Tahoe to a Suburban 2500 - would you step up?

Tom_Spangler wrote:

BrokenYugo wrote: I'd rather have a single cab pickup than a Suburban if all it's going to get used for is towing and lumberyard runs.

I've done both, and the big SUV does have it's benefits. First off, it's getting harder and harder to actually find pickups with 8' beds. And I must say it is nice to go to Lowes Depot and get a bunch of sheetrock or plywood, load it into the Expedition (long wheelbase version), close the hatch, and have it be clean, dry, and protected all the way home. The downside is that you can't load anything too tall or too messy (if you care about messy). Tough to pick up a yard of topsoil in an SUV, after all. But I got a little $600 utility trailer from Tractor Supply that fills that role pretty well. I'm not going to say that I'm done with pickups, but I defintely don't need one when we have a big SUV.

8ft bed pickup and a topper. Hose it out when you're done, don't worry about making a mess, breaking plastic trim or folding seats down.

You guys do know that lumberyards deliver, right?

You don't have to load, unload, damage your truck, worry about rain, they'll even forklift it to the roof if that's where you want it.

Destroying a vehicle for occasional construction projects doesn't make sense. Heck, I buy $10K worth of materials every week, and I don't haul any of it.

In reply to SVreX:

I'm considering heading out this evening to get a sheet of pegboard and a few pieces of lumber for a father son Nerf Gun rack build. Maybe I should get it all delivered.

I love my 8 seater - drove my family all over SoCal with every seat filled and then towed my exocet from CA to TN with it.

In reply to MrJoshua:

You don't have an 8' bed truck. Stop being argumentative.

SVreX wrote: In reply to MrJoshua: You don't have an 8' bed truck. Stop being argumentative.

Wheres the fun in that? I'm going to shove it all in the passenger area of my minivan-no need for an 8 ft bed truck.

In reply to MrJoshua:

I understand that. But that means we agree.

Neither of us thinks it's necessary to have an enclosed 8' bed to haul occasional construction materials.

Go drive a 2500 Suburban, and see how it drives Vs. the Tahoe. Then you can decide if the trade off is worth the extra utility.

Just took the 2500 4x4 QS Suburban out to dinner with the 3 teenagers. I'm so pleased with the way it rides, handles, goes and stops. Everything about my 99 1500 was loose and jiggley. The brakes worked but the small front rotors and drums in the rear were merely "competent". The monster 4 wheel big vented rotors stop this behemoth with authority! I really am delighted with it, and I find myself cranking it through parking lot turns quickly just to feel the quadrasteer system work.

I don't want a regular cab long bed truck. I drive people around often enough that a 3 seater is not a good alternative.

Still no response on the 2500. Losing hope that it's still available. I would like to drive it and feel the brakes, my Tahoe's are merely adequate too and it has 4 rotors and dual piston calipers.

I would make the jump. Our 2500 Sub is great for all of our needs, and if there is something you need to haul that is too big or too dirty for in the Sub that's what trailers are for.

I would say if you can find one that is priced right, and you can unload your Tahoe for what you paid or more, I would go for it. There really aren't downsides to having more room inside, and more towing capacity. Even if you don't need the extra capacity, the 2500 is going to tow it more comfortably. The better suspension, brakes, engine, and longer wheelbase just make it a better towing rig.

Ours is an 8.1 with 4.10 gears so MPG is not it's forte, but we still can knock down 13MPG on highway trips, and have plenty of room for us and our stuff (Its amazing how the smaller the kid the bigger offender they are for taking up space with all their stuff). Another benefit of the Sub vs a pickup, at least here in PA, is even the 2500 is registered as a "station wagon" so the yearly registration fees are about $100 less than a 2500 pickup. It's not much, but I won't complain about saving some money.

4L80-E has an impressive resume, peasants!!!!

