Advise on 1st mods

[Frogman32]

I am looking at a 1998 Yukon for some serious off reading and my new hunting rig. I know about the Vortex water intake issue so I’ll take care of that first, but give me some ideas for reliability mods. Last thing I want is to be stranded 20 miles from anywhere.

 

[OR VietVet]

As a guy that did serious off roading for a few years, I will tell you that for serious trails and obstacles a front straight axle is way more sturdy that independent axles and you should look at a 9.5 inch rear diff for stout. I had a 73 Blazer and ran a full float 14 bolt GM axle and a Dana 60 up front. Both 1 ton axles but I also got in some pretty hairy stuff back in the day. I was breaking Dana 44 gears on a regular basis. Just remember, you said "serious off roading".

 

[Frogman32]

Yeah, I thought about an old Suburban, but it is going to be too long and finding one in decent condition is going to be tough. I have a lead on a Yukon that only has 94k miles.

 

[Bill 1960]

Clarify “serious“ off-roading. I do some difficult trails myself, but is an IFS GM up to the task of hard core trails requiring lockers, big tires, and winches? No, it is not.

It would be helpful to know what kinds of trails you have in mind, the GM is probably a better mud or sand machine than a rock crawler.

Deviation from stock brings along a whole new set of challenges to reliability I’ve basically built mine to go in comfort where a stock vehicle would struggle, not to compete with the likes of a Jeep Rubicon.

 

[exp500]

If you are comitted to the 98, stock engine reliability is great. Although for being 20 miles from services, carry spares-
Distributor cap/rotor, Ign control module, coil, maybe CPS. And tools, test lite, spark tester. at a minimum.
Good luck, keep posting.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

As suggested above, please define in greater detail the type of off-roading that you wish to pursue. There are many knowledgeable folks here in off-roading, but the type and degree of off-roading is important to understand, in order for these folks to give you specific and rock solid recommendations.

 

[Frogman32]

Trails are game trails. No “roads” except for what I make. 2 small streams. Not rock crawling, no sand to speak of. Just 100% unimproved west texas terrain. Going to be camping out there. I want to lift the truck, but I’m going to have to drive there in the truck so I want it to be roadworthy as well. I work on my own stuff so I’m not going to be going anywhere that might break it. Just looking for some bullet proofing.

 

[Bill 1960]

I’d take a UTV or an ATV personally. Just too many vulnerable parts under a road vehicle.

For a Yukon I’d armor as much underneath as possible. One stump, stick, or cactus spine into the wrong part and it could leave it disabled or damaged.

If you are determined to have one that’s roadworthy and go completely off the map, I’d suggest an older truck from the 80’s, or a more recent HD from Ford or Ram. Something with straight axles. Trim the fenders and run big rubber. I built a dedicated hunting rig for myself from an old squarebody 2500 Suburban.

 

[Frogman32]

Armor is not an issue. That I have covered. Engine and trans is not an issue. I also have that covered. I can’t carry enough in an utv or atv. A square body is ideal, but finding one that is not a pos is going to be next to impossible. Building one is going to be an ordeal that I don’t want to go through again. The Yukon I am getting is owned by a family friend so I know it’s condition. With the mods I already have planned it’s going to be a beast. I’m just looking for opinions on other mods. I like to ask a lot of questions and consider any answers I get. I am not the most experienced or smartest person in the room, but that is why I will ask opinions.

 

[OR VietVet]

I like the above answer but I got to ask where this phrase came from. "The Yukon I am getting is owned by a family friend so I know it's condition". Over the years I have had lots of family friends and they all knew I am an ASE Master Tech but I never knew the condition of their vehicles. The only exception was my mom's car and I took care of it at all times. I preached maintenance and repairs to the rest of the family but they all did what they wanted to their own vehicles.