PDX_Jay
Member
FOR SALE: 2005 Chevy Suburban
Location: Portland, Oregon
Price: $13,100 OBO
Mileage - 180,600 (still being driven, so mileage will go up about 200-400 miles/month)
This is the 5.3l V8. My fav years of these are the 2005-2006. Last years of these models, before they got a little more luxury oriented, but a few things a nicer than the 2004 models, such as the electric radiator fan, rather than engine driven. Great, solid, very comfortable, long-lasting trucks (just search your local craigslist - finding these with 300k miles on them is common). As reliable as a Toyota? I think not...but on the upside, parts are far cheaper, and readily available as soccer moms across the country loved the Suburban...and the 5.3 liter has been around for ages, and is easy to work on.
This vehicle has been our camping vehicle for the last four years. We were inspired by Suboverland to build out this as an overland / camping vehicle (check them out at www.suboverland.com), but rather than a full-time camping conversion, chose to outfit it with flexibility in mind. This build allows us to maintain as much of the functionality of the truck on a daily basis as possible. So rather than doing a sleeping platform with drawers, I built a removable camping box in the rear, that can quickly removed by releasing two latches. I can remove the (empty) box myself, but it’s easier with two people. One of the biggest (and most under-rated) benefits of this setup is that it keeps your mattress much lower, so you can easily still sit up in bed, with plenty of head room. And when you're laying down, you're below the window line, so feels much more private).
If you'd like to get into vanlife, but the cost of entry is just too high, this is a great lower budget option. It's more capable (true 4wd with a transfer case, more clearance) hauls more people (seatbelts for 8), can easily switch from camping mode to weekend project mode to haul 4x8 sheets of plywood. It's a great vehicle, and we'll miss it. Moving on to a full-size truck with camper though, and don't want this just sitting around.
The Suburban basically has 3 modes:
1. Max passenger mode - with all seats in it can fit 8 people, AND you can still fit the camping box the back (although you won’t have much room inside for any bags/luggage…but you’ve got the roof rack and cargo pod). This is great for day long adventures, taking lots of friends, and still having the fridge for cold drinks, and a nice food prep station to make lunch or serve hot drinks after a hike.
2. Camp mode - third row removed. A full size mattress (nearly, it had to be trimmed slightly) fits between the camping box and the front seats, once you fold down the second row. It’s a tri-fold 4” thick high-density foam mattress, very comfortable, and when folded, fits nicely behind the second row of seats. I’m 6’ and fit nicely. You probably wouldn’t want to be much taller than that, and try to sleep in the truck with the camp box still in (unless you’re by yourself in which case you can sleep diagonally, and have plenty of room). This is how we usually have the truck setup - it’ll still hold 5 people, and a bunch of camping gear, so great for weekend trips with friends (you’ll need a tent, as the truck only sleeps two).
3. Max cargo mode - remove camp box and 3rd row. you now have a 4 x 8 foot flat area, perfect for hauling drywall, plywood, etc.
Truck Upgrades:
Maintenance highlights:
Camp box details:
The camping box holds our 12v Dometic Fridge (runs off secondary battery), 6 gallons of water in a slide out jug w/faucet, a collapsible slide-out sink, butane stove, pull-out prep table area, and two storage box/drawers that can be pulled all the way out and set outside the vehicle, or just used as drawers. We used these two boxes to hold all our dishes/silverware/pots/pans, as well as dry food items. On the back side of the box is a small cubby , which when the mattress is setup made a great place to keep items you didn’t want to misplace at night - flashlights, glasses, etc. A matching table folds up, and fits over the top of the box, holding the top 3 drawers closed. When removed, we use it as a prep table, or coffee table around camp. It sits about 18” high with the legs extended.
Camping/Adventure related modifications
Power System
With this setup, my wife and I can easily be out for 4-5 days. The solar panel keeps secondary battery topped off, so the fridge can run indefinitely, lights, charging our phone, occasionally boiling water in our electric water kettle, and charging our laptops (when we’re working remotely) off the inverter. The secondary battery auto-disconnects from the main battery when you turn off the vehicle, to prevent accidentally draining both batteries. Then reconnects when the vehicle is running, so that both batteries charge off the alternator.
This is not a new truck, so not gonna be perfect - but I've taken good care of it, stayed on top of maintenance (this is a great truck to work on, easy to service, and parts are plentiful and cheap), but as a reminder - the truck has been used primarily for off-grid camping - has some scrapes, dents, and dings, interior carpet isn’t perfect (has one big stain that was from previous owner, looks like a bottle of brake fluid or something spilled). Don't expect a showroom vehicle
More photos available on my instagram
Location: Portland, Oregon
Price: $13,100 OBO
Mileage - 180,600 (still being driven, so mileage will go up about 200-400 miles/month)
This is the 5.3l V8. My fav years of these are the 2005-2006. Last years of these models, before they got a little more luxury oriented, but a few things a nicer than the 2004 models, such as the electric radiator fan, rather than engine driven. Great, solid, very comfortable, long-lasting trucks (just search your local craigslist - finding these with 300k miles on them is common). As reliable as a Toyota? I think not...but on the upside, parts are far cheaper, and readily available as soccer moms across the country loved the Suburban...and the 5.3 liter has been around for ages, and is easy to work on.
This vehicle has been our camping vehicle for the last four years. We were inspired by Suboverland to build out this as an overland / camping vehicle (check them out at www.suboverland.com), but rather than a full-time camping conversion, chose to outfit it with flexibility in mind. This build allows us to maintain as much of the functionality of the truck on a daily basis as possible. So rather than doing a sleeping platform with drawers, I built a removable camping box in the rear, that can quickly removed by releasing two latches. I can remove the (empty) box myself, but it’s easier with two people. One of the biggest (and most under-rated) benefits of this setup is that it keeps your mattress much lower, so you can easily still sit up in bed, with plenty of head room. And when you're laying down, you're below the window line, so feels much more private).
