First night in our Burb!

**ajaxajax2000** · 06-13-2008, 10:33 AM

The kids had a parent free summer holidays party last night. Me and my wife took the chance to test our Suburban for camping. We removed the third row and folded row two. Pumped up a dubbel matress and stuffed the car with a nice dinner, wine, coffe and some good music. We found a beautiful spot by a lake and had a really nice evening and slept good as ever!

**retired2001** · 06-13-2008, 01:39 PM

Sure beats the back of a Chevy LUV! Last time we tried camping in the back of a truck was a 1974 LUV (would probably fit in the back of your suburban!)

**Steve** · 06-13-2008, 03:27 PM

Awesome! I've slept in the back of my old burban before, but that was years ago. Yours looks a lot more comfy.

**phoebeisis** · 06-13-2008, 05:06 PM

Hey, looks comfortable. We also sleep in the back of our 98 Suburban.Our purpose is a bit different. We drive to AZ-1500 miles from New Orleans- about twice a year. and we sleep at rest stops enroute.Texas has nice rest stops, so we stop about 11 pm,sleep until about 5:30 am and get back on the road. It saves $$ and time. The Suburban is pretty comfortable-plenty of room for the two of us, and a leggy greyhound.

Charlie

**ajaxajax2000** · 06-13-2008, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by phoebeisis

Hey, looks comfortable. We also sleep in the back of our 98 Suburban.Our purpose is a bit different. We drive to AZ-1500 miles from New Orleans- about twice a year. and we sleep at rest stops enroute.Texas has nice rest stops, so we stop about 11 pm,sleep until about 5:30 am and get back on the road. It saves $$ and time. The Suburban is pretty comfortable-plenty of room for the two of us, and a leggy greyhound.

Charlie

Hey Charlie,

That's exactly to the point. When we woke up, fresh and cosy, we looked at each other and said "Why spend zillions of $$$ on hotel rooms when we can stay just as comfy this way? We could travel all through Europe, eat at fancy resturants and not even having to worry 'bout the mileage on the money we save!"

Just heard this week the news from US: "The SUV is definately dead!!!". Gas prices has gone up too much, even in US. This could be a way to counter that trend.

**esponet** · 06-14-2008, 02:19 AM

Originally Posted by ajaxajax2000

Hey Charlie,

That's exactly to the point. When we woke up, fresh and cosy, we looked at each other and said "Why spend zillions of $$$ on hotel rooms when we can stay just as comfy this way? We could travel all through Europe, eat at fancy resturants and not even having to worry 'bout the mileage on the money we save!"

Just heard this week the news from US: "The SUV is definately dead!!!". Gas prices has gone up too much, even in US. This could be a way to counter that trend.

latelly i have been seeing more brand new burbs around here, (norcal). i don't think burbs will die. they serve too much of a function. and the new ones gets great milage imo.

**ajaxajax2000** · 06-14-2008, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by esponet

latelly i have been seeing more brand new burbs around here, (norcal). i don't think burbs will die. they serve too much of a function. and the new ones gets great milage imo.

Sure hope so. Someone said the original Burb came into being around 1935! Same as the DC 3 aircraft. Only the Burb is still in production. And as I understand the new Chevrolet HHR is based on the '49 Suburban modelwise

**phoebeisis** · 06-15-2008, 10:24 AM

Ajaxajax2000,
I thought that there might be a bit of frugality in there, but I didn't want to imply anyone else was as "cheap" as I am. We started doing the sleep in rest stops about 5 years ago. Motel rooms in the small towns along Hy 287 in TX are maybe $55, but there is always the problem of a dog or two. Now we idle for 6 hours-$16- to keep the AC going.It is very hot-36 C during the day in the Texas panhandle,and it is sweltering at night also, so the AC is necessary. It doesn't seem to bother my motor despite the 202,500 miles(about 300,000 KM). I tried a half assed AC- fan blowing on ice, but it didn't work. It is fairly humid in that part of TX also(despite it being near desert, so an evaporative cooler won't work well until we get farther west. Besides, we don't really want the windows down to let fresh air in. The rest stops in TX have lots of folks, but they are mainly in large trucks idling very loudly,so there is always the risk of crime. Phoebe - a white greyhound - can be relied on to bark, growl, and with luck that will give enough time to take more definitive measures.

I'm guessing that many folks will hang onto their Suburbans because they are such great road trip vehicles. The gas prices have made many folks trade their Suburban in for peanuts, so if you want to buy a Suburban, now is a good time.

Fewer new Suburbans are being sold, but there are so many used ones, and they are so useful and so cheap that they will be around a long time even if we have $9 gas like you folks. I never liked flying, and it had nothing to do with 9/11 or a fear of hijacking(10000X more likely to get killed by a a home grown thug). I just hated sitting around airports, rushing to make the flight, and being 30,000 feet up waiting for the freaking wing to fall off. With the Suburban, we load up and go -at our own pace. No rental car, no rush, no white knuckle takeoffs and landings.( yes,I know planes are safer, but....)

Even at $7, the trip fuel would be just $1000 for 3000 miles because this one gets such good- 21.3 mpg- FE at 70 mph.

We'll drive it until the wheels fall off and then repair it. You can buy a NEW GM GOODWRENCH replacement motor for just $2300 delivered here in the states. This is a GM motor, not some BS aftermarket cheapo motor- OEM!! Can't beat that- $2300 motor, $1700 for a new GM trans, and you're good for another 250,000 miles.

Charlie

**ajaxajax2000** · 06-16-2008, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by phoebeisis

The rest stops in TX have lots of folks, but they are mainly in large trucks idling very loudly,so there is always the risk of crime. Phoebe - a white greyhound - can be relied on to bark, growl, and with luck that will give enough time to take more definitive measures.
Charlie

Yeah, we're getting more of that over here as well. But in case we're bothered we have Xano:

... and if they're not scared by him, I have:

(Colt Government, cal .45)

**phoebeisis** · 06-16-2008, 07:39 PM

Peter,
I give you a big edge in dog power -enough of an edge that the 45 will never have to clear the leather .One good look/growl from Xano and the thug would have serious second thoughts!!

In the dark Phoebe - shown inspecting her hardware- Glock 27 Sig 229 - might pass for a white Doberman, but greyhounds aren't known for being tough.She does have good ears, and can be relied on to let out a "Big Dog" woof. Maybe the thug won't be a dog aficionado, so he know she won't chew his arm off like Xano.

Phoebe is all bark, no bite. The bark should be enough to wake me up ,so I can pull the Sig or Glock out from under the mattress and jack a round in.

We are leaving on another trip July 13- same trip New Orleans to Flagstaff AZ. N. O. is very hot 37 C and extremely humid now , so Flagstaff is a nice change-cool and dry. The Suburban saves motel costs, and is extremely comfortable on long trips. We do the 1500 miles in 34 hours trip time- about 24 of the hours are actually on the road. We stop at rest stops and gas stations every 200 miles to walk Phoebe, stretch, use the rest rooms and talk to other travelers. The gas tank is so big- 44 gallons - we could make the trip with just one gas stop; it has a 900 mile range on the highway.

Thanks- Xano looks like a heck of a dog!!
Charlie