Next Truck: A Suburban?

My family has always had a 03 suburban with the 5.3 just passed 170k. It is really nice to have the stacking room. Have not put in any computers but have never had an issue with packing as long as you know how to. With the 03s, the middle bench seat folds down so that the back is completly flat once the third seat is out. We pull about 4k #s cars with a trailer thats probably 1k #s and have never had an issue. Upgrades i would suggest for the burban would be placing metal sheets behind the rear window incase of load shift and to prevent a computer through the window. (basically like a panel wagon my dad was going to put some in when he was dj ing), and then load helper bags never hurt. We have packed the burban with 8 people, clothes for 4 days (times eight people) and a full size cooler. Then took a trip from the France Germany border to Italy and back. Without issue and a surprising amount of space. If I ever get lots of smalls at auction, first thing i do is load up my pickup and call the burban to get the boxes that could fall out of my pickup bed. Overall i give the suburban a triple thumbs up!!!

ThatTubaDude- Wrote this while sitting in the suburban on the way to the lake with 6 people and lots of stuff for his dads Air Force retirement.

I don't know on the older gen if the middle seats fold down but ours is the 1500 2 wheel drive, stock height. ( no helper bags yet, they are supposed to arrive in the mail this week)

*edit- On the capacity, we are able to put in a 4x8 flooring sheet angled in with out an issue.

If you don't mind me asking, how was the sheet angled? Was it too long for the cargo space, or too wide for the wheelwells?

It was angled up over the 3rd and middle seat to against the driver/passenger head rests. It was just a couple inches long from what i remember

Being able to fit the sheet, and have the seats fold flat are some of the main reasons why they have not gotten a newer body style burban because the new ones, we cant fit plywood in or fold the captains seats down flat.

might be better off with a earlier mini van or a 2 seater pickup . you are talking mid to long trips fuel will soon hit $4+. Suburbans are notorious gas hogs. a mini van will pull a trailer and would be much easier to load. moving stuff around in a suv is a back breaker. A 2 seater pick up is the optimum choice if your escrap is scrap quality not resale. Ford 300 6 150 will pull anything you get weather you like Fords or not. If you get a lot of resale go with the van. just my .02

I have a 96 suburban its a 1500 but has the tow package with a bigger tranny cooler. They are great vehicles and should serve you well. However my seats do not fold down perfectly flat and the towing would depend a lot on the weight.

I drive semis and its hard to consider any stock half ton a great towing vehicle. If we are talking a small 12 ft trailer with waste in it you should be fine. I would recommend adding heavier shocks, leafs in the rear and a leveling kit. it inexpensive your suburban guy should know how to do it and it makes a world of difference. It takes all the bounce and sway out of the suburban and takes away that pushing feeling from the trailer.

A minivan is too small. We use one of these for small pickups. For anything 700# and under, it's great! 28 MPG, has all the amenities, and has quattro to boot!


Now, an Astro van or a "Maxi-Van"? I don't know much about them. We need something bigger than a Caravan, though. I currently run an F150 with a 300 I6/M5OD/3.31 gears. It's terrible. 5000# with trailer, and I could only keep 35 MPH on the flats- and I felt like a whipping boy doing that. 200 miles of that isn't doable. We will also be using this for farm work- hauling straw on trailers. Our loads are 5000# tops- and the F150 won't be doing that again! I don't anticipate that much weight very often, though. When we tow, it'll be around 3000-4000# usually (if that much). I do collection events all over the state- I can't see a Grand Voyager doing that

We need enclosed trucking. My goal is resale- I scrap the obsolete and dead stuff. I can make more on a refurbished system, so I do that whenever possible.

I've owned three half ton trucks. The only way they work for me is with a cap. I've lost computers before to rain in the open trucks. I'm tired of worrying about outrunning the storm, or losing stuff.

----------------------
@Beardo: How do you think a Suburban would handle 5000# of towing? Could I hold 55 on the flats, or would I be doing 30, hoping I don't kill the truck? How do you think one would do with cargo in the back- say 700#? 1000#? 1500#?

Suspension won't be an issue. I know he can do that. I did shocks on the Ford- they're the easiest thing I've ever done.

-----------------------
His pricing seems cheap for out here: last time, he had a 1999 4x4 with 180k miles. He was looking for $1500 out of it. His pricing is low. Heck, I missed out on a 2001 Dodge 2500 with the V10 for $1700.

Please keep the thoughts coming!

I would think on the flats you should be fine. I'm always more worried about stopping than going.

It may be one of those things where you are just going to have to see. The suspension upgrades are easy and the truck can pull the weight so you mag just have to do it in steps and see how it goes.

A suburban would be ok but with a 150 one way trip I'd look at a smaller pickup with a topper and a enclosed trailer.

Currently using a 2001 E250 Ford van, 3/4 ton, its great for pick ups. I had 200 plus towers on it and another 500lbs of wire. It was overloaded to say the least but handled it. I would prefer and may get a good trailer to fill with my empty pc cases and other misc. shred. My van will be able to pull the load and this will be easier than getting the shred out of the van. Mike

I would go with a full size van as Mike d stated, 3/4 ton. A van maybe challenging in winter conditions. You may want to look into a box type van , you would gain headroom but loose side doors. A box van makes a nice traveling billboard. Your milage may vary.

You keep pushing the station wagon an I'll keep my mini-van. I have plenty of room. An have hauled everything I've taken to the yard in it. Just got a washer, a dryer, a fridge, a propane grill, an several other items in on a pick up. An I still had room to stuff everything else. I can fit a bunch of tv's in before the weight becomes an issue. Plus they like to fly around if I don't have other things in it.

So..you'll forgive me if I stick with what has obviously worked for me. My seats come out yours just fold right on down. Oh I can also pull a trailer if I ever decided to, an I have a higher floor to roof clearance. An no pesky doors to get in my way as mine slide all the way open. TV's? No trouble through the side. Fridges..no problem through the back door, washers/dryers loaded either way. An towers? I could haul them like one of these big trucks do an no worries on losing my load, or dealing with straps an tarps an all that jazz.

Either way it all comes down to what you prefer. I don't have to worry about city driving or traffic. My sandbar is only a 120 miles or so, an I only putt around half of it on a regular basis. Far as mileage goes..I get something like 18 city an 23-25 hwy. Not the best, but certainly not the worse.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread. Was just pointing out what olddude was saying about a mini-van being able to work if you didn't want a gas guzzler like a Suburban. Being as I actually use one, figure the voice of one experienced with it should speak on it's benefits.

YVMV

Sirscrapalot - Your Vehicle May Vary.