We got the new 1999 Suburban BOV last week.  I didn't do much with it due to illness and other obligations till last Friday.  It is in the shop to get an alignment done till tomorrow or Tuesday and I got a set of seats to replace the ones that the previous owner wore out.  That takes care of the first 2 major gigs.  I'll then be tackling the little things like missing radio buttons and inoperative electric lock and electric window switches.

This will be a daily driver BOV, so ease of use and reliability are priority.  

I'm thinking of putting on a roof rack and a cargo box

Any other ideas

As far as the truck itself . is it the classic style used from 1988-2000 or the silverado style used from 1998 up? if its the early style Id have the brakes and front end gone thru.. they beat thoose components to death with some regularity.

In FL at a shop I was partners in. A man came in wanting to extend his range and not have fuel concerns.  

The 3rd row seating was ditched completely. the carpet was removed and basically a fuel tank / subfloor was installed. the tank basally raised the floor of the SUV and was fabbed up out of strong enough material so the cargo space could still be used minus the head space the tank took up.  It had to add 50 gallons or so.

Another addition I would personally do is a headache rack / Dog cage wall thing.  You know thew things people put up to keep their dogs in the cargo area? The reason I say this is if you pack it to the roof and wind up slamming on the brakes you dont want to catch a #10 can in the back of the head!  heck anything fabbed up thats easily removable would be fine.

run flat tires- Big money but u dont have to stop in a situation that could be bad

window tint-  not only keeps people from seeing whats inside and  keeps the inside cooler but will hold shattered glass togather in many cases

Coleman 12v cooler heater thing!!! My old man and his wife bought one and they are awesome! on the heater setting you can keep trays of cooked food HOT and on the cooler setting it makes drinks so cold your teeth hurt! Best part is it plugs into a 12v lighter socket and is the size of a 2 handle cooler!

As you said a roof cargo rack is a great idea.

a radio capable of plugging an Ipod kind of thingy into is great for having tons of music. ( I dont have one nor know how to use one) but my Honey does and my cousin does and they have hundreds of songs in them. I still burn CDs like a caveman lol

Additional lighting might be an option . " A hole lights" hooked to a switch can not only aid you in backing up in dark or wooded areas but provide lighting for unloading and also can blind a would be pursuer.

Im sure ill think of more stuff ... Suburbans are so big and fun to deck out

It is the classic with the 350 vortec
The truck is kitted out well with:
Trailering package
Tranny cooler
Engine oil cooler
Limited slip rear axel
4x4


The brakes are a little soft but that didn't bug me nearly as much as the steering.  I'll do them when I get the truck back from the shop.

Extended range; I'm considering that

Headache rack; good idea.

Run flat tires; I don't know where to get them bigger than minivan size.

The windows are already tinted, but I may get more.

Coleman cooler heater; I guess I got a dud but the one I had in 91 would not do that, but it would eat your fuse.  If I get the chance I think I'd like an Engel(sp)

Radio with multi mem card ports looks like the cheap way to fix the knobs.  Less than $100.

Lights; cool good idea.

Id start by replaceing all fluids , and do a tranny flush and filter change. Replace the serp belt and the radiator hoses. Tune-up with platnum plugs /wires......All the boring stuff first......them mount the dual .50's turret

Spare Parts (based on what I have replaced on my Surburban and Pickup, both have over 250,000 miles).



Load Capacity (so you can be discretely heavily loaded down with gear and supplies)



But try your expected heavy load in it first to see how it sits and handles before considering beefing things up.

It depends on how discrete versus obvious you want to keep your BOV, but there is an advantage to having it loaded down with goods without having it look that way in a Bug Out situation.  Also the suspension/Tires will help it handle the load better for manuvering, etc at speed.

Skid plates to protect the oil pan, fuel tank, transfer case, tranny,  etc..  I would also install a winch.

A raised floor arrangement in the rear cargo area can be handy.

