The Story Of A Cummins Suburban (Lots Of Pics)

[1985-GMC]

I'd paint the roofs of both that silver color that's on the blazer

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by justcuz

I used the 3 leaf one ton springs in the front of my 1976 3/4 ton. It brought the front end up about 1 to 1.5 inches. I know they ride fairly stiff though. Some aftermarket companies make a 2.5 inch lift for the 73 and up trucks. You could install those springs and move the rear mount back a couple inches. 73-91 Suburban 4x4 springs are longer than 67-72 springs by a few inches right?

We have a 93 truck and a 92 Blazer also. Both are the same color maroon and the paint on the roof and hoods are just starting to peel. We don't live in Az. though with the heat and sun exposure you get, although you can't prove it by me with the weather we have been having the last couple weeks. I'm ready for a road trip to Oregon! Still having trouble posting my picks because they may be too big, will try to resize and see what happens.

The springs on the 73-91 are indeed longer. We discussed those along with every other vintage and length of front and rear spring used on GM trucks. I think we are still in the brainstorming phase at this point. There are some changes coming to his truck before too long and having things thought out in advance will help reduce the down time (hopefully). We'll see.

Both of my trucks are on their second paint job. Unfortunately, the guy who painted my wife's truck did not do as I requested and the clear coat is burning off as we speak. The clear coat is long gone on my truck so the base coat is burning off of that. I really should do something about it, but, well, meh....

For your photos try Photobucket or something similar. They resize automatically when you upload them and has the [img] code available in the drop down menu so all you have to do is copy and paste it. Pretty easy.

[mosesburb]

Here is the deal, I am waaay behind on posting pics of pretty much everything, but we did a run of about 370 miles this past weekend and I decided to post the pics. Now normally, I spend a fair bit of time editing the pictures for this or that, but this time I decided not to edit them as I take too long to do that, thus not posting them for a long time, so here are my un-edited trip photos.

This is near the start heading down Perkinsville Road. That is Sycamore Canyon off in the distance there:



A short while later we came to the Perkinsville Bridge over the Verde River. This is Lance's Suburban rolling across it:



A short distance after that, we came to a small bridge that crossed this little wash:



This truck is sooo cool:



This truck is cool too (even though it has one of those stinky gas engines in it):



Some scenery viewed off the west side of a shelf road. Probably looking north of Paulden here (just an approximate guess)



Shortly after that we were treated toa HAM radio display by the trail leader Mark. Lance and Brian also contributed valuable information to the demonstration:



Shortly after this, we stopped for lunch and were treated to a tear down of Mark's very impressive first aid pack by our resident ICU RN/wilderness EMT Lance. All of the contents were shown and the pros and cons of each and their uses were discussed. VERY valuable information was presented by Lance and Mark. They dispelled many myths and half-truths about necessary contents for first aid kits.

We saw quite a few nice meadows/praries on the drive. I was surprised at how green everything was up there:



Lookout tower atop Round Mountain:



Nice view to the east off of the tower. Sycamore Canyon:



JD cabin:



A neat old stew can at the cabin site:



After we left here we went over to Pomeroy Tanks. They were a neat series of pools in a small canyon. Unfortunately it started raining a little when we arrived, so I decided to leave the camera in the dry truck. We were not but a few hundred feet down the trail and the rain stopped and I missed the opportunity for some great shots there. Maybe someone else got some?? Anyways, after hiking out to the tanks and back, most of the group rolled out headed to points unknown, but being that Lance and I (and my boy) were far from home and rarely miss a chance for some camping, we headed down the trail looking for a spot to call home for the night. We went down the road a ways (probably a couple miles) and found a real nice spot to set up camp. It was level, had nice views, nobody around, the basic parameters for a good spot. So we set up shop:



When we set up, there was a very slight breeze blowing. It really didn't seem like much, but it was a breeze. Well, once the sun started going down that ever-so-slight breeze blew away and left us with totally still air. Not a problem other than the mosquitos came out in force. Now I come from mosquito country and know how evil those tiny creatures are, but I don't think I have EVER seen mosquitos so thick. My palms were literally covered in blood from swatting them off of me, my boy, out of the air etc. It was ridiculous. Unbelievable. Awful. We tried sticking it out, but it was too much for standard humans to handle. We did a quick tear down and headed down the road to somewhere else. While we were driving to somewhere else we drove past miles and miles of sunflowers:



We eventually found somewhere else and it was a great place:



