DarkandShiny
Registered Member
Hello everybody,
I hope nobody minds a newbie creating a new thread. I have spent the last couple weeks spending many hours reading hundreds of different threads. My compliments to everybody here as the raw ingenuity and mechanical skill many of you have is extremely impressive. My hope is that I can tap into that knowledge to help me build the vehicle of my dreams.
My situation is as follows: I am a thirty-something desk jokey who manages a small private equity fund that specializes in start-up companies. I have spent the last 10 years building a firm that has many successful companies in its portfolio. The time has come for me to enjoy life a little bit and devote more time and focus on my family. I have a beautiful wife and 3 children ages 5 to 2, and we are planning on having one more. Looking back on my childhood, my most precious memories involve camping and the outdoors. I was fortunate enough to have been raised in a wonderful home where my Father, who wasn't an avid outdoors-man, took the time to spend a lot of quality time with his children in the beautiful wildernesses of Utah. I would like to repeat his performance.
So last year I loaded up the Honda Odyssey with my wife and children and headed out to the La Sal mountains to a plush cabin a friend of mine owns. We had a fantastic time and my wife and I committed to do more "adventures" together as a family. But my poor minivan couldn't even handle the 7 miles of dirt road we needed to travel. We ended up ripping off the front valance and it was clear we needed a more capable vehicle.
The day after we got back I headed into the Toyota dealership looking for a Land Cruiser (I grew up with a 60 series) as I knew it to be capable of hauling six people and a bunch of gear. To my utter shock I discovered a new Land Cruiser costs more than 85k out the door. So I turned on my heals and headed to the Chevrolet dealer down the block. I looked at the Tahoe and Suburban and quickly decided that the Tahoe didn't have enough storage room behind the 3rd row bench, so I started pricing out the Suburban. I was also dismayed to find the cost out the door at more than 55k but wanting to be a good father, I paid cash and left with a shiny new Suburban.
Less than a week later I loaded up the wife and kids again and headed out to the same cabin, as it was still available and I wanted to try out my new toy. We were very comfortable in the Suburban as it handled the dirt roads just fine. One evening in the cabin my wife found a guide book of different off road trails that contained a description and rating for each. With a new vehicle and a thirst for a good time and a little adventure we chose a trail not far from the cabin with a rating "EASY - This trail is hardly more difficult than a dirt road, able to be completed with a front-wheel drive sedan". The trail was an 'out-and-back' and we had a great picnic at the end. On the way down however something broke on the Suburban and I couldn't turn the wheels. Not having a clue what was wrong or how to fix the situation I began to worry about my predicament. We were about 6 miles from the cabin, so we could conceivably walk but I didn't know what to do afterwards. Just then a guy with an old Chevy Blazer with big wheels drives up (we hadn't seen a soul before) and asked how he could help. I explained the situation and he graciously had the five of us get in his truck and we started back to the cabin. We talked about my brand new Suburban and how excited I was to explore with my family and how disappointed I was to have broken down. "Shoot buddy, this ain't nothing. Let me show you this!" and with that he took a sharp turn off the dirt road and onto a trail up and over boulders that seemed to be as big as my house. I had no idea a vehicle could do what we did. My wife and I were white knuckled and my kids were screaming with delight. We had a fabulous time.
A flat bed truck took my Suburban back to the dealership where they told me what was broken and how a Suburban really isn't meant to go off road. "It is more of an 'All Weather' vehicle" the sales guy told me. Well I wanted no part of that after my taste of real adventure with my new friend and his '85 Blazer. So I sold the truck back to the dealership. They were pretty great about it and I lost very little money.
That was a year ago and I have been through several other vehicles since and we've enjoyed many off road adventures as a family. My current rig is an 80 series Landcruiser that has been modified by "Proffitt's Cruisers" and has several goodies like an Atlas II transfer case, but it just isn't big enough and I've had too many reliability issues for me to be comfortable with. I find myself wanting the suburban again but I must have an off-road capable rig.
Several weeks ago I found this forum and have been absorbing information as quickly as I can ever since. Here is my list of requirements:
-- I have decided that I would like a 85-91 Suburban.
-- I would like it to be as capable off-road as a vehicle of its size can be.
-- It needs to be comfortable and safe on-road as well; reality demands that most of the time we travel on the interstates.
-- My wife also insists on not riding in a 'rust bucket' so the truck will have to be as clean and modern as a new vehicle (fortunately we have LMC and other vendors)
-- I would like everything under the sheet metal to be new(ish) and modern. LS engine (or similar), 6L80E transmission (or similar, Allison 1000?)
-- Suspension needs to be awesome as I'm not that good of driver
-- Dana 60 upfront, 14bff or Dana 80 outback. ARB Airlockers on both axles
-- I love my current Atlas II so I'll probably keep that
My question to you all is - Is this possible? And if so, what would your fantasy rig look like? Please include a reason as to why you would choose a particular component e.g. a Dana 80 over a 14 bolt. I'm amazed at the vehicles built by this forum's members, mostly done on a fairly low budget. My budget is around 45k, but I can go up or down as needed.
