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Opinions needed on new truck options (Got one!)

zj4play

zj4play

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 10, 2008
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Location
orange county
So, my girlfriend and I are tossing around the idea of getting a used vehicle. Since I already have my 74 K5, I was thinking about getting something that would be able to tow it on trips to the desert or wherever. It is going to be something that she will drive to work and have to park in a structure, so a crew cab diesel is out even though that would make the most sense.

Leaves me with the Chevy/GMC Suburban/Yukon XL, or maybe the smaller Tahoe/Yukon. I like the 2000-2006 years since they are in my price range. I know the motor choices were the 5.3, 6.0 and 8.1. But I don't know what transmissions came with what motor? The 5.3 would be too small to tow with right?, and are those transmissions strong enough. Do I need to step up to the 8.1?

Thanks for the opinions guys :D
 
Yeah the 5.3 might be kinda sluggish, and the trans probably won't hold up. I would look at a suburban 3/4 ton, 6.0 would be alright. The 4l80e is a good trans. Or go avalanche 2500 with an 8.1 standard in it
 
I Agree with cornfield. The 4L60-e and the beloved 10bolt rear that will be in the tahoe is great for towing a jetski. But beyond that you looking for trouble trusting the 1/2ton runing gear, that have enough trouble holding up to everyday driving ,let alone tow rig duties.
 
Definitely 3/4 ton if you plan to tow the Blazer with any frequency. Bigger engine, bigger trans, bigger brakes.

My 8.1 with the Allison is a dream to tow with.
 
Go for a 2500. You'll get the 4l80e trans, and whichever motor flavor you want. Less 8.1's on the market than 6.0 L's i think. Can't really go wrong with either, but neither get very good mileage.

The 5.3 barely moves the suburban unloaded, let alone loaded, or with a trailer.
 
Sweet, thanks for the info guys. I was pretty sure the smaller motor and tahoe/yukon wouldn't work, but its nice to hear all the opinions. Looks like its the 2500 Sub or Yukon XL. Sucks about the mileage but her work is only 5 miles away, and I ride my bike to my office so it wont be too bad :D

A friend of mine just mentioned a 2004 or newer F150. I know its a Ford, but I heard the transmissions can take quite a bit of abuse. Anyone have any experience with one of those?
 
I'd say get the burb. Also, another note, the 1/2 ton burb/tahoe is coil sprung rear axle. The 2500 is leaf's....way more stable towing.
 
zj4play said:
Sweet, thanks for the info guys. I was pretty sure the smaller motor and tahoe/yukon wouldn't work, but its nice to hear all the opinions. Looks like its the 2500 Sub or Yukon XL. Sucks about the mileage but her work is only 5 miles away, and I ride my bike to my office so it wont be too bad :D

A friend of mine just mentioned a 2004 or newer F150. I know its a Ford, but I heard the transmissions can take quite a bit of abuse. Anyone have any experience with one of those?
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buddies 20k mile 07 f150 blew a trans, 2 wheel drive halfton. Just shy of warranty haha.
 
The newer ones with the 6 speeds get decent mileage. You'll cruise at 70mph at about 1200 rpm. They do better for the fords than they used to
 
Tough or not, i feel like a 1/2 ton fullsize rarely has any business pulling another full size.

Thats what 3/4 ton trucks are for. And when towing, overkill is the name of the game. You will be safer, have less wear/tear on parts, and enjoy the experience a lot more in a 3/4 ton.
 
dhcomp said:
enjoy the experience a lot more in a 3/4 ton.
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EXACTLY. Ive pulled a fair amount of very heavy loads on my 2500 company truck with the 6.0 Never had a moment where I wasnt comfortable driving it.

Pulled a grand prix behind my K5 for 20 miles. About 12 of it was white knuckle driving:crazy:
 
zj4play said:
Good point, never thought about that.
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All our coil sprung tahoe's ( can't remember if autoride or not), have ridden LOW with tongue weight on them. And we only towed 3500lb boats....so probably 400 lbs of tongue.

