Best Large SUV stock?

rayra

Expedition Leader
Again a load of projecting and subjective stuff that misses the point of the topic. You're arguing that a pickup is best for a rural lifestyle, which is utterly NOT the question or context of the OP.
My '85 C-10 longbed pickup and my suburban are within an inch of each other in overall length and likewise similar wheelbase. 365k mi on my C-10, about 50k of that in the southwest deserts and forests with dirt bikes and ATCs and such. My point is I have long experience with both vehicle types in a wide range of activities. THE TOPIC is about "best Large SUV stock", not about your midsize and pickup prejudices.

And speaking of the latter, the Jeep Wagoneer is fully 38" shorter than the Suburban, 36cu' LESS interior room, no wonder you felt crowded by your junk. And it's more than a foot shorter than my Tahoe. No wonder you scoff at the comfort and utility of a LARGE SUV - you've never owned one.


Our Tahoe worked great in those same hauling / camping / cargo conditions, particularly the decade we spent all our recreating and home renovation time in the Sierras, Lake Isabella, Sequoias. Hauled all our crap, towed trailers and boats, AND kept our belongings secured and out of foul weather instead of in a pickup bed. And it comfortably transported 6 on trips to our vacation house there for river rafting trips.

The Suburban will now do much the same and more comfortably take our two big dogs with us (also in comfort) AND all our junk. I've already used a large canvas tarp as a cargo liner for hauling firewood in it, for hauling stinky wet dogs back from the ocean, hauled bags of manure and plants home from the nursery. Big whoop. And it's got the same 4'x8' cargo area as my longbed pickup, for picking up lumber etc, including full 4'x8' sheets of plywood and drywall. A LARGE SUV is a lot more capable than you think / claim.

"best Large SUV stock"


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a trip to the mountain house with 3 people, a big dog and a bunch of home remodeling crap. There's even a bunch of 6' fence planks buried in there, in our old '99 Tahoe.

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And after selling the house and clearing it out, with a 14' tandem axle trailer.

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Older pickups are 'inexpensive'. Especially if you keep them for 29 years ;). If I need to haul a dead critter or a loose scoop of horse manure, I'll use a pickup. For everything short of that and so much more where comfort and security matters, I'll use our LARGE SUVs.

But I'm glad I've got a pickup too, for things like hauling a ton of travertine tile

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Or dragging a big boulder out of my jacuzzi hole (which I also hauled up to the mountains in the back of that pickup. Granted, an SUV won't do that (without a trailer).

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Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I think the whole SUV/Pickup thing depends on whether you haul "stuff" more than you haul people. When I was single I owned a pickup and it worked out OK for me because I rarely had to carry more than myself or at most one other person. On those few occasions when I had to carry more than one person it was a real PITA even with an extended cab truck. But once I acquired a family the pickup just wasn't practical as a primary vehicle (I should note that I have an old "beater" 2wd pickup that is my DD.)
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In terms of versatility, I think the SUV wins hands down. Think about it, you can carry "stuff" in an SUV as well as passengers. But there's no place in the US that I'm aware of where you can legally carry passengers in the bed of a pickup. Yeah, I'm old enough to remember the days when you could pile 10 friends in the back of your pickup and cruise around town but those days are over - try that now and at the very least you're looking at a ticket. God help you if you're in an accident and someone is thrown from the bed of the truck.
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L_Kilkenny

New member
Actually no, I stated that an extended cab pickup is a better overland vehicle for a family of 4 than most full size SUV's. Been there, done that, in both types. You can even throw a few thousand miles behind the wheel and 10 times that riding in a 2WD Suburban with 5 people. Add a few long trips in full size 4 door full-size trucks. You like your Suburbans, I get it, I like em too. I also like Bronco's and am making the switch from the YJ to one soon. I'm not anti-SUV. But no way on God's green earth would I consider an SUV if I didn't have a pickup for everything else. Tried it twice, never again. OP isn't talking hauling 8 people or a load of brush either (my bad). SUV more versatile? no. Heck, for 99% of people a mini-van is the most versatile vehicle on the planet but one will never shadow my drive again. :-D
 

Ivan

Lost in Space
FWIW, the first gen Expedition with 5.4 has a heavier drivetrain than the 4.6. Larger axle diffs, larger transmission (shared with 7.2 diesel) and is still solid rear axle. It's basically a "heavy half ton" I guess. It's also still a simple vehicle (relatively speaking).

That's why I bought mine. Should have some more pics soon. Just did a 3" lift, and added a larger tranny cooler. Simple, tough, spacious trucks that are almost an overgrown FJCruiser (seriously, look at the dimensions). I love mine.

ETA: staying on topic with the OP, if it's a fairly new vehicle, I would still heavily consider a new Expedition. With the Rancho quick lift and the Ecoboost engine, you should fare pretty well.
 
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diver110

New member
In my case, I definitely want an SUV. I may do some short-term camping where I want to be able sleep inside it. I am a little worried that for my needs the additional length of a Suburban might be too much of a hassle. In all events, it has to fit in my standard length garage. If Chevy v Dodge is a toss up, ai might lean Chevy because the dealer is a bit closer, but only if it us a toss up. Is it? Again many thanks.
 

DaveNay

Adventurer
In my case, I definitely want an SUV. I may do some short-term camping where I want to be able sleep inside it. I am a little worried that for my needs the additional length of a Suburban might be too much of a hassle. In all events, it has to fit in my standard length garage. If Chevy v Dodge is a toss up, ai might lean Chevy because the dealer is a bit closer, but only if it us a toss up. Is it? Again many thanks.

