Click for Coverage

131 1302 16 Inside Upgrades Part 1 Truck Lite Dome Light - Photo 42148966

Back to Article

Installing the headliner is a two-person job. I first cut down plastic side panels and painted them black to support the headliner. I also used some great LED dome lights from Truck-Lite for gobs of interior illumination. The new headliner really made the truck feel new again.

131 1302 01 inside upgrades part 1 jumping cheap suburban

131 1302 02 inside upgrades part 1 gmc suburban camping ready interior

The old well used stock interior had lived a long and hard lived life. The time has come for a freshening up.

Step one was to delete everything. The seats were pulled out, headliner torn down, and carpet excavated. Most of the fasteners released themselves to a rechargeable impact gun, but some required heat and loosening sprays. Once the cabin was gutted, I vacuumed and hosed it out.

The Suburban will now be a mobile camping spot, so there is no need for carpet. I opted to cover the floor with Herculiner DIY bedliner. The first step is scuffing and cleaning the metal below with a wire cup brush and a Scotch-Brite–style pad, and cleaning it with Xylene.

The Herculiner rolls on easily, but you’ll want to tape off wherever you don’t want it and wear disposable gloves. I ran it up the side pillars and on the bottoms of the rear doors. A 1-gallon can was enough to coat from the back to the firewall.

The Herculiner gave the interior a whole new feeling. The finished liner is very rough, but it will be good for keeping gear from sliding around.

The steering column had a terrible amount of slop in the tilt mechanism. I searched online and found two great articles on repairing this problem in our sister magazines Car Craft and Super Chevy. You’ll need some specialty tools from the local auto parts store. Here are the links: <a href="http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0908_gm_steering_column_repair/" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0908_gm_steering_column_repair/</a> and <a href="http://www.superchevy.com/tech/sucp_0707_tilt_steering_column/" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">www.superchevy.com/tech/sucp_0707_tilt_steering_column/</a>.

Inside this ’87 Suburban were three rows of stained and torn seats. The sagging headliner with the backing falling apart was dusting everything with a filthy crust. The carpet had seen quite a few spilled coffee cups, dropped sodas, and maybe a bloodstained murder or two. It was gross and no one wanted to ride in it with me.

The front seat brackets could have been modified to work with the Corbeau seats, but the Corbeau brackets were a quick and easy bolt-on solution. Plus, the bracket are powdercoated and have all new springs and slider mechanisms.

I reused the factory seatbelt mounting holes for the new Corbeau lap belts. The belts weave through the sides of the Corbeau Baja low-back suspension seats.

Though the Suburban spent most of its life as a mega family hauler, it will now have just three seats. The front two are Corbeau Baja low-back suspension seats, perfect for long day’s exploring Mexico. I optioned the additional headrests. The third seat is the 40 percent of the middle 60/40 split bench seat, just in case we pick up a hitchhiker.

Beside the futon I made a small platform to mount a Rubbermaid water jug. Having 5 gallons of fresh water is a great luxury, especially when heading out of the country or just out in the desert. It must be strapped down well should we get into some high-speed desert bombing.

I like the idea of going from the driver’s seat to bed after wheeling all day if need be, so I searched for a mattress to stuff in the back. Overstock.com has these $100 futon mattresses in size full. They are made in Texas by a company called Blazing Needles and fit perfectly in the rear.

LMC Truck offers a full line of replacement parts for Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks of various eras. I went to LMC for a headliner. The company offers both a vinyl and fabric style, and I chose vinyl for its more industrial look. The vinyl headliners are cut out for the rear air conditioning units, so I will need to make a scab plate to cover that.

Installing the headliner is a two-person job. I first cut down plastic side panels and painted them black to support the headliner. I also used some great LED dome lights from Truck-Lite for gobs of interior illumination. The new headliner really made the truck feel new again.

I added two large Model 80 series LED light panels from Truck-Lite in holes on the back bedsides where factory speakers used to live. These are premium lights and not inexpensive, but great for loading or unloading after dark. The factory speaker wires are large enough to run the lights, though I did wire in toggle switches right next to them for easy illumination from the futon and had to enlarge the openings to fit the lights.

You can go exploring without a khaki shirt or solar-powered espresso maker, but you can’t go without a cooler. I ordered up this massive Grizzly 150 cooler only to find out it was too big for the small space I had allocated. These coolers are designed to be bear-proof (with a lock) and keep your brews cold for the whole weekend.

I eventually went with a smaller Grizzly 60 cooler, which fit much better. I sourced it through Off Road Power Products. This 28x20x19-inch cooler will hold up to 78 12-ounce cans and can keep ice for up to nine days!

To lash down the cooler and other items in the CheapBurban, I got a few of the new Synergy cargo tie-down tabs. With a 7⁄16-inch bolt and an underfloor body washer and locking nut, I can now put tie-downs wherever I choose.