Excursion vs. (???) for family expeditions?

[RPhil]

Thanks all for the thoughtful suggestions.

Suburban/Yukon XL 2500: I hadn't even heard of these! I showed some to my wife and she likes them too. The problem is I know very little about that platform as I come from a "Ford family" so I don't feel well equipped to properly sniff out a good deal.

Expedition: I don't feel like an older one of these would be a good buy. And the newer ones are shockingly expensive. The latest one only has the ecoboost, which I know very little about, but I'd be surprised if that could really handle the 9000lb towing capacity it claims to. I'm not yet 40 and I feel like a man from another era looking at what these new vehicles cost, it astounds me. I am sure a 2013-2015 or so has the potential of being a much nicer ride but they just don't seem to be built for towing or really anything but hauling a family with 2.5 kids back and forth. Maybe I'm wrong.

7.3: I really don't mind that engine in our truck and I drove it through 10 states in 2 weeks for thousands of miles, half of the trip towing our trailer. It never ceases to impress me how well that truck drives, not at all like the CCLB 37" monstrosity it is. So I wouldn't mind at all finding a nice Excursion with the same mill.

Here's what appears to be a decent 6.0 we came across not far from us. I don't like buying from dealers but we don't have a lot to choose from unless I'm willing to travel and take a chance on something down South again. I am assuming it has had none of the bulletproofing done, otherwise I'd figure they'd mention it.

As for using our F350 with a shell on the back, we considered that but my wife really wants to make sure the kids all have their spots because we are planning on being on the road a lot. I really don't think we'll part with the truck, either, as I am in the process of a lot of building projects and kitting up our workshop so I imagine it will be handy to have a go-anywhere truck for such things. It does have new RS9000XL shocks which definitely helped and I haven't fiddled with adjusting them yet. It's a great truck I went a long way to acquire, and we own it outright, so it'd be silly to part with it.



Thanks! Your rig looks great too. We'll definitely be through your way at some point.




Should I assume if it's got a 6.0 that it's the 5R110?

my wife is insistent on the buckets. It has a "van" feel and since we have 4 kids it will be so much easier for them to get back to the 3rd row.



thank you!!

Yes, all 6.0's have the 5R110.

 

[wirenut]

I would take a 2500 Sub over a 6.0 Ford any day. If you really want a diesel they are available in the suburbans; not form GM but from third party builders. They are actually quite common. I'm watching several on ebay right now and they appear frequently on craigslist. There's a few dealers that list duramax subs on ebay that tend to specialize in that type of thing.
The 2500 sub stopped being produced after 2013. They came with the 6.0 or 8.1 up until '07 when the 6.0 became the only option. The pre '07 models have a 4 speed auto, the later ones got a 6 speed around '08 or '09.
I had an 8.1L big block in an '01 dually. It was a great engine: smooth, quiet, powerful, reliable.

 

[koselig]

So it feels like sacrilege for me to be looking at GM's (Grandpa is a Ford retiree), but I have been poking around at Suburban 2500's since you guys mentioned them.

I found this 2008 LT3 2500 4x4 not too far from here which has 72kmi. It's just a touch over book (KBB says 21k average). What do you guys think? I am sure this would have no problem whatsoever towing our 5000lb Lance camper. I know it's not the 8.1, what kind of mileage are people getting towing with the 6.0L (I see it does have a 6sp, 6L90 I believe).

I wish Ford continued making the Excursion, but this seems to serve the same purpose very well!

 

[koselig]

I would take a 2500 Sub over a 6.0 Ford any day. If you really want a diesel they are available in the suburbans; not form GM but from third party builders. They are actually quite common. I'm watching several on ebay right now and they appear frequently on craigslist. There's a few dealers that list duramax subs on ebay that tend to specialize in that type of thing.
The 2500 sub stopped being produced after 2013. They came with the 6.0 or 8.1 up until '07 when the 6.0 became the only option. The pre '07 models have a 4 speed auto, the later ones got a 6 speed around '08 or '09.
I had an 8.1L big block in an '01 dually. It was a great engine: smooth, quiet, powerful, reliable.

I did find a diesel suburban conversion up this way which was $44k or so. Looked great, but a little over my budget.

What do you think of the 2008 Suburban LT3 2500 with the 6.0L/6sp I posted about?

 

[Dalko43]

I did find a diesel suburban conversion up this way which was $44k or so. Looked great, but a little over my budget.

What do you think of the 2008 Suburban LT3 2500 with the 6.0L/6sp I posted about?

Those are diesel conversions, not OEM diesel trucks, correct? Unless I was buying from a reputable offroad shop, I would stay away from diesel conversions...to much potential for gremlins and problems.

You seem stuck on diesel and a rig with 6 dedicated spots. Excursion seems to be what you're looking for. 7.3, as old and outdated as it is, has a solid reputation for reliability. People talk about "bulletproofing" the 6.0; I wouldn't get one of those unless I had done lots of research on all the major problems, and the corresponding fixes.

