Convince me to buy an 80 in 2023 for my family of 7. (2 Viewers)

[BucketEighty]

A 3/4 ton Suburban would be fun. Probably one of the only vehicles I'd consider that's not a Toyota.

When I was a kid my mom had a late 90's (~'96 or '97) and then an early 2000's 3/4 ton Suburbans, the first with a 454 and barn doors and the second with an 8.1L. She tows a 10,000 lb horse trailer up and down mountain grades in Lake Tahoe and those trucks were awesome. Didn't feel the trailer, comfortable for long road trips, and if you fold the seats down you can stack a pile of 4'x8' sheets of plywood in the back. 10mpg everywhere though (city, highway, trailer, no trailer, 10mpg all the time) so I wouldn't use it for a daily. Since you'll be running the third row seats all the time for family camping the cargo room behind the third row for dogs and gear is so key. You can fit a huge roof rack on the top too if you need more gear.

I wanted a Suburban but we only have 2 kids in carseats and my wife loves 80's and hates Suburbans. I love 80's too, so we compromised and bought and 80.

 

[Lka1988]

When I was a kid my mom had a late 90's (~'96 or '97) and then an early 2000's 3/4 ton Suburbans, the first with a 454 and barn doors and the second with an 8.1L. She tows a 10,000 lb horse trailer up and down mountain grades in Lake Tahoe and those trucks were awesome. Didn't feel the trailer, comfortable for long road trips, and if you fold the seats down you can stack a pile of 4'x8' sheets of plywood in the back. 10mpg everywhere though (city, highway, trailer, no trailer, 10mpg all the time) so I wouldn't use it for a daily. Since you'll be running the third row seats all the time for family camping the cargo room behind the third row for dogs and gear is so key. You can fit a huge roof rack on the top too if you need more gear.

Honestly, were it not for the offroading capability requirement, our Sienna already does all of that (except the horse trailer - but I only tow a few thousand pounds every once in a while anyway). I'm not super concerned about cargo space if I'm being totally honest. I've actually looked this up, and the Sienna has more cargo space in every way than even the newest Suburban. I think the key difference is that the Sienna's cargo hold behind the third row is vertical, instead of horizontal like the Suburban. I can also fit a stack of 4x8 plywood....if I remove the middle row.

I wanted a Suburban but we only have 2 kids in carseats and my wife loves 80's and hates Suburbans. I love 80's too, so we compromised and bought and 80.

Sounds like a win.

 

[BucketEighty]

Well, an 80 is not going to be very nice for all 7 of you to ride in, but it's going to do better off road than any option mentioned anywhere in this thread. A stock Suburban will out-wheel your Sienna for sure but it's going to be a huge beast compared to an 80.

Maybe the answer is to buy the 80 and only take 1/2 of the family wheeling at a time. Or buy two 80's.

 

[PIP]

It could be a good idea to not be so caught up on what brand name is on a vehicle. The truth is all vehicles are built for the exact same purpose- To sell.

Sure, some hold up better than others. Some models are atrocious and some can be pretty good all around.

I've had 90's and newer vehicles from most every manufacturer. I can wrench. I can fix/repair/rebuild/modify most things as I'm sure many of you guys can. The hands down worst vehicles I have owned have been GM trucks. Electrical gremlins, transmission failures, LS piston slap, LS cracking heads, LS lifter guide failure, front suspension failures, body and interior falling apart. I don't proclaim that GM trucks are all trash because I know they aren't, but I have certainly got a handful of Friday builds. Enought to turn me off from GM.

I have a Superduty nearing 400K miles that has been a superbly reliable truck. I really dislike 6.0 Powerstrokes, but I bought it at 300K and put 65K miles on the stock, "un-bulletproofed" 6.0 with only adding oil a couple times. It was a great engine for me and I flogged it towing up to 30K lbs as fast as it would go. I killed it at 365,000 miles when the degass bottle cracked and I tried to drive an hour home with no coolant. Made it 2/3 of the way. Then I dropped in the Cummins I had waiting for it and carried on.

I think Dodges are overall the worst built of any vehicle on the road, but I've owned nearly a dozen 2nd gen Cummins trucks and while I knew they were poorly built all those I've owned were super reliable, got great fuel economy and I just got used to a crappy interior that rapidly deteriorates, but keeps going. For as crummy as the design engineering and build quality is, the highest mileage vehicles I've ever owned have been Dodges by far. I daily'd a very nice 97 12 valve NV4500 truck for several years that had 750K miles on it. It was a very nice truck. I later had another 97 Cummins 5 speed 2wd that had 830,000 miles on it, though it was pretty rough and was used for parts eventually.

No pile of junk Dodge has ever stranded me. 6.0 Powerstroke only stranded me after 40 miles without coolant (I made that choice). I've been stranded half a dozen times by GM pickups and spent by far the most on repairs and maintenance on GM. That may not be typical, but it isn't unheard of either.

If I had 5 kids and needed an SUV larger than an 80 series it would be an Excursion. I'd buy a clean V10 one and swap a Cummins in and bolt '05+ front suspension and '11+ steering under it for brand new truck handling. You couldn't pay me to own a Suburban after my luck with GM.

 

[White Stripe]

I would get a older 3/4 ton suburban with a gas 6.0 and solid axle swap the front.

