Well, in the spirit of "making lemonade out of lemons" I may have a pretty cool opportunity. My company is likely moving me and my family from OK, to Dallas. I'm really, really, really not excited about that. I'm from Dallas and I really don't want to go back there. BUT, if they do they would pay me $25K to move along with paying all closing costs etc. Of course, it won't cost me that much to move. My wife said that I can use whatever's left over towards building up my Yukon XL (in signature) or towards a new truck.
So I imagine I'll probably have at least $20K to use but I'm not sure if I want to build up the Yukon or get a new truck. If I were to get a new truck it would probably be an F250 with 6.2V8. Here's what I'm wanting to accomplish with the vehicle...
1. RELIABILITY!!! So far the Yukon hasn't left me stranded, but it's 14 years old an worries me. Especially things like electrical connections etc. that may go bad and it's really, really difficult to track them down. One of the major things I'd look into with fixing up the Yukon would be to mitigate this as much as possible. Along with other reliability issues. The truck is also starting to develop some surface rust on the frame and suspension parts. I got a quote from a restorer in OKC that said they'd take the body off the frame, strip and re-paint the entire frame for $800. So that's definitely going to happen.
2. Vehicle needs to be able to two our travel trailer (about 6k lbs) with possibility of upgrading a little in the future. Of course the 8.1 V8 accomplishes this and so would an F250. I say this only because whatever suspension mods need to keep this in mind.
3. While I bet it would be a rare occasion that I'd be camping out of the truck, I do use it to get in to some rough spots for hunting. Then while there I would love to have some "creature comforts" like maybe some running water (for cleaning deer, maybe showering during early season) LED exterior lighting, winch, bumpers and roof rack that would utilize as much of the roof as possible for putting ice chests, spare tire etc. I've even contemplated wedging the truck in to some trees and using the roof as a "deer stand" on the rare occasion I'm rifle hunting.
4. I'd like to get at least some 33" tires under there. The truck actually has surprisingly low clearance with the 265's on there now. As previously stated, it's not an "off road vehicle" but I would like to get in to the mountains when we travel to CO / UT at least once a year and driving up some of the old forest roads to explore mining towns is fun. It would be nice to be able to do those sorts of trips without having to rent a jeep somewhere. So far nothing we've traveled in rented jeeps really seemed all that difficult. Especially if I had a little more ground clearance. My biggest concern is the break over angle. Anything to help not break a drive shaft would be good too. Most of the time, what I need "off road" is good performance in the mud. I mean clay, stick in your tires mud.
So, what do you guys think? Any suggestions or opinions on keeping the Yukon or getting the F250? The thing I really like about the Yukon is that it tows really well, and on more than one occasion I've had 7 people on road trips.
So I imagine I'll probably have at least $20K to use but I'm not sure if I want to build up the Yukon or get a new truck. If I were to get a new truck it would probably be an F250 with 6.2V8. Here's what I'm wanting to accomplish with the vehicle...
1. RELIABILITY!!! So far the Yukon hasn't left me stranded, but it's 14 years old an worries me. Especially things like electrical connections etc. that may go bad and it's really, really difficult to track them down. One of the major things I'd look into with fixing up the Yukon would be to mitigate this as much as possible. Along with other reliability issues. The truck is also starting to develop some surface rust on the frame and suspension parts. I got a quote from a restorer in OKC that said they'd take the body off the frame, strip and re-paint the entire frame for $800. So that's definitely going to happen.
2. Vehicle needs to be able to two our travel trailer (about 6k lbs) with possibility of upgrading a little in the future. Of course the 8.1 V8 accomplishes this and so would an F250. I say this only because whatever suspension mods need to keep this in mind.
3. While I bet it would be a rare occasion that I'd be camping out of the truck, I do use it to get in to some rough spots for hunting. Then while there I would love to have some "creature comforts" like maybe some running water (for cleaning deer, maybe showering during early season) LED exterior lighting, winch, bumpers and roof rack that would utilize as much of the roof as possible for putting ice chests, spare tire etc. I've even contemplated wedging the truck in to some trees and using the roof as a "deer stand" on the rare occasion I'm rifle hunting.
4. I'd like to get at least some 33" tires under there. The truck actually has surprisingly low clearance with the 265's on there now. As previously stated, it's not an "off road vehicle" but I would like to get in to the mountains when we travel to CO / UT at least once a year and driving up some of the old forest roads to explore mining towns is fun. It would be nice to be able to do those sorts of trips without having to rent a jeep somewhere. So far nothing we've traveled in rented jeeps really seemed all that difficult. Especially if I had a little more ground clearance. My biggest concern is the break over angle. Anything to help not break a drive shaft would be good too. Most of the time, what I need "off road" is good performance in the mud. I mean clay, stick in your tires mud.
So, what do you guys think? Any suggestions or opinions on keeping the Yukon or getting the F250? The thing I really like about the Yukon is that it tows really well, and on more than one occasion I've had 7 people on road trips.
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