Suburban + Duramax/Allison

[IXFE]

I've been following a company called "Duraburb" for a few years. They basically transplant Duramax powertrains into 3/4 ton Suburbans, Yukons, Avalanches, and Hummer H2's.

You provide the '07 - '14 rig, and pay Duraburb aprox $20k for the transplant. It takes a month. As far as I can tell this puts you into the rig about $45 - $55k depending on what you start with or what you add (i.e. they'll do just about anything incl change the front clip to HD truck look).

They do everything and everything works as if it came from factory. They also put a tune on it. Service it at any GM dealer.

We are SUV shopping (need something by mid-June), and I'm super intrigued by the idea of a 3/4 Suburban Duramax. It will cost me much less than a new Denali 6.2L gasser. The only problem is Duraburb is in Orange County, Florida... about as far from Portland as you could get! Is anybody doing this on the west coast?

Given how much guys on this forum love diesel, I'm kind of surprised nobody has gone this route.

17k tow capacity and duel fuel tanks in a modern Suburban sounds pretty yummy to me!

Thoughts??

17,000 Lb Tow Capacity for DuraBurb Diesel SUV's: https://youtu.be/mrcWt6sZgpQ

Duramax Yukon XL by DuraBurb: https://youtu.be/0wqvH1f9Sj4

Edited March 21, 2015 by IXFE

[DAI]

I like the idea, willing to be the experiment for the crew?

[IXFE]

I like the idea, willing to be the experiment for the crew?

Thinking hard about it... just wish they were closer.

[Dodger40]

I like this idea too. I thought they take the body off a suburban and put it on the truck. Then take the truck and put it on the suburban chassis. Which means the titles are reversed. What stopped me was resale questions. It is possible my information is innacurate because I heard about it second hand.

[oldjeep]

I'm holding out for Dodge to start selling the TropiVan in the US.

[ahopkins22LSV]

Not going to lie, that looks very intriguing! And, pretty dang BA!

[IXFE]

I like this idea too. I thought they take the body off a suburban and put it on the truck. Then take the truck and put it on the suburban chassis. Which means the titles are reversed. What stopped me was resale questions. It is possible my information is innacurate because I heard about it second hand.

Not the case... they just swap motors, tranny, gauges, etc. In some cases they swap out the rear axle / differential too.

They source the Duramax/Allison drivetrain from wrecked trucks.

Edited March 22, 2015 by IXFE

[Dodger40]

That makes sense. When I was told they just swap bodies I wondered who would want that.

[oldjeep]

I wonder what they get for a crate engine conversion. We have a local place that swaps crate hemis onto jeeps.

[shawndoggy]

there's a K5 cummins conversion in your neck of the woods: http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/4924155954.html

[WakingMeHappy]

Cost and warranty.

-For $20k, no thanks.

-How/where do you get warranty work done? And then I can see them say that the "problem" is with the vehicle not the upgrade. And then the dealer says the "problem" is caused by the upgrade.

Too many variables make it too much of a risk.

[DAI]

Not the case... they just swap motors, tranny, gauges, etc. In some cases they swap out the rear axle / differential too.

They source the Duramax/Allison drivetrain from wrecked trucks.

I was thinking they were new engine / trans. That cost seams a little steep then (IMO)

[Slayer]

There is a company much closer to you, IXFE, that does something similar with Ford Super Duty trucks....they convert them into Excursions. They are a little more expensive however because of all the body work. It's not just a powertrain swap.

http://www.customautosbytim.com/options.html

[DAI]

There is a company much closer to you, IXFE, that does something similar with Ford Super Duty trucks....they convert them into Excursions. They are a little more expensive however because of all the body work. It's not just a powertrain swap.

http://www.customautosbytim.com/options.html

I wish Ford would bring back the Excursions (not a 6 door version) . . . Would be high on my list of next vehicles.

[Slayer]

I wish Ford would bring back the Excursions (not a 6 door version) . . . Would be high on my list of next vehicles.

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

[oldjeep]

Another option. Buy a duramax crew cab and have these guys turn it into a suburban. I've seen some of their 6 door pickups around.

http://www.bayertruckandequipment.com/gallery.php?panel=2#examples

[IXFE]

There is a company much closer to you, IXFE, that does something similar with Ford Super Duty trucks....they convert them into Excursions. They are a little more expensive however because of all the body work. It's not just a powertrain swap.

http://www.customautosbytim.com/options.html

Yeah, I've looked into these guys too. It seems body work ($40k) is twice as expensive as motor swaps ($20k).

$100k for a new Excursion is out of my price range.

[IXFE]

Cost and warranty.

-For $20k, no thanks.

-How/where do you get warranty work done? And then I can see them say that the "problem" is with the vehicle not the upgrade. And then the dealer says the "problem" is caused by the upgrade.

Too many variables make it too much of a risk.

There is no warranty. We're talking about a used powertrain in a used SUV. Neither had warranty before the swap, so no warranty results from the swap.

If you have a problem you take your truck to the nearest GM dealer and ask them to fix, just like you would an out-of-warrant truck.

[Lance B. Johnson]

There is no warranty. We're talking about a used powertrain in a used SUV. Neither had warranty before the swap, so no warranty results from the swap.

If you have a problem you take your truck to the nearest GM dealer and ask them to fix, just like you would an out-of-warrant truck

warranty on the work done?

[IXFE]

warranty on the work done?

They stand behind their work... they've been doing this for over 10 years and they average three rigs a month. I'm not really questioning that.

The problem is they are 3,000 miles away. That's why I asked if anybody knew of a shop that specializes in this here on the west coast.

LBJ... you know how to turn wrenches. You wanna tackle this project for me?? [emoji39]

Edited March 22, 2015 by IXFE

[Stevo]

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/629790152/overview/#9

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/621983945/overview/

Edited March 22, 2015 by Stevo

[Fman]

Seems like they would offer at least a one year/12k warranty? Looks like a great setup. 17k pounds is pretty insane, that would wip an lsv around like it was not even there.

Is the Suburban suspension/legal tow capacity rated at 17k pounds?

Edited March 22, 2015 by Fman

[IXFE]

Seems like they would offer at least a one year/12k warranty? Looks like a great setup. 17k pounds is pretty insane, that would wip an lsv around like it was not even there.

Is the Suburban suspension/legal tow capacity rated at 17k pounds?

On most of their rigs they only claim 12k rating with the 11.5" rear end. That's more than enough for me.

[IXFE]

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/629790152/overview/#9

http://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/621983945/overview/

Stevo, I need a 6 passenger tow rig. Trucks are out of the question. I even tried to convince the wife that a bench seat in an HD truck would be sufficient. No dice. Trucks are out for us.

That leaves us with SUV'S. The issue there is the best available are 6.2L gassers with tow ratings of aprox 8k.

[Fman]

I can't believe there are not plenty of suv's out there with more than 8k tow capacity? I know the Nissan Armada is rated at 9,500 lbs and it's on the smaller scale of suv's.