Big ol Burban?

Addicting

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SW Michigan
Really had my eye out for a clean square body suburban for a hunting rig.

They can be had relatively cheap and can be built to be bulletproof. With a LS swap and 6l80e they can get 15ish on the highway. Also sage brush won’t rip plastics off when you have to turn around. Plus they should make a fine hotel for the night.

Anyone have any stories of hunting out of one?

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I had an 85 K5 Blazer with a 350, black in color. Bought it for the purpose of hunting but ever hunted with it. Climbed a lot with it, it was the funnest vehicle I’ve owned. Such a bada$$ wagon.
 
Anything that age in Minnesota would be totally rusted out.
I’m headed to AZ by way of Wyoming this fall and have 4 days to kill in southern Utah / northern AZ. I’ve been scouring FB market place looking at them.

I’m on my 7th year heading west to hunt and have done pickups with and without toppers, SUVs, and a car. I really think this era truck is probably the best all around ride.

New vehicles have a nice ride in the highway but suck ass on two tracks. I’ve ripped more than one plastic piece off more than once.
 
I used to camp outta my ol 99 GMC yukon. The seats folded down and made the perfect bed. That thing would go anywhere. Some kid blew the engine up within 6 months of me selling it to him.
 
My old man has used one as a hunting rig the past few years. Seems to do the trick but complicates getting game out of field vs a truck of course. I wouldn’t bat an eye at using one given their clearance and space!
 
I had a 1988 3/4 ton stick shift suburban for a few years. I liked it but froze my ass a time or two sleeping in it. Had to get up and run it for a while to warm up. When it is actually cold out I prefer a heat source other than the engine. I would have liked it better if it was a half-ton because it rode unnecessarily rough.
 
I had a 1988 3/4 ton stick shift suburban for a few years. I liked it but froze my ass a time or two sleeping in it. Had to get up and run it for a while to warm up. When it is actually cold out I prefer a heat source other than the engine. I would have liked it better if it was a half-ton because it rode unnecessarily rough.
I was wondering about that, doing a buddy heater with the windows cracked would probably work.
 
My old man has used one as a hunting rig the past few years. Seems to do the trick but complicates getting game out of field vs a truck of course. I wouldn’t bat an eye at using one given their clearance and space!
I have a hitch rack that I have found I like quite a bit. I’ve also pulled a little quad trailer before and that worked well.
 
When I was a kid my mom had a 1990 3/4-ton 'Burb with the 454. Buddies and I borrowed it all the time and took it hunting and to the lake when we were in high school. We could sleep four people in it when we camped out for duck hunting, two in the front seats, one each in middle and back bench seats, decoys, waders, and shotguns in the back. It carried a bunch of dead wild pigs in the back on a tarps (don't tell my mom, we may have missed a tick or two during clean-up). It was a tank, loved that thing.
 
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Anything that age in Minnesota would be totally rusted out.

I would imagine it would be hard to find any older Suburbans in the upper Midwest- guys buy them and convert them into “tubers” (ie mobile ice fishing shanties).

Something about the location of gas tank/exhaust configuration makes them perfect to pop holes in and fish from the back seat from what I’ve heard.
 
I would imagine it would be hard to find any older Suburbans in the upper Midwest- guys buy them and convert them into “tubers” (ie mobile ice fishing shanties).

Something about the location of gas tank/exhaust configuration makes them perfect to pop holes in and fish from the back seat from what I’ve heard.
those and old mazda trucks
 
Would be a cool project. If you really wanted you could cut a hole in the roof and run a wood stove, would just have to add a gasket and fabricate something to close the hole when not using the stove. I’ve seen a few overland rigs doing that.

Or just drop the coin on a earthroamer.

I’d like to build out a first gen tundra into an overland hunting rig.
 
It was a complete rebuild with forged internals. L96 with a mild 218/224 cam and CNC ported 799 heads. Should be around 480 - 500hp if I did my homework right. Not really anything special about it.
500 horse is nothing to sneeze at. And it will start every time and run forever. With the OD transmission mileage shouldn't be horrible. mtmuley
 
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