We hung out by the fire and shut it off later to watch the meteor shower. Got to see a few good ones before retiring to bed. We got up the next morning and headed out to the Lava River Cave:



It is really dark in there and much climbing and balancing is required, so I did not drag my camera with--this time (been thinking about next time...). We hiked/climbed in about half way, seeing some really neat things along the way. We got out of the cave and headed down the trail and aired up when we got to 180. We rolled into Flagstaff and refueled at a Subway, then pointed the trucks down the big hill toward home. On the way we saw a neat spot of rain in the west end of the Verde Valley:



There was a definite beginning and end to it. Pretty neat. We continued down the hill and the air continued to get warmer and warmer until finally metal was too hot to touch and we realized we were back home already.

It was a fantastic trip and the last hurrah before my boy went back to school today.

[kikkegek]

such a cool picture:

[justcuz]

On Lances Suburban, I think flex is more important than heighth. I would look into putting his rear springs in front and then doing a shackle flip with some late model Suburban/Tahoe or Pickup springs in the rear. The 88 and up Suburban/Tahoe springs are 60" (I think) and the pickups are 63/64". The rear springs Lance has now should be around 52" and 2.5 inches wide. His rear shackles are probably the short riveted ones. Later model rear spring mounts and longer newer style shackles should net him the needed lift. Maybe move his front mount to the rear and a newer dropped truck front mount at the front of the rear spring may do it. Obviously you need to keep the spring centered in the wheel opening. Standard aftermarket urethane bushings should work in the front, they have spacers on the outside to center the springs since the stock ones are 3" wide. I have been pondering this route for a while, I just have not tested the theory yet. My guess is with used springs it should keep the lift no more than 3".

I get a message that says it is a security code or some such and the pictures are no bigger than the one of the 2 vehicles I recently posted. I think it is because it is inside of another file. I will drag it out of the file it is in and see how that works.

Its funny how much that bridge looks like the one on the road to Seligman, only that one is shorter. Nice pictures and beautiful scenery as always.

I'll play more tonight with the photos, got to get busy with the weed eater and an oil change on the 2000 Suburban today. Loafing/healing time is coming to a close and I am getting restless. I need to be out in the driveway doing something hot or not!

[justcuz]

Ok Nick I posted the trip up in the 99-2006 message board.
The title is "Prescott to Seligman".
I had to resize the pictures and was still limited to only 5 per posting. I need to learn to post them like you do, so I can add the narrative below the pictures!
Any way no comparison to your beautiful photos but I will learn eventually!

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice trip pics once again! That is too cool!

[justcuz]

The multicolored reflection at the top of the night picture is especially interesting. Reminds me of Northern Light displays.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by justcuz

On Lances Suburban, I think flex is more important than heighth. I would look into putting his rear springs in front and then doing a shackle flip with some late model Suburban/Tahoe or Pickup springs in the rear. The 88 and up Suburban/Tahoe springs are 60" (I think) and the pickups are 63/64". The rear springs Lance has now should be around 52" and 2.5 inches wide. His rear shackles are probably the short riveted ones. Later model rear spring mounts and longer newer style shackles should net him the needed lift. Maybe move his front mount to the rear and a newer dropped truck front mount at the front of the rear spring may do it. Obviously you need to keep the spring centered in the wheel opening. Standard aftermarket urethane bushings should work in the front, they have spacers on the outside to center the springs since the stock ones are 3" wide. I have been pondering this route for a while, I just have not tested the theory yet. My guess is with used springs it should keep the lift no more than 3".

He does need altitude as well. I won't put 52's up front as they are too flexy and the main leafs are weak when used in a front application.

Originally Posted by justcuz

I get a message that says it is a security code or some such and the pictures are no bigger than the one of the 2 vehicles I recently posted. I think it is because it is inside of another file. I will drag it out of the file it is in and see how that works.

Use photobucket and this problem goes away.

Originally Posted by justcuz

Ok Nick I posted the trip up in the 99-2006 message board.
The title is "Prescott to Seligman".
I had to resize the pictures and was still limited to only 5 per posting. I need to learn to post them like you do, so I can add the narrative below the pictures!
Any way no comparison to your beautiful photos but I will learn eventually!

Use photobucket and those problems go away. I think I have gotten to the point I am just going to deal with the pics I take and not edit them. Takes so long to do. The quality does improve, but at what cost time-wise?? Your pics look good!!

