Honest opinions needed...Car/Truck related

[Hengy]

Hey there all...

Like Lyle, I will be getting a bonus and will be in the market for a vehicle now...I will NOT be buying new... Looking at some options, and would like your collective opinions:

Chevy/GMC Suburban
Chevy/GMC Tahoe/Yukon
Chevy 1500 extended cab
Dodge Durango
Dodge 1500

All of the vehicles will be in the same year range (1996-2000) and will be higher mileage trucks (100k+).

I realize that the Tahoe, Suburban and 1500 truck will all be on pretty much the same platform, but as with anything that has more "gadgets" on it, I would expect more issues with the Suburban/Tahoe than with a pickup, but maybe not...

These vehicles would be used mainly for in-town chores and commute to and from work. Also hauling from Menards/Home Depot, etc. Once or twice per year, I would probably hook a trailer to it and pull Merlin to a cubfest or two...

Thoughts and honest opinions? I know...there isn't a Ford in this list...I am just not a Ford man...sorry...

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[beaconlight]

Mike it all depends on what you will do with it. How many will ride to the cubfests. Three is absolute max in a pick up. I have a dodge 1500 year 2003 but we have Bevs Buick for Sunday go to meeting. I find the open bed of a pickup a plus(8 foot bed) not a shortie. Others may find thqat aq minus. You can always haul what ever on a trailer.
Bigger question in my mind is why not a small PU and then again why not diesel.
What you intend to do with the vehicle should be the decider.

[Hengy]

Well, I have three kids, and my wife has a Grand Caravan that is our primary kid hauler. We want something that we can, in a pinch, carry the kids in if her van breaks down. An extended cab truck will fit that bill in a pinch...the kids are small. I will be hauling small amounts of building materials for my old house, and I want something that will pull a trailer with Merlin in tow, but won't be doing that on a regular basis. I had thought about an Explorer or a Ranger or S-10 extended cab, but those are just not big enough to haul three kids and my wife in a pinch.

My biggest drawback on these larger vehicles is the gas. I know that they drink it...but I drive about 10 miles total on most days (yep...that is a gallon of gas).

What I would actually like is a 2WD truck or suburban...to gain a little bit of fuel economy... But they are rarer than hen's teeth around here...

Mike

[Bigdog]

Mike - whatever you choose will be rough on gas compared to your mini-van. We had a Dodge Durango that we traded off last year. It was handy and with the third seat hauling the kids would be a snap. It had the 318 engine so towing a trailer was no issue. However, mine was a 4 wheel drive and gas mileage was just what you would expect it to be. Finding a 2 wheel drive Durango would certainly be hard though but even in our less frigid climate the FWD came in handy during the winter.

[Lurker Carl]

Here are some alternatives you may not have considered.

Check out a full size passenger van instead of a Suburban. Other than the seats are bulky and heavy to remove (as is the third seat in a Burb), a van gives you much more interior room and will be considerably less expensive. Burbs of the vintage you're interested in tend to be optioned to the max and 4 wheel drive.

Trucks are trucks, each brand has it's flaws. Don't rule out the Toyota Tundra, it's comfortable and reliable but more expensive than comparible Big Three 1/2 ton trucks.

[Merlin]

Mike, I'm partial to Chevy's. I have a 1995 Silverado extended cab with a 4.3 V-6, 227000 miles, that I've pulled tractors all over the south with. Even a Super A from Brandon's house in Ky. Loaded with a Cub on the highway I get between 18 and 21 MPG. My 2 main gripes is it's a short bed and not 3 door. The seats pull up easily though for rear passengers. I gave one thousand dollars for it and put a new windshield in and had it painted black. (It now has a "lope" in it that I need to fix) I have two thousand, two hundred and eighteen dollars in it and am completely satisfied with it. By the way, this is the first used vehicle I've bought to use since 1973. But as for your question, I really don't see a dimes worth of difference in brand names for pickups. But I couldn't bring myself to buy a foreign one though, even though they are probably as good as ours. Decide what will meet your needs and take your time and you will find a good deal.

[gitractorman]

Mike,
I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 that I ordered new. It is a quad cab, 4x4 and has the 360 gas engine in it. The only problem I have had with it is the transmission, and that was due to a faulty sensor. I have pulled a TON of stuff with it, hauling my trailer back and forth to Ohio, 500-miles at a time, and it now has 100,000 miles on it.

