Another What Car Thread: Help Me Choose My Next Tow Vehicle

I’ve had my 2002 Silverado 1500 for about 4 years now, and it’s been a great truck for me. But with 295,000 miles and 22 years behind it, it’s starting to worry me for longer drives. I drive a lot of highway miles and I think it’s about time to get something a little fresher for peace of mind.

My thinking is this: I don’t necessarily need a truck. I have a cap on mine, and I’ve found I don’t need the unlimited height so much as I need interior volume. I do, however need a high towing capacity. I usually only tow about 4,500 lbs of race car and trailer, but I expect to tow heavier cars in the future (and possibly a small travel trailer) and I tow on some pretty extreme grades – the most notable being I-26 and I-40 through the NC mountains – and I want something that isn’t going to struggle. So my target towing capacity is 8,000 lbs to give myself lots of leeway. 4x4 is also a must – my trailer is kept at the bottom of a muddy field. I’d like something with less than 175,000 miles and my budget is basically my truck plus a few  thousand bucks, so we’ll say $10,000. I’d like it to be about 15 years old. This will be my daily driver, but my daily commute is short and not through a crowded city.

My current top contenders, as far I have gotten:

1. 1st Gen Nissan Armada: 9k towing, a decent example can be had in the sub $10k range with less than 150k miles very easily. Unsure of reliability.
2. 2011 or later Infiniti QX56/80: Ugly as sin, but I don’t really mind. 8,500 lb towing. Nice interior and ride is a plus. Based on the Nissan Patrol, which is neat and gives more aftermarket support options. Drinks premium, which is definitely not a plus. Similar price and miles as Armadas around here. Unsure of reliability.
3. GMT 800 Suburban 2500, Escalade, or Avalanche: Familiar, but also shares the same weaknesses my current truck has – glass transmissions, etc. I know the 80e is better than the 60e, but that’s a very low bar. I don’t want to give my transmission guy any more of my hard-earned cash. Decently expensive for nice ones. I wouldn’t mind moving to something new.
4. 2nd Gen Toyota Sequoia: Probably too expensive and if I find one in my price range it’s probably got 300k miles and is beat on pretty good. A nice pipe dream.

I’ve considered some of the midsize V8 SUVs like the Kia Borrego, Pathfinder V8, 4 Runner V8 or Jeep Commander, but they don’t seem like they can tow quite as well in the mountains. I don’t really trust German or European SUVs for reliability reasons.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts. I’m open to suggestions.

Pic of the old girl:

I've been doing this thought exercise, decided on a Sequoia. I live in Florida, so the 4.7 first gen would be adequate for my aluminum open trailer and a light car, you're going to want the 5.7 in the second gen. I'm seeing them in the 10k or less price here in FL, with 100-150k miles.

I don't know a lot of the concerns for these trucks, other than frame rust, timing chain tensioners.

GMT900 Suburban / Escalade with the 6.0 and 6 speed automatic. The extra gears make a big difference. 
 

If you're really going to tow 8k, consider a 2500. I towed my 8,500-9,000 trailer with my 5.7 Tundra for a year. Engine and brakes were up to the task. Suspension was not. The heavier duty suspension on my GMT900 2500 Silverado does a much better job of handling the weight. 

I believe it was possible to get the GMT800 2500HD with the 8.1 and the Allison transmission.  That would solve the "glass transmission" problem.

(A Duramax would also come with Allison, but that's likely beyond the $10K budget)

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

I've done a bit of towing with my '07 Armada.  HATE the way it tows.  I'm going to replace it to get something else that tows better.  The independent rear suspension wages all over the place on bumps at freeway speeds.  I just towed the Molvo 2.0 550 miles home on a dolly.  Would not recommend.

Why not a GMT900 2500? Seems like the logical step up from your GMT800

I cannot highly recommend a 3rd gen Expedition or Navigator enough.  I bought my 2011 XLT with leather, nav, moonroof, heated and cooled seats for $5k from the second owner.  Great history, 159k miles.  I proceeded to do about $2000 of service to the truck to future-proof my investment.  It has a factory heavy duty tow rating of 9000lb.

I'm now at 172k miles, and we twice used it on trips from the NE to MW with zero issues.

For whatever reason these are significantly cheaper than comparable GM counterparts and every bit as reliable (at least).

https://youtu.be/BmzvZHaVSjo?si=uhHlKt3pl5NLQnFZ

buzzboy said:

Why not a GMT900 2500? Seems like the logical step up from your GMT800

Considering the weight you're going to be towing, that's probably better advice than my plan to buy a Sequoia. 
 

Edit: the 2500 Suburban does not come with the Allison transmission, only the trucks. 

I guess I should have been clearer in my first post, but I don't expect to actually tow 8,000 pounds - I imagine the max I would ever need to tow would be closer to 6,500, and my current trailer + race car setup is a good bit less. I just am trying to give myself plenty of headroom to be able to handle the steep mountain grades easily, both acceleration and deceleration. That being said, extra capacity never hurt.

In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :

The 6 speed does sound nice, I don't know anything about them. Are they more robust then the 4L60/80? I feel like I've heard of problems of early GMT 900 Engines... I'll have to dive down that rabbit hole.

In reply to Indy - Guy :

That's good info, thanks.

In reply to Loweguy5 :

IDK why Fords never cross my mind when thinking of these things lol. That's not a bad sounding package. I've heard good and bad about the 5.4 but I bet most of that is internet claptrap.

