Suburban/Tahoe barn door question...

[Martinjmpr]

I've never really been a fan of the "barn doors" or "cargo doors" (on the old FJ40 they were often called "ambulance doors") on the Tahoe and Suburban but there are a lot of people that seem to like them.
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Seems to me one of the advantages ought to be the ability to mount the spare tire or possibly cargo (like a fuel can) on the door. I know on the old vans of the 1960's and 70's it was very common to see the spare mounted to the left cargo door.
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But for some reason I never see that with the modern barn doors on either the GMT-400 (1991-1999) or GMT-800 (2000 - 2006) Suburban/Tahoe/Yukons.
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I wonder if this is just because the only thing that made this practice feasible in the "old days" was the fact that vehicles used heavier sheet metal that was capable of supporting the weight and modern vehicles with their lighter sheet metal can't handle it?
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My next question would be: What do you like about barn doors as opposed to the 1 piece liftgate? (My personal favorite is the lift/drop gate like the 1991-1999 Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon's came with but unfortunately they dropped that configuration when they introduced the GMT-800's in 2000 in favor of the one-piece liftgate or as I like to call it the "soccer mom tailgate.")

 

[Chili]

I have an 05 with the lift gate but wish I had barn doors. My reasons are mainly for the ability to attach stuff to the inside of the doors, and to be able to open one door but not both. I have heard people complain about the barn doors due to the vision obstruction in the rear view, but that's not too big of a deal for me.

Also, if you plan to store anything on the roof, you are actually able to access it better with the doors open (barn doors) whereas with the lift gate you have to close it any time you need to access the roof.

This is a pretty well debated subject, so I am sure you will also get plenty of people that prefer the liftgate. You might also want to do a search as I know I have seen several threads on here debating the same.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Chili: That's pretty much what I figured. As between the two I will most likely end up with the liftgate anyway just because they discontinued the barn doors after 2004 and I'd be looking at a newer one, an 05 or 06.
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What would you attach to the rear door?
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Another advantage to the lift gate is that it allows for a rear wiper. That comes in handy during a snowstorm. I use mine a LOT in winter.

 

[Chili]

Chili: That's pretty much what I figured. As between the two I will most likely end up with the liftgate anyway just because they discontinued the barn doors after 2004 and I'd be looking at a newer one, an 05 or 06.
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What would you attach to the rear door?
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Another advantage to the lift gate is that it allows for a rear wiper. That comes in handy during a snowstorm. I use mine a LOT in winter.

Good point on the rear wiper.

I would like to be able to put in some Molle compatible webbing to attach miscellaneous bags for gear I would like to keep handy. Nothing fancy. Maybe a small drop down table on one side, like the Jeepers.

I have just never said to myself "I sure am glad I got a liftgate" but have often said to myself "barn doors would be nice right now". Also, lifting and closing the liftgate is virtually impossible for my 10yo.

 

[ChrisWH]

I have an 05 with the lift gate but wish I had barn doors. My reasons are mainly for the ability to attach stuff to the inside of the doors, and to be able to open one door but not both. I have heard people complain about the barn doors due to the vision obstruction in the rear view, but that's not too big of a deal for me.

Also, if you plan to store anything on the roof, you are actually able to access it better with the doors open (barn doors) whereas with the lift gate you have to close it any time you need to access the roof.

This is a pretty well debated subject, so I am sure you will also get plenty of people that prefer the liftgate. You might also want to do a search as I know I have seen several threads on here debating the same.

Luckily this debate doesn't create much fervor.

It also depends on the vehicle.

On my old suburban ('85) I hated the tailgate. I had to manually wind the window down into the tail gate, then lower the (heavy) tailgate slowly. The extra 1 1/2' of tail gate made it hard to access things in the back. I *lusted* over bard doors.

I loved the tail gate on my land cruiser. The top portion raised, the bottom portion lowered. AFAIK, land cruisers & land rovers still share this type of rear access, although some versions of have barn doors. Of course these are smaller than a suburban, so stuff in the back isn't normally six feet away from as it was in the suburban, so the added length of the tailgate didn't hamper access that much. The tailgate was great for sitting on, since you didn't have to partially sit on a dirty bumper.

The worst (imho) is the large swing to the side doors. Such as our old Isuzu Rodeo, the newer G wagen & the GX460. In day to day living, the large door gets in the way. I appreciate the simplicity of the design, and there's no problem hanging a wheel off of it - but I was always finding that I needed to walk around the door.

