Family Vehicle Choice Predicament

[BIGdaddy]

Thought about an astro/safari van? If your wife likes the awd of the subaru, Astros are cheap and readily available, with parts being like wise. The 4.3 vortex motors are awesome; good torque and economy, ultra reliable. I had a rwd 01 and it was a great hwy vehicle 25 mpg with dual air conditioning on at 75 mph all day. I think mine had a 25g tank so pretty good range. Seat 7-8 or take out seats and fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat between wheels wells. Good interior height as well, better than most big SUVs.
Same pitfalls to any van chassis, working on them is a joke sometimes, ie spark plugs or anything else to do with removing the dog house. Typical 90's gm quality. Interior is well laid out but kinda cheap. Never could keep the remote for the barn doors working long.
Since these are old man vans, that usually means you can find nicely kept low mile specimens for a fair price.

Again, good to have the missus go with you if you check out an Astro/Safari. If she's like my wife she might disqualify the Astro van due to the comically small footwell for the front passenger.

Ever seen it? It's shaped by the edge of the dog house, and intrudes quite a bit. My wife has long legs and likes to stretch out on trips, so this was a dealbreaker, as there's literally no way around it. LOL.

 

[Nathaniel0712]

If you like the 6.0 excursion, it can be made to be as reliable as the 7.3, although may not last as long, however those modifications are not cheap by any means, especially if you are not doing them yourself. If i were you i would consider a higher mileage 7.3, unlike the pickups, the excursion did not get any suspension upgrades.
Going to the tahoe/suburban, they are great trucks, last a long time with the vortec engines, and drive/ride great. The suburban is a great tow vehcile and has a slightly better ride due to the longer wheelbase. The gas mileage is really pretty similar on the tahoe and suburban, unless you are looking at the 3/4 ton. the only time you will really notice the extra length is in parallel parking and/or backing up. I would say go for the suburban, you wont regret the extra length and you may find it handy especially with the dogs.
the excursion is even longer than the suburban but the 7.3 has great longevity, although expect maintence costs to be higher as it is going to most likely be higher milage as well as the fact it s a big diesel. oil changes will cost a lot more, but the benefit is the intervals are longer as well. In addition the excursion has the much more solid solid axle front end, although it will ride rougher, and with the leaf spring suspension the turning radius suffers.

personally i would go with any 03 or newer low miles suburban, they are great trucks, and your wife will love how it rides. the tahoe is a great choice as well.

 

[Nathaniel0712]

btw my landlord has a suburban and he puts his 3 100 pound dogs in the cargo area behind the third row very comfortably. this leaves the third row open for luggage/gear

 

[d67u57]

Thought about an astro/safari van? If your wife likes the awd of the subaru, Astros are cheap and readily available, with parts being like wise. The 4.3 vortex motors are awesome; good torque and economy, ultra reliable. I had a rwd 01 and it was a great hwy vehicle 25 mpg with dual air conditioning on at 75 mph all day. I think mine had a 25g tank so pretty good range. Seat 7-8 or take out seats and fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood flat between wheels wells. Good interior height as well, better than most big SUVs.
Same pitfalls to any van chassis, working on them is a joke sometimes, ie spark plugs or anything else to do with removing the dog house. Typical 90's gm quality. Interior is well laid out but kinda cheap. Never could keep the remote for the barn doors working long.
Since these are old man vans, that usually means you can find nicely kept low mile specimens for a fair price.

interesting mpg's you got. what mods did you have in place?

im asking because i thought they ate fuel along the lines of a big suv.

according to this http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and this http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet/astro/gas v6

 

[greengreer]

Ah, forgot to mention tiny footwells certainly worth taking into consideration.

The astro I had did not really have any mods to get that kind of mpg. It was run with Mobil one synthetic from the first oil change ( my dad bought it new) and always had careful maintenance, etc. 3.42 gears and an open diff. Both he and I saw 25 on a few trips, both with LT Michelins and various P rated tires, all stock size. Last few months I had it I was averaging between 18 and 19 over a 15 mile mixed backroad/ hwy / city traffic commute. Got about the same with the truck in my Sig(best of 23 mpg). All this being said, the driver is most important IMO.

Back on topic, to the op: have yall looked at monteros? The gen 2's are going cheap around here. Mitsubishi build quality is great, and they are very high tech compared to domestic products of similar years. Also the gen 3 have irs and will make a better dd than a suburban. From what I understand you are keeping the truck? Why not look at a wagon Or bigger Subaru? The suburban and truck can cover too many of the same duties to justify owning both. Suburban and trailer or pickup and capper, not enough difference

 

[Chili]

I have a wife, 3 kids (16, 15 & 7) and 2 larger dogs (Yellow and Chocolate lab, 90lbs and 65lbs respectively). I opted for a 2005 Suburban Z71 last year and have been happy with it so far.. The only disadvantage I have experienced is the fuel mileage on the 5.3 Vortec. Low teens sucks.

Excursion Diesel would have been my first choice, though I was looking at the older 7.3 Turbo as opposed to the 6.0. Problem is the price of a 10+ year old Excursion is more than I paid for my 05 Suburban, and I was not prepared to pay cash (my CU would not finance the older Excursion).