It is also in:
1992–1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Spur II, III, IV
1991–1992 Bentley Eight
1991–1997 Bentley Turbo R
1991–2002 Bentley Continental R/S/T
1999–2006 Bentley Arnage Red Label / Bentley Arnage R/RL/T
1993–1996 Jaguar XJS
1994–1997 Jaguar XJR
1993–1997 Jaguar XJ12 / Daimler Double Six
1996–1999 Aston Martin DB7

Keep the Tahoe and lift it about 2-3 inches and go off roading. Add tires/shocks.

Buy the 2500 Suburban for towing.

Problem solved AND expanded.

TIGMOTORSPORTS wrote: Keep the Tahoe and lift it about 2-3 inches and go off roading. Add tires/shocks. Buy the 2500 Suburban for towing. Problem solved AND expanded.

Yea, I kinda thought about keeping Tahoe if I find the right Suburban. I always wanted a turbo Honda build...but I can deal with a turbo Tahoe.

If you decide to let the Tahoe go let me know. My sierra Denali is good but at 320k and now the quadrasteer giving me issues I could be interested. Or I could just put the rear end from a 2500 in the Denali if I could get the proper gearing to match what is in it now.

The 6.0 is a towing monster, but hard on gas for a daily driver.

I tow with a 4.8 in a 99 GMC Z71 Ext Cab. The cold air intake/cat back exhaust/Hypertech Programmer all helped in the low end for towing.

Still haven't found the right 2500 yet in my budget. This one has been up a few times: https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/2001-chevy-suburban/6249924485.html

What usually fails on a 6.0 to cause overheating? I'm looking at the brake controller and this one may have lived a hard life. However, it's been for sale and relisted a few times, maybe I can get it sub-$1k?

Still enjoying my Tahoe in the meantime. Just did ~600 miles Saturday and it got me 19.8mpg. Sat through some Philly traffic too.

Checking it tomorrow after work...the pictures the seller sent me showed a very clean frame

Mine would run hot in traffic and heavy hill pulls. I think the problem was the fan clutch, but it was an excuse to do a full cooling system refresh as it had 145k miles on it and I count on the truck to make it home every time with a heavy load from far away, so I take no chances there.

Posted this pic before, because it's what my 8.1 liter 2500 does best:

The 6.0 can't tow as much as the 8.1 and it gets no better fuel mileage. I've gotten 14 highway with the 8.1 (though not towing. It's 10-11 mpg with that 9500 lb trailer on back). I actually like driving it better than the pickups I've had, and it's easier (and shorter) to park than a crew cab, 8 ft bed, pickup.

Went to check it out. Body was rust free but since it was a work truck, it was dented all over and the interior was trashed. I am beating myself over the head for not going to look at the 8.1 I saw a few weeks ago. All the other ones on Craigslist are rust and heck. I'm shooting for sub-$3k so pickings are slim.

I have always wished they made a '2500' Tahoe.

Might want to search further south. There were more 2500 Suburbans sold in the southern states (at least it seems that way to me) and rust isn't an issue. I will never buy another truck from the Northeast. When I bought my 2500 I only had to go to Virginia to get a rust free model (wife said I couldn't fly, she was 7 months pregnant with our twins), but I didn't get as good of a deal as I could have by going further south. My prior truck was from Texas (fly and drive) and it looked brand new underneath, and the price was amazingly low. Drove it for 3 years and sold it for a profit even considering the fuel and everything that I bought over that time.

Yep, I've now expanded my search from 125 miles of my zip code to 500 miles...may as well just go nationwide. It is incredibly tough to find a non-rusty one near me.

Anybody in Pittsburgh willing to check out this one? 2500 in Pittsburgh

MINIzguy wrote: Yep, I've now expanded my search from 125 miles of my zip code to 500 miles...may as well just go nationwide. It is incredibly tough to find a non-rusty one near me. Anybody in Pittsburgh willing to check out this one? 2500 in Pittsburgh

Damn! That one looks nice. For that little money you're not likely to find better unless it's hiding a nuked trans and burned up engine.