I wouldn't rule out a 4.8l Silverado either. I tow a lot with my standard cab short box '04 Silverado and it's great. I do use an equalizer hitch, though, and would consider it mandatory equipment for any half ton truck and more than 3k or so worth of trailer.
Two good reasons for 99+ if you go GM: LS motor mpg and they all have tow/haul buttons for the transmission. With the older body style you have to look for it.
oldopelguy wrote: I wouldn't rule out a 4.8l Silverado either. I tow a lot with my standard cab short box '04 Silverado and it's great. I do use an equalizer hitch, though, and would consider it mandatory equipment for any half ton truck and more than 3k or so worth of trailer. Two good reasons for 99+ if you go GM: LS motor mpg and they all have tow/haul buttons for the transmission. With the older body style you have to look for it.
Our CC runs the 4.8 and does a great job. Very rarely am I ever wanting more power. The nice thing is the 24mpg unloaded at highway speeds (if I can find real gas that is. take ~11% off for E10 crap).
2002maniac wrote:yamaha wrote: The older engines were decent, but the LS engines are just better. The 6.0L lsx powered should have the 4L654L80E I believe.
True, there is that too.....but there is a 4L65 and another random number thrown in there by GM to confuse the berkeley out of people.
I am not concerned at all about mpg while not towing. I envision this vehicle as primarily (only?) being used while towing the Miata to autocrosses and when I need to haul something too big for my MINI.
The two you listed, I would go with the black one only because I like the cloth seats better than the leather. In fact, I showed the black one to the boss as his 01 'burb has 312k miles and he's been toying around with the idea of getting a newer one to put 200k more miles on.
In reply to yamaha:
4L65 is just the newer 4L60 with a different case. the 4L80 is indestructible behind an LSx truck engine.
HiTempguy wrote:Powar wrote: I can't speak for anyone else on the board, but I don't understand the appeal of the Tahoe at all. It gets the same (bad, yet fair for a capable truck) fuel economy as the Suburban and can haul less stuff inside. They're both going to be more difficult than a car to maneuver in tight situations. They're both going to seat the same number of people, but one of them will still have room for luggage. The Suburban is going to be applicable to more situations, yet isn't any worse than the Tahoe at anything else (unless you have a parking space length limitation). Another strike against the Tahoe in the body style of my current one is that the only way you could get the diesel is if you bought a 2dr. Admittedly, this doesn't seem to apply to the OP. I'm biased, of course. I've had two Suburbans.Sonic wrote: I bought a 3/4 ton suburban because of how I use it it made more sense than a Tahoe sized SUV, or truck, or van. I only drive it for truck things, and tow a substantial amount of that time. I wanted something that was good at towing, could seat 7 (which I do fairly regularly), had good enclosed storage and can be slept in at the track, can be driven through the snow we get here, and would fit 4x8 sheets in it. A Tahoe can't do most of those as well ( no 3/4 ton for towing, can't fit 8x4, can't fit enough inside for a lemons weekend). Neither can a truck (no seating for 7 or enclosed storage), or a van (no 4wd except for very rare conversions). A suburban is an excellent beast of burden.Neither of you are the OP, nor are using your vehicles for what the OP described. Christ people, work with me here a bit to help the OP rather than hear yourselves talk... :( And also, no, a Suburban does NOT get the same mpg as a Tahoe. And fidelity, you are completely wrong about towing mpg. *sigh*
Sharing real-world experiences and opinions and perpetuating discussion on a discussion board? How dare us!
LainfordExpress wrote: Here's a few candidates: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/4346026118.html http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ctd/4340707910.html Anything I should know/ask/look for?
I also like the cloth seats version, though the cloth dosesn't hold up much better than the leather, it's cooler in the heat of summer which is nice in a black truck. The second one looks like the 1500 version of my rig:
I'm going to be towing a 30 foot travel trailer, so I wanted the heavier duty truck with the bigger engine and transmission. But it's nice to drive, even unloaded (much nicer than my previous 3500 diesel dually) and just as useful for those Ikea and Home Depot runs that many other SUVs aren't as good for (it swallowed up a full size sofa and love seat the other night with no problems)
I personally like a bit of overkill for towing, rather than "just good enough," and a bit of future-proofing what I'm doing (since you never know what you might want to tow in the future). Which is also why I chose a 2500 4x4 vs a 1500. And like you, since I won't be using it for commuting, just truck work, fuel mileage when not towing wasn't much of a concern.
This era Suburban/Tahoe/Silverado is a really nice rig to drive. But look out for the adjustible shocks and rear air conditioning as problem areas. My 8.1 liter 2500 uses magnetic ride shocks that cost upwards of $400 each to replace if I were to DIY it. I'm probably going to replace them with standard shocks and just live with the dash light. The 1500s use an air ride setup that has fairly cheap standard shock replacement kits if you want to go that route.
Both of the trucks you linked look good. Note one has second row buckets and the other a bench. I've got a bench in mine which is nice for when we have lots of people to haul, and there is an armrest that folds down to keep the kids separated when necessary. I've got leather which is easy to clean. I've also got to kids who love to make a big mess with snacks...
So I followed my grandfather's advice: "You're the one that has to live with your decisions. Get all the advice you can, then do whatever the hell you want."
And I bought a '94 F-150. It's a regular cab with an 8' bed, 351W, 4 speed automatic, crank windows, cruise control, and two fuel tanks to feed the thirsty beast. I'll need to get a hitch and install that. Them time to hunt for a trailer. Thoughts on those, GRM?
You'll need to log in to post.
