toddz69
Explorer
Wow! Best of luck there - you're leaving behind some big shoes to fill here!
Todd Z.
ExPo's 2000 7.3 Excursion Build
- Thread starter Chris Cordes
- Start date
Wow! Best of luck there - you're leaving behind some big shoes to fill here!
Todd Z.
Stackdeezy
New member
Following this thread! I started my build for a "do everything" adventure truck and ended up with a 2001 Excursion with a 12V cummins in it! 
Future plans are a platform, roof rack, bumpers, custom interior, etc. until I'm broke or bored.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Future plans are a platform, roof rack, bumpers, custom interior, etc. until I'm broke or bored.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
No worries im still on staff, just working remotely and coming back every few months
Following this thread! I started my build for a "do everything" adventure truck and ended up with a 2001 Excursion with a 12V cummins in it!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Now thats a big excursion
Stackdeezy
New member
No worries im still on staff, just working remotely and coming back every few months
Now thats a big excursion
Ha! It's only gotten bigger with the TW recentered hummer wheels and 37's!
Love the 12v Cummins though
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ha! It's only gotten bigger with the TW recentered hummer wheels and 37's!
Love the 12v Cummins though
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Got a build thread anywhere?
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
I know I'm coming late to this party but I have to say I like the way the Excursion is looking so far. And it is nice to see a full sized SUV build as opposed to the pickups that you typically see. When I was vehicle shopping in 2015 I briefly considered an Excursion since they were within my price range but I very quickly realized that for our little 2000lb T@B they were overkill in the extreme.
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I've also been coming to the same conclusions and much the same "evolution." 15 years ago my "dream truck" was an extended cab 1st gen Tacoma with a 5 speed, a topper and a simple sleeping platform - it seemed that combo had everything I needed and nothing that I didn't. But over the years and having along the way acquired a wife, I'd come to realize that wasn't going to work for me if I really wanted to get out into the back country.
.
Of course, some might argue that pulling a travel trailer automatically disqualifies you from going into the real "wild" but funny thing - since we got our first trailer (a homebuilt teardrop) our nights of camping have increased by about 1500% so I'd call that an improvement. Between 2007, when I got my Tacoma, and 2011, which was the last year we didn't have the trailer, the wife and I camped (together) for a total of....3 nights. And even by myself I camped a total of about 16 nights. Since we got a trailer we now camp an average of 50 - 60 nights each year! In fact, starting in about April, we are pretty much camping every other weekend, at minimum, and since 2012 we have taken at least one "big" trip each year (which I define as any trip that takes us more than 1 day to get to our destination.
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Does having the trailer "cramp our style?" Well, sort of, in the sense that we don't have the "freedom" to just point the truck down a road and be sure we can find someplace to camp. In reality, though, what it does is simply changes our "style" of camping to more of a "base camp" style, i.e. we go to a known location (sometimes a state park but sometimes a known boondocking site) and set up camp, and then we explore from there, knowing that at the end of the day we will come back to a safe and secure campsite with a comfortable place to sleep.
.
We tried to have the best of both worlds - keep the smaller tow vehicle (my '07 4runner) and still pull the trailer but we discovered after a cross-country trip (from Denver up to the Dakotas, across to the UP Of Michigan and then into Canada, Niagara Falls and over to the Hudson River valley in NY) that while the V6 4runner was adequate, "adequate" was all it was, and so the search for a proper tow vehicle began. Much as I had resisted going domestic in the past, I finally came to the conclusion that there were some things that the American manufacturers just did better and decided on the Suburban.
.
I had always avoided "full sized" trucks in the past, because of the perception that they were poorly built, consumed too much fuel and were "more truck" than I really needed. But I did some objective research and determined that most of my fears were groundless (the quality of ALL vehicles having improved significantly since the 1980s) and that the "penalty" of a full sized vehicle would be negligible (indeed, I found that when towing the T@B, my MPG in the Suburban is either within 1mpg or in some cases even BETTER than the MPG I was getting when pulling with the V6 4runner!)
.
And oh, that interior space! No more was I trying to shoehorn stuff in the back, or figuring that I'd have to "do without" when packing for a trip. Everything went in easily and even better, since I didn't have to pile one box on top of another, it was easy to access anything I needed. We even found room for a 3rd person to go along - in September we took my 79 year old mother on a 7-day/6-night trip to Yellowstone National Park (which she had never seen.) Even with Mom in the back seat we all had plenty of room to stretch out and plenty of room for all our gear.
.
I think for a single guy or gal on their own, a small or mid-sized rig can be a great choice. Even a younger couple with no kids can probably be comfortable in a smaller vehicle. But at our age, with our type of travel, the full size is what makes the most sense.
.
I had one of those:
.
.
Mine had the 345 V8 and 4 speed - and MANUAL steering, if you can believe that! Unfortunately it also had the problematic tailgate with the roll-down window that never worked so it was a PITA to load and unload. Sadly, I traded it in on an inferior (but much better looking) 71 Blazer (because I was a dumb kid of 21) but nevertheless the old Travelall was a great vehicle. It had the biggest fuel capacity of any vehicle I owned - 20 gallons in one tank and 10 in the other - until I got my '04 Suburban in 2015 which beats the old corn binder by a single gallon.
