• DCRC 2024

looking for bigger grocery getter....

R

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I had a Ford Exploder, I mean Explorer. It got to 160K miles and pretty much exploded on me. New trans, transfercase, heads, rack-n-pinion, you name it. I finally sold it once I put $5K into it.

I would vote for an Expedition over a Tahoe. I love the Expeditions I have owned. I just sold a really sweet one and will buy another when they put the Eco-Boost in a year or so. The last row seats fold into the floor, they drive nice and tow very well. I waited to get my last Expedition until the new GM's came out. When that rear seat folded up against the 2nd row, I went back and ordered my Expedition. You loose so much room in the back of the Tahoe's with that seat not folding flat.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
LT. said:
Whatever you go with i would recommend test driving every choice. You may find a feature on a vehicle that you cant live without even though you dont get that vehicle. You may want a paticular feature on the vehicle you do end up with.
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x2, great advice here.
 
cuban b

cuban b

You're all WEAK SAUCE!
Location
pleasant grove, UT
The tahoe 3rd row is annoying. It's fine to sit in, but you pretty much have to remove the seats to have any storage. With only two kids though you will have more than enough options
 
T

Tee

Tanned Fat Looks Better!
Location
Highland, Utah
pELYgroso said:
I hadn't thought about the durangos! I'll check those out! I have seen a few of those w/ a 2"-ish lift and some AT tires that looked pretty nice. How was your Boss's w/ mileage? over 15 mpg's?
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In town they were comparable. Out on the highway his was only getting 15/16 where as mine will get 20-21.
 
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pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
cuban b said:
tahoes and suburbans can tow. In my world, that makes them dominate over exploders, troopers, and grand cherokees.
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This is also something that I have in the back of my mind. Not a must have for this rig but a plus. Anything that has mentioned will tow better than our 22're runner, so.....
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Vehicular limbo
pELYgroso said:
'00+ Explorer - don't know much about these as far as motor/drivetrain/luxuries go but they're a little bigger than the WJ and seem like they may have decent ground clearance for camping although I don't think I've seen one w/ a mild lift on it before. Can come w/ V6 for a little more fuel efficiency I think. They seem to be about the size that I think I'm looking for.
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I owned a 2000, took it from 40k to 180k before it got tired and it would have had more left in it if I hadn't stopped taking care of it. Pros - huge inside, and very comfy, even for a guy my size. The 4.0 V6 and automatic had all the power I wanted on the freeway and returned 16 mpg mixed driving, I'd push 18 or 19 on the freeway. 20 gallon tank would keep me on the freeway forever. I could fit half my house in the back. Truck was heavy and low enough that crosswinds didn't bother it much, and I towed over 4000 pounds on flat land a couple times with no issues. Cons - ControlTrac 4wd almost got me killed a couple times, I disabled the ABS to stop the 4wd from kicking on without warning (there probably was a better way to do that). Suspension tuned for a soccer mom got very squishy offroad. Motor was a PITA to work on, when I had to, not much room in the bay at all. Horrible angles with the stock bumpers. Torsion bar IFS isn't my favorite. Not much aftermarket support, especially lift-wise... 31s would have just barely fit at stock height, the easiest way to get higher if I'd had to would have been a spring-over in the rear and a modified Ranger lift spindle in the front. They're supposed to be stupid easy to SAS, I never looked into it.

I had it in and out of the Maze District and the Swell several times - I never took it on a "trail", but it handled rough roads and washouts and the occassional ledge or big rock much better than a grocery getter is supposed to. I'd like to own one again some day. I think for a family hauler and back roader with your budget, it'd be hard to do better.
 
TRD270

TRD270

Emptying Pockets Again
Supporting Member
Location
SaSaSandy
What about a 2003+ expedition? I have a couple friends with them and they love them. One tows a 25ft camper with it with no issues, if towing is a need. They are also available in an "extended" version if you want suburban size, one of my friends added another row of seats in this version to fit his 8 :eek: children
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
A fair bit over your budget, but I just bought a new truck yesterday and traded my Rover. I haven't delivered it to them yet so I'd sell for what I traded it for. It's a 2007 Land Rover LR3 with a V8, 89k miles, etc. fully loaded. If you're interested hit me up, I'm supposed to turn it in when my truck shows up (Monday or Tuesday).
 
pELYgroso

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
We went and looked at a few SUVs today. Drove an '02 explorer w/ the 4.0 v6 and it felt pretty good. Anybody have experience w/ longevity of these engines? Also drove an '01 Highlander w/ the 3.0 v6. That felt really good as well. We actually liked it better than the explorer, but there are none to be found on the interwebs much under 200k miles. Anybody have experience w/ the 3.0 v6? Also drove a 4 cyl. Highlander and ruled that out right away. We're going to look at some Tahoe's tomorrow. There are a lot on ksl w/ around 150k miles. how are the 5.3 engines for longevity? Obviously besides normal wear stuff like alternator, water pump, etc. how do the engines last? Can we expect over 200k pretty easily w/ good maintenance? I also see some GMC Envoys on ksl in our price range. Any input on those?

Thanks guys!
 
Caleb

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
FWIW, I'd never consider an Explorer. I watched my in-laws roll three times in theirs after loosing control on a small amount of snow (my Jetta had zero issues and never slipped once). Oddly enough, theirs was an 02 as well. I have pics somewhere of their vehicle afterwards. Needless to say, it rolled far too easy, I'll never ride in one again, let alone put my wife wife and family in one.
 
Greg

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
pELYgroso said:
We went and looked at a few SUVs today. Drove an '02 explorer w/ the 4.0 v6 and it felt pretty good. Anybody have experience w/ longevity of these engines? Also drove an '01 Highlander w/ the 3.0 v6. That felt really good as well. We actually liked it better than the explorer, but there are none to be found on the interwebs much under 200k miles. Anybody have experience w/ the 3.0 v6? Also drove a 4 cyl. Highlander and ruled that out right away. We're going to look at some Tahoe's tomorrow. There are a lot on ksl w/ around 150k miles. how are the 5.3 engines for longevity? Obviously besides normal wear stuff like alternator, water pump, etc. how do the engines last? Can we expect over 200k pretty easily w/ good maintenance? I also see some GMC Envoys on ksl in our price range. Any input on those?

Thanks guys!
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IMO the newer GM's will last a long time with minimal issues. 250k+ should be expected... we have some 2003+ GM trucks at work that get driven often & used hard... one of them is over 300k miles and it's never had engine/trans/t-case issues. The front suspension isn't very tight, but you'd expect that. That truck is a 3/4 ton with a 6.0 and 4L80E... it is weighed down with hy-rail gear and has a bed full of tools, so it's getting worked all the time.

I think a Tahoe would make a good family rig... decent mileage, can tow if needed.... big enough, but