Outer Limits 4x4 Board

G'day all, my boss is thinking of buying a suburban as his next car. He asked me if i knew anything about them offroad wise, which i dont.
So, if anyone knows anything about them i would love to hear it so i can pass it on.

He is not intending to do serious off road, more touring/family camping but would like to travel to cape york at some stage.

I guess if you put a standard landcruiser or patrol as a 10 on a scale of 1-10, where would the suburban fit?

thanks,

They are huge so that comes into play in Aussie conditions. The width and length of them make it very hard for them to physically fit on some tracks.

they can be made to work quite well, but need a lot of lift to solve breakover angle problems which then lead to other driveline issues.

It all depends on how deep his pockets are, how much 4wheeling he really is going to do. Check out the US sites as they are far more common there and you will find a multitude of modded ones. In the long run he maybe better off getting a Patrol or Toyota.

But I do like them especially if they are like Brian Waddels that won Top truck Challeneg a couple of years ago

What type of Suburban are you talking about? A used old bodystyle (up to 1999) or the new bodystyle?

The new ones are a lot better truck but don't come in a diesel. The 5.3L is a great little motor in the new ones. The new H2 Suburban is basically just a different body on a 2500 series Suburban.

If lenght if going to be such a problem there is always the Tahoe which has the shorter wheel base.

The LT models come with a rear diff lock std I think.

auto_eng wrote:The new ones are a lot better truck but don't come in a diesel. The 5.3L is a great little motor in the new ones. The new H2 Suburban is basically just a different body on a 2500 series Suburban.

Crikey you must be used to some pretty big engines!

Jason

For the later bodystyle pickups you mostly see 6.0L or 8.1L petrols or a 6.6L Turbo Intercooled diesel (300hp standard and 705 Nm or torque).

I know a few people who would like them to make the Suburban with the diesel in it. Not sure if they will.

They also only came out here with drums on the rear.

Very poor design for a truck that big, which would be most likely towing

About the smallest suspension lift you can get is usually 6" !!!
You have to look hard to get a 4"
Long is for sure, not that much wider compared to patrol or cruiser.

Chevy - GMC - Caddy
Silverado / Seirra / ??? is the pickup.
Suburban is the long wagon
Tahoe / ??? / Escalade is the short wagon

All are available as 2wd and 4wd, and 1500 (half ton), 1500HD, 2500 (3/4 ton), 2500HD, 3500 (1 ton) weight rating although now even the 1500 is capabable of the 1 ton.
Regular cab, extended cab (5 seats), Crew cab (4 real doors and 5 seats).
Fleetside short box (6'6" feet), Stepside box and long box (8 feet long)

Tow weights are huge, from 3.5 tons upto over 8 tons.

Engines range from a 6 cyl, a 4.8l v8 both never seen as an import after all who would want them.
And the higher spec trucks being 5.3l v8 in the ligher duty trucks, 6.0l v8's for the 2500, 3500, optional 8.1l big block v8 and 6.6 duramax deisel v8.
Trannys are 4L60/65 for 5.3's, and 4L80's and Allison 5 speed auto for 6.0, 8.1, 6.6 v8's
+ 5 and 6 speed manual options.

All that info is for post 98 trucks.

Evan

when i was in canada there were afew suburbans out wheeling, they were as capable as the hummers

With about 7in lift and 38+ tyres and big V8's they were awesome to watch in the mud, other wise pretty lame. to long and low.


NICK

Thanks for the info everyone, i thought just as much but now i can pass on other peoples views aswell. I think he will still end up getting one anyway, mainly for towing and touring. He wants the turbo deisel 8, so should be good fun to drive!

thanks again