Suburban or Excursion ??? (1 Viewer)

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FJ40-GARAGE

FJ40-GARAGE

I`ll be back....
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Dorfweil / Germany
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www.fj40-garage.de
Thinking about a travelling rig, used,cheap-easy-reliable and around 5000-9000$
What would be the better deal a Chevy Suburban or a Ford Excursion?

Dont get me wrong, i would prefer to travel in style with a Land Cruiser but buying one is a lot more expensive and the inside space compared with both others speaks for itself.

I have the impression that nearly any greasemonkey in the US knows how to fix a Chevy and parts will be cheap and easy to get....maybe i am wrong?
Reliability??

Whats with the Excursion, it seems to be spacier than the Chevy.

Gas Mileage would be no issue as long as they have well sized gas tanks.
It would be used to travel for 4- 6 weeks, sleep inside, carry all things needed for that.

No hurry for all that i am just looking for some input to dream on or looking for a different solution.
 ;)
 
Personally, I'd be looking for a 7.3 Powerstroke Excursion if I was considering one of the two.
 
PAToyota said:
Personally, I'd be looking for a 7.3 Powerstroke Excursion if I was considering one of the two.
Click to expand...

Ditto. They did make a diesel for the Suburban, I believe they stopped in 1999, but don't quote me on that as I've heard different years. I remember talking to a guy at a gas station with a '98 that was 4x4 and diesel from the factory, though.
 
I got 17mpg with Excursion and the V-10. For room it can't be beat. Merry Christmas.......Mike
 
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FLNewt said:
Ditto. They did make a diesel for the Suburban, I believe they stopped in 1999, but don't quote me on that as I've heard different years. I remember talking to a guy at a gas station with a '98 that was 4x4 and diesel from the factory, though.
Click to expand...

You could get the 6.5TD in the Suburban up until 1999 (the end of the GMT400) body style. When they introduced the new GMT800 body style in 2000 they didn't offer the Duramax/Allison combo in the Suburban that they offered in the GMT800 body style pickups. From what I understand, it is more of an issue of the Allison being bigger than the Suburban floor allows. I'm not sure why that is an issue considering that you CAN get a Duramax/Allison in a crewcab pickup. :confused:
 
I have a '98 'burb with the 6.5TD. I daily drove it for a few years but now it just does towing duty for the '45 and occassional light wheeling trips with the family.

I think it is a great rig. Best mileage I got not towing was 26 mpg (imperial) with five adults and loaded with their ski gear and luggage for a three week trip.

Best milage towing the '45 was 19 mpg(imperial).

The truck has a 140 liter tank and towing I go up to 500 miles before refueling. I can go over 600 not towing.

It is not the most powerful diesel available though and big hills leave me in the slow lane when I tow.

I have considered building it a bit with a lift and 33's, bumper, sliders etc., but I have decided that I will sell it and get a diesel van and camperize it and add 4WD. That will be my tow rig and light wheeling / expedition rig.
 
I had an 02 4wd 3/4 ton suburban with 8.1 engine. 38 gallon gas tank. It had rear air, rear electrical plug access, loaded up with options. Got around 14 or so unloaded on the hwy. It was comfortable and would tow about anything. No real negatives..other than fuel mileage, but for that type vehicle its going to be bad anyway. I needed a pickup more than the suburban and could not afford to have both so the land-tank had to go. IF you don't need to tow heavy and want the 3/4 ton version you might consider the 6.0 engine. IF I were to look at a diesel in the style of vehicle I would do the excursion with 7.3.

I like the captain seats up front and the 2nd row an old style bench seat and while mine had captian seats in the 2nd row I did not care for them and I think the 3rd row seats are a waste except for small children.

I would have liked to have been able to keep the suburban to just use for travel purposes but the pickup had more versatility.

You might be able to pickup one of these vehicles from a private sellsr who towed a camper or trailer here and there and no longer does. Large gas tank is mandatory....something I wish my gas pickup had.
 
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PAToyota said:
Personally, I'd be looking for a 7.3 Powerstroke Excursion if I was considering one of the two.
Click to expand...

X3. Great vehicle. Great power, very roomy and comfortable. Decent mileage. I'm not a huge Ford fan, but this is a great truck.
 
Hi All:

Chevy Tahoe (short version of the Suburban.) Dime a dozen with a gasoline engine and automatic transmission. Both 2wd and 4wd versions available.

Would be easy to buy for $5 or 6K and un-load for close to the same $$ after 6 weeks. Not a Land Cruiser (for off-road ability or quality) but lots of room inside, and known by most mechanics in North America.

Regards,

Alan


FJ40-GARAGE said:
Thinking about a travelling rig, used,cheap-easy-reliable and around 5000-9000$
What would be the better deal a Chevy Suburban or a Ford Excursion?

