Recent content by Martinjmpr

WRT a "budget" DC-DC charger I paid less than $120 for my Renogy 20a DC-DC charger. Or to put it in modern terms, it cost me less to buy that DC-DC charger than it does to fill the tank on my truck. ;) (current record: $144 and some change.) I don't think you can get much cheaper than...

One thing I forgot to mention is that while all of the GMT800 4x4 Tahoes and 1500 Suburbans came with 2 speed transfer cases, starting with the GMT900 platform the standard T-case was a single speed on the Tahoe, Non-Denali Yukon and 1500 Suburban. The Escalade and Denali, of course, have a...

I ran 33's on my 2004 (GMT800) Suburban and they did fine. Took me everywhere I needed to go. I did a simple key lift up front and put Z71 springs in the back to give me maybe an inch or so of "lift" and it worked fine. The other nice thing about 33's (mine were 285/75/16s on the stock...

Just keep in mind that if you want a 2500 you can't get it in an Avalanche in the GMT900 platform, as the 2500 Avalanche was only offered in the GMT800 platform (2002 - 2006.) So if you really want a 2500 you'd have to have either a pickup or a Suburban / Yukon XL (and in my experience, GMT900...

It was through Ford (ESP.) And I had to have someone come out and do a quick inspection and a 10 minute test drive in order to qualify.

Well, you asked two questions. When to trade up? There's no real good answer for that. I wish I had traded up my 2004 Suburban before the transmission grenaded (for the second time) 30 miles East of Vernal, UT while on a camping trip. That not only cost me $3500 for a new transmission, it...

I'd say your biggest concern should be the transmission. I don't know what the 6L60 costs but when I had to have my 4L60 replaced in 2019 it was about $3500 OTD at a shop in Vernal, UT. That got me a new (or remanufactured) GM trans with a 3 year/100k warranty. My '04 Suburban didn't have...

I've had Cooper Discoverer M+S tires on my non-off-road vehicles for years. Aggressive enough to do OK on fire roads, dirt roads, etc. Also excellent in snow if you live in the snow belt. There is a set on my wife's CR-V right now. I also had a set on an R-50 Pathfinder I owned for about a...

There is a Tahoe/Yukon message board I used to be on that has a lot of good info on stuff like this. I'd check there, chances are someone else has done this and can probably give you all the info you need. Chevy Tahoe Forum | GMC Yukon Forum | Tahoe Z71 | Cadillac Escalade - Tahoe Yukon Forum

We've been carrying a Pulaski for years. Works well for us but I'm thinking of getting one of those log splitter things for smaller or more irregular sized pieces.

At the risk of jumping into the "generation wars" that seem to light up social media :rolleyes: there seems to be a weird trend among baby boomers and Gen Xe'rs (and I say that as a young boomer, born in 61', so really right on the cusp of the boomer/X era) to try and imbue the things of their...

For overlanding a hybrid with a ICE generator under the hood would make the most sense. Make it like a diesel/electric locomotive where there's no mechanical connection between the engine and the drivetrain, the motor just charges the batteries. No need for a transmission or transfer case.

Eh, they were OK. No better or worse than any other vehicle of that era. Compared to modern vehicles, ALL of the 1960's trucks and SUVs were overweight, underpowered, undersprung, noisy, slow, thirsty, polluting, poorly handling, unsafe, and unreliable. Anybody who says otherwise is either...

WRT overlanding, I wonder if what we would see with EVs is people carrying auxiliary generators (yes, and the fuel to power them) so as to extend their range? How small and fuel efficient COULD you make a gas or diesel generator and still have enough power to recharge an EV? I don't know how...

Well, two sad things about that old 'Binder: 1. Being a dumb kid, I didn't really know how to take care of it, never changed the oil in 2 years, and it had constant intermittent electrical problems even after I had some of the wiring redone at considerable cost (around $1000 in 1981 which...