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FishStick
Explorer
Jan 16, 2014

Looking for tow vehicle purchase guidance

New guy here, I'm looking for some help and guidance with the purchase of a new to me tow vehicle.

A little about what I'm currently towing with and what I am towing; I have a 2000 Excursion, 2WD. 7.3l diesel, the truck has a DP Tuner, exhaust and a few other goodies, it flat out moves! My trailer is a newer 20' 5000lb GVW hybrid. Obviously I'm overkill on the tow vehicle at this time. I literally do not even know the trailer is back there :) I also tow a utility trailer to gather firewood in the summer, and occasionally a car/trailer, max GVW around 7k lbs.

We moved into the mountains above Denver, CO a couple of years ago. My wife and I have decided the Excursion must go, we have tried and tried, and just cannot deal with a 2WD truck where we live in the winter. It now sits parked for 6 months out of the year. We would like to have another full size SUV, 4WD this time, to serve tow and utility duty and as the family vacation mobile.

My budget for a "new" tow vehicle is $10k max, this puts me out of buying another 7.3l Excursion. With how many miles we will put on this truck, about 6-7k per year, and what I am towing I can’t really justify the extra initial expense plus maintenance of another diesel anyway.

I have been looking at V10 Excursions and 2002 – 2006 Suburban’s. I’m partial to the 3/4 ton Suburban’s, but I’m not sure if I really need a 3/4 ton truck. I have driven a couple of 8.1l Suburban’s, I like this engine, but do I need it? We enjoy the size of the Excursion, buy again, just not sure if we need a vehicle of that size. We do have three kids so the third row seat is a must. The room behind the third row seat in a Tahoe or Expedition is not enough for us, so these vehicles are out of the question. 4WD 1/2 ton Suburban’s are for sale everywhere in my area, and they are cheap too. I’m just concerned about the towing ability/durability of the Chevy 5.3l and the 1/2 ton chassis, our towing is mostly in the mountains, above 9000’. I have also looked at GMC Denali’s with the 6.0l in them, this might be an option, not sure about the AWD system and not having a low range gear in the transfer case.

I’m looking for any help and suggestions on this. Thanks!

15 Replies

  • Because you live at elevation, I think you're best off sticking with something turbocharged, which pretty much means another 7.3L. Stay away from the 6.0 diesel, unless you like giving lots of money to repair shops, and don't mine interrupted vacations.

    Completely different vehicle class, but have you ever thought about a Ford Flex? For that size trailer, it has just about enough towing capacity, and actually has more payload than the diesel Excursion. Best of all, you get TWO TURBOS! That means more HP than the V10 and anything but the newest diesels, but with a diesel-like flat torque-curve. It actually has an almost identical footprint (wheelbase x track width) to the Expedition, but with shorter overhangs and much lower center of gravity.
  • I would look for the exact same rig you now have but in a 4x4 with the 7.3.

    Extra diesel maintenance?
  • Friends that towed with the 5.3l Chevy all traded the vehicle within a year. They liked the engine with an empty vehicle on flat ground. Any kind of load in the mountains was asking too much. Friends with the Chevy 6.0l gas engine seemed to be happy. Avoid the Ford 6.0l Diesel. Some years of the Ford Gas engine are very picky with the spark plugs. The factory didn't place enough thread in the aluminum heads. Very easy to overtorque. The Ford Tritan engines also use a little oil. Not a big deal. Something to keep in mind when purchasing.
  • Towing with anything else from that era will be significantly slower than your PSD. Ford V10 or GM 8.1L will be close, but still make less power especially at altitude and at higher engine speed. If you can find one of them, you'll love either one. I'd still like a 2006 Suburban 2500 8.1L/4.10. :)
  • Your budget dollars are going to be really tight for any decent used full sized SUV. Up it some and go for a Suburban2500. Do not even consider a 1500 version of anything. They simply do not have the towing capacity when loaded with stuff to handle much of anything. Have you considered finding a donor vehicle and making yours a 4X4?