2010 Tahoe Build Now with Solar

[Axlesup]

Hey Folks! been lurking here for a while and finally found a rig for me to build. Looked at a lot of different vehicles from motorhomes to vans to bread trucks before i finally decided to use a 4x4 SUV. i narrowed my search down to landcruisers, pajeros, patrols, suburban/tahoes & outbacks. eventually I found this tahoe and bought it.

Why a Tahoe you ask? the 5.3/6speed combo is a powerful, reliable & efficient combo. i have seen many of these powertrains go over 300k without any major issues and some over 400k. it has an independant coilover front suspension and a multi link coil sprung rear suspension. this makes for an incredibly smooth ride on or offroad. add an 8000 pound towing capacity and a good GVWR making it perfectly setup for carrying all the camping gear i can muster. i know some people think the tahoe is a huge truck but in reality it is slightly smaller than a short bed standard cab pickup.

My goal is to make it into a comfortable vehicle for exploring the remote wilderness for weeks or even months at a time. with that in mind i found an LS with dual bench seats and the third row delete. this gives me the ability to carry 6 people and still have a 44"x48" cargo area. this one has the premium ride suspension which consists of the softests springs available and the largest shocks. it also has the skid plate package and the towing package. the towing package is a pretty big deal since it adds the "HD" cast iron block 5.3 instead of the AL block, the 2 speed t case instead of a single speed, 3.42 gears, a G80 rear locking diff and oil/tranny auxiliary coolers. it also has 4 wheel disc brakes. i couldn't have ordered it better myself.


So far i installed a pair of bilstein adjustable front coilovers set to maximum ride height. that gives me 37"s to the front fender well and 37.5"s to the rear fender well. since the truck has 92k miles and i know these components usually wear out around 100k i went ahead and replaced the tie rod ends, the sway bar links, all 4 ball joints and the front wheel bearings. i also did the tranny cooler lines since they were starting to weep a little and flushed out all of the fluids. i added a 62" roof rack and built a custom rack for the cargo area to hold my snomaster fridge/freezer and a platform that lines up with the seat when folded down so i can sleep inside the truck. i designed it to fit 2 5 gallon hedpaks in front of the fridge. i haven't decided if i am going to put a drawer in the storage area or just hinge the platform like a lid or some combination of the two. i will add a second platform piece that will extend over the folded down seat. it is still a work in progress but it is getting closer.

i also have a 200 watt solar panel that i will mount to the roof rack with a piano hinge so i can open and close it like a lid. it will be hooked up to a victron controller to charge the 24v 60AH lifepo4 battery pack i built. i tested the fridge with a single 12v 70AH AGM battery and it lasted for 2 days with a little power to spare. i tested it with my lifepo4 battery pack and it lasted a week before needing a charge. i also added a dual AGM battery setup under the hood to backup the solar system and supply power for the hidden winch i will eventually install behind the front bumper. i also replaced the one plastic skid plate with a louvered aluminum one.

 

[Axlesup]

second try with smaller pics:

 

[Axlesup]

just for giggles my other two rigs:
85 suzuki jimny sj410
85 silverado

The SJ is a blast offroad but is a bit too small for camping more than a couple of days and isn't the fastest thing on the highway.
The Silverado is great for trips but eats too much gas to take very far. it is getting better the last trip out of state was getting close to 12 MPG which is a lot better than the 8 it was getting. it has been slowly going up as the powertrain breaks in.

 

[Axlesup]

despite all the rain i managed to get a couple of coats of stain followed by two more coats of poly onto the sleeping platform. i also installed a couple of cross braces to tie the two rails together. my piano hinge came in as well and i now have a functioning "lid" for my under sleeping platform storage compartment.

i haven't decided how i will latch the lid. i am thinking a pair of magnets is simple and fool proof. i also am not sure if i want to put dividers in the cargo compartment or maybe a slide out tray to hold my cook stove.

 

[Axlesup]

took it out to the sand bar on the river today. i have to say i like the bilsteins. i wouldn't say they are more stiff or harsh but they are definitely more controlled.

i nearly got stuck in 2wd in the sand but the G80 locker did its job and found a bit of slightly firmer sand with the driver side tire and got me back to firm ground. i turned the knob to 4wd and drove all over the beach without any issues. even over the rutts where someone else had clearly gotten stuck.

I am not sure if i got stuck in 2wd if i can flip the switch and get out? i know in the previous generations you had to get the front tires moving slightly to engage the 4wd. if anyone knows for sure i would love to hear it.

 

[UltimaSanctus]

On my '04 you can switch between 2hi/4hi/auto whenever you want but have to be completely stopped in neutral for 4lo. I've also heard you can roll at 1mph and be fine but I wouldn't risk it

 

[Axlesup]

once i take the cooler out all i have to do is drag the whole thing out onto the saw horses. the sunny weather allowed me to stain the rest of the wood. i left the underside of the platform plain so it would reflect a little more light into the storage area. not sure if i want to mount some lights in the compartment or not.

the magnetic latches got delivered after i finished with the stain. i installed one of them and it seems to hold the lid shut fine. they are 20# cabinet latches. now i have to decide if i want to use struts to hold the lid open or something else.

i was amazed at how much difference the stain made in the looks of the unit. might put a couple of coats of poly on it like i did the platform.