Dont get me wrong, i would prefer to travel in style with a Land Cruiser but buying one is a lot more expensive and the inside space compared with both others speaks for itself.

I have the impression that nearly any greasemonkey in the US knows how to fix a Chevy and parts will be cheap and easy to get....maybe i am wrong?
Reliability??

Whats with the Excursion, it seems to be spacier than the Chevy.

Gas Mileage would be no issue as long as they have well sized gas tanks.
It would be used to travel for 4- 6 weeks, sleep inside, carry all things needed for that.

No hurry for all that i am just looking for some input to dream on or looking for a different solution.
 ;)
Click to expand...
 
Hi Alan,
exactly my thoughts, will the short version be roomy enough for two people sleeping inside?
I thought of taking all the rear seats out and put a plywood/osb board inside to have a nice sleeping area with a lot of room below for a fridge-freezer, coleman stove and needed things.

The vehicle will get used for roadtrips and will see some backroads, no Rubicon Trail trip but maybe a little moab and easier terrain.

Thanks for all the input so far, guess it wont be a Diesel or Ford as i dont need to pull heavy equipment or save a lot of gas.

Another question would be a GPS Tracker unit that i install in the rig so someone can watch online in the case i get stranded somewhere without having cellphone connection.

Thanks, Peter

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Josie'sLandCruiser said:
Hi All:

Chevy Tahoe (short version of the Suburban.) Dime a dozen with a gasoline engine and automatic transmission. Both 2wd and 4wd versions available.

Would be easy to buy for $5 or 6K and un-load for close to the same $$ after 6 weeks. Not a Land Cruiser (for off-road ability or quality) but lots of room inside, and known by most mechanics in North America.

Regards,

Alan
Click to expand...
 
Stay the fxxx away from the 6.0 Powersuck engine, find a V10 or 7.3. The Excursion is the ultimate luxo bug out vehicle ever. Mine had a 3" lift, 315 KM2's and drove like a limo and handled very well.

Go with the Excursion because everyone knows Chevys suck the goat.
 
I've driven both quite a bit (company vehicles) and I can assure you the Excursion is absolutely awful . Beyond awful. Horrendous.
Here's an example: I STOOD on the gas pedal going up I-70 West (Denver to Vail) and it couldn't do 50 MPH. Empty. Just me, no family, trailer, just me. Avoid at all costs.
Suburban, same hills, 5 adults + gear, did 75+ MPH all the way. Better handling, about a quarter of the turning radius (Excursion drives like a school bus), better gas mileage and it can actually go up hills.
 
ABQIRONPIG said:
Stay the **** away from the 6.0 Powersuck engine, find a V10 or 7.3. The Excursion is the ultimate luxo bug out vehicle ever. Mine had a 3" lift, 315 KM2's and drove like a limo and handled very well.

Go with the Excursion because everyone knows Chevys suck the goat.
Click to expand...

Sorry, have to disagree with you there. Excursions are junk. Why do you think they stopped making them? Suburbans have been around since 1934.
The Excursion I mentioned in my post was a V-10 and couldn't get out of its own way.
I've driven company cars for 8 years. Foreign, domestic, big, small, ,luxury, convertibles, you name it. The Ford Excursion was by far the worst I've ever driven.
 
The reason they stopped making then is because there is a small market for a 3/4 ton SUV. They started making the expedition xl, a 1/2 ton 3 row variant with a 5.4L. 7.3L edition would be the way I would go but both trucks Chevy and Ford, would get the job done and have there pluses and minuses.

Sent from my Droid thingy using IH8MUD
 
PAToyota said:
Personally, I'd be looking for a 7.3 Powerstroke Excursion if I was considering one of the two.
Click to expand...

^aggred^
That's the only way to go.
 
Big Cruiser Guy said:
Sorry, have to disagree with you there. Excursions are junk. Why do you think they stopped making them? Suburbans have been around since 1934.
The Excursion I mentioned in my post was a V-10 and couldn't get out of its own way.
I've driven company cars for 8 years. Foreign, domestic, big, small, ,luxury, convertibles, you name it. The Ford Excursion was by far the worst I've ever driven.
Click to expand...

The problem was your V10.....my 6.0 ran like a raped ape when it wasn't in the shop! :steer:

The 7.3 is the way to go!!!
 
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Don't skip over the Expedition. Those can be had cheap and I love mine. I've towed 10k pounds with it and it wasn't fun, but it did it and the independent front and rear (yes rear too) suspension is awesome on the road. I have 34s on mine with a 1.25" lift.
 
make sure you research the coil pack and spark plug issues with the expedition. plugs get frozen into the head, and a good % of them break during removal. ford sells a special sst (you might get 1-2 plugs out with it before it breaks). My buddy's was great until the ac went out, the the coil packs and plugs. he was lucky that they didnt have to remove the heads to get the broken bits out.
 
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