Alaska Build

[CoJeeper]

Looking to start a suburban build for a trek to Alaska in 2016. I have been thinking of a suburban and wanted to know if the frame was the same between the 1500 and 2500? is the difference just in the springs?

My thoughts are of a slight lift on the truck, Atlas II, and possibly a 6.2l diesel swap.
The goal for this project is to end up with something that can hit the back roads and forest trails of Colorado and beyond with the wife and two kids. Also, pull the 48 Willy’s along for the more out of the way trails.

Everyone thinks I am crazy and say I should get a Toyota land cruiser or 4 runner.

I have a line on two burbs right now. An 87 1500 and a 90 2500. Help point me in the right direction?

 

[The Griff]

For what it's worth, I would say 3/4 ton, just for the beefier everything, Full floating axles, bigger brakes.


This sounds a lot like something me and my Dad had planned before he passed away, we were going to use my 94 3/4 ton Ford with the Alaskan slide in camper, pulling the Jeep behind us.

 

[wage92]

Looking to start a suburban build for a trek to Alaska in 2016. I have been thinking of a suburban and wanted to know if the frame was the same between the 1500 and 2500? is the difference just in the springs?

My thoughts are of a slight lift on the truck, Atlas II, and possibly a 6.2l diesel swap.
The goal for this project is to end up with something that can hit the back roads and forest trails of Colorado and beyond with the wife and two kids. Also, pull the 48 Willy’s along for the more out of the way trails.

Everyone thinks I am crazy and say I should get a Toyota land cruiser or 4 runner.

I have a line on two burbs right now. An 87 1500 and a 90 2500. Help point me in the right direction?

First off, welcome to the forum

just two things that stood out to me upon reading this really quick, are you sure a 6.2 diesel is what you want. I think a gasser would be better for 2 reasons, first off, an old 6.2 diesel might not be the best to take to a cold place like alaska, im just worried about starting troubles. Secondly, also to do with the 6.2, they arent known for being able to tow really well if that is something you are planning on doing alot you might want to consider a different route.

As for your other questions, i believe the frames are the same for a 1/2 and 3/4 ton, i think they only changed when you get up to 1 ton (springs and axles change in 3/4 ton).

I guess the first thing you need to do is establish a budget, and from there we can help guide you to the best route to accomplish your goals within your budget.

 

[CoJeeper]

my dad and I were in the middle of planning a trip to Alaska when he Passed suddenly 2 years ago. he talked about seeing Alaska from the ground as he spent years flying over it in the Air Force. I have been leaning towards the 3/4 ton, although it is a little more money up front.

did you ever make it to Alaska?

 

[CoJeeper]

Thanks Wage,
The only reason I threw out the diesel was due to a conversation I had with others stating that was the way to go. Not married on the idea as I have had trouble with my 09 F250 this last week with negative degree weather.

As far as budget goes.. I have not really put anything together yet as I think that will depend on what I end up with. At a minimum I will pull the running gear and go threw them. Was going to add an Atlas II to it as I a friend had one and blew his rear drive shaft and we were able to get home. Not sure we would have been able to do that otherwise.

I will admit I am a bit green when it comes to the off roadin part of the auto world. The goal is to end up with something that can navigate the back roads and forest trails. Not going to be doing any extreme rock crawling or lifting it to the moon.

 

[wage92]

seems like an attainable goal to me. Just need to plan it out, especially if you want something that will drive to alaska and back without any major problems.

 

[The Griff]

my dad and I were in the middle of planning a trip to Alaska when he Passed suddenly 2 years ago. he talked about seeing Alaska from the ground as he spent years flying over it in the Air Force. I have been leaning towards the 3/4 ton, although it is a little more money up front.

did you ever make it to Alaska?

Me? No, we didn't he passed away 3 years ago. We also considered using the 26' Argosy if he had finished restoring it in time.

 

[Metrodps]

You mean some thing like the Dante's Peak Suburban?

 

[CoJeeper]

Yes. that is one of a few threads that I have been trying to pull idea's from. I like the height on that one. the rear bumper from PMA build. think it was that one. been looking at so many

 

[Stomis]

Now this is totally an outside looking in opinion but its also coming from someone who was dreaming up a very similar build to yours. In a big ass burban I wouldnt touch adventuring into Alaska w/o a dana 60 front end under that heavy truck. Reading the Alaska reports on here guys are always 50-100 miles just into the woods let alone the distance to a parts store. Im not saying spend $4000 on a front end but get one under there with some 35 spline outers and have a huge piece of mind when you're in the middle of no where.

The frame discussion has also come up before and I believe that despite the overall design being the same the 3/4 is thicker, and worth it. Not to mention you'll already be 8 lug with that setup and depending on the truck you'll have a 14bff already.

The 6.2 is a great motor, even better with a turbo setup like the banks or a stock 6.5 setup adapted to it. Its going to get better mileage and more importantly superior range off road. Be aware it has the same power level as a typical 350 of the era. In other words they're nothing to write home about in the speed/acceleration department. They will tow, the same as a small block truck with the same downfalls listed above. They're just certainly no Duramax if you're used to that.

Depending on your budget putting a 5 or 6 speed transmission from a later truck can be extremely beneficial.


As far as people thinking your crazy. The Alaska guys can attest to the fact that full sizes will get you everywhere up there. At least from all the trip reports and photos this seems to be the case. Im a huge advocate of wheeling something small. I traded in my k10 to build an isuzu trooper expo rig because I got tired of never fitting through the woods around here. I dont think that will be the case there. In fact I would say you'll be happy you've got the room. Idk how crazy you're looking to go here but a happy medium in the size department would be bobbing the ass of the burb or building a next gen tahoe with a solid axle swap.