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice trip pics once again! That is too cool!

Thanks Ryan!! Get your hooptie going and bring it down and run some trails!!

Originally Posted by justcuz

The multicolored reflection at the top of the night picture is especially interesting. Reminds me of Northern Light displays.

That is something in the lens/mirror as it was not there in real time. I thought it was cool too though. I took some timed exposures and got a pretty good feel for what would work for some night shots. I am eager to try my ideas next time out. I took some that if I could put them together they show the earth's rotation relative to the stars. Pretty neat stuff. I used to be more into photography with my 35mm Nikon, but when my boy hatched I got real used to the digital stuff (at a tremendous loss of quality). We have gone through a few digicams and finally after several trips I got sick of not having a "good" camera so I popped on a DSLR. It is a whole new world as so much stuff can be adjusted with the digital camera that could not be done with film. I am having to re-train my brain to be able to use all of the technology that is available in my camera now.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by kikkegek

such a cool picture:

I'm not too into group travel, but I really wanted to meet the leader of this run and the run sounded pretty cool to boot. Turns out we had a whole group of great people. It was really a fun time.

[mosesburb]

The posts are getting a little out of order here. I posted the last trip pics because I had just loaded them and figured that it would be best not to stop. In doing that, I passed up a little trip we took at the end of June/beginning of July. The initial plan was to go to Colorado, but this is when the whole state seemed to be on fire. Everywhere I wanted to go was either on fire or full of smoke from a nearby fire. Pretty awful. Anyways, I had the time off and we were not going to be denied a vacation, so I contacted a couple friends that we were planning to meet up with and a plan was hatched.

Our voyage started Friday with a planned destination of Page, AZ/Lake Powell. We got out mid-morning and set a leisurely pace. We made Flagstaff by lunchtime.



This was a somewhat monumental event for the truck. As I understand it, the truck lived most of its life in/around Flagstaff. But, since I had built it, it had not been back. I had mentioned to my wife around Overland Expo time that of all the places we had been in the truck, we had not been to Flag yet--she was surprised too. I think every other vehicle I own has a button on the dash that says Flagstaff--push it and it will take you there unassisted. When we went to Overland Expo, we didn't hit Flag either as we went in through Munds Park and on the way out Lance had some goods in his first aid pack that got me back home without having to go into Flag for goods. So after all that, here we are, in the Suburban, passing the city limits of Flagstaff--finally.

Very shortly after leaving Flag, the trees go away almost instantly leaving you with some pretty spectacular views. This is the west end of the Navajo Reservation.



The scenery is spectacular and ever-changing. Many different colors and land formations around every curve.



Before arriving in Page, a crazy steep hill must be climbed. It has some great views off the west side back out over the reservation. I have some other ones, but I really liked this one for some reason.



We made it into Page and found a hotel, unloaded a few things and set out to do some wandering. We got a call from my friend Bill and he said he was not going to be able to make it to travel/wheel with us, but he would try to catch up with us done the road a bit. That sucked, but nothing had gone to plan so far, so I guess this is just about right.

So we wandered around taking in any sights we could. We found a good view of Glen Canyon Dam:



Some petrified sand dunes nearby:



Neat shot of a shadow of the bridge on the canyon wall:



This concludes day one. I am still sorting and editing pictures. It has been a long tedious project as I took just under 2700 pics (my boy took over 200 himself). So keep the seatbelt buckled as you never know when the truck will be in motion again. If you see a pic and want to see more of the area/event/location let me know as there are probably several pics in relation to any one pic shown.

[1985-GMC]

More great pictures! Unedited looks fine to me.

That's what your burb needs, A CB and a 102" whip!

[Delmo]

Awesome.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

More great pictures! Unedited looks fine to me.

Thanks!! This last batch is edited. If you look at these and then the trip from last weekend (un-edited) you can tell a difference.

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

That's what your burb needs, A CB and a 102" whip!

Yeah, uh, no. Lance actually just put one on his for when he ran chase for the NORRA race in Mexico, but I think I am going to pass. I need to get my HAM license as that is what we typically use out in the backcountry.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Delmo

Awesome.

Thanks man!! Stay tuned as this is just day one so far.

[hgs_notes]

The dam picture is outstanding. Would like to see more of that.

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

The dam picture is outstanding. Would like to see more of that.