All that said, even with the larger capacity of the Suburban (vs a Tahoe) I still need a trailer for all of my gear. Here is a pic from the first trip we took in it after buying it last year. This was DFW Texas to SW Colorado (Alpine Loop) for 7 nights:





Happy dogs in back:

 

[Chili]

BTW, the 5.3 in the Suburban is a pretty solid engine, also easy to repair and cheap to replace.. In case you worry about getting one over the 100k mile mark.

That is assuming you turn your own wrenches of course. But these 5.3's commonly go over 200k miles with normal maintenance.

 

[d67u57]

gearing would make sense.

the last pic with the pooches brightened my day

for the topic : wouldnt one of those long wb vans from dodge or ford make a better people + luggage hauler?

 

[78Bronco]

The GM disels are no crown jewel either... Search gm diesel pmd for example or the crank breaking/flex plate issues.

If you really want a giant excursion the 7.3L Powstroke is an awesome motor and far better than the 6.0 & 6.4 variations. Personally as much as I would love a disel the costs to maintain and repair are real drawbacks for me. We went with a gas model Expedition and while not as economical in terms of MPG it has cost very little to maintain since we bought.

Is a truck cap for the dogs not good enough and just keep your current truck. The last thing you want is two dogs flying thru the air and hurting the kids sitting mid vehicle in the event of an accident. Your truck will have lots more space in the back with a canopy.

 

[Chili]

The GM disels are no crown jewel either... Search gm diesel pmd for example or the crank breaking/flex plate issues.

If you really want a giant excursion the 7.3L Powstroke is an awesome motor and far better than the 6.0 & 6.4 variations. Personally as much as I would love a disel the costs to maintain and repair are real drawbacks for me. We went with a gas model Expedition and while not as economical in terms of MPG it has cost very little to maintain since we bought.

Is a truck cap for the dogs not good enough and just keep your current truck. The last thing you want is two dogs flying thru the air and hurting the kids sitting mid vehicle in the event of an accident. Your truck will have lots more space in the back with a canopy.

I know that for me the truck cap wasn't something I wanted because I prefer they have the benefit of climate control.. Then again, living in Texas, my concerns are not the the same as those in other climates. Summer is just too hot here to be sticking the dogs in the pick-up bed for hours at a time, without AC.

If there is concern for the dogs flying through the passenger cabin in case of an accident, then I would recommend a pet barrier.

 

[Kaisen]

Why are you currently discounting the GM lambdas (GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook)?

They can swallow that proverbial 4x8' sheet of plywood without removing seats (they fold flat), where you need to remove 100 lbs of seats to do it in a 'Burb and you simply can't do it at all in a Tahoe.

Plus, you get 3-5mpg better fuel economy, easier to drive, a nicer ride, and similar "trail" abilities -- as long as you're not rock crawling the Rubicon.

If you ned to tow, buy a full-size Suburban or Tahoe
Otherwise, seriously consider the Acadia

 

[Nathaniel0712]

In my experience the lambdas do better in the city by about 2-3 mog, but on the highway there isnt much of a difference. I took a 2010 suburban lt 4x4 on a 500 mile round trip to pickup a tractor, and unloaded on the way up i got 22 mpg @ 70 mph which was surprising as my trailblazer doesnt even get that. on the way back with about 7500 pounds behind my, we rented the trailer so didnt have that on the way up, i got about 16 mpg @ 60-65 mph. This was with a 1500, not a 2500.

 

[banukab]

All around vehicle with good MPG, I would go with something like an AWD Toyota Venza or 2010+ Subaru Outback. If you want to ditch the pickup, get a mid-sized SUV and a small trailer. Trailers are cheap and you don't have to drive a massive vehicle to accommodate the occasional yardwork or housework.

 

[BIGdaddy]

If you want to ditch the pickup, get a mid-sized SUV and a small trailer. Trailers are cheap and you don't have to drive a massive vehicle to accommodate the occasional yardwork or housework.

View attachment 146718

Yup, this really is a solid recommendation, my XJ has done it's fair share of hauling duties from home depot and to the local dump station.

What's really great is being able to load up the trailer on one day, park it, and then haul it at your convenience.

This assumes you have an unobtrusive place to park the trailer.

 

[Chili]

Why are you currently discounting the GM lambdas (GMC Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook)?

They can swallow that proverbial 4x8' sheet of plywood without removing seats (they fold flat), where you need to remove 100 lbs of seats to do it in a 'Burb and you simply can't do it at all in a Tahoe.

Plus, you get 3-5mpg better fuel economy, easier to drive, a nicer ride, and similar "trail" abilities -- as long as you're not rock crawling the Rubicon.

If you ned to tow, buy a full-size Suburban or Tahoe
Otherwise, seriously consider the Acadia

I can and have put a full sheet of plywood in my Suburban without removing seats?? Fold down the second row, which fold flat, and the third that, while not flat, is sufficiently low. And removing the third row takes two steps.. Fold it, release the tab, and pull it out.