Sorry for the novel, thanks for your input.
I hope nobody minds a newbie creating a new thread. I have spent the last couple weeks spending many hours reading hundreds of different threads. My compliments to everybody here as the raw ingenuity and mechanical skill many of you have is extremely impressive. My hope is that I can tap into that knowledge to help me build the vehicle of my dreams.
My situation is as follows: I am a thirty-something desk jokey who manages a small private equity fund that specializes in start-up companies. I have spent the last 10 years building a firm that has many successful companies in its portfolio. The time has come for me to enjoy life a little bit and devote more time and focus on my family. I have a beautiful wife and 3 children ages 5 to 2, and we are planning on having one more. Looking back on my childhood, my most precious memories involve camping and the outdoors. I was fortunate enough to have been raised in a wonderful home where my Father, who wasn't an avid outdoors-man, took the time to spend a lot of quality time with his children in the beautiful wildernesses of Utah. I would like to repeat his performance.
So last year I loaded up the Honda Odyssey with my wife and children and headed out to the La Sal mountains to a plush cabin a friend of mine owns. We had a fantastic time and my wife and I committed to do more "adventures" together as a family. But my poor minivan couldn't even handle the 7 miles of dirt road we needed to travel. We ended up ripping off the front valance and it was clear we needed a more capable vehicle.
The day after we got back I headed into the Toyota dealership looking for a Land Cruiser (I grew up with a 60 series) as I knew it to be capable of hauling six people and a bunch of gear. To my utter shock I discovered a new Land Cruiser costs more than 85k out the door. So I turned on my heals and headed to the Chevrolet dealer down the block. I looked at the Tahoe and Suburban and quickly decided that the Tahoe didn't have enough storage room behind the 3rd row bench, so I started pricing out the Suburban. I was also dismayed to find the cost out the door at more than 55k but wanting to be a good father, I paid cash and left with a shiny new Suburban.
Less than a week later I loaded up the wife and kids again and headed out to the same cabin, as it was still available and I wanted to try out my new toy. We were very comfortable in the Suburban as it handled the dirt roads just fine. One evening in the cabin my wife found a guide book of different off road trails that contained a description and rating for each. With a new vehicle and a thirst for a good time and a little adventure we chose a trail not far from the cabin with a rating "EASY - This trail is hardly more difficult than a dirt road, able to be completed with a front-wheel drive sedan". The trail was an 'out-and-back' and we had a great picnic at the end. On the way down however something broke on the Suburban and I couldn't turn the wheels. Not having a clue what was wrong or how to fix the situation I began to worry about my predicament. We were about 6 miles from the cabin, so we could conceivably walk but I didn't know what to do afterwards. Just then a guy with an old Chevy Blazer with big wheels drives up (we hadn't seen a soul before) and asked how he could help. I explained the situation and he graciously had the five of us get in his truck and we started back to the cabin. We talked about my brand new Suburban and how excited I was to explore with my family and how disappointed I was to have broken down. "Shoot buddy, this ain't nothing. Let me show you this!" and with that he took a sharp turn off the dirt road and onto a trail up and over boulders that seemed to be as big as my house. I had no idea a vehicle could do what we did. My wife and I were white knuckled and my kids were screaming with delight. We had a fabulous time.
A flat bed truck took my Suburban back to the dealership where they told me what was broken and how a Suburban really isn't meant to go off road. "It is more of an 'All Weather' vehicle" the sales guy told me. Well I wanted no part of that after my taste of real adventure with my new friend and his '85 Blazer. So I sold the truck back to the dealership. They were pretty great about it and I lost very little money.
That was a year ago and I have been through several other vehicles since and we've enjoyed many off road adventures as a family. My current rig is an 80 series Landcruiser that has been modified by "Proffitt's Cruisers" and has several goodies like an Atlas II transfer case, but it just isn't big enough and I've had too many reliability issues for me to be comfortable with. I find myself wanting the suburban again but I must have an off-road capable rig.
Several weeks ago I found this forum and have been absorbing information as quickly as I can ever since. Here is my list of requirements:
-- I have decided that I would like a 85-91 Suburban.
-- I would like it to be as capable off-road as a vehicle of its size can be.
-- It needs to be comfortable and safe on-road as well; reality demands that most of the time we travel on the interstates.
-- My wife also insists on not riding in a 'rust bucket' so the truck will have to be as clean and modern as a new vehicle (fortunately we have LMC and other vendors)
-- I would like everything under the sheet metal to be new(ish) and modern. LS engine (or similar), 6L80E transmission (or similar, Allison 1000?)
-- Suspension needs to be awesome as I'm not that good of driver
-- Dana 60 upfront, 14bff or Dana 80 outback. ARB Airlockers on both axles
-- I love my current Atlas II so I'll probably keep that
My question to you all is - Is this possible? And if so, what would your fantasy rig look like? Please include a reason as to why you would choose a particular component e.g. a Dana 80 over a 14 bolt. I'm amazed at the vehicles built by this forum's members, mostly done on a fairly low budget. My budget is around 45k, but I can go up or down as needed.
Sorry for the novel, thanks for your input.