.
:iagree: Having the Suburban has definitely spoiled me. At most, I could see myself going "down" to a Tahoe-sized rig, but no smaller.
.
.
I've also been coming to the same conclusions and much the same "evolution." 15 years ago my "dream truck" was an extended cab 1st gen Tacoma with a 5 speed, a topper and a simple sleeping platform - it seemed that combo had everything I needed and nothing that I didn't. But over the years and having along the way acquired a wife, I'd come to realize that wasn't going to work for me if I really wanted to get out into the back country.
.
Of course, some might argue that pulling a travel trailer automatically disqualifies you from going into the real "wild" but funny thing - since we got our first trailer (a homebuilt teardrop) our nights of camping have increased by about 1500% so I'd call that an improvement. Between 2007, when I got my Tacoma, and 2011, which was the last year we didn't have the trailer, the wife and I camped (together) for a total of....3 nights. And even by myself I camped a total of about 16 nights. Since we got a trailer we now camp an average of 50 - 60 nights each year! In fact, starting in about April, we are pretty much camping every other weekend, at minimum, and since 2012 we have taken at least one "big" trip each year (which I define as any trip that takes us more than 1 day to get to our destination.
.
Does having the trailer "cramp our style?" Well, sort of, in the sense that we don't have the "freedom" to just point the truck down a road and be sure we can find someplace to camp. In reality, though, what it does is simply changes our "style" of camping to more of a "base camp" style, i.e. we go to a known location (sometimes a state park but sometimes a known boondocking site) and set up camp, and then we explore from there, knowing that at the end of the day we will come back to a safe and secure campsite with a comfortable place to sleep.
.
We tried to have the best of both worlds - keep the smaller tow vehicle (my '07 4runner) and still pull the trailer but we discovered after a cross-country trip (from Denver up to the Dakotas, across to the UP Of Michigan and then into Canada, Niagara Falls and over to the Hudson River valley in NY) that while the V6 4runner was adequate, "adequate" was all it was, and so the search for a proper tow vehicle began. Much as I had resisted going domestic in the past, I finally came to the conclusion that there were some things that the American manufacturers just did better and decided on the Suburban.
.
I had always avoided "full sized" trucks in the past, because of the perception that they were poorly built, consumed too much fuel and were "more truck" than I really needed. But I did some objective research and determined that most of my fears were groundless (the quality of ALL vehicles having improved significantly since the 1980s) and that the "penalty" of a full sized vehicle would be negligible (indeed, I found that when towing the T@B, my MPG in the Suburban is either within 1mpg or in some cases even BETTER than the MPG I was getting when pulling with the V6 4runner!)
.
And oh, that interior space! No more was I trying to shoehorn stuff in the back, or figuring that I'd have to "do without" when packing for a trip. Everything went in easily and even better, since I didn't have to pile one box on top of another, it was easy to access anything I needed. We even found room for a 3rd person to go along - in September we took my 79 year old mother on a 7-day/6-night trip to Yellowstone National Park (which she had never seen.) Even with Mom in the back seat we all had plenty of room to stretch out and plenty of room for all our gear.
.
I think for a single guy or gal on their own, a small or mid-sized rig can be a great choice. Even a younger couple with no kids can probably be comfortable in a smaller vehicle. But at our age, with our type of travel, the full size is what makes the most sense.
.
.
I had one of those:
.
.
Mine had the 345 V8 and 4 speed - and MANUAL steering, if you can believe that! Unfortunately it also had the problematic tailgate with the roll-down window that never worked so it was a PITA to load and unload. Sadly, I traded it in on an inferior (but much better looking) 71 Blazer (because I was a dumb kid of 21) but nevertheless the old Travelall was a great vehicle. It had the biggest fuel capacity of any vehicle I owned - 20 gallons in one tank and 10 in the other - until I got my '04 Suburban in 2015 which beats the old corn binder by a single gallon.
.
.
:iagree: Having the Suburban has definitely spoiled me. At most, I could see myself going "down" to a Tahoe-sized rig, but no smaller.
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
Welcome to the dark side
Yes full sizes have a lot of advantages. We are looking to pick up an airstream sometime soon which is why weve left the 4runner behind. Great vehicle, just not enough towing cap
Chris Cordes
Expedition Leader
So we're getting settled finally and mods are beginning once more. So far... this happened Sorry for cell photos
Sorry for cell photos
Littlehouse
Adventurer
I love this thing!
bigskypylot
Explorer
So we're getting settled finally and mods are beginning once more. So far... this happened
This will blend right in with traffic down there
darkjedi351
Observer
nice excursion! I've been trying to decide between a ARB or Fusion front bumper for my F250. after seeing your rig it's ARB all the way. how much synthetic line does the 16.5 hold and how heavy is the bumper and winch combo?
I saw something when researching the arb bumper for my truck about a single row Baja designs light bar fitting in that slot above the winch. Also mainline overland has light pods that replace the arb marker lights. they hold something like a D2 cube and a 6" light on each side but they're currently redesigning them.
I saw something when researching the arb bumper for my truck about a single row Baja designs light bar fitting in that slot above the winch. Also mainline overland has light pods that replace the arb marker lights. they hold something like a D2 cube and a 6" light on each side but they're currently redesigning them.