 

[Axlesup]

got the solar panel test fitted. i riveted on some spring loaded latches so hopefully they will stay latched while in motion. i built the latch plates out of some 3/16" steel flat plate i had laying around.

the piano hinge is stainless steel. it is only temporarily mounted with a few self tapping screws. i will rivet it in place with the same 3/16' stainless rivets i used on the latches. then i will trim off the excess and round off all the corners.

the panel is a 200 watt 24 volt 72 cell high wind and snow load panel. i may reinforce the edge that the latches are attached to since it is a long span without any mounts.

so far so good it opens and closes cleanly. it is very heavy so i may try some struts to make it easier to open. i also have a few spare magnetic catches that i may use to keep it from rattling against the latches.

 

[Axlesup]

got the hinge cleaned up today. it is much stronger than i thought it would be. now time to start wiring it in to the victron and the battery pack.

 

[chilliwak]

Your Burb looks good Mr Axle. It will be cool to see what you get up to with that rig as well as following your upgrades and offroad adventures. Cheers, Chilli... ?

 

[Axlesup]

The Pandemic has slowed down the build and cancelled my summer travel plans. i was planning on doing the continental divide trail i saw on this sight. i was thinking of using an old cell phone i have in a drawer with gaia gps on it. i could also use that phone to interface with the victron bluetooth to monitor my solar system without tying up my primary phone. i also found a SAT phone under the seat of the tahoe when i got home. i called the dealership and they had no idea who the phone belonged too and suggested that i just keep it LoL. plans are kinda pricey for an emergency device but we'll see maybe i'll end up using it.

on to today's doings:
i test mounted by battery pack in the well under the seats. it fit perfectly. i made a wooden clamp out of the left over bits from the cargo platform to hold the pack together. with the seats down it puts just enough pressure on the pack to push it down into the carpet a little and keep it from moving around. i am going to leave it down there for a few days and see how it rides before i build a nicer clamp to hold it in place and wire it in. with the seats in place you would never know it's down there.

 

[rayra]

Nice batteries. Make sure the pressure of the seats is not going to deform or damage them. And that the pressure isn't even higher when someone is in the seats.

Is there provision / option for a 2nd under-hood battery in the gmt900s?

Is the intent of the high mounting for the panel to try and fit gear under the panel? That looks like 6-8" of height there between the panel and mesh? You'll want to be sure the panel wiring is protected from shoving gear in and out of that space.
And also when it comes time to wiring things, possibly consider relocating the charge controller out from the back of the panel, into the vehicle.

 

[tyler.armijo]

That is a slick setup for the batteries as long as like rayra said it doesn’t increase pressure on the batteries with rear passengers. Almost like they were made for that spot


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Axlesup]

the latches on the seats are very tight. the bit that touches the battery pack is the plastic covering for the latching mechanism and it just barely presses down on them. without the wood backing it doesn't even touch the batteries. i don't think it will be a problem but that is also why i am testing them for a couple of days. better safe than sorry. i think i am going to use some peg board for the battery mount. it will be thinner than the 1/2" stuff that is on their now plus it will breathe a little.

i bought those cells because they are very sturdy compared to other aluminum cased cells and they fit perfectly in the well. they even came with bus bars for the side mount as well as the normal bus bars!

The GMT900s have a tray for a second battery. it even has the threaded hole for the hold down. all i had to do was run a ground to the engine block and a positive to the primary battery. i bought both batteries and installed them at the same time so i wouldn't have to use an isolator. simple is better in my book especially when dealing with a "smart" alternator.

Good eye it is right at 7"s. i am using the solar panel like a lid for the roof basket. it will have room for my tent/chairs/folding table & toilet under it. the wires will run down the edge of the panel to the hinge and then down the rail of the rack. that way i don't have to leave a bunch of slack to allow the solar panel to open and close. the controller will be inside the truck near the battery pack. that box you see is just a junction box for the panels connections. i may install a few cross braces of aluminum flat bar under the panel to keep things from jumping up and hitting the underside of it. i will be using a cargo net under the panel but you never know when offroading. i would be super sad if my panel got cracked. it is pretty tough but stranger things have happened.


PS:
you do realize that now i have to go outside and stick my hand under the seat then flop around on the seat just to make sure it doesn't move any LoL

 

[Axlesup]

if my neighbors didn't already think i'm crazy they do now LoL I went out and flopped around on the seats and they didn't budge at all. i pulled a couple of cells out and they still look like new. i also realized that they sunk into the carpet enough so that the plastic seat covering doesn't quite touch them now.