While I love my Promaster City, I'm finding the need more and more to haul around an actual car. The 2000lb tow capacity on the Promaster just doesn't cut it.
So:
1) Reliable
2) Can carry stuff (tires, spares, etc)
3) Can be daily driven in reasonable fashion (so no high-cube vans).
4) Reliability is paramount.
5) $10k or below.
6) Hauls 6000lb+ (so a real car on a trailer).
I keep coming up with mid-oughts Suburban/Yukon. Am I close? What am I missing?
Same era Sequoia also works, but yeah. Find yourself a 2005 Suburban and be done with it.
I surprisingly really like my 2001 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3 v8. It's rwd and has a rack and pinion steering so it feels like a proper driving car that has accurate steering (compared to the similar year F250s I had). Fairly comfy too. It tows my Miata on an open trailer just fine. Bought it with 180k miles on it and have done basic maintenance - fluids and spark plugs.
They facelifted in 2004ish but added bigger brakes, 17" wheels to clear the brakes and electric fans around 2005 or 2006. That is what I'd be looking at if I were buying again. I wound up retrofiting the front brakes and wheels but haven't done the fan yet (to free up HP of course).
2008 was a complete new platform. Larger truck. Too large for my tastes but YMMV.
Edit - my 2 previous tow vehicles was a 2002 F250 4x4 7.3 and a 2001 Excursion rwd 7.3. Way overkill for what I needed.
This is gonna have a 5.3L LS in it...
SVreX said:This is gonna have a 5.3L LS in it...
Or a 6.0 :)
Sierra Denali, 2000-2005.
An old ambulance. You can make it into a solid little camper for overnight events, will tow a decent sized trailer and you can almost certainly pick one up on the cheap. You can get a vinyl sticker kit to turn it into a Ghostbusters vehicle, and you will be the coolest cat on the block
In reply to amg_rx7 :
2007 was the new platform. You can find 2007's on both platforms which makes buying parts at the counter fun. I just refer to mine as a 2008 to avoid that step.
JG, do you need the enclosed back for something? The space behind the seats in a crew cab is enormous and I find the bed with a tonneau cover more useful than more enclosed space.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Not sure about the FL market, but full-size cargo vans are usually cheaper than the equivalent SUV/pickup and can more frequently be found in 3/4 or 1-ton too. Also bonus points for being able to live in it by the river, or use it as a shed with wheels when not in use.
SVreX said:This is gonna have a 5.3L LS in it...
Is that bad?
I'm biased; 7.3 RWD Excursion.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
Nope.
Locally, the State of Ohio retires their Police Pursuit rated Tahoes at around 150k-175k miles. A 2011 sold at the last auction for $6450. I don't know if there's a buyer's premium beyond that, but it would be at most 10%. They're short wheel base but pretty cool looking with the lower ride and wider tires than a stock Tahoe/Suburban.
You could buy a really nice classic 73-87 "Square Chevy" one ton dually for that money. 
I'm a firm believer in getting a little more tow rig than you think you need. In your case, take a trip to Texas and find a 2500 series Suburban sans rust. ;). Forget the SWB Tahoes and the like. A rig that can actually tow isn't going to get the greatest fuel mileage even empty, so you might as well suck that up and get something that does the real job and is comfortable enough to drive to work or the store and is easier to park than a dually or cube van/box truck,
Here's mine, yet again, doing what it does best: towing comfortably 9500 lbs. It has a 12,000 lb tow rating...
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Cool for novelty, not that good for the money when it comes to hauling and DD duty.
Assuming you want a SUV and not a truck; The Nissan Pathfinders can tow 6000lbs, VW Touareg 7700lbs. Both are a size class down, so depending on your disposition you might wish buy only what you need rather than a lot more. I can only speak for the Pathfinder, but it drives fairly well for what it is.
JG Pasterjak said:SVreX said:This is gonna have a 5.3L LS in it...
Is that bad?
Absolutely not. It's the perfect fit answer for your question.
dculberson said:Locally, the State of Ohio retires their Police Pursuit rated Tahoes at around 150k-175k miles. A 2011 sold at the last auction for $6450. I don't know if there's a buyer's premium beyond that, but it would be at most 10%. They're short wheel base but pretty cool looking with the lower ride and wider tires than a stock Tahoe/Suburban.
Link?
Lexus GX470 tows 6500lbs. Touareg/Cayenne tows 7700 lbs. '12 forward Grand Cherokees tow 7200lbs. All are easy to live with as a DD and will tow 4500 lbs without an issue.
Ford Expedition ELs have a rating of 8900 pounds and seem to go a few thousand cheaper than the same year Suburban.
MrJoshua said:dculberson said:Locally, the State of Ohio retires their Police Pursuit rated Tahoes at around 150k-175k miles. A 2011 sold at the last auction for $6450. I don't know if there's a buyer's premium beyond that, but it would be at most 10%. They're short wheel base but pretty cool looking with the lower ride and wider tires than a stock Tahoe/Suburban.
Link?
Here's the link to the Ohio vehicle surplus auction page:
http://www.das.ohio.gov/Divisions/General-Services/Surplus#4738679-vehicle-auction
They sell a pile of cars every couple months. I bet you could find something similar locally. Do they use the pursuit Tahoes there?
yupididit said:In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Cool for novelty, not that good for the money when it comes to hauling and DD duty.
No novelty. Just a solid, dependable truck when a truck is what you need. Hauling? None better. But yeah, no proper tow vehicle is going to make a good DD.
What about an LS powered Chevy Express van?
MrChaos said:What about an LS powered Chevy Express van?
I think it's between pickup and SUV, and between the two I'm almost leaning pickup. When I look at what I do on the regular and what would provide the most utility, an extended cab or crewcab pickup seems to press all the right buttons. Every trip to Lowes where I had to hook up the utility trailer would turn into a "hop in the truck" trip. Most GMC/Chevy 1500 pickups haul 7500lbs or more, so that would more than suffice (although I might not turn down a 2500 if the deal was right), and availability and durability seem to be right in the wheelhouse.
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