BuyBigSUV

Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster here!

I can't seem to figure out which would be best for me based on what I'm going to use it for. I have about $20k-ish to spend, cash, and need some help figuring out to get either a Suburban, or a Yukon XL. Please help me decide

My needs:

• I need to the SUV to be long (both are ~220inch length)
• I need to remove the whole 2nd row seat
• I need to remove all but 1 (or half if bench) of the 3rd row seats
• Note: I won't be using the seats, so whatever is cheapest knowing this would be nice.
• Note #2: The seats are being removed just to provide a nice, big space, for my dog to hang out, to put a little table and work from the sole seat left in the far back, and to roadtrip and have spot to sleep.
• Note #3: I would probably remove any seat brackets from the 2nd row, and the 3rd row unused one. I would be custom fitting carpet over it all as well.
• Must have 4x4
• 5.3L V8 (I need mpg over towing)
• I'd like the floor to be as low as possible, as in, not a lot of chair mounting crap if I can. Probably not, just tossing this in.
• I will be adding either 1.5" or 2.0" wheel spacers as well as replacing front bumper with a bumper/grill guard as well as a minor lift. North snow/offroad helping stuff. Tires would be a mix between handling dirt/snow light offroad with a lot of road use (75% street highway 25% offroad)
• Is the Z71 really worth it?
• Front seats being ventilated would be nice

Some other thoughts

• Is there an aftermarket gas tank that can be swapped that is 40-60 gallons?
• Has anybody added a 2nd or 3rd battery and a larger alternator
• I am planning to wire 6awg from the battery (or battery bank, see above) to the back w/a 750w-1000w inverter. Any suggestions on a good, quiet inverter?
• Has anybody ever put a solar panel on the roof? If so, feedback?

Lastly, for a budget around $20k-ish for the initial purchase, is there any idea what model / year / mileage I could get? Any ideas where to buy from?

Many thanks in advance!!!

73shark

Welcome to the forum.

The Suburban and Yukon XL are essentially the same truck w/ different grilles. Don't think ventilated seats became available 'til around 2010.

Wheel spacers are a bad idea.

BuyBigSUV

Yea 2010 is what I was figuring for the seats.

Why do you say the wheel spacers is bad? I've done the mathematics using David Roper's Physics Guidelines on NHTSA "Physics of Automobile Rollovers", the extra 4" in the width of the vehicle stance, when plugged into the v^2=2g((sq1/2)^5 + h^2 -h) formula would state that that the initial square of the speed needed required to trigger a rollover requires an increase of nearly 30% of required speed. This is a massive safety gain. The only downside I can see is the extra wear on the bearings. I've ran by some of the mathematics of applied force of lever physics, and I would guestimate the bearings to wear 25% faster. For me, the tradeoff of 25% wear for making a trip (rollover) highly unlikely is very easy to make.

For other people reading this thread, if you have installed wheel spacers, how does the drive @ post near-trip and after the spacer install near-trip feel to you?

73shark

Besides the extra stress on the bearings, the extra stress on the lugs is what can hurt if you lose a wheel at speed.

The wider track will cause the truck to sit a little lower.

LTL4life

I havent removed the 2nd row seats, however the first day i brought my Suburban home
the 3rd row seats were removed and put in storage. I have the largest airline approved
Dog crate mounted in place for my German shepherd and still have room for stuff back there, Go with a Suburban

SWHouston

Succinctly...

I need to the SUV to be long (both are ~220inch length)
GO WITH THE SUBURBAN - BURBS AND DOGS WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER :biggrin:

I need to remove the whole 2nd row seat
UNNECESSARY, 2ND ROW FOLDS DOWN OUT OF THE WAY

I need to remove all but 1 (or half if bench) of the 3rd row seats
Note: I won't be using the seats, so whatever is cheapest knowing this would be nice.
Note #2: The seats are being removed just to provide a nice, big space, for my dog to hang out, to put a little table and work from the sole seat left in the far back, and to roadtrip and have spot to sleep.
Note #3: I would probably remove any seat brackets from the 2nd row, and the 3rd row unused one. I would be custom fitting carpet over it all as well.
GOTTA REMOVE WHOLE BENCH, YOU CAN BUILD/BUY A FOLDING CHAIR LIKE FOR A BOAT SINCE IT'S TEMPORARY, AND JUST DO A SIMPLE MOUNT

Must have 4x4
YES !