 

[colbystephens]

Looking to start a suburban build for a trek to Alaska in 2016. I have been thinking of a suburban and wanted to know if the frame was the same between the 1500 and 2500? is the difference just in the springs?

My thoughts are of a slight lift on the truck, Atlas II, and possibly a 6.2l diesel swap.
The goal for this project is to end up with something that can hit the back roads and forest trails of Colorado and beyond with the wife and two kids. Also, pull the 48 Willy’s along for the more out of the way trails.

Everyone thinks I am crazy and say I should get a Toyota land cruiser or 4 runner.

I have a line on two burbs right now. An 87 1500 and a 90 2500. Help point me in the right direction?

I loved my 6.2 engine, but I sure wouldn't want to tow with it. If you are going to pull the Willys, I say don't do the 6.2.

There's a bunch of guys on here from AK, and they have an annual wheeling excursion. Their requirements are giant tires (38" minimum) because the "hard" trails there seem to be a lot of this strange mud/clay/organic mixture. They drive large Chevy trucks. So, I think you'll be fine choosing a Suburban instead of a Toyota. The extra space might be more comfortable on that long of a trip. I bring this up, though, because I am wondering why you would want to haul an extra vehicle with you when you could set up the Suburban to do everything you'd want to do up there.

If you're going to be hauling something else to be using for really tough trails, then an Atlas is kind of pointless to put in your Suburban, in my opinion, and thus a giant unnecessary expense.

For what it's worth, I would say 3/4 ton, just for the beefier everything, Full floating axles, bigger brakes.

A '90 Suburban likely has a 14 bolt semi-float rear end, not a full floater like is common in earlier ¾ ton Suburbans.. It is a good axle, and does have larger brakes than it's ½ ton counter part. There's nothing special about the front end, which is just a ½ ton 10 bolt with 8-lug hubs.

One benefit of the ¾ ton truck is that it's likely to have better gearing than the ½ ton, and thus a better option for running slightly oversized tires without having to switch gears. If you don't go up in tire size too much, it'll also pull better than the ½ ton without a gear swap.

Assuming both trucks are in similar condition, I say go with the '90. You'll have an NP241 transfer case in that, which has slightly better gearing than the NP208 in the '87.

 

[Stomis]

Assuming both trucks are in similar condition, I say go with the '90. You'll have an NP241 transfer case in that, which has slightly better gearing than the NP208 in the '87.

He raises a good point about the 241. Other than being a better tcase than the 208 there is also a slip yoke eliminator kit available for it. Should you break a rear driveshaft with the 241 and a fixed rear yoke it can be removed and still driveable with front wheel drive.

 

[black dawg]

which tranmissions are in these two burbs?

 

[CoJeeper]

I would not be towing the jeep on the Alaska trip. Just getting it to some of the trails here in CO that the suburban probably would not fit.

Sounds like I don’t gain to much with that diesel swap. Could probably build out a stronger 350 or drop in a big block.

the 90 is $700 cheaper than the 87. However, I probably will be spending more on upgrading the breaks and suspension so am I really saving that much. might be cheaper with time and money to swap out just the transmission then upgrade both the breaks and the transmission.

I do not know what transmission each has in it. should be stock. going up next weekend to look at the 2500 as it is 3 hours away.

 

[black dawg]

the newer burb will have shoulder belts for the kids.
My drivetrain of choice for that kind of trip would be tbi 350, manual trans, 60 and a 14 bolt.

and if you have never had a burb, everything else is pretty easy to change and modify, but me personally, I will never own another burb with a tailgate.

 

[Stomis]

How crazy are you looking to go? Are we talking a total gut/repower or are you looking for something to make some of the factory stuff work?

 

[CoJeeper]

Stomis, not sure I understand what you mean?

I am not looking to get to wild here. Not looking to climb a rock wall.
Something that old I will pull the motor and do a rebuild and send the transmission off to be checked. Breaks are for sure going to be gone through.

Not sure about the axles. I want something that I do not have to worry about coming apart on me. I blew up the rear end on my 69 mustang fastback and went through a telephone pole road racing in my early years. I think I am a little smarter now. but still want to make sure I don't break an axle on some back road with no way to get out.

 

[CoJeeper]

the newer burb will have shoulder belts for the kids.
My drivetrain of choice for that kind of trip would be tbi 350, manual trans, 60 and a 14 bolt.

and if you have never had a burb, everything else is pretty easy to change and modify, but me personally, I will never own another burb with a tailgate.

has anyone done a auto trans to manual trans swap here? sorry, I have not done a search to check this out before I asked but will. thought if it has been done someone could point me in that direction.

 

[Stomis]

has anyone done a auto trans to manual trans swap here? sorry, I have not done a search to check this out before I asked but will. thought if it has been done someone could point me in that direction.

Its been done. Ask away. Theres really not much to it other than ordering the factory manual parts and sourcing replacement brake and clutch pedal assembly from the junkyard. Everything is already dimpled in the firewall to be drilled.


If you dont want to worry about your front end all the way out in the middle of no where I would go with a dana 60.

Buy a 350 or 6.2 truck pull the motor and rebuild it and replace the trans/tcase with a nv4500/241.

 

[CoJeeper]

So is sounds like going with the 2500 is the preferred choice for the heaver breaks and suspension. Rebuild the 350 and not worry about the diesel conversion. swap the auto to a manual going with an nv4500/241 or nv4500/atlas II for added wow factor but might be a bit over kill. change front to Dana 60's. with that is that a whole new front end or can I just swap the axles?