87 3/4 Burban

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bucket

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Howdy!

What activities do you do with it and at what speeds do you normally drive it?
 

RecklessWOT

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'87 1/2 ton Burb, 2" spring lift with 33x12.5" tires. Makes the truck look much less station wagon-ish and gains a surprising amount of clearance over stock, but isn't TOO tall. Gotta hop up a little but you're not climbing in and out of it so it's not unreasonable for a daily driver. Not too big for towing trailers and still feels good on the highway, does good in the woods too but it's not enough if you plan to do some hardcore wheeling. All depends on what you wanna use the truck for, great truck for taking camping etc.
 
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Italianwagon

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Nice Suburbans!!!! Weekend use camping, hunting, logging roads nothing major. What lift company you recommend for the burban ride? Got 56 rear springs
 

RecklessWOT

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Nice lookin truck! Pretty clean overall, I like it. Is that black or navy? Hard to tell from the pics. I'm repainting mine factory blue/grey sooner or later, but it will probably be a while before it shines like that I got bigger fish to fry first lol

Mine started life with those same wheels and hubcaps. If you're gonna lift it, I'd suggest getting some slightly wider rims too so you can fit bigger tires, factory rallye wheels will be fine (and look pretty good too IMO).

I went with Rough Country, good prices but still decent quality. My truck had quad shocks up front so I made sure to get the full set of 6, not sure if yours does too, but the gas shocks that came with the lift kit ride nice. The whole setup is a little stiff, but it didn't exactly ride like a caddy beforehand either (afterall it is a 33 year old full size 4x4 truck with leaf springs). They used to offer a discount for being a member of this site, not sure if they still do? I never heard back from them about it, though I didn't really try that hard to get in touch with them either.
 

bucket

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Nice Suburbans!!!! Weekend use camping, hunting, logging roads nothing major. What lift company you recommend for the burban ride? Got 56 rear springs

For years, I ran 4" BDS springs up front, with rear blocks and a pair of C30 rear springs. I also installed factory quad shock brackets up front and eventually ditched the front sway bar. Ran a set of 305/70-16's (load range E) on 16x8 aluminum wheels.

It's a fantastic 'Jack of all trades' type setup. It rode just like stock, was very capable offroad because it flexed great, it went down the highway smooth as glass, it towed well and it was also a great all-season daily driver.
 

Craig 85

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I really like the 4" Tuff Country EZ Rides on my last truck; went with HD's on the current due to a big block. I usually run a block in back.

I always ran 33x12.50 tires on my old trucks. My K30 has 305/70R16's with 10 wheels. I used ORD's front shackles and sway bar disconnect.
 

Arkansas_V8

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I went with 4” rough country springs(Also 56” rear springs). I used ORD zero rates for a total of 5” of lift. Front axle is 1.5” forward.

Rough Country springs are fine. I suggest upgrading the shocks to something better though.
 

77 K20

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If you like your existing factory rear springs (and 56" ones are nice) you can do a shackle flip. It is more challenging with a Blazer or Suburban as you have the gas tank back there. But remove the factory shackle hanger and bolt on a new one that reverses the shackle. You can re-use your existing one, but it is kinda weak. They make 1/4" thick HD ones. It can lift 2.5" or 4" or even more depending on shackle length. I bought mine from OffRoad Design. Might do some reading on their website. They have a lot of stuff for Chevys. It rotates the pinion angle up- so depending on how much you lift it might be just right, or too much. It can also shift the rear axle forward in your wheel wells. They sell axle relocation plates that are 1/4" thick to move it back, or 1" zero rates that can do the same thing and provide some additional lift also.

https://www.offroaddesign.com/

I have used blocks under the rear axle for lift- it is cheap, but can lead to axle wrap/the rear end bouncing. I had a 3" block on my truck and kept having the rear axle hop when I was out wheeling in snow. Very annoying and I thought I was going to break something. After removing the block for a shackle flip it went away and the ride improved.

Front springs Tuff Country rides nice and flexes well. OffRoad Design also sells custom springs that ride better than any other spring pack I've ever used but are spendy. Removing the front sway bar makes it ride nice also and is free. Or there are sway bar disconnect kits.

What gear ratio do you have? That might be a determining factor on what size tire and what size lift you can run. Unless you are open to possibly re-gearing both axles... But the money you would save re-gearing and buying smaller tires that are cheaper might make it worth it to run lets say a 33" tire (285-75R16?) instead of a 37" tire and then get a locker. Or two. Cheap winch?

Welcome- and have fun building your dream.
 

1973c10

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Welcome :boti:
 

TubeTruck

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:welcome: from northern IL! and fellow Suburban owner!

This is my first Suburban, still figuring out what I can do as well. Mine is currently stock ride height with 33x10.5x15. I'm building a set of 8 lugs and when I do that I'm going with a 2-3" lift and seeing if I can stuff 35's under it. Looking forward to watching your build.

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Italianwagon

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Sweet. Lots of info guys thanks. She’s black and grey.
I got 3.73 gears. I got tbi350 any of you guys see any significant power loss running 33 or 35?
And arough country springs aren’t that bad?

thanks
 

78C10BigTen

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:welcome: from northern IL! and fellow Suburban owner!

This is my first Suburban, still figuring out what I can do as well. Mine is currently stock ride height with 33x10.5x15. I'm building a set of 8 lugs and when I do that I'm going with a 2-3" lift and seeing if I can stuff 35's under it. Looking forward to watching your build.

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I love your burb!!! Probly cus its a burb and its the same colors as my c10 lol those black wheels look good on it too but you gotta get the white letters out! Lol
 

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