 

[peneumbra2]

If you don't buy an 80 series, I'll steal all your silverware.
Convinced?

 

[LandLocked93]

Don't get an 80 if that's the case. We all love our trucks but you'd have to be a fool to think these things are safe by today's standards. No airbags, roof pillars made of cardboard, lack of proper carseat attachments, the list goes on. There's nothing safe or practical about these trucks for family duties.

I pity the guy who gets plowed by my truck. @ nearly 4 tons, most new cars are tin cans by comparison.
Plus, no claymore airbag pointed at my neck like in my 2008 daily. (and many others out there not made public)
And even if unintended acceleration happened to occur in my truck, it's slow enough to hear it coming, take a look, and lazily decide which way to step off.
There are no distractions like info-tainment, driver warnings/aides, dumb-driver modes, etc. It doesn't even have a radio.
It's unlikely to burn down your house like a lot of new cars do.
The only anxiety that may befall someone is scanner anxiety (OBDII).
Were we talking a 1979 Honda Civic HHF, sure.
But I humbly submit the 80 is safer than alot of stuff made since.

 

[LandLocked93]

I have certainly got a handful of Friday builds.

Yeah, but are you ready for the 'COVID builds'? 2020 to 2023 model years will be known as the perpetual Monday builds.

 

[peneumbra2]

Don't get an 80 if that's the case. We all love our trucks but you'd have to be a fool to think these things are safe by today's standards. No airbags, roof pillars made of cardboard, lack of proper carseat attachments, the list goes on. There's nothing safe or practical about these trucks for family duties.

I have airbags in my '96. And I t-boned a dufus who pulled out on I-40 directly in front of me at 70 mph in my '97 and didn't get a scratch.

 

[OGBeno]

Don't get an 80 if that's the case. We all love our trucks but you'd have to be a fool to think these things are safe by today's standards. No airbags, roof pillars made of cardboard, lack of proper carseat attachments, the list goes on. There's nothing safe or practical about these trucks for family duties.

I agree with my friend from NorCal.

 

[mudgudgeon]

We absolutely *HATED* that backseat. Luckily I'm the oldest so I never had to sit back there.

50/50 you can still pull rank and never have to sit in the 3rd row again . . .


You've talked a lot about safety, so I'd say 100.
The little bit extra cabin space is noticeable, not huge, but I definitely noticed the 80 is smaller after going 80 - 105 - 80 again.

 

[Funner]

Are any of these kids teenagers, aka moving on soon? How long will the fiancé be cool driving a clapped out minivan? I get the engine has only 100k miles, but the rest of it has 250k on it and is servicing 5 kids. Finances tend to be pretty chill, wives less so after a while.

 

[Lka1988]

Are any of these kids teenagers, aka moving on soon?

No one is driving any time soon.

How long will the fiancé be cool driving a clapped out minivan? I get the engine has only 100k miles, but the rest of it has 250k on it and is servicing 5 kids. Finances tend to be pretty chill, wives less so after a while.

This lady was happy with her clapped-out single cab 2WD *manual* Tacoma that her ex-husband sold out from under her. As long as things are mechanically sound, she doesn't give two s***s about its appearance.

 

[Lka1988]

If you don't buy an 80 series, I'll steal all your silverware.
Convinced?

Damn, you got me.

 

[Lka1988]

It could be a good idea to not be so caught up on what brand name is on a vehicle.

I've owned 10 vehicles over the last 13 years. I can say with a certainty that the four Toyotas I've owned have been more reliable and better built than anything else I've owned.

 

[Funner]

No one is driving any time soon.


This lady was happy with her clapped-out single cab 2WD *manual* Tacoma that her ex-husband sold out from under her. As long as things are mechanically sound, she doesn't give two s***s about its appearance.

Sounds like a keeper.
If all that checks out, at the end of the day you want an 80 series. You only get one roll on the spinning ball, get what you want. Kids will deal with what you have.

 

[jpoole]

If you mix all of the responses together then an 80 is doable but is on the wrong end of the spectrum in terms of upkeep, comfort, safety and/or some other metrics with larger and more modern vehicles beating an 80 in most/all of these areas. If the highlander works then you can make an 80 work in my opinion, just get ready to shop carefully and/or do the baseline work and be ok with the no shoulder belt middle, 2nd row seat. Most of us on here really want our 80s and are ok with the few compromises involved.

A mildly built 2nd gen Sequoia seems like a great alternative in your situation though.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

An old, diesel RHD troopy is the answer to your wants and needs. Put the kids in the back with those lap belt bench seats. Lifted on 35s. Perfectly safe, practical and cheap.

 

[Lka1988]

An old, diesel RHD troopy is the answer to your wants and needs. Put the kids in the back with those lap belt bench seats. Lifted on 35s. Perfectly safe, practical and cheap.

Sold!

 

[jcardona1]

most new cars are tin cans by comparison.

That's not how modern safety engineering works, like not at all. Everything is a tin can compared to cars from the 50s-60s and those were some of the most dangerous death traps every made. Just because you added thousands of pounds of steel doesn't make it 'safer'. The weight of these trucks is actually a downside when it comes to rollovers. You can find countless examples of A pillars completely collapsing during a rollover. The sheer size of these trucks is really the only thing helps IMO. But if you did an apples to apples comparison with an equal sized modern SUV, do you honestly believe the 30yr old truck would do better?