If you can embrace the German car, the Touareg/Cayenne's tow 7700lbs.  I have one on both in diesel and they've been very good to me, great torque and MPG...

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been doing this thought exercise, decided on a Sequoia. I live in Florida, so the 4.7 first gen would be adequate for my aluminum open trailer and a light car, you're going to want the 5.7 in the second gen. I'm seeing them in the 10k or less price here in FL, with 100-150k miles.

I don't know a lot of the concerns for these trucks, other than frame rust, timing chain tensioners.

The Car Care Nut did a good overview of the issues you can find with the 3UR engine and the sequoia platform.

 

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

The 6 speeds (6L80/6L90s) were programmed by GM to not fully lock up the converter, ever. So the continuous slippage often sends TC clutch material through the transmission and wrecks it. My understanding (no personal experience) is that reprogramming the trans to command actual lockup will drastically improve the strength and make the whole package pretty good. I hear that some of the turbo LS guys are running deep into the 8s with 6L80s.

The engine issues in GMT900s (they have Gen 4 LS family engines) are pretty well documented. Basically the AFM system kills lifters/cams, and consumes so much oil that you can run them dry real fast and cause other issues. If no damage has been done other than the lifters yet, a new cam/lifters/tune is the fix. You can pick up some really easy HP/TQ with an aftermarket cam at the same time.

I know I sound like a broken record, but vans rock.

Same basic chassis as the truck version, 12' of interior floor space, same engine/trans options in most cases, same real estate as a truck.  I have an Express 1500 and it's rated to tow 7500 with the lowly 5.3L and 4L60E.  I used to have an E350 with the 7.3L powerstroke and it was rated for 10,800 (IIRC) and it did 10k frequently without breaking a sweat.

Vans make more sense to me because, unlike a truck or SUV, they offer more utility in the same footprint because the engine is beside your feet, not under a 5' long hood in front of you.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Vans are cool but any van that is AWD or 4x4 and isn't a piece of junk is gonna be out of my price range.

For towing a Miata or something up to 6,500, a Chevy 1500 or Tundra should be good. My Tundra towed that very well. 400 ft/lb and the 6 speed is awesome. Repairs sucked though. Complex engine to work on compared to an LS. Water pump is over $1k. Coolant valley leak over $1k. Exhaust manifold well over $1k. All of those broke on my 150k ish mile truck. Ymmv. Great truck beyond that. Drove very well. 
 

I don't know anything about the equivalent Ford trucks. The 5.4 weren't particularly trustworthy but I never researched any of the eco boost or v8 trucks in the generations after the 5.4. 

In reply to Indy - Guy :

My experience echos this. A buddy had an Armada and pulled a miata in a 16ft enclosed and its the worst towing experience I've ever had.

In reply to budget_bandit :

This is the kind of useful info that keeps bringing me back to this forum

My armada with 5500 lbs on an open trailer tows great. Great powertrain with the tried and true engine/tranny combo that has been run for decades now. Sequoia is another good option so either seem to offer more value and reliability than their US counterparts when I was cross-shopping. 

In reply to Olemiss540 :

What year is your Armada? I believe that 5.6 V8 and trans are in the Infiniti QX80 as well.

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been doing this thought exercise, decided on a Sequoia. I live in Florida, so the 4.7 first gen would be adequate for my aluminum open trailer and a light car, you're going to want the 5.7 in the second gen. I'm seeing them in the 10k or less price here in FL, with 100-150k miles.

I don't know a lot of the concerns for these trucks, other than frame rust, timing chain tensioners.

I thought you bought an Expedition. Isn't that what I saw you in when you brought the engine lift to me?

In reply to Olemiss540 :

You are spot on about the engine and transmission.  They are amazing .

I have driven exactly one of these in my entire lifetime, so mine could just be Junk.  (Actually, mine IS junk with 197k) But it has brand new shocks and the rear end feels all kind of terrible over bumps when empty.  It's straight up White Knuckle, tail wagging the dog, crazy with a trailer/ tow dolly.

Again the engine has tons of power, and transmission is good too.

So, the love of the Armada engine and trans but the dislike of the independent rear sort of then leads to a Nissan Titan with same drivetrain but with a solid rear axle.  Add a bed cap for some storage.  In my previous search of a Titan in years past, I remember that though launched in '04, the '08 and newer models have received many improvements.  I had set my target as '08 or newer.  I do remeber that one of those improvements was a stronger (or more reliable) rear axle in the'08 and newer.  

King cab or crew cab.  There is even a rare, King Cab and long bed combo...but rare.  Most beds are rather short.  

dyintorace said:

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

I've been doing this thought exercise, decided on a Sequoia. I live in Florida, so the 4.7 first gen would be adequate for my aluminum open trailer and a light car, you're going to want the 5.7 in the second gen. I'm seeing them in the 10k or less price here in FL, with 100-150k miles.

I don't know a lot of the concerns for these trucks, other than frame rust, timing chain tensioners.

I thought you bought an Expedition. Isn't that what I saw you in when you brought the engine lift to me?

Change in our financial situation. The Expedition is consigned at a local dealership, and I'll be selling my E Street miata next.

A dark horse candidate I hadn't thought of until yesterday - the Hummer H2. Inefficient, huge, and massively thirsty, but it's got a lot of beefed up components from the 2500-series trucks, and - at least in my area - they look like they're still cheaper than an actual 2500-series truck of similar vintage. I almost certainly won't go that direction, but in the interest of being thorough, I thought I'd post it.

ram2500