If you'd like to get into vanlife, but the cost of entry is just too high, this is a great lower budget option. It's more capable (true 4wd with a transfer case, more clearance) hauls more people (seatbelts for 8), can easily switch from camping mode to weekend project mode to haul 4x8 sheets of plywood. It's a great vehicle, and we'll miss it. Moving on to a full-size truck with camper though, and don't want this just sitting around.
The Suburban basically has 3 modes:
1. Max passenger mode - with all seats in it can fit 8 people, AND you can still fit the camping box the back (although you won’t have much room inside for any bags/luggage…but you’ve got the roof rack and cargo pod). This is great for day long adventures, taking lots of friends, and still having the fridge for cold drinks, and a nice food prep station to make lunch or serve hot drinks after a hike.
2. Camp mode - third row removed. A full size mattress (nearly, it had to be trimmed slightly) fits between the camping box and the front seats, once you fold down the second row. It’s a tri-fold 4” thick high-density foam mattress, very comfortable, and when folded, fits nicely behind the second row of seats. I’m 6’ and fit nicely. You probably wouldn’t want to be much taller than that, and try to sleep in the truck with the camp box still in (unless you’re by yourself in which case you can sleep diagonally, and have plenty of room). This is how we usually have the truck setup - it’ll still hold 5 people, and a bunch of camping gear, so great for weekend trips with friends (you’ll need a tent, as the truck only sleeps two).
3. Max cargo mode - remove camp box and 3rd row. you now have a 4 x 8 foot flat area, perfect for hauling drywall, plywood, etc.
Truck Upgrades:
- K&N filter
- 2” lift with Bilstein front & rear
- New plugs & wires
- Larger tires (about 33”) 285/75 R16 BF Goodrich AT KO2
- Z71 heavy duty rear coils
- Gauge cluster converted to LED
- Dome lights converted to LED
- Electric trailer brake controller added
- Black Bear ECU tune for better mpg
- Replaced all headlights (as old ones were getting pretty faded)
- tube-style running bars not installed, but included (I don't like them, not as sturdy as I hoped, although could be modified to be better)
Maintenance highlights:
- Regular oil changes, full synthetic every time
- 4wd switch module replaced (2018)
- TPMS sensors replaced 2018
- Tranny flush and new internal transmission filter (2019)
- All 4 O2 sensors replaced (2019)
- New water pump (2022)
- Replaced transfer case (with similar mileage used one) (2022)
- Both starter and secondary battery replaced 2022
- HVAC control unit replaced 2022 (was producing a phantom power draw that I finally tracked down).
Camp box details:
The camping box holds our 12v Dometic Fridge (runs off secondary battery), 6 gallons of water in a slide out jug w/faucet, a collapsible slide-out sink, butane stove, pull-out prep table area, and two storage box/drawers that can be pulled all the way out and set outside the vehicle, or just used as drawers. We used these two boxes to hold all our dishes/silverware/pots/pans, as well as dry food items. On the back side of the box is a small cubby , which when the mattress is setup made a great place to keep items you didn’t want to misplace at night - flashlights, glasses, etc. A matching table folds up, and fits over the top of the box, holding the top 3 drawers closed. When removed, we use it as a prep table, or coffee table around camp. It sits about 18” high with the legs extended.
Camping/Adventure related modifications
- Full-length heavy duty roof rack
- Thule Cargo pod
- Smittybilt 8ft Awning
- Dometic CF18 12v fridge w/insulated cover to improve performance
- Window vent-visors - all 4 windows - so you can leave the windows cracked for ventilation when sleeping in the vehicle without getting rain inside.
- WeBoost Drive 4G-X OTR cell phone booster in center console
- Console-mounted Midland MXT115 MicroMobile Two-Way Radio (works with handheld GMRS radios, so I usually keep a few of those to lend out to friends when we’re traveling together)
- 4 LED recessed puck lights installed in rear hatch, wired to secondary battery. Really lights up the meal-prep area at night
- Snow chains for all 4 wheels included
- Come-along hand winch included
Power System
- 1000w GoPower pure sine inverter in custom center console with dash switch & monitor - outlets in center console and at rear hatch
- Dual battery system w/smart disconnect
- Dual wireless phone chargers in center console
- Renogy 100w solar panel (with quick disconnect) mounted on roof rack
- Renogy 30a solar charge controller in custom ceiling mount
- 12v outlets wired to secondary battery in center console, as well as rear back hatch
With this setup, my wife and I can easily be out for 4-5 days. The solar panel keeps secondary battery topped off, so the fridge can run indefinitely, lights, charging our phone, occasionally boiling water in our electric water kettle, and charging our laptops (when we’re working remotely) off the inverter. The secondary battery auto-disconnects from the main battery when you turn off the vehicle, to prevent accidentally draining both batteries. Then reconnects when the vehicle is running, so that both batteries charge off the alternator.
This is not a new truck, so not gonna be perfect - but I've taken good care of it, stayed on top of maintenance (this is a great truck to work on, easy to service, and parts are plentiful and cheap), but as a reminder - the truck has been used primarily for off-grid camping - has some scrapes, dents, and dings, interior carpet isn’t perfect (has one big stain that was from previous owner, looks like a bottle of brake fluid or something spilled). Don't expect a showroom vehicle
More photos available on my instagram
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