Really, think thats more of a car rear end setup. Rides awesome, but not so confident with such soft coils with a load on it.
 
Why is a CC 2500 out of the picture for her to drive to work? Is it because it's so big? A suburban is awfully long also. A duramax would do better in the mpg category. You could easily get 15 towing compared to 7.

I wouldn't weigh the dmax out but that's just me
 
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dfl701 said:
Why is a CC 2500 out of the picture for her to drive to work? Is it because it's so big? A suburban is awfully long also. A duramax would do better in the mpg category. You could easily get 15 towing compared to 7.

I wouldn't weigh the dmax out but that's just me
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Two reasons, and one I just researched so I might have to count that one out (nevermind); 1) I used to have a sweet 03 2500 HD Duramax that I really liked and stupidly sold, and 2) the suburban is shorter then the CC and easier to drive.

So, I looked up last night the overall dimensions of the CC and burb, and it turns out the truck in only 227in long and the burb is only 220in long. And like an idiot, I just checked again cause that didn't look right, and sure enough, I only looked at the extracab version :screwy:. The CC is actually 238in long. That's a bit more than two feet.

What about the older Suburbans with the 454? Hows the towing and quality with those?
 
gotblazers said:
get a suburban with a 6.2. Gets you a diesel and plenty of cargo room win/win
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Good luck. Most are beat to ****. They are really hard to find with less than 200k on them. I looked for a long time before giving up. The motor is good to high mileage, but i have zero confidence in teh IFS front ends past about 150k.

The reason i don't own "old" IFS trucks anymore.

The late 90's 454 suburban's are nice. Kinda hard to find a 4wd, but they are out there. Nothing really bad to say about them, lots actually got comparable mileage to the 6.0L, which is kinda interesting. They pull fine, but more of an old school big block feel to them. The 6.0L is an LS series motor, and is made to run high rpm's all day long when towing, where the 454 isn't going to spin as high. Hence the comparable mileage.
 
zj4play said:
Thanks for the info dhcomp, very helpful. Found a couple:

http://www.race-dezert.com/cgi-bin/trader/atl.cgi?ct=4&md=second&id=2291

and:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=p&car_id=282046900&dealer_id=65424567&car_year=1997&rdm=1281025654216&lastStartYear=1981&model=CHEVSUB&num_records=25&systime=&make2=&highlightFirstMakeModel=&start_year=1996&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=&awsp=false&search_type=both&distance=100&marketZipError=false&search_lang=en&sownerid=586852&showZipError=y&make=CHEV&keywords_display=&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&min_price=&drive=4%20wheel%20drive&default_sort=priceDESC&seller_type=b&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&address=92627&advanced=y&end_year=1999&doors=&transmission=&max_price=&cardist=77&standard=false

I'm not quite ready to get one just yet, but its good to know they are out there :D
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When looking into the "older" rigs that are cheaper, realize you have no idea how that transmission has been treated in terms of overheating, fluid changes, etc. My truck only cost me $2250....but within a couple years, it needed the 4l80e rebuilt. A good rebuild on that trans will run you about $2500, so keep that in mind.

Not to say a 2000+ is exempt from this consideration....just thinking i would be more aware of it on an older/higher mileage truck.

Also, the late 90's vortec 350's were famous for needing intake gaskets changed....not sure if that applied to teh 454's too. Not incredibly difficult, but expensive to have someone do.


I owned a 97 2500 burb with teh 454, 4.10's, and 33's for a month or 2. Really nice rig, just couldnt' stomach the 11-12mpg freeway unloaded while i was still in college. Rig was a lot quicker than any rig that heavy/large should be though...and would roast those 33's on command. Never towed with it, cause i didn't' want to know how much better it was than the small block's i was used to.
 
Yukon club w/quadrasteer. You get the 6.0, and easy for her to park. My wife dd's hers. I love it, holds the family, junk, and toes.
 
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