3/4 or 1 ton SUV ?

[nhshep]

Crazy question. We loved our Travel trailer. Weight 6,100 lbs. Length 28 foot. Towed it with Dodge Durango V8. Never had an issue towing. Recently moved to 5th wheel keeping it as seasonal for now. Do not like the idea buying open bed truck where we have no use for the open bed except to handle the hitch to tow the 5'er.

Would love to gone with a larger TT 10k or 12k lbs 34 ft. But would have to change to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. We have no use for open bed truck.

Why have they not made a 3/4 or 1 ton SUV. Is it lack of demand or an engineering issue. What is wrong with putting a larger engine inside an SUV to accommodate towing capacity and make it longer for wheel base. Give those who tow larger TT the inside SUV function when not towing (maybe 3 row seating like the Durango).

Putting a cap on a truck is not the same. It would not have doors and seats like a SUV. (No offense to those who have a truck with a cap).

There must be plenty of people who would love to have an SUV with more towing capacity so they are not limited to less than 10,000 lbs and forced to go with a 3/4 OR 1 Ton truck with open bed.

[RoyJ]

Another reason could be shrinking family sizes. Compared to the 80s / 90s, very few families are having 3+ kids. In large cities with much very high living costs ($1.5M for tear-down house here in Vancouver), people can barely afford 1 or 2 kids.

Then factor in how many crew cab, highly capable towing trucks are around that gets decent fuel economy and all the luxury needs you'd want.

Yes, there're niche markets with niche demands, but OEMs are after volume and profit. How many 2500 Suburbans and Excursions can they sell today? And is it purely at the cannibalization of Silverado 2500 and F250 sales?

Same reason we don't have Land Cruiser trucks, Unimogs, heavy cabovers the rest of the world gets. Lots people want them, but too much a niche market.

[Mickeyfan0805]

kellem wrote:
Go look at the interior of the new Superdutys, it's mind boggling.
You could easily haul 6 offensive linemen comfortably without the center console, no joke.

I am fully aware, and our crew-cab is shockingly roomy. A bench seat with 3 individuals for a 600 mile day, however, starts getting really tight, really fast! And, there's still nowhere for the dog!

It's all about how each individual/family uses it. In our case, the absence of a 3-row option was a huge hit.

[APT]

Grit, no half SUV made after 2013 has payload to support a family or 6+ and 1000 pounds of TW, regardless of "tow ratings" and engines/transmissions that are far more capable than my 3/4 ton. Van's are unpopular/unfashionable, but that does not make them less capable.

I understand the OP's request for 3 rows of seats and not needing the truck bed. Why pay for the truck bed if not going to use it? Except, that 3rw row of climate controlled comfort and storage costs even more and has less RV towing capability.

[kellem]

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:

kellem wrote:
Because it would be addressing a much smaller crowd as trailers don't consume as much payload compared to 5th wheels....tounge weight vs pin weight.

Full size pickup trucks have almost the same interior space as bigger SUVs but can be had with much more capability.

Having the need for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck trumps not having the need for a bed.

If you prefer large SUVs, simply stay within it's capabilities.

This is all fine and well until you start considering the seating issues. As a family of 5 with a dog, we limped along with our 2006 HD Suburban (with the 8.1) as long as we could. Pick-ups just don't lend themselves well to travel for families of more than 4. When we finally ditched our Suburban just over a year ago, we went with a pick-up, but are now much more limited in what we can do. The dog has to be left behind if we leave the state, travel days need to be shortened because we have 3 kids (12-16) sharing the back seat, etc.

I'm sure that others are correct that the economics just didn't make sense to continue to make them for such a small market, but those of us in that small market miss them terribly!

Go look at the interior of the new Superdutys, it's mind boggling.
You could easily haul 6 offensive linemen comfortably without the center console, no joke.

[Mickeyfan0805]

kellem wrote:
Because it would be addressing a much smaller crowd as trailers don't consume as much payload compared to 5th wheels....tounge weight vs pin weight.

Full size pickup trucks have almost the same interior space as bigger SUVs but can be had with much more capability.

Having the need for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck trumps not having the need for a bed.

If you prefer large SUVs, simply stay within it's capabilities.

This is all fine and well until you start considering the seating issues. As a family of 5 with a dog, we limped along with our 2006 HD Suburban (with the 8.1) as long as we could. Pick-ups just don't lend themselves well to travel for families of more than 4. When we finally ditched our Suburban just over a year ago, we went with a pick-up, but are now much more limited in what we can do. The dog has to be left behind if we leave the state, travel days need to be shortened because we have 3 kids (12-16) sharing the back seat, etc.

I'm sure that others are correct that the economics just didn't make sense to continue to make them for such a small market, but those of us in that small market miss them terribly!

[Grit_dog]

kellem wrote:
Because it would be addressing a much smaller crowd as trailers don't consume as much payload compared to 5th wheels....tounge weight vs pin weight.

Full size pickup trucks have almost the same interior space as bigger SUVs but can be had with much more capability.

Having the need for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck trumps not having the need for a bed.

If you prefer large SUVs, simply stay within it's capabilities.

Because it would be addressing a much smaller crowd? Because we're only talking RVers here and because now big TTs are somehow light? I better never catch you doing the "you need a 3/4 ton instead of that Ford Expedition" shuffle in a What can I tow thread....lol.

Are they for everyone? Nope. Neither is a Pruis or a Duramax dually or a new Corvette. But despite that, those seem to be very popular vehicles.
Are they in demand? Idk, go try to buy a 3/4 ton Burb or Expedition that is in good condition and not alot of miles. Seems like they are to me, when a 10-20+ year old suv, even with a gas engine, commands the same price or more as a comparable era diesel truck.

If I had half a brain, I would have bought every low mile GMT 400 and GMT 800 3/4 ton suburban I could get my hands on back in the late 2000s when the value was tanked. They're worth double or triple now.

I'm not saying they'll take over the automobile market. They are a high priced luxury or work vehicle that there IS a demand for due to their features and ability.
Although, you could be right. Thanks to the recent state of political affairs in the good ole US of A, and 50% jump in oil prices in the least few months, now might not be a good time to fire up the ole Duraburb plant or roll out a new Frod Excursion with a Godzilla motor!

[Grit_dog]

APT wrote:
A GM 1-ton van as well as the Nissan N3500 have plenty of rows of seats and can handle up to around 7500 pound dry TT.

Ahhh, the old "vans were the original suv" argument...classic.
A half ton suv can handle a "7500lb dry" TT as well. Whatever that means (I know, it's code for the towing capacity isn't that good, but it would ruin your argument for vans...lol).

I'll take the crowd of vehicles owned by the parents of my 2 kids sports team members. So average cross section of middle/upper middle class folks that are active (kids playing soccer and hockey). Bout 40 families.
Number of large SUVs (half tons of course) owned, about a half dozen. Number of 1/2 ton trucks, another 10 or so. Number of HD trucks, around a half dozen. Bear in mind folks have more than one family vehicle. But over half the families have a full size suv or truck.
Number of vans? ONE. And those folks just finally stopped having kids after #8 or 9. Up until last year they were like a puppy mill, spitting out a kid every year or 2 since before we knew them and even had one 2for1 special!
Oh, and that family has a mini Cooper and a pickup truck as well. Only has a van because, well, it's not as obtrusive as a bus!

[Grit_dog]

Dadoffourgirls wrote:
GM has been making 1 ton Suburbans for several years. However, the tow rating was 4k, but there was over 4k in payload. The are sold fleet, and what was hauling all those key individuals in DC in January.

And how many of those suburbans can you go buy today at the chevy dealer? I'm pretty sure the OP's post/query wasn't about something that is unobtanium, just for the sake of someone saying, "told you so."

[kellem]

Because it would be addressing a much smaller crowd as trailers don't consume as much payload compared to 5th wheels....tounge weight vs pin weight.

Full size pickup trucks have almost the same interior space as bigger SUVs but can be had with much more capability.

Having the need for a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck trumps not having the need for a bed.

If you prefer large SUVs, simply stay within it's capabilities.

[APT]

A GM 1-ton van as well as the Nissan N3500 have plenty of rows of seats and can handle up to around 7500 pound dry TT.

[Dadoffourgirls]

GM has been making 1 ton Suburbans for several years. However, the tow rating was 4k, but there was over 4k in payload. The are sold fleet, and what was hauling all those key individuals in DC in January.

[valhalla360]

Suburbans were available but I believe there was little demand. I think the big 4 door pickup cabs killed them.

3/4 & 1 ton vans are still available. They used to be a common tow vehicle but again, the big 4 door pickups have largely supplanted them.

[Grit_dog]

nhshep, I agree with you. I don’t understand why there are no HD suvs produced anymore.
Maybe 10-15 years ago when they were going extinct, the oil prices, mfg costs, economy, demand for HD suvs with the popularity and availability of crew cab trucks....may have not been worth it.
But now, with the supply of used HD suvs being very scarce and nowhere near the luxury capability and power levels of new trucks, I believe if just one of the big 3 put out a 8 lug SUV with gas and diesel options, they would absolutely clean house for a while.
Sales would be through the roof for a while, at least until the market was saturated with them or another recession.
Personally, I’d choose a crew cab truck over a suv 11 out of 10 times, but after owning my first suv in 25+ years (if a rusted out 1980 Blazer plow rig counts), last year, I totally see the preference and utility of them.

[KD4UPL]

"They" have made them, Ford and GM both. 2500 series Suburban production lasted until 2013. I'm not sure when it started, 1980's I guess, maybe the '70s.
Ford made the Excursion from 2000 to 2005.
The best tow rating for a 2500 Suburban will be a 2001 thru 2007 model with the 8.1L big block, these were rated up to 12,000 pounds. Newer ones (like my 2009) are only rated for a bit over 9,000 pounds. My 2500 Suburban does a great job towing my 6,500 pound boat with up to 7 people and their gear riding inside the vehicle.

[wiskeyVI]

Suburbans used to come in a 3/4T version...