 

[rayra]

my recollection of those suburban and van door spare tire mounts is that it was just a large A-frame c-channel bracket that spread the load across the whole door. I don't think there was anything special about the door skin itself. Doesn't make sense in the mass-manufacture process.

 

[AdventureHare]

For overlanders, the biggest advantage of the barn-door is that it won't impact the awning/RTT. The split barn-door is nice for the lack of size allowing for opening when backed into a parking space. I believe the hinges are strong enough to carry more weight but the interior of the door skin would have to be reinforced or the rack tied directly into the hinges.

I hate the stupid dutch doors where the glass lifts and then you can open the split doors, as on the Astro/Safari. But they do have a tire carrier on one door.

One disadvantage of a liftgate rear is that the license plate recess can collect water when un/loading in the rain, and it can dump on you when you close it. Don't ask how I know.

 

[Chili]

For overlanders, the biggest advantage of the barn-door is that it won't impact the awning/RTT. The split barn-door is nice for the lack of size allowing for opening when backed into a parking space. I believe the hinges are strong enough to carry more weight but the interior of the door skin would have to be reinforced or the rack tied directly into the hinges.

I hate the stupid dutch doors where the glass lifts and then you can open the split doors, as on the Astro/Safari. But they do have a tire carrier on one door.

One disadvantage of a liftgate rear is that the license plate recess can collect water when un/loading in the rain, and it can dump on you when you close it. Don't ask how I know.

The plate on the NBS Suburban / Tahoe is on the bumper, not in the lift-gate so they do not have that problem.

 

[Anak]

I am a fan of barn doors.

For me it is largely a matter of ergonomics. Imagine if you had to lift and lower the front door to your home every time you went through it. Even with an assist/counterbalance there is still more energy required. Actual work must be done. Not so much so with the barn door design. That makes a difference for my abused rotator cuff.

 

[upcruiser]

My preference is due to the need to be able to haul canoes and kayaks on the roof and access the back. To add to it, I need to access the back with boats on top and hooked up to our camper. I have read the overhead doors can have issues clearing the jack assemblies. On top of that, I prefer the somewhat utilitarian look of the ambulance style doors.


We can get up to 4 or 5 bikes inside the back of our burb or other random stuff for a trip and still get to it with the canoe up top and our camper on the back. Makes life easy.

 

[Rosco862003]

I've never really been a fan of the "barn doors" or "cargo doors" (on the old FJ40 they were often called "ambulance doors") on the Tahoe and Suburban but there are a lot of people that seem to like them.
.
Seems to me one of the advantages ought to be the ability to mount the spare tire or possibly cargo (like a fuel can) on the door. I know on the old vans of the 1960's and 70's it was very common to see the spare mounted to the left cargo door.
.
But for some reason I never see that with the modern barn doors on either the GMT-400 (1991-1999) or GMT-800 (2000 - 2006) Suburban/Tahoe/Yukons.
.
I wonder if this is just because the only thing that made this practice feasible in the "old days" was the fact that vehicles used heavier sheet metal that was capable of supporting the weight and modern vehicles with their lighter sheet metal can't handle it?

.

I understand I'm bringing back a relatively old thread, but I recently picked up a 94 Suburban 2500 with the barn doors and also picked up the spare tire carrier from a 2nd gen Trooper, and oddly enough the thing contours perfectly to the GMT-400 rear door. My plan was to weld a piece of kindorf strut (free) cut to length to span the bolt holes as a means of extra reinforcement, but unfortunately my friends welder no longer works. There is a piece of reinforcement in the door as it is, and I too was curious just how strong the door is, and if it's up to snuff to support a tire. The largest I see myself going is a 285/75R16, but will most likely stick with a 265/75. I sleep in the back of the Burban so the more space I could open up the better. For what it's worth it seems like the Trooper tire carrier should work out no problem for those with a 6 hole lug pattern, but I'm still in the process of working out an adapter for 8 lugs.

 

[rad]

On the 92-99 models one issue with barns doors versus the tailgate is access to the back when towing a trailer. With larger trailers too often the tongue jack is too close to allow the tailgate to go down when the trailer is hitched up.

 

[Chili]

My liftgate finally came in handy last week when I was stuck loading groceries in a downpour. I still got wet, granted, but not nearly as soaked.

 

[warrpath4x4]

I have never liked the 73-91 blazers or suburbans with the tailgates, the window cranks and motors break, the tailgates crack in the sides, I like the 69-72 blazers (I own a 72) because its a truck tailgate and a lift hatch.

 

[warrpath4x4]

not saying this is any better but I will just leave this here.