 

[koselig]

Those are diesel conversions, not OEM diesel trucks, correct? Unless I was buying from a reputable offroad shop, I would stay away from diesel conversions...to much potential for gremlins and problems.

yeah they are conversions. Check it out. I agree, I wouldn't want to drive a conversion with my 4 kids on cross-country trips.

You seem stuck on diesel and a rig with 6 dedicated spots. Excursion seems to be what you're looking for. 7.3, as old and outdated as it is, has a solid reputation for reliability. People talk about "bulletproofing" the 6.0; I wouldn't get one of those unless I had done lots of research on all the major problems, and the corresponding fixes.

I just happen to really like diesels. But for this purpose it might not be ideal - long trips with our family of 6 towing our camper, probably boondocking a good bit, temps likely in the 20's or 30's a lot of the time. I keep my 7.3L F350 plugged in so I never have to worry about cold starts. But (rational or not) I'd worry about diesel cold starts with little kids out in the wilderness. So that is part of the attraction with the Suburban 2500 gassers.

 

[MTCK]

That suburban looks good to me. I’m not a huge fan of the dub dubs. 6.0 vortec and 6L90 is a good combo. Just let it spin.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I'd be all over that 2500 at that price.
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Personally, I'd prefer a bench in the 2nd row to the buckets but if I was in the market I would not let that be a deal breaker for me (especially given that GMT-900 2500 Suburbans are rare and that it has very low miles.) Check it out good for rust underneath, since it's from the upper midwest, but if nothing jumps out I think that would be a perfect rig, personally. IIRC the 6.0 didn't have the problematic AFM that the 5.3 equipped 1500's did and it's already got the 6 speed. What's not to love?

 

[koselig]

That suburban looks good to me. I’m not a huge fan of the dub dubs. 6.0 vortec and 6L90 is a good combo. Just let it spin.

HAHAHA - I agree 100%. Although I have seen worse. I wonder if they would sell on craigslist if I replaced them with something more subdued??

 

[koselig]

I'd be all over that 2500 at that price.
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Personally, I'd prefer a bench in the 2nd row to the buckets but if I was in the market I would not let that be a deal breaker for me (especially given that GMT-900 2500 Suburbans are rare and that it has very low miles.) Check it out good for rust underneath, since it's from the upper midwest, but if nothing jumps out I think that would be a perfect rig, personally. IIRC the 6.0 didn't have the problematic AFM that the 5.3 equipped 1500's did and it's already got the 6 speed. What's not to love?

with 4 kids we are all-in on the quad buckets since we use the 3rd row pretty much every single time we go somewhere. I think it's going to make a huge difference in keeping everyone sane in their own spaces for our trips, make it easier for everyone to get in, etc.


Thanks guys! We are going to head down and check it out ASAP.

 

[koselig]

Thanks guys! We are going to head down and check it out ASAP.

I guess you guys were right, that was such a great deal that it sold on Saturday. We need to move quicker I guess.

2008-2013 Suburban 2500 with quad buckets seems just the ticket. More car-like mannerisms with the coil front suspension, well suited to towing, and "OK" mileage with the 6.0L/6sp.

I love the Excursions but it's just too hard to find a low-mileage example with bucket seats near MN.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I guess you guys were right, that was such a great deal that it sold on Saturday. We need to move quicker I guess.

2008-2013 Suburban 2500 with quad buckets seems just the ticket. More car-like mannerisms with the coil front suspension, well suited to towing, and "OK" mileage with the 6.0L/6sp.

I love the Excursions but it's just too hard to find a low-mileage example with bucket seats near MN.

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Minor quibble: I'm pretty sure all the 2500's have torsion bar front suspensions. It was the 1500's that got the coilovers on the front.
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Don't know about the rear but I know on the GMT-800 series the 2500's had leaf springs in the rear while the 1500's had a 4-link with coils.

 

[koselig]

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Minor quibble: I'm pretty sure all the 2500's have torsion bar front suspensions. It was the 1500's that got the coilovers on the front.
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Don't know about the rear but I know on the GMT-800 series the 2500's had leaf springs in the rear while the 1500's had a 4-link with coils.

ah, interesting. I've never driven any Suburban. Will be interesting to see how it drives.

If we get a comfortable rig that is still capable without all the mods people seem to have to do on Excursions, then that would be worthwhile. I love tinkering with automobiles but I have no time for that in my current lifestyle so I just need something that will fill the role. We are really bummed that one sold, we were hoping to leave on our first big trip within the next few weeks.

 

[koselig]

well, I blew my budget a bit and bought this sight unseen. I've never even seen one of these in real life let alone driven one. I ended up paying $33k and they are covering the cost to get it to us in MN. That's just under KBB "fair market" and I feel strongly we'd be able to sell it for right around the same if it didn't fit the bill for some reason. I did try to negotiate a bit but they made the argument that a lot of folks are asking about it so based on our past experience with them getting sold before we could look at them, I do think someone would have just as well come in and paid the same.

These are hard to find and the ones with nice interiors are even more so, since they were increasingly marketed to fleet and government.

 

[MTCK]

That really escalated quickly! I think you will be quite happy with your purchase and hope it serves your family well.