It can be fitted with long drawers or just used as place to put items that you want to be able to get to under your load.  Photo of a commercially made "truck vault" is shown below.  

thanks guys keep up the ideas

here's the status


I’ve got the fluids waiting



The truck has the factory skid plate package.



I’ve got an 84 qt cooler, that is for hauling milk for the kids, will that do?

Repairs round 1 (tomorrow)
The truck is still in the shop, it will probably be done tomorrow.

Then I must install the seats that the kids and I got at the junk yard, because the original drivers seat is broken, and unsafe.

Repairs round 2 (by end of week)
Change engine oil, trans fluid, transfer case fluid, axel fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid.

Top off coolant.

Check brakes and make a replacement judgement.

Round 3 and beyond in order of importance
The tries are ok but are “Discount Tire’s most affordable tire” for that tire size.  I’m wanting some better tires quick.

Starter, battery, alternator and ignition system are acting strong for now, so they may have to be delayed a few weeks.

Fuel pump may get replaced at a convenient time soon.  I think it is an in the tank unit, and I don’t want to have to bench press a full 40 gallon fuel tank, if the pump should fail when the tank is full.

Ok time for an update

Got the truck out of the shop; it is much better, but I have scheduled a return to get more fixed.

Got the seats installed

Gotta sew them up though


better than this


Bargain tires gotta go


we got some detail parts from a scrap yard like this seat lever


Gratis under the bonnet photo

I'd just get seat covers for those seats can call it good.  Be sure to get good ones though.  

I saw that and my mind instantly started thinking about how many guns and boxes of ammo I could put in it...

Do you know where they got it? Was it like this one?

Ok little update:

Changed oil; the BOV had been maintained by some 10 minute lube type place.  The was cranked on,and I had to use a good filter wrench to get it off.  the drain plug may be slightly stripped, but I can keep the plug in service a bit longer.

Went with full synthetic: we'll see if fuel mileage improves.

I'm curious to see what fuel economy you get and what changes the synthetics make.  I've had a '99 'Burb for about 3 years now as the family-wagon, but I'll tell you- I've never had a worse off-road vehicle in my life.  That IFS is made for a comfortable ride, but not getting over rocks and rough terrain.  I've been getting 14mpg in town and up to about 16 on the highway- but we roll pretty heavy on the highway with 4 kids and a dog.

You can buy aftermarket computers that will bypass the torque management setting, which retards timing when the engine is putting out too much torque to save on driveline warantee work.

The first 30 gallons I ran through it yielded about 16mpg combined.  That was using the quickie lube oil that the previous owners used, and those tires that are in the photo.

I now have a set of top rate tires installed.

I'm gonna try to change the trans fluid tonight.  I'll be going to synthetic there too.

ETA My use for the truck is all weather highway land yacht, so my use pattern will probably not generate the frustration you have with the off road behavior.

They make an inflatable internal beadlock/run flat system you can use on trucks.  They are made by Staun.

You want a winch and winch compatible bumper to get some tow points up front.

Those would be the two most important and expensive things IMO.

You will never have to reseat a tire, you can drive to the next town if you get a flat, and you can unstick yourself 95% of the time with your winch unassisted.

Skid plates would be next on the list...

The Staun people did the safety marketing


changing the power steering fluid



siphoning out ATF for a change



Factory skid plates
front diff


transfer case


fuel tank


the oil pan and transmission pan are tucked up pretty good

Why did you siphon out the ATF for a change? Why didn't you drop the pan and change the filter as well?

If I empty the pan first, then there is less mess when I remove it.  Siphoning allows me to draw a sample before I commit to dropping the pan.  I did not want to get caught under the truck with today's weather.

After drawing the samples:  I could have left the transmission alone, it looked good.  I really did need to change the power steering fluid, it was old.

How did you start the siphon?

Pull the air out of the bottle with the vent in the lid.  I used 1/4 in ID poly tubing and drilled 2 holes in the lid one for the siphon and one for the vent.  The hose hardware just snaps into the 1/4 in holes.