In the same time, we have had a whole fleet of chevy trucks here at work, and we just got rid of the last 2001 model, with 85,000 miles on it, because we could not keep it out of the shop. We replaced the transmission in it twice, the computer twice, the drivers door because the hinge BROKE, and had all kinds of problems with the stupid push-button 4x4 system. These trucks have regular service/maintenance, and rarely ever tow or haul anything, but they have LOTS of electrical issues. Computers, transmission controllers, lighting controllers, all going bad. I personally will never own a GM product based on this and other experiences.

If I were in your position, I would be looking real seriously at a 1995 or 1996 Ford Bronco. 1996 was the last year for the Bronco, and there are not a lot of them around, and they had rust issues. But, they are very solid machines, and VERY easy to work on. Not much electrical issues (or components for that matter), DANA axles and Borg-Warner transfer cases, old time 302 or 351 engines that you can find parts for anywhere, and anyone can work on one. The biggest typical issue is rust around the fenders and rear lift gate. Having said that, if you could find a rusty one for $2500 or $3000, and spent $1000 in body work on it, you would have a machine that would last a long time and give you little issues.

If you are going to go with anything else, I would look for a base model or work truck. Electrical issues on most trucks in that era that you are looking in are some pretty serious issues. Lots of problems with computers, and electrical dash components. The base model trucks typically don't have the extra electronics and you can get away from much of the problems.

Just my two cents.
Bill

[RonHarper]

I have a 1995 Silverado extended cab with a 4.3 V-6, (It now has a "lope" in it that I need to fix)

Merlin, One of my work trucks is a 1999 Ford F-250 Super Duty which today has a little over 267000 miles. Last year it developed a lope. I was busy and took it to a local shop. They hooked up all the diagnostic stuff up to it because I guess they thought it must be computer related. They called and said they couldn't find the problem and suggested I take it to the ford dealer. I picked it up and took it home. That weekend I looked under the hood and checked all the non computer stuff. Ends up there was a large vacuum hose going to the intake manifold on the back side that was split almost in two. With the truck running, I pulled it off and put my finger over the port and voilà, it idled like a new truck. Went to town, bought some hose and fixed it. Still runs great and pulls trailers everyday. Just thought Id share that with you.

[Don McCombs]

Mike,

I know you say you're not a Ford man, but I wouldn't rule out an F-150. They're not the number one selling vehicle in the USA for no reason. And I second what Carl says about the Tundra.

[WKPoor]

I will second the motion an a Van. I realize people either love em or hate em, but they really are your biggest bang for the buck. A club van will have ample seating and large cargo area and still can tow a heavy trailer. Of course you won't have a bed to haul in but it depends on what you haul and if you don't mind a trailer for most large items.

A few yrs ago I bought a 1 ton Chevy express new for 18K. Thats about 1/2 what the PU would have cost me. Loads of room to securely store tools and such and I installed 2 flexsteel seats behind the front row for the kids. Seats come out in just minutes for a full 10' inside to haul. Still have almost 8' behind the seats. I regularly tow 10,000lbs plus with no problem.

[Rudi]

Mike:

Well, I used to be a die-hard GM man, but over the last 15 years or so.. well since 1990.. and Em buying that Acclaim.. I have really become a Dodge convert. GM used to be a good vehicle, but has lost a lot of my confidence over the years.

I really would be looking at a Dodge Ram 1500 with an extended cab if you can. Ray has a 95 with well over 200,000km on it.. which is 120,000 + miles. It is a work truck and has never been molly coddled.. it has been worked hard and put away wet.. and it is still in top notch shape. 318 mill and is a 4x4 plows a lot of snow too.

I used to also like full sized vans.. until that last few years or so. Unfortunately they are all rear wheel drive, light on the rear end and are hard to control in winter. About 3 weeks ago, a full sized GM van the type schools use to haul teams and stuff to sports events was involved in a fatal accident. The whole Bathurst Hight Basket Ball team except for the coach and 1 student was killed when the van lost traction in a snow storm, went into a skid and hit a tractor trailer. 7 teenage students died and the coaches wife. His daughter was also with them, but she survived as well.

The province has since banned ALL of these 15 passenger/cargo vans and Enterprise Rent a Car has taken them out of their inventory in NB and NS. I personally will never allow any of my kids in a van such as that ever again. I cringe at the thought that I have allowed them to travel in them before, even knowing the danger these high sided rear wheel light weight vehicles have. The Federal Government is conducting a safety review on the Club/Full sized/Cargo-Passenger vehicles.
So, I would not recommend that type of vehicle, especially in Wisconsin.. where blizzards and other winter storms are not unheard of The Dodge is a good choice. If you can't find a Dodge.. well a nice Tundra might be a good choice. But the Dodge is superior in all aspects. Oh.. another choice might be a slightly newer, say a Dodge Transporter??? it is made in Germany at the Daimler plant and has a Mercedes power train. Nice unit and has options for seating and RV conversions. ( a little more high end and a little newer..)


This is just my opinion ok.. and should be taken as such.

[Russ Leggitt]

Mike,

I also have a 1999 Dodge Durango it has the optional 365 engine with a towing package, which means a lower geared rear end. It is two wheel drive only. I really find it useful for transporting our three grands and all their gear. It has more power than is needed, most times. I pull a 5' x 12' tandum axle trailer and a cub and get 11.5 miles per gallon at 70 miles per hour. I get 15.6 w/o tow. I have 88,000 on it and runs as good as ever. The durango does ride like a "TRUCK", quiet a bit different from your mini-van.

Hope this helps.

[WKPoor]

This is purely my own opinion and means nothing.

Rudi, I know there has been some controversy over full size passenger vans but I've got to tell you my side of the story as a current owner operator.

1st, over the last 20 yrs I've owned both vans and pickups. This current new model van rides and handles every bit as good as any PU did or does now.

2nd, it is not light by any means. I weighed mine and empty it is a little over 6000lbs. More weight is on the rear axle than any PU for sure comparing single wheel vehicles.

3rd, I have compared my van directly with a new chev full size truck in towing and stopping using the same load behind each. The Van won hands down. Towing felt very stable and sure and stopping was much better in side beside comparison using a 6000lb. boat for the test. The PU was comparably equipped.

Anytime you put a 3000lb plus load in a vehicle and it has an accident its going to get national attention if the load is humans. Many times the drivers are inexperienced people that the only time they drive a large vehicle with a load is either for bible school or school functions. Our church has a 15pax van and I know the drivers are usually the same people that drive a Civic every day. Then they loose control of a perfectly good vehicle and it naturally becomes the vehicles fault.

Lastly think about this, My father-n-law is a retired phone man. He drove a van for 30plus yrs fully loaded with phone tools and gear every day in all kinds of weather. He still drives a full size van to this day and loves them. I don't believe they are dangerous but the people who drive them are.

Oh and BTW, My brother needs a FWD PU to pull out the boat and my 2WD van has never slipped a wheel on any boat ramp.

[smigelski]

My opinion as a person that beats trucks to death. I don't abuse them, but use them hard.
1st - don't get anything with push button 4wd.
2nd - large v8 engines won't go over 120,000 miles unless you keep dumping money into them.
3rd - you get a short bed and will kick yourself in the butt more then once
4th - get a diesel will last forever.

I am a chevy man. My dad got ford with a diesel in 1993, it is turning 300,000 miles. we put new "O" rings on the distributor. 2 water pumps, and a starter. new tires and brakes, also tie rods. It still runs strong. I will say that I have dealt with a few ford 6.0 diesels and they are not worth their weight in scrap. With what you want. look around find a diesel and you will have it when your kids go to college.

My chevy is a 2500HD, my only options where am/fm radio and windshield wipers. There is nothing to brake. It runs great and I overload it on a monthly basis. The only problem I have is everything is local. 5 to 8 miles and I burn $85 in gas a week. I should have bought a diesel but cut that corner and now I am paying at the pump.

[farmallcub49]

Mike,

From one Norherner to another, Get the 4WD. It will be nice on them big snowy days or when your in a farmers back grove retreiving Cubs and Cub parts. THis always tends to happen on a rainy day. Nothing worse than having a Ford pull you out or worse yet a Junk Deere!!