5.3L V8 (I need mpg over towing
A GOOD CHOICE

I'd like the floor to be as low as possible, as in, not a lot of chair mounting crap if I can. Probably not, just tossing this in.
NOT A LOT YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS

I will be adding either 1.5" or 2.0" wheel spacers as well as replacing front bumper with a bumper/grill guard as well as a minor lift.
YOUR CHOICE

North snow/offroad helping stuff. Tires would be a mix between handling dirt/snow light offroad with a lot of road use (75% street highway 25% offroad)
LOTS OF TRADEOFFS TRYING TO MAKE A TIRE DO SEVERAL THINGS WELL, PICK A DUTY AND GO WITH IT

Is the Z71 really worth it?
I THINK SO

Front seats being ventilated would be nice
HEATED YES, VENTED NOT SURE IF THAT IS AVAILABLE

Some other thoughts

Is there an aftermarket gas tank that can be swapped that is 40-60 gallons?
HERD OF PUTTING SECOND TANK WHERE SPARE GOES, THAT'S USUALLY ABOUT A 30GL THOUGH

Has anybody added a 2nd or 3rd battery and a larger alternator
I am planning to wire 6awg from the battery (or battery bank, see above) to the back w/a 750w-1000w inverter. Any suggestions on a good, quiet inverter?
YES ON SECOND, RARE ON THIRD BUT POSSIBLE. USE AN ISOLATOR AND KEEP YOUR CRANK BATTERY SEPARATE FROM HOUSE'

Has anybody ever put a solar panel on the roof? If so, feedback?
NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PROJECT

Good luck !

BuyBigSUV

I wrote a huge response about the engineering with direct stress shearing but this website keeps on dumping my cookie and requiring me to re-log in. Grr.

Anyway, stress on the lugs is not a problem in any fashion as the engineering behind the lug nuts would allow not only wheel extenders, but also easily double the entire vehicle weight of the Suburban. Essentially, lug nut stress is not even a factor.

You mention the wider track causing the truck to sit lower. I am trying to think of how this would happen but can't quite imagine. The horizontal length that the suspension sits on is inconsequential.

As I dig into the engineering of everything, I honestly can't see a single reason why this isn't done by default. The PRO of safety is immense.

BuyBigSUV

That's exactly what I have as well for a dog crate! This is great feedback that it would fit nicely.

I'm thinking though, instead of the crate, I'd just let my dog roam in the entire back.

I came up with some more ideas on the layout:

I would remove the 2nd row. I would keep only half of the back row bench.

I would then build a custom enclosure out of basic, cheap wood, with heat reflecting tin, to house 4x AGM 12V 200Ah batteries (possibly even 6/8/10). These batteries are fully enclosed and need no venting and can be operated at all angles. I would then add a third compartment to the enclosure to house a 1000watt high-efficiency inverter. I would take the 2 120v leads and extend them to a plug-in which I would have on the side of the enclosure, making it easy to plug in whatever. I would probably also expose 2x 12V car power connectors. The enclosure would be carpeted over to match the interior.

The enclosure would be centered right up against the back door, anchored using just a simple angled bracket which is secured simply by having the back hatch closed, making it real easy to move around. Because the AGM batteries are extremely heavy, having it centered in the rear of the vehicle not only defends against tip-overs, but actually helps PREVENT them as well.

I would then wire 4ag from the main battery to the back under the factoring paneling. For safety, I'd install an inline fuse to match the inverter, probably 60A. I would probably install a 200A alternator as well. I would set up single pole switch to cut off my enclosure unit from the main engine battery.

This would give me some pretty massive power for the inside of 800Ah total!

I could power a laptop for nearly a week, and could also install a small 12v fridge behind the sole 3rd row 50% seat and have it powered nearly all the time if I wanted, including 24+ hours with the vehicle off.

Also, with 800Ah (could expand to 2000Ah) I could easily put in a separate mini AC 12v unit to keep the cabin cold with the car off, in case I wanted to take a nap overnight, dog cool while in store, etc.

BuyBigSUV

Hey SWHouston, thanks for the awesome responses!!



>> GO WITH THE SUBURBAN - BURBS AND DOGS WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER :biggrin:

Indeed they do I'm excited to get one pretty much JUST for this reason. Oh, and I work a lot out of my vehicle w/a laptop, so this would be perfect!

>> UNNECESSARY, 2ND ROW FOLDS DOWN OUT OF THE WAY

They do but at the expense of a TON of space which is definitely needed. A LOT of space is wasted. I'm just going to yank them out and throw them away or such.

>> GOTTA REMOVE WHOLE BENCH,

Even if it is a 60/40 split? Can't I just remove the 40 side and keep the 60? Doooh, I hope I can!


>> USE AN ISOLATOR AND KEEP YOUR CRANK BATTERY SEPARATE FROM HOUSE'

That's a great idea! I was thinking of just using a bipole switch, but on second though, I think having a switch that is a 3 way (3 path), with 1 path being through an isolater, another being straight through, and a third being OFF. That way I could crank the engine, or just have 1-way power, or just completely isolate.



I'm going to research more about adding a solar panel. I think I could put a low profile extremely high efficiency one to the roof @ 200watt.

Also, what if the back 2 windows of the suburban weren't tinted or polarized, but instead, were clear glass w/solar panels on the inside of the burb? This would look really, really smooth from the outside, and still provide some decent power on the inside. I'm still researching this....

73shark

The spacers increase the leverage that the wheel has on the lug bolts (not nuts). Same thing on the suspension. Easily visualized by using 12" spacers for an example.

You seem to be very worried about rolling over. Are you planning on going off road?