That was a tough pic right there as it was completely the wrong time of day to be shooting where we were. I think I have some more of the dam in general, but this is definitely the best one I had from that angle/vantage point. Mid-day would have made a fantastic shot of that as the sun would have lit the canyon up and the color's volume would have been cranked to eleven.

[Dinos63]

very cool pics , looked like a ton of fun

[mosesburb]

Here are a few more from the same general vicinity.

This is looking away from the dam from the same vantage point as the dam picture was taken, so down stream it would be:



This is from the bridge looking at the east end of the dam. That is a giant gantry crane up on top of the dam:



View of the bridge from the west side: note-that bridge is very large and made of large pieces of steel, but if you are standing still and a car drives by, the whole bridge moves a bit. Kind of un-nerving when you are that high over a canyon.



View upstream of the dam. Lake Powell. That grey thing above the right fork of the lake is the Navajo Generating Station. I think it has to be the most scenic power plant I have ever seen. It is an amazing deal. All of the coal is mined near Kayenta and travels on an electric train to this facility where it is turned into power. Really neat setup. The current administration is actively trying to shut this facility down because it uses coal.



View of the back side of the dam:

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by Dinos63

very cool pics , looked like a ton of fun

It WAS a blast, and this is only the first day. Much more to come, but even when it was over I was ready to turn around and do it again.

[1985-GMC]

Man those are some amazing shots!

[mosesburb]

So after we wandered around the dam and bridge, we headed into Page proper and looked for a dining establishment. While shopping for a restaurant we came across some Antelope Canyon tour establishments. Thet were easy to find as they all had a bunch of clapped-out, rode-hard put-away-wet, hooptie-ass, frazzled trucks lifted no less than six inches, with some monster mud tires of unknown names and varying nameplates on the trucks. Fords, Dodges, Chevys, they were all equal offenders. The prices in town were pretty consistent--hell, they were probably all owned by the same people. We did not book a reservation deciding to head to the trail head and see what the rates were there. They all go to the same place. The ones in town start in town and the one at the trail head starts there. Hmm, less time in a ragged-out hooptie is more-better in my book (it costs a little less too).

So the next morning, Saturday, we head over to Antelope Canyon to catch a ride down to the main attraction (can't ride your own whip down there).




I completely failed in the photographic documentation of the chariot that carried us to the canyon entrance. I was able to crop into the previous pic to give an idea of the high quality of the unit. We got the tan masterpiece in the center. Notice how she sags a bit, well quite a bit, empty?? Yeah, now throw eight adults and three or four kids in it. Ye olde front end gets a bit light, eh.



So they call our number and we pile in. My boy points out in a rather nervous voice that a GIRL is driving. I let him know that I am scared too and he must be strong so as not to upset the other passengers who think nothing is wrong and don't understand the full gravity of the situation.

The ride to the entrance of the canyon consists of a loose sand stream bed traveresed at a rather uncomfortable speed. Even though I thought we were going too fast, we did get passed by another janke hooptie traveling faster than we were, but that one seemed more stable than our platform.

We lived.

We arrived at the entrance intact. So was it worth the terror and impending nightmares from the ride?? I'll let you decide.













Monument Valley in the canyon:





People pay to take special tours to see this: (cheap bastards like me realize the time overlap in the tours and get the view without the premium price)



Saw this little dude on the way out:



Now this day was probably the heaviest on pictures of any day on the trip (we haven't made it to noon yet). It was real tough picking the best pics from this series. Soooo many cool shots. Absolutely stunning scenery in the canyon. A person could spend months in the canyon and still come away with unique shots that they had not gotten before. Amazing.

[1985-GMC]

Woah those are some wicked looking canyon walls, I'll have to go there some day. Hopefully I don't get the "Girl" driver.

[kikkegek]

ow man!
when my wife and me did the west-side tour in Amerika we also visited Page and only later found out that you could visit these very cool places...we jus tlooked at the dam and drove further...

[mosesburb]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Woah those are some wicked looking canyon walls, I'll have to go there some day. Hopefully I don't get the "Girl" driver.

If you do, just be strong

Originally Posted by kikkegek

ow man!
when my wife and me did the west-side tour in Amerika we also visited Page and only later found out that you could visit these very cool places...we jus tlooked at the dam and drove further...

That sucks man!! It is a fantastic place to see. The tribe should promote it so when anything about the area comes up, their place shows up. I try to research places I am going before I go, but I miss stuff myself, especially when plans change on-the-fly. I put is on a mental list for next time--if I make it back to the place.