If you are comparing a Chevy Suburban against a Dodge Durango (the largest SUV made by Dodge in recent history I believe), then it is no contest....Suburban 100%
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
In my case, I definitely want an SUV. I may do some short-term camping where I want to be able sleep inside it. I am a little worried that for my needs the additional length of a Suburban might be too much of a hassle. In all events, it has to fit in my standard length garage. If Chevy v Dodge is a toss up, ai might lean Chevy because the dealer is a bit closer, but only if it us a toss up. Is it? Again many thanks.



again, a suburban is the same length as a standard cab long-bed pickup. ~220". The roof heights with the LS/LT roof rack clear a 'normal' tilt-up garage door. Garage fit only became a problem with our Z71 models, with their taller rack and slightly taller tires on the Z 17" rims. And even that works with a roll-up door.
Unless you live in a fairly-new ****box townhome or 'starter' McMansion, the garage lengths are fine. In fact the mid-70s Cadillac Sedan Devilles are also 220"L. GM built vehicles that fit in garages. Now a modern house with a poor layout, laundry or workbenches that intrudes in that basic space allocation, in places where houses are 10' apart from each other. Yah, you're going to have trouble fitting a full size vehicle. Same way they keep shrinking parking places in new shopping centers. likewise some 'master plan' tract homes the driveways are even too short to park vehicles in. And that's on purpose.
None if that is the 'fault' of the vehicle.

eta - hell they build modern houses now with 'two-car' garages that aren't WIDE enough for two cars, either. talking mid-sized 2-door four-seat cars. No room to open the doors without banging or squeezing things. helped a friend build a set of shelves all along the side of his garage and the followign weekend had to go back and excise a portion of the shelves so his wife could open her car door all the way.
 

rayra

Expedition Leader
What about Tahoe versus Expedition?

no significant difference, other than brand issues, and particular years having their own mechanical foibles. The expeditions are a couple inches longer at best. Fords seem to have a sketchier rep for cab interior parts coming apart
 

RoyJ

Adventurer
Personally, I think payload is one of the most important, and often overlooked, specs of an overland platform. By the time you armor up, and load up all the gear, I bet over 90% of vehicles on this board are over GVWR.

For this reason, I tend to avoid the 1500 Suburban and Expedition EL, as they offer less payload than their smaller counterparts (Tahoe and normal Expy):

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/vehicle/payload12.htm

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/vehicle/payload15.htm

At 1800+ lbs for the GMT 900 Tahoe and post-07 Expedition, they're excellent for larger families or longer self sufficient trips. The only logical choice for the Suburban is the 2500, with a well, 2500 lbs payload.

Don't forget front and rear bumpers, spare carrier, skids, sliders, and winch can easily add 500 lbs to your truck! In a Jeep JK, you're down to a legal 500 lbs payload...
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
eta - hell they build modern houses now with 'two-car' garages that aren't WIDE enough for two cars, either. talking mid-sized 2-door four-seat cars. No room to open the doors without banging or squeezing things. helped a friend build a set of shelves all along the side of his garage and the followign weekend had to go back and excise a portion of the shelves so his wife could open her car door all the way.
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One of the nice things about living in an older suburb (non-HOA being another one) is that these old houses were built on large, flat lots so even with no alley behind us there was enough room to put in a 2 car garage. Since we were putting in the garage, I got to have it built to my specs and basically I said "what's the biggest garage I can get away with?" I ended up with a 24 x 24. Then one of the contractors (not the one I eventually used) suggested an 18' door instead of the standard 16', which also makes for a nice, wide entrance. finally I had the door offset to one side to there is a larger space on one end for workbenches, motorcycles, etc.
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LOVE my garage! It's the first one I've ever had (I was in the military and school for over 20 years so I never 'settled down' until I was in my 40's.) When I go into my brother's garage (he has a townhome in a new and trendy part of town) it just seems tiny to me, even though his is a "2 car" garage also.
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ETA (bringing this somewhat back OT) an 18' 3" Suburban should fit just fine in my garage, even with a workbench along the back wall (I measured.)
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
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Am I the only one who misses this tailgate configuration? I know lift-gates were created so soccer moms wouldn't have to stretch over an open tailgate when putting in or taking out groceries, but I really miss having a tailgate to sit on, cook on, or even as an extended platform to sleep on. To me the only good thing about a lift gate is that it does provide some weather protection, but otherwise it sucks. Worst thing about a 1 piece liftgate is that if your vehicle has stuff piled all the way to the back as soon as you open the liftgate that stuff falls out. With a two piece gate you can open the top portion and then carefully lower the tailgate so things don't fall on the ground.
 

diver110

New member
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One of the nice things about living in an older suburb (non-HOA being another one) is that these old houses were built on large, flat lots so even with no alley behind us there was enough room to put in a 2 car garage. Since we were putting in the garage, I got to have it built to my specs and basically I said "what's the biggest garage I can get away with?" I ended up with a 24 x 24. Then one of the contractors (not the one I eventually used) suggested an 18' door instead of the standard 16', which also makes for a nice, wide entrance. finally I had the door offset to one side to there is a larger space on one end for workbenches, motorcycles, etc.
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LOVE my garage! It's the first one I've ever had (I was in the military and school for over 20 years so I never 'settled down' until I was in my 40's.) When I go into my brother's garage (he has a townhome in a new and trendy part of town) it just seems tiny to me, even though his is a "2 car" garage also.
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ETA (bringing this somewhat back OT) an 18' 3" Suburban should fit just fine in my garage, even with a workbench along the back wall (I measured.)

I have a full-sized garage (house was built in 1984) so at least that is not an issue. On the Suburban versus Tahoe front, does the Suburban have a longer drive train? Could be an issue on rough forest roads, though admittedly probably not a big deal. I have seen plenty of pickups go where I like to go.
 

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