Took apart the old seat and found the area of stress shattered sheet metal in the frame.


Salvaged some parts and tossed the rest

ETA also found a place for on board air now gotta pick a unit

"Installed" the ice chest


Spare battery tray that I think will be the home for on board air

If you don't have the money to spend on tiers try this place Tread Wright I bought 4 10 ply tiers from them at $90 per tire the guy who put them on asked me where I had gotten the tires from and how much they cost i  told him the cost and that they where retreads he told me he thought they where new factory tiers. I live in the desert and the rocks around here took off quarter size chunks off my old factory tires. I've been running these tires for about a month now up and down the rocks and had not had any problem with them.

Thanks tayous1, I'm glad to know you got some tires for your BOV.  I'm looking at getting a set of premium tires soon.  Some things that I've been able to get done for this BOV I've not posted due to opsec concerns.  The roads here in East TX are different than out in West TX.  When it rains here the streets get slick like snot slinging slick.  

Here is where someone got off the road at an intersection not far away


I've probably seen a half dozen vehicles off the road (stuck or trapped in a ditch without traction) in the last 6 or so weeks,the ditches are steep enough in many places that if the grass is wet your vehicle will not get out.  some of the ditches here are just swamps.

Overall, the best bang for my buck has been an Optima Battery and Limited Slip Differentials.

You need to check the rear diff asap.  The factory 10 bolt GM rear diff is notorious for breaking under the weight and power of a vortec in a suburban.  The solution that really works is swapping out to a 14 bolt from a 2500 light duty.(6 lug)  You can get the same gear ratio and everything bolts in, the u joint is a different to fit in the larger yoke of the 14 bolt.  Your sway bar will no longer fit, you can scrap it or makes custom brackets.  If you get a late model diff, the anti lock brakes should work.   The vortec engines have a heater hose that corrodes before everything else, this hose goes into the back of the block returning fluid back from the heater core, it is not a bad idea to replace it with a new factory part.
If you already have a factory trans cooler, go bigger your tranny will thank you for it.
The bearings that tension the serpentine belt can leave you stranded, replace with factory parts.  Replace your belt and keep the old one as backup.
Learn where your fuel pump relays are, sometimes they go bad and can leave you as stranded as a dead pump.
Your alternator may decide to go south at any time, I carry a spare.

My k1500 has a front receiver hitch, already saved me on repairs to the front end once.  
There is enough space under the 2nd seat for ALOT of stuff.
If the third seat is to be used by kids, there is also alot of space at the feet of that seat.

Suburbans kick ass and 4wd burbs do it even better.

Also and I am surprised no one has mentioned it...... Check the coolant often in this engine, check the intake manifold gaskets as they have a nasty habit of failing and dropping a large quantity of coolant into the intake runners. I would use that second battery tray for a second battery, I run dual optimas in my Yukon. you can put the air ride compressor(s) under the rear cargo area there is plenty of space there. For tires I would reccoment either Toyo open country MT or Kuhmos in a 36 to 38 inch size. with 38's on mine and 410 gears I still get 16 mpg. If it has a 4l60e tranny plan on getting it refreshed at 90k intervals unless you have a rebuild done that addresses the inherent weeknesses. if you have a 4l80e you are gtg, just add the B&M trans pan holds 3 more quarts of fluid regardless of which trans you have you will add longevity and be glad you did.Mac

I got the pins in the front doors replaced which makes the doors easier to operate, and reduces wind noise.

I had a shop replace the pitman arm so the steering slop that the truck had when we got it is practically gone.

Finally sewed up the drivers seat





We'll see how this works out

G-d blessed us.  I was able to get the oil leak fixed.  One of the flare nut fittings for the oil cooler was not properly tightened.  The tool needed is a 20mm crow foot wrench.  I did not have one and they are not available form craftsman or harbor freight.  It takes 3 layers of aluminum from a  Dr Pepper can to convert 13/16 to 20mm