Sooooo, let’s say that you have a lot of skill and some extra time and money on your hands and you’re a creative person, what do you do? You build a custom 1988 Chevrolet Suburban shorty dually pickup, of course. This l’il mind-blower can be found here on Craigslist in Humble, Texas, just north of Houston. The seller is asking $5,250 for this fun eye-popper. Thanks to Pat L. for sending in another great tip!
Ha! This thing rocks. The seller says that it started life as a full-sized 2-wheel-drive 3/4-ton Suburban, which for the record would have been over 18-feet long. It was sectioned twice, once to get rid of the rear doors and then once behind the rear wheels to create this 100% guaranteed crowd-gatherer. I always hear that everything is bigger in Texas, but maybe not everything is. Bonus: the siren and light bar is functional, according to the seller.
Adding the dual rear wheels was the pièce de résistance on this thing. I have no clue what this truck would drive like but I’d sure love to have this thing. It’s basically all the pickup I would ever need, box-wise, and it would be so fun to drive it around and see the reaction. The short bed is custom built and they say that the gas tank is a 15-gallon beer keg. I wish that there were some underside shots, it would be nice to see what it looks like under there with all of that cutting and fabrication work.
Room for three full-sized adults in front, the rest have to ride in the back. It looks plush in there for such a tough truck exterior, like the center of a Tootsie-Pop. This rig has AC but apparently it has a small leak so that’ll have to be tracked down and fixed. Not having AC in the Houston area isn’t fun.
An engine photo, this seller is the best! This is a 350 cubic-inch V8 with throttle-body injection. We don’t know the horsepower but I bet this truck moves down the road nicely, thank you very much. The rear end on this shorty-Suburban came from a one-ton tow truck, no wonder it looks so heavy-duty. Would any of you have a use for a custom shorty like this former Suburban? I know, I wouldn’t either but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t love to have it!
I despise shorties in general, but I have to say I like this. It looks cool and might even be useful for moving trailers around like an airport tug.
I don’t know where to start on this one. Can you image what this rides like? It’s not much less than a real short single axle tractor bobtail, which I’ve driven. Trust me, the ride will kill you.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, short wheel base any thing is inherently unstable, some body is gonna die in this thing
Based on total capacity, 3 could die in this piece of…oops, sorry…”thing”.
I have to agree with Howard A and KSwheatfarmer, this thing is going to ride like a buckboard and the handling might be terrifying. It does have a cool look to it and it appears to have been nicely done body-wise but a potential buyer should check underneath to see if the fabrication was well done. I see a limited appeal for it and you better take it for a test ride before even considering buying it.
Make that a short test drive – once up to speed, do not breath, as it may be your last.
Why? Just… Why?
How many miles?I’m guessing it has a reconstruction title???
All above true–looks like he used the 1 ton front and rear ends Wheelie machine? Looks like one o those toy cars that when you turn it on it just goes in circles. Think this would barrel roll in a heartbeat. The craftsmanship is great but how could any human being spend as much time as it took to build something that looks like a heavy duty clown car?? SMH. Abandon all hope he who enters.
Cheers
GPC
Its a great RV or boat dealership lot tug. Easy maneuvering with any trailer.
Greetings All,
Will, if you mean “extremely short distance hauler” OK.
Lack of weight and wheelbase woukd tend to make this wander on the highway.
It needs wheely bars!
Was this the first design for the Avalanche??
Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should….
Would be much exponentially cooler, with a too-short camper trailer towed behind it! Great combination for Shriners to use in parades.
https://barnfinds.com/cut-it-out-1988-chevy-silverado/
This was on here and for sale back in 2016.
Probably couldn’t figure out a good use for it either.
Great memory, dwise! I didn’t go back far enough. Another great write-up by our own Jeff Lavery there.
I’d use this for a driveway plow rig if it had a rear locker
I wonder if it was originally a military airport aircraft tow rig? Like the Jeep and Dodges.
Cue Styx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XcKBmdfpWs
Well, I’m sure it has a wonderful personality.
No mystery, ya’ll must live in a more prosperous area of the country. Mobile home transporter.
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/2b/33/49/2b334954f4a6843c790b2dbcc6d5cdf3–mobile-homes-towers.jpg
So you take an ugly truck and spend a bunch of money and time making it more ugly and ride like a rock.I’m with the others why….just why?
All ya’s asking why, because the. builder wanted to, as simple as that.Thats what’s great about this hobby.
Well like someone said. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. But I get your point.
Shaking head..saying WHY..all the time spent could have been used better.i guess there are
Eccentric people out there with skills ..if I had the skills this person has I would be a very happy restored mod guy
I’m not saying why all the time just here. Shaking my head.
Yep, this thing screams wheelie truck. Just stuff a big block in the back. The shortening has already been done. How hard could it be? 🤣
My first thought was why? If you were pulling around a 5 ton trailer behind you all the time, maybe your butt could stay put in the seat! I would still watch those dips tho! :-)
No photos of the inside of the bed. Could be the keg gas tank occupies that entire thing. So, useless for anything other than the aforementioned airplane, boat or manufactured home tug.