So about a decade ago my wife and I were about to have our first kid. At the time we had a Wrangler and a Jetta. Being stationed in NC, with all of our family in PA, now that there were kids in the picture, there would be a lot of 8-hour road trips in our future. Neither of those vehicles would cut it. So I bought a brand new Yukon XL. I kept the Jetta for my daily driver, and my wife ended up driving the Yukon most of the time. I kept the Wrangler with a pipe dream of giving it to my newborn son in 16 years. After two years reality set in and it got sold, leaving us with the VW and Yukon.
Fast forward to 2008. Gas was suddenly ridiculously expensive, with no clear reason other than instability in the middle east. Since I knew that wasn't going to change any time soon, I was convinced this was how it was going to be, and had to start looking for a more economical family hauler. By now my third kid was on the way. Since they're required to be in a car seat until age 8, the 5-passenger VW didn't actually provide enough room for two car-seats and a booster seat. Minivans were never an option. So after extensive research, I bought a vehicle which made perfect sense on paper: 4wd, 290 or so hp, seating for seven, 31mpg: the Toyota RAV4 Limited. It was a stretch, not exactly my kind of vehicle, but I thought it would work for us.
"You're not going to trade that thing, are you?" asks the Toyota dealer, pointing to my Yukon.
"No, I need that, no matter what gas costs, I can't live without that one."
"Good, because I wouldn't be able to give you anything for it." At the time, full size trucks were worth their weight in scrap metal.
After a year of still using the Yukon for road trips, and the wife driving the kids around town in the Toyota (sometimes) we realized that we both hated the vehicle, which was possibly the most boring, awkward vehicle either of us had ever driven. After 12 months, it had barely 3,000 miles on it. I decided I'd made enough payments on this vehicle we didn't care to drive. I took it down to Bob King GMC in Wilmington, and traded the 2008 Toyota on a 2007 certified GMC Envoy for even money. I really didn't know a whole lot about the vehicles at the time, other than that it was a body-on-frame vehicle with the same powertrain as a Tahoe. All I knew was that I didn't want an EXT, and I preferred a V8. I didn't really care for the Denali trim, but I figured I had to deal with it if I wanted a short body V8. I knew about the Trailblazer SS, but didn't know they put the 5.3 in LT short body models. If I had, I probably would have looked for one of those. At least the Envoy Denali still included a low-range (which was essential), unlike the Yukon Denali.
I may have lost out a couple grand in the deal, but I didn't care. I instantly fell in love with the Envoy, with it's V8 growl, classic styling, lots of places to stash stuff, and everything else about it. Sure it didn't have seven seats, but the bench had room for three car seats, and the flip-up seats in the RAV were a joke anyway, leaving no room for a stroller when occupied.
So nearly six years later, the Envoy's still in great shape, mechanically and cosmetically. Only now it's paid off, so it's time to start making it into the kind of vehicle it should have been from the factory. I do still have the Yukon, which is our road trip or Lowe's trip vehicle, I drive the Jetta to work most days, and my wife claims ownership of the Envoy. So I can't go too crazy. As you can see, the running boards are still on it.
We did eventually have one more kid, and the Envoy was on the chopping block, until I found this company called Little Passenger Seats. Boom! Jumpseat in the rear, suitable for a five to twelve year old. Problem solved.
It came with grade 8 hardware and uses the cargo tie-down mount bolt holes. It's perfectly safe. Certainly safer than those of us who were raised in the 70s and 80s endured, riding in the back of station wagons and pickup trucks with no tethers whatsoever.
The first mod I did to this truck was to replace the factory air suspension with some steel coils. I went with a kit by Arnott, which was nothing more than a pair of springs. I just pulled the bags out, stuffed the springs in, bolted it all back together and there we go. I ended up selling the compressor on eBay for something like $250, which covered the cost of the springs. Had I known then what I know now, I would have just bought a set of Z71 Tahoe springs for $100. That may happen yet. Problem with the bags was that they leaked, and the truck's tail would be squatting after it sat for more than six hours. Also the compressor was constantly running, which was annoying. I wasn't in the mood to replace them, only to replace them again in five years. With the new coils, the truck sat level, and coils don't leak, ever.
I started out this build with a set of MarkMC's spacers. They are of a high quality, machined in a shop in Florida. Unfortunately, somebody dropped two of them before shipping, and opted to send them off to me with some serious gouges in them. Hopefully Mark will be able to replace them for me, but that hasn't happened yet. Once installed, my factory rims fit extremely tight on the hubs (sledgehammer removal tight). Mark offered to have them machined a little more if I send them back, but after removing them a few times in the process of working on the suspension, they're starting to loosen up. I might be okay with them. I should note that the factory Denali rims are made in Taiwan (that pissed me off when I saw that stamped on the inside), so it's entirely possible they're not manufactured to the same spec as the 17" rims.
Next step was to get the lift installed. After researching here and talking to my local aftermarket supplier, I ended up going with the BDS kit. I confess, with four kids and a busy job, I opted to let them do it. I don't have a spring compressor in my garage anyway, and that is required for the front. Here's before and after.
As you can see, it sat a little low in the rear. This is partially accentuated by the grade of my driveway, but the reality is the truck was level before the lift, and an inch lower in the rear after the lift. BDS bills the kits as a 2" leveling kit, but it's actually a 2" front and 1" rear kit. I guess trailblazers with factory coil suspension sit an inch higher in the rear. I don't know. Mine, with the aftermarket springs, didn't. The guy at the shop where I bought the kit explained that it was because I didn't have the coil spring isolator installed, which would have been there. Okay, so I went to the GM dealership and picked up a pair, for like $12 each. I open the package and guess what? They're about 1/4 inch thick. So I installed them and guess how much it added to the rear ride height? Surprise, surprise: 1/4 inch. So it goes. Z71 springs will be in my future, but for now, a BDS kit, wheel spacers, and a set of tires is enough accessorizing for one pay period.
Working on the rear springs is pretty easy. Just put the truck up on jack stands, support the differential with a floor jack, undo the shock bolt, upper control arm bolt, parking brake cable bracket, and panhard bar bolt, lower the axle with the floor jack and go to town.
Once the spacer is in, it's a little harder to get the springs back, but a pair of really good bar-clamps (woodworking tool) can help you compress the spring a little to get it in there. Of course a proper spring compressor is recommended, but that works too.
Here it is right before I pulled the spring out:
Having grown up in PA, I really appreciate and enjoy living in the South, for so many reasons. The lack of salt on the roads is just one of them. Does this look like the undercarriage of an 8-year old vehicle? No rust here.
Here are the before and after pics of the rear with the stock tires:
The front was the exact same as the rear before the lift. Here it is after:
Some more random pics.
I know a lot of you aren't going to approve of the running boards still being on it. I don't either, but the reality is the only off-roading I do around here is on the beach. They won't get in the way. And they might even protect the body now that the tires are flush with the fenders.
PM me if you have any questions/comments, since we're not allowed to reply here.
Chris
