Looking at used Suburban 2500's
Any years that we should avoid? We have a family of 7. In your experience, does this make a better tow vehicle vs, say, a 12 passenger van? Our HTT is about 4500 lbs loaded.
Forum Discussion
kdlugozi wrote:
Sorry to sound dumb, but what should I look for with the van, in terms of making sure it is properly set up for towing, aside from checking Edmunds, etc for specs? Are there certain options I should look for?
Not a dumb question at all; you want to look for 1) a hitch properly rated for your usage, 2) a "towing pkg," normally consisting of a transmission cooler & sometimes a specific gear ratio, and 3) properly rated tires. To state the obvious, any and all of those can be added after-the-fact, but many will already have these features.
Of course this is over-and-above the normal things you'd inspect looking at a used vehicle, such as condition of the fluids, tire tread, brake wear, etc.
Vans are very underrated as TVs and can often be found for literally thousands less than a comparable truck or SUV. The drawback, as Jerem noted, is the lack of factory 4x4 unless you find a jewel that's been properly converted, or have the means to drop the cash to have it done. Though you may not be able to "boondock" in winter, a 2wd van with a limited-slip rear end, snow tires, and a good driver can handle a reasonable amount of snow.
Though it would be overkill for your trailer, a E250 or E350 with a V10 would manhandle your large family with the TT in tow with capacity to spare.
