RE: Picture From Last Saturday Night....
What CG is that? Looks like Shinnecock. Judging by the pic looks like you got 2 sites?
I think it's an awesome idea and I'll bet you've made a lot of friends like that. Key is to be respectful of the neighbors, make the image smaller if too bright and turn it down if too loud. The real problem is that some folks after a few beers think the whole CG wants to watch the race...
RE: How much HP & torque do I need ?
OMG DOWNSHIFT MY TRUCK IS FALLING APART I NEED MORE POWER!!!
....said the guy with the Banks PowerPack, Diablo tune, and 4.56 gears....LOL....
BTW, I took your advice on the KYB Monomax shocks, can't wait to get the ol' girl back together and see how it rides.
RE: 2013 Dodge Ram with or without air suspension?
The proper way to set it up is with the air turned off, set the WD system then turn the air back on.
That's true with air-assisted load leveling like the 1500 Suburbans and some other SUVs have. If you have air bags in place of actual springs, like the big rigs do, you'll sit mighty low with no air in them....
Best to read the owner's manual before dialing in a WD hitch with that suspension.
RE: Ford Australia
Interesting stuff. Like the Aussies are the victims of their own success.....I wonder if the unions will wind up making concessions to save the jobs like they did here in the US.
RE: Here is something to chew on.......
My Suburban was made in Silao Mexico....but the $10,000 in profit GM made from it went to Detroit. Face it folks, this is a Global Economy. Toyota has plants here that create blue collar assembly jobs screwing cars together, and the profits go back to Japan.
GM assembles and sells cars in China, and creates fantastic jobs for the Chinese in their plants there....but the profits come home to Detroit, where GM creates more white collar engineering, finance and other non-assembly jobs.
BTW, the Mexican Suburban was assembled using a lot of parts made in the US and elsewhere.
So, does "buy American" mean a product from an American company, regardless of where it is made, or a product made in America regardless of what company made it? What about a product made in America by an American company controlled by foreign investors? Gets silly after a while.....
RE: "Little things to know" about 2500 series Suburbans/Yukons?
I have 146K miles on mine and it is currently up on jack stands while I replace all the brake lines and fuel lines. The price I am paying for all those years of camping on the beach by the ocean...*sigh*. Doubt you will have those issues with an AZ truck. I figure once I'm done with new stainless brake and fuel lines I'll be good for another 12 years!
Now for some facts: The 8.1L ran from 01-07 in the pickups, but only 01-06 in the burbs. The 01-02 models got the 4L80E trans, 03-06 got the 4L85E. The 85 isn't any "beefier", just some minor upgrades. The Allison was not available in the burbs, it wouldn't fit under the floorpan.
My 4L80E has been bulletproof with regular fluid/filter changes. Both are the electronic version with OD of the old GM TH400, a bulletproof transmission that GM ran for years. Do a Google search, the 4L80E is the preferred trans in many hot rod applications, and they can be built to hold 1000 HP.
The 03 model year did get some upgrades like steering wheel audio controls, digital OnStar, etc. If you are an OnStar fan, be aware that the 01-02 OnStar modules are analog, and do not function since the FCC gave the cell companies the ability to kill analog service. There is NO upgrade, they will never work. 03-04 had dual band sets and can be upgraded to work, 04+ was digital and no worries.
Rear axle on the big block is the GM 14-bolt corporate unit with 10.5" ring gear, another bulletproof component that GM has used for years. Tow rating on the 4.10 gears is 12,000 lbs (GCWR 19,000), 10,500 (17,000) for the 3.73 gears.
GVWR on the truck is 8600, empty with driver and full tank of gas the LT model scales at 6700.
Plan on replacing the factory hitch receiver if you tow heavy, they are junk. new one runs about $150.
Be aware that big block burbs came with a "mandatory" option of AutoRide. This is different on the 2500 than the 1500, in that it is not an air system with auto-leveling. The AutoRide system on the 2500's uses shocks with magnetic fluid, and the Ride Control Computer uses a ride sensor at each corner to vary the viscosity of the fluid at some ridiculous fast rate. Ride is outstanding, you would never think you were in a 3/4 ton truck.
Now for the bad news....the design life on the shocks is around 125,000 miles and they are $250 EACH to replace. I am in the process on installing eBay resistor kits to fool the RCC into thinking shocks are there, and I am installing KYB Monomax's. I hated like heck to lose AutoRide but I just couldn't bring myself to spend $1000 on shocks. Be aware, there is NO SUCH THING as a big block 8.1 Suburban without AutoRide. The 6.0 may or may not have it as it was an option, but it came as a package with the 8.1. Will let you know how it rides with the KYB's when it's all back together.
Overall, great truck with a solid drivetrain. Any other questions I can answer please feel free to PM.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/IMAG0710.jpg width=640
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Burbman/IMAG0708.jpg width=640
Forgot to mention I have the Helm factory repair manuals if you need any info.
RE: Interesting travel day
WOW that's scary....I know on my '01 Suburban, if the engine is running and ANY door is open, the BCM will not allow the doors to lock. Pressing the door lock button will cause the doors to lock and the BCM immediately unlocks them. The 98 and 01 Grand Prixs are like that too, I thought all new cars had the same "don't allow the doors to lock when the engine is running and a door is open" logic built in....maybe check the owner's manual, sometimes you can select from several options on when doors lock/unlock.
RE: 00 Expedtion 5.4, 3.55's, HD trailer towing, 17" wheels
You are not going to want to tow a 31' TT with an Expeditrion, with those soft coil springs in the back. Durnage has too short a WB. Excursion is the best option, or the 1500HD truck.
RE: incline parking for storage
If you level the TT in the driveway then there is no need to worry about leaving the fridge on, you just don't want to run the fridge off level for any period of time or possible damage may occur. Fridges are meant to operate off level to some extent, unless you only drive on perfectly level roads.....Running them at extreme angles for long periods interferes with the circulation of the ammonia solution which relies on thermodynamics to work properly, and that's what can cause the damage.
At any rate I would make plans to store the TT level even if the driveway is steep...make getting in/out and packing stuff a lot easier, also easier on the slide mechanism if you have one, plus you can leave the fridge on too....
Makes no difference if on 120v or gas...the fridge works exactly the same, the only difference being whether the ammonia solution is heated by a gas flame or an electric heating element.
RE: Cant believe what I saw...overweight camper
The title of this post is "overweight camper" not "overweight trailer"....
http://c450.canstockphoto.com/can-stock-photo_csp4696402.jpg width=640
RE: outside tv mount
Be careful drilling holes....RV walls are only 1" or so of cavity space, so if there is a wire in the wall you are likely going to hit it. I would have a good look around at what's mounted where and see if you can account for wires going to lights, outlets, etc. Also with the depth limitation you will likely only be able to use 1" or less lag bolts so be sure you have adequate support for the weight. Also be sure to use putty tape between the mount and the side or the RV, then caulk around the edges when done.
What size TV are you looking to mount?
How do plan to connect the coax to the antenna and electric? Remember that if you take the TV in when traveling that the resulting coax and elec outlets will need to be covered from rain and road grime.
RE: changing battery triple AAA into 12 volt
We had a Christmas party at the house, and I stuck one of these on the steel mailbox post so it would shine on a "this is the house" sign that I made. Retrieved the sign the next day but since it was daylight I forgot about the puck light. Mailbox is 200' from the house so never noticed the light.
I happened to be outside a week later in the evening and noticed the light. It had stuck to the mailbox post with its little magnet in the rain and snow, and had been ON for a week straight and was still shining, although not as bright since the cheapo batteries were about dead.
LEDs use such little power, you could likely camp all season with these guys and not need to change the batteries, not worth the effort to wire to 12v IMO.
RE: K&N Filters
In before Ben posts his shop vac hose CAI.
We need to start an awards process for nominating best posts ever!!!!
FWIW it was a dryer vent hose......
RE: Double trailer vs 2 vehicles
Here's another option that a hybrid...get the 4WD Suburban and use it to tow the boat. Go camping with the Suburban towing the boat and the Venture towing the popup. You can split the kids and toss a coin on who drives what. This gets you out of two trips, avoids the double-tow and it never hurts to have a second vehicle available especially with that big of a clan.
RE: Spontaneous Window Shatter?
Had it happen twice on the Suburban...once was the loooong rearward window on the drivers side, the other was the rear passenger door. Both happened with no apparent cause....the first time, the truck was parked in the driveway and I was working from home. My desk faced the window in the home office that looked out onto the driveway, but was closed due to a/c being on. Daughter came home from school and said "What happened to the truck?" Went out and looked and the window was totally shattered but still in place in the frame.
Same thing happened on the rear door, except I noticed early in the morning. Best guess was sudden temp change or something. Had both replaced under insurance and no issues with either since.
RE: Shocks for HD Trucks?
Had originally thought the Bilstein 5100's but have decided on the KYB Monomax's. Will be ordering next week. Despite the "made in China" claims I have seem, KYB is quite a reputable company, with a technology legacy dating back to WWII and US manufacturing facilities. Spend some time on the KYB Global website, very interesting. I can get all 4 shocks for less than one Monroe AutoRide....
Shocks for HD Trucks?
Well, now that the "manual vs automatic" topic has been about beat to death, let's move to a better topic: KYB or Bilstein?
With 141K on the clock, I reallly need shocks and just cant bring myself to spend $1000 on a set of Monroe Autoride Shocks. OEM was Delphi and they stopped making them. I found a "cheater" harness that you plug into the Autoride harness at each shock to trick the computer into thinking that the shocks are still connected and it won't set any codes.
The truck isn't lifted but I do have 8" rims (up from stock 6.5") that effectively widen the track of the truck by 3". I'm looking at either the Bilstein 5100's or the KYB Monomax's.
I don't offroad a lot, but the ride could stand to be a little stiffer on the hiway.
Anybody running a 250/2500 HD truck please ring in with your opinions/comments/experiences on shocks.
