GMT800 Tahoe or Suburban?

[rayra]

Got both.

Get the 2500 Sub. And I agree that price is way too low. Look HARD for hidden problems. The window regulator swap is easy, see my pix and comments in the first link in my sig.

Late edit - clarification. the 1500 Sub is a good capable vehicle. Only concern is late-life high-mileage towing, as far as I'm concerned. I have some business plans for after i move to TX that will involve a workshop in a trailer. I'll be looking for a 4L80E to tow it with. Until then I'm happy with my k1500 Z-71s.

 

[kojackJKU]

While I do love my Tahoe and think the turning radius is much better than a Suburban, if I did the project again knowing what I do now, I would get a 2500 Suburban.

Good luck with your shopping.

I would love to see your Tahoe build as a suburban! its awesome....

 

[ChevyPit]

Get the Suburban K2500!!!
I just sold my Tahoe (well, it was a 2wd), to get a Yukon XL 2500 4wd.
I already have a suburban K1500 and last year sold a K2500, and missed it so much that had to get another 2500. They are much stronger than the 1500. I have wheeled, offroaded the 1500 and haven't got a problem with the 4l60e neither with the 10 bolt diff; but the 2500 is just stronger. Parts are a little pricier but nothing too bad.

 

[Stryder106]

Avalanche, but I'm biased.................

 

[boss324]

Avalanche, but I'm biased.................
View attachment 401215

Lol Nice!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[boss324]

It all depends on what you plan on using it for. If it's just you and a friend get the Tahoe, if you plan on driving around 3+ people and gear get the Suburban. 1500 vs 2500: if you want a cool truck that everyone compliments get the 2500, if you want a practical truck get the 1500. If you are a careful and conservative driver get the 1500, if you are buying a truck to prove to the world that you can abuse your truck until the 8.25 and 4L60E blows up and everyone to compliment you on how cool your truck is get the 2500. I have a 1500 Sub, run 37s on it with lots of fender trimming. I run the same trails that all my friends in Rubicons run but with AC and comfortable seating for 7, tow 12,000lbs occasionally and get 16.5mpg daily driving with 3.73 gears. If you already do not have a 2500 chances are that you will not need one and the 1500 will be less expensive and easier to find.

Good luck and show us pictures of your new toy.

Sure the want vs need argument. If your on this site your probably going to do more than the normal Suburban owner will ever think about. You don't need a 2500 burb, you don't need 37" a lift etc..but if your contemplating this platform for overlanding I think we can all agree start with a 2500. Also the suburban 2500 w/8.1 and 4.10 where rated to tow at 12k lbs, the 6.0L with 4.10 9600lbs and half tons 8100lbs.

Keep us in the loop.

Cheers!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[rayra]

CrazyDrei, better check your manual and trailer hitch tag. I'm pretty sure the combined weight towign rating is 12,000-12,800. NOT 12k on the hitch. And pretty much each of the folks who have posted about failing 4L60Es under towing load have been found to be towing loads far in excess of the listed rating.

Just got my Sub weighed the other day, I've got about 300# of storage platform, drawers, added electrical parts and battery, a roof rack deck. My scale weight with a full tank was about 6,100#. Add 4 people and dogs and cargo / luggage, leaves me about 5000# in trailer weight to play with. The Fleetwood Evolution II pop-up trailer I'm planning to use is about 3000# wet.

trying to find a larger more legible version of this GCWR image

eta

QUOTE
K-1500 (4WD)*
Engine Axle Ratio Max. Trailer Wt. GCWR
4800 V8 3.73 6,600 lbs. (2 996 kg) 12,000 lbs. (5 448 kg)
4.10 7,600 lbs. (3 450 kg) 13,000 lbs. (5 902 kg)
5300 V8 3.73 7,600 lbs. (3 450 kg) 13,000 lbs. (5 902 kg)
4.10 8,200 lbs. (3 722 kg) 14,000 lbs. (6 356 kg)
5300 V8 (Suburban/Yukon XL)
3.73 7,500 lbs. (3 405 kg) 13,000 lbs. (5 902 kg)
4.10 8,500 lbs. (3 859 kg) 14,000 lbs. (6 356 kg)
5300 V8 (BPH package)
3.73 7,300 lbs. (3 314 kg) 13 000 lbs. (5 902 kg)
4.10 8,200 lbs. (3 722 kg) 14,000 lbs. (6 356 kg)
5300 V8 (Suburban BPH package)
3.73 7,000 lbs. (3 178 kg) 13 000 lbs. (5 902 kg)
4.10 7,800 lbs. (3 722 kg) 14,000 lbs. (3 541 kg)

* Weight-distributing hitch tongue weight 10 percent to 15 percent of trailer weight 1,200 lbs. (544 kg) maximum.



it's the same rating on the Z-71 Tahoe and Sub, with the with the factory Tow / Haul package..

 

[PGW]

Since weights are in the discussion I have a 2003 Yukon XL 2500 4x4 with the 8.1L and 10.5 full floater rear end. With no third row seat, more or less full tank of gas, and no passengers or load, it weighed 6,640lbs at the local landfill scales. GVWR is 8,600lbs.

 

[upcruiser]

In my eyes if you are going to get a vehicle this wide, go for the Burb. 130" wheelbase isn't bad for the amount of gear hauling you can do and flexibility. While the 1500's ride nicer and return better mpg's, the 2500 is a better place to start for an overlanding rig. Part of the equation that makes s desirable rig is reliabilty and with all the upgrades you get with the 2500, it is going to give a lot more capacity and be able to burden loads with less wear and tear. Hell, I would choose the 2500 for the brakes alone honestly. I find our 2500 with the 6.0 and 4.10's to be a good all around compromise and it's pretty much stock and we use it hard and it holds up well. One thing I would recommend from my personal experience is to avoid the drive by wire trucks and if you can find a non dual zone climate HVAC unit, go that route. The dual zone and especially the auto climate zone trucks have more issues with the more complicated systems. I think the drivetrains on this generation truck are pretty solid but the interior and accessories are still from an era of poor build quality. The simpler the better to avoid long term fix it projects.

