Gcollin

Howdy all. I have always wanted a camper van, but couldn’t justify spending $15,000 on a 4x4 van, I had access to an old ‘98 Suburban with a perfect 4x4 system, and it’s about the same size as a van anyhow so I decided to pour all my hopes and dreams into this old beast and see what we could accomplish together. I picked up the suburban on the side of the road 8 months ago, it was parked in front of my grandpas house and literally had weeds growing THROUGH it and 2 active wasps nests. I have done all of the work on this thing by myself (I work for a Camper Van Company which made the whole process easier for sure). But I digress and will allow the photos to speak for themselves.





I am still working on the interior but it will be a full class B RV. It will have a toilet, Shower, sink. Kitchenette, oven, fridge, microwave, 2 burner stove. Furnace, 4K TV with a game console (Switch) and even a record player for all of my Zeppelin albums. I would post photos but all you would be looking at is a bunch of half finished plumbing and electrical wires, and ain’t nobody got time for that mess so I’ll post more photos when I am finished,

Gcollin

I have been working on the interior throughout the week (when I can).


This is the TV box, I used truck bed carpet to line the interior and covered all wood components with mineral oil to help prevent mold growth. This is made from Baltic Burch

TV box installed. The ceiling will mount to the bottom of the box which will completely hide the box when it is closed. (Pictures to follow) (I know, it doesn’t look square, but it’s not done yet)


I made custom wall and ceiling panels with Pine that was killed by Pine Beetles.

I am a Colorado Native and we have a pretty bad Pine Beetle problem out here, so I thought that using reclaimed Beetle Kill would give the Suburban Camper a nice Colorado Vibe.

I coated the panels with Polyurethane to prevent any mold growth. This is coat 2/3

Gcollin

Large front overhead cabinet for storing clothes.

Interior is almost done, I just need to build trim pieces for the opening of the camper top and I need to make a shroud for the ceiling fan (which will be walnut or oak)

Trapdoor

Butcher block cutting board insert for the sink, I have a kitchen sink sprayer that I use as my faucet. Still need to install the paper towel rack.

This is my winter time cooler, the inside of this storage compartment is insulated but the floor is not which keeps the inside nice and chilly, if I am doing winter camping then I just use this as my cooler. Otherwise I use it to store some of my 4x4 recovery gear.

The plumbing is finished. I have a 21 gallon fresh water tank and a 3 gallon grey tank. 2.5 gallon chemical toilet.

The bed has a removable panel that frees up floor space when not in use, the bed is 72”x40”, enough room for me and the dog,

I made oak door panels for the rear doors but am now thinking I want to redo them with beetle kill pine instead

oldchevy

The dog seems to like it!!

Gcollin

I just added a roof rack to the Suburban Camper, bought it for $50. I also built a cargo box that I bolted onto the rear door, I store my (2 20lb) propane tanks and a trash bag in the cargo box. I made the box out of oak plywood and pine 2x2 with truck bed liner to waterproof it and aluminum L-angle on the edges, it’s not pretty but it works. I bolted the box onto the internal frame for the rear door, I then cut out a 3” hole to run my propane lines into. The box will hold 2 20lb BBQ style propane tanks and a large canvas trashbag. The door to the box folds down for a table surface and has neoprene to create a ”weatherproof” seal.
I installed front and rear light bars and am planning on putting light bars on the sides too, to make it easy to scope out camping spots from the road if it’s dark out. The rear end is starting to sag pretty bad, I think a lift kit is gonna be the next thing I need to add. Still need to buy a new spare tire too, the Wild Peaks that are on the suburban are 2” taller than the current spare tire, it’s kinda pointless to even carry it with me. I installed a 40w solar panel to trickle charge the house batteries (which are two 65ah 12v batteries), I plan to increase the size of the whole system to 200w of solar and 480ah of battery (plus I got a smart isolator relay that I still need to install)

NostrADAMus

Hello, also in Colorado been thinking about adding a top to my suburban. Like what you did. How did you make the top part?