you, will do!

 

[B-train]

Looks awesome! I'm super jelly.....

What kind of mpg does that thing get? Have different tires made any improvement over what you ran before?

 

[Geotrash]

Looks awesome! I'm super jelly.....

What kind of mpg does that thing get? Have different tires made any improvement over what you ran before?

Thank you! I felt lucky AF to be in the position to buy it. I come from humble roots.

Hard to say on the mpg because we only use it for towing our camper. The rest of the time it just sits in the garage with a battery maintainer being driven every 2 weeks or so to keep everything moving and happy. That said, when I drove home from where I bought it in Maryland, it was mostly highway (I-95) and I averaged 19 doing the speed limit (no license plates, didn't want to draw any unwanted attention besides looking like secret service )

When towing our 7500 lb camper, I'm averaging between 8-9 on the flats, and 7-8 in the hills. This picture was taken after driving through the mountains of NC last Labor Day with 5 people + dog + camper. Note that the gas gauge flaked out and went to E for about 200 miles, but the fuel mileage kept computing normally so I had plenty left when I stopped for gas. Hasn't flaked out before or since:

 

[frosty350]

I went ahead and put in the extra nut and bolt needed to mount the HUD unit to the dash. I believe the part numbers are 11570097 & 11519376.

Thank you, will do!

 

[Geotrash]

I went ahead and put in the extra nut and bolt needed to mount the HUD unit to the dash. I believe the part numbers are 11570097 & 11519376.

Thank you for that!

 

[Bigburb3500]

Thank you! I felt lucky AF to be in the position to buy it. I come from humble roots.

Hard to say on the mpg because we only use it for towing our camper. The rest of the time it just sits in the garage with a battery maintainer being driven every 2 weeks or so to keep everything moving and happy. That said, when I drove home from where I bought it in Maryland, it was mostly highway (I-95) and I averaged 19 doing the speed limit (no license plates, didn't want to draw any unwanted attention besides looking like secret service )

View attachment 452400

When towing our 7500 lb camper, I'm averaging between 8-9 on the flats, and 7-8 in the hills. This picture was taken after driving through the mountains of NC last Labor Day with 5 people + dog + camper. Note that the gas gauge flaked out and went to E for about 200 miles, but the fuel mileage kept computing normally so I had plenty left when I stopped for gas. Hasn't flaked out before or since:

View attachment 452401

Oddly enough, my truck did the same thing with the gas gauge recently. Then as quick as it stopped working it came back to life?

I daily drive mine and then road trip with 3-4 ppl + large dog.
Daily avg = 13-14ish (usually around 13.5)
Highway… depends. <70mph = 15-16
>70 = 14-15

 

[Geotrash]

Oddly enough, my truck did the same thing with the gas gauge recently. Then as quick as it stopped working it came back to life?

I daily drive mine and then road trip with 3-4 ppl + large dog.
Daily avg = 13-14ish (usually around 13.5)
Highway… depends. <70mph = 15-16
>70 = 14-15

Huh. Wonder if the 1500 Suburbans have a flaky gas gauge from time to time or if it’s something unique to the 3500. We stopped at a rest area while the gauge wasn’t working, and I shut it off and restarted it but it didn’t fix it. What fixed it was stopping for gas and leaving it shut off for 15 minutes while we got some food in the store afterwards. Fired it back up and the gauge was back to normal and hasn’t flaked since.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Huh. Wonder if the 1500 Suburbans have a flaky gas gauge from time to time or if it’s something unique to the 3500. We stopped at a rest area while the gauge wasn’t working, and I shut it off and restarted it but it didn’t fix it. What fixed it was stopping for gas and leaving it shut off for 15 minutes while we got some food in the store afterwards. Fired it back up and the gauge wasn’t back to normal and hasn’t flaked since.

I think mine was out for a full day or it came back while driving… can’t remember but same thing. Happened once, several cycle on-off and no change but then came back and no issue. Odd issue

 

[Fless]

I may be hallucinating but do these have dual tanks? I thought I recently read about a second fuel level sensor in the second tank that could affect this.

 

[Geotrash]

I may be hallucinating but do these have dual tanks? I thought I recently read about a second fuel level sensor in the second tank that could affect this.

They do indeed have dual tanks - pretty much the same setup as the GMT900 2500 SUVs. I had a similar thought but since it only happened once, I haven't been too motivated to try to figure it out. That said, I will put some time into it anyway - if for no other reason than to figure out a reliable workaround when I experience it.

 

[Fless]

They do indeed have dual tanks - pretty much the same setup as the GMT900 2500 SUVs. I had a similar thought but since it only happened once, I haven't been too motivated to try to figure it out. That said, I will put some time into it anyway - if for no other reason than to figure out a reliable workaround when I experience it.

I wonder if there's a way to monitor both fuel tank levels via PIDs with a scanner. Maybe graph them over time to see if there are glitches or other weirdness (technically speaking...)

 

[Bigburb3500]

Picture is a snip from Duraburb’s YouTube video and you can see the split tanks here.

Interesting thought, would be cool if we could flip between front/back tanks like the old Fords with dual tanks.

 

[Geotrash]

View attachment 452509
Picture is a snip from Duraburb’s YouTube video and you can see the split tanks here.

Interesting thought, would be cool if we could flip between front/back tanks like the old Fords with dual tanks.

Part of the beauty of the dual tank system that we have is that all of the fuel transfer is automatic. But I can also see the value of having a reserve tank to switch to… Especially when pulling a camper.

 

[Geotrash]

I wonder if there's a way to monitor both fuel tank levels via PIDs with a scanner. Maybe graph them over time to see if there are glitches or other weirdness (technically speaking...)

That’s a good question. I’ll find out.

 

[adventurenali92]

Really like the wheel and tire setup! Wheels are good looking for sure! Put a ceramic coating on them and they’ll be super simple to keep clean.

 

[Geotrash]

Really like the wheel and tire setup! Wheels are good looking for sure! Put a ceramic coating on them and they’ll be super simple to keep clean.

Thank you! That’s definitely what I’m going to do this week.

 

[Geotrash]

Picked up a class V hitch from a guy on FB who used to have a Suburban 3500. It’s a bolt-on replacement for the factory hitch, but as you can see also lacks the holes for the electrical socket and spare tire hoist. So I’ll have to figure that part out when the time comes. No rush - the factory hitch is fine for our current camper but for $100 I couldn’t pass up the deal. Apparently these are hard to find.