Lil help needed

[Spec]

OK so I am catching the "outback" bug again after being away for a long time. I used to travel to Mexico to surf all the time and have camped down there (as well as all over the west coast) for years. I have gotten my old VW van and bugs in places that only 4x4 should go. it wasn't easy and there was a lot of scraping and paint gone but we had fun.

Fast forward more years then I care to admit and I am back at the camping game. I currently have a Viking Pop up that is has a mild lift on it. The tow Vehicle is a 2002 Ford F-150 CrewCab 2WD. Well this last week i took the kids and my wife out to Death Valley. hadn't been there in years. ended up taking the wifes 2005 Honda MiniVan. We slept in it and had a blast . hell we took that thing to Hole in the wall as well as Titus pass. it handled like a champ but got us talking about uprgrading to a more "capable" vehicle.

After a long talk with the wife we have kicked the idea of getting rid of the trailer and truck and picking something up to get a little more "adventurous" with. I am leaning towards a 4x4 Van but thought I would ask you guys for recommendations. most of our camping up to now has been in established campgrounds but I hope that will change soon.

Here are my requirements.
1. Needs to be dependable. I am selling my daily driven truck to make this happen. whatever I buy has to be a daily driver
2. needs to seat at least 5
3. something I can camp in would be real nice. I'm not opposed to roof top camping and I know the wife and kids would be down.
4. 4x4 seems like the way to do it
5. ease of maintenance I can work on stuff without computers
6. decent gas mileage
7. if I keep the trailer it has to be able to pull a pop up
8. out the door price around 12,000 MAX

I have been looking at older suburbans, crew cab full size truck and vans. I'm leaning towards that. So recommendations would be nice and a reasoning behind them would be appreciated. What should I be looking for and avoiding?

Thanks
Spec

 

[bfdiesel]

If five is your limit a crew cab truck, diesels will do a bit or a lot better on mileage depending on which one. The sell the popup pull behind and do popup in the bed, this then leaves room for a trailer if you need to carry more stuff (like ATV's, motorcyles, a boat, ....).

If you want to seat more than 5-6 then a burb.

 

[1leg]

2000+ Tahoe or Suburban with a 5.3 with a roof top tent. You and the wife in the tent the kids in the cargo area. Keep the lift and tire to around 32" tires on the Tahoe and 33" on the suburban this will help with mpg.

By the newest truck you can aford with the lowest miles, and don't forget you want barn doors.:victory:

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

Jerry has given sage advice. The 5.3s are stout and economical for the size of the vehicle. :sombrero:

 

[Mooneywa]

Fact. I am on my second tahoe with the 5.3 and am very happy. Just toughen up the IFS a little and you're set!

 

[BurbanAZ]

Yea I'd say suburban, I've had 3 and will probably always have a suburban. I'd go with either a 5.3 or 5.7 but avoid the 454 only because of the mpg. I have a 6.5 diesel Burb and love it, plus the mileage with the diesel suburbans is very good, but the 6.5 does have some issues.

 

[Revco]

'92-'99 Suburbans are great. I'd pass on any 1/2-tons though, but thats just me. The 454 is thirsty, the diesel is ornery, and the 350 is underpowered. I like my '93 K2500 4x4 454, but if I had the money it'd have a Cummins 6BT Turbo Diesel, 5-spd Manual Trans, Dana 60 Front Axle, and some 35" tires...basically just getting rid of the things I don't like about it, and swapping them for things I do like.

The '00+ Suburbans are damn nice. My brother has an '04 k2500 4x4 with the 6.0 Gas V8. He loves that engine compared to his '05 Duramax 2500 4x4 truck. The interior is way nicer than the previous generation and it fits his wife and 4 kids with room to spare. The suspension is essentially the same as the 92-99's so don't expect a drastic difference in ride quality over the older models. Although I can tell you that my brother's '04 surely handles better and has more pep in it's step than my '93.

Like I said, I like my Suburban, but I'd really rather have a truck. Growing up, my dad always had trucks with camper shells. I loved riding in the bed with my little brothers or friends across Texas on our way to go camping while mom & dad were in the cab, we could crawl into the back seat through the window boot. He always had the bed loaded with gear, and a 4" foam pad with blankets on top, it was like a conversion van with a fold out bed. When he needed to haul something in the truck, the camper shell easily came off and it was a truck again.

 

[BurbanAZ]

'92-'99 Suburbans are great. I'd pass on any 1/2-tons though, but thats just me. The 454 is thirsty, the diesel is ornery, and the 350 is underpowered. I like my '93 K2500 4x4 454, but if I had the money it'd have a Cummins 6BT Turbo Diesel, 5-spd Manual Trans, Dana 60 Front Axle, and some 35" tires...basically just getting rid of the things I don't like about it, and swapping them for things I do like.

The '00+ Suburbans are damn nice. My brother has an '04 k2500 4x4 with the 6.0 Gas V8. He loves that engine compared to his '05 Duramax 2500 4x4 truck. The interior is way nicer than the previous generation and it fits his wife and 4 kids with room to spare. The suspension is essentially the same as the 92-99's so don't expect a drastic difference in ride quality over the older models. Although I can tell you that my brother's '04 surely handles better and has more pep in it's step than my '93.

Like I said, I like my Suburban, but I'd really rather have a truck. Growing up, my dad always had trucks with camper shells. I loved riding in the bed with my little brothers or friends across Texas on our way to go camping while mom & dad were in the cab, we could crawl into the back seat through the window boot. He always had the bed loaded with gear, and a 4" foam pad with blankets on top, it was like a conversion van with a fold out bed. When he needed to haul something in the truck, the camper shell easily came off and it was a truck again.

Thats the perfect way to say it "The 454 is thirsty, the diesel is ornery, and the 350 is underpowered"