 

[Martinjmpr]

As much as I like the ruggedness and overbuilt-ness (is that a word? ) of the 2500, if you are insistent on a 2500 you will pass by a lot of perfectly adequate 1500's before you find one. By my guess there are at least 10 1500's for every 1 2500 Burb or Yukon on the used market (it would be interesting to know what the actual production numbers of 1500's vs 2500's were.)
.
Furthermore, many of the 2500's have the 8.1. Good luck getting better than 10mpg out of that 500 cubic inch motor.
.
Sure, it's all well and good when some random strangers on the internet are saying "yeah, but look at the POWER!" or "what's the big deal? It's only a few more bucks in gas!" but those random strangers will be nowhere to be found when your 37 gallon tank is giving you maybe 350 miles range and costing you $120 every time you fill it up. I've gotten an honest, hand-calculated 19.5 MPG out of my 5.3 equipped 1500 (obviously that was under ideal conditions and NOT while towing.) And if you don't think MPG is an issue, look at how many people on the Land Cruiser forums are bitching about their 11 - 12 MPG beasts.
.
See, that's the thing about MPG. You don't think about it when you're shopping (usually) and it's easy to justify it in your mind by saying "it's not that big of an issue." But when you're on the road, far from home and you roll up to the only gas station in a hundred miles and gas is $4.50 a gallon, it hurts to pump fifty bucks worth of gas into the tank and to know that it's only going to get you to the next gas station a hundred miles away.
.
IMO the weakest point of the 1500 is the 4l60E transmission. But even that is, worst case, a $2000 rebuild cost. In most markets a 2500 (f you can find one) will be a lot more than $2000 over the price of a similar age/mileage 1500.

 

[Burb One]

I am in martnjmpr's boat.

First point- If you tow 4k lb+ or are set on going to 37's or something, get the 2500 and don't look back.

Now if you don't-

My pro's for the 1500 start with the mpg. Fully loaded with crap on the roof, 33's and a 6 inch lift on 4.10 gears I get 14-15 mpg(usually 15) trip total including the off road sections, sometimes which makes up 25% of the mileage of the trip. You will not touch anywhere near that with the 6.0 (much less the 8.1) That gives me at least one hundred miles of EXTRA range and being able to not fill up in places I don't want to. On 33's and 4.10 with my fully loaded weight, the truck isn't THAT slow, much faster than most off road trucks on the freeway and up hills, excluding diesels. If coming from a jeep or something you'll see a boost in power, the truck easily cruises at any reasonable highway speed, just when you go over 75, you'll start to see the mpg's fall off but a lot of that on my truck may be the lift and stuff on the roof.

The coil suspension on the rear of the 1500 rides about 10x better than the leaves on the highway and is much more capable off road. With these trucks, you rely on your rear end traction more often off road, and having coils vs. leaves means in many situations you have both tires on the ground where the leaves would have one in the air.

Up front cost. A decent 2500 is going to be around 2x the price of a decent 1500 depending on your location, but holds true pretty much everywhere. You can put a 4l80e and a 14 bolt, if not many more things, for the price difference usually.

Things are a little easier to find and cheaper for 1500's. There's more lift options, parts are easier to find, much more common (the 2500 suburban shares [arts with the 2500 silverados so there's tons of parts, but not as many as the 1500 series). There's a bolt in coil over kit for the 1500's (that is the single best mod i have ever made except the 14 bolt).


Cons:
4l60e stock will break eventually
8.25/ CV's are weaker
10 bolt if locked is weak

Now, I say this even with mostly everything in my 1500 having been upgraded to 2500(I have a 14 bolt, 9.25 front end) and my plan of eventually putting a 6.0 and 4l80e in my 1500. However, my only reason for wanting the 6.0 is I tow. It tows fine now on 33's but if I go to 35's I think I will definitely want more power (and my engine is at close to 250k).

With the 1500, I think you have more options and can be more price sensitive to the things you want/ actually need and pay as you go/ pay as you break.
The 2500 puts the cost up front and gets you a more solid rig out of the box.
I look at it like this. If you buy a sports car, most sports cars offer a "track package" or supercharger as a factory option. A 2500 would be buying that option.
A 1500 and upgrading it would be like buying the aftermarket kit, that you can build to the level you want that may very well be better than the factory options, for the same price or slightly cheaper (obviously there's no factory warranties on these trucks anymore )

 

[SGNellett]

Ah HA! Now this is solid feedback. For those times when your backseat passengers need to hang their entire fanny out the window to do a Full Moon salute to your convoy partners. Burb it is. Let search continue...

:jump: :clapping: :jump:

 

[ClovisMan]

Just how bad is the 8.1L?:Wow1:
https://austin.craigslist.org/cto/6121718712.html

 

[rayra]

single digit MPG. But that looks to be in great condition and what I'd call a good price. If it won't be a daily driver, I'd say go for it. I paid $6000 2-1/2yrs ago for my '02 K1500 Z-71 Sub with 116k mi. $7000 - if you can turn your own wrenches - seems like a good deal, even with 200k mi.

 

[Stryder106]

I had 4.10s with my 33"s and it was fine. I went to 35"s and 4.88 - and it's much mo betta . With my 4.88s and 35" tires - cruising at 70 on the highway headed out to Red Rock Canyon - got 21MPG.