Family of 6 future tow vehicle.

anw7405 wrote:
I'm just looking for some opinions here.

Current situation is:
2005 GMC yukon XL 2500 8.1 big block with 180,xxx miles.
2017 coachman Freedom express 320bhds probably around 9.5k -10k loaded up ready to camp.

We live in Oklahoma and really want to start venturing out west in another 2 years or so. That equals Rocky Mountains and others as well. The 8.1 handles the 37' TT pretty good around here and small mountains but I'm not sure its up to multiple long trips in the high elevation mountains. What to do?

option #1 Keep the 8.1 and slap a Raylar intake modification and A tune. big Hp and Tq gains for about $1700 or so. Probably close to 500 WTQ.
pros: 3 row seats and comfort, low price
cons: not forced indution

option#2 Get a 2011-2012 cummins or duramax truck.(before DEF)
pros: plenty of power
cons: cost of purchase, cost of ownership, and cramped with 6 people.

option#3 A diesel excursion.
pros: 3 rows of seats, and forced induction, should be able to get OK power out of the 6.0 or the 7.3.
cons: cost of purchase, cost of ownership, an older truck

Thoughts? What would you do?

Friend has a diesel Excursion... he's been working on the suspension for years trying to get it to drive right, throwing all kinds of mods and supposed correction kits into it. We go on long road trips together often. I drive a diesel GMC crew, he drives the Excursion. My truck tracks straight as an arrow, he's bouncing and wandering around. He gets tired of driving because he's constantly sawing the wheel trying to keep it lined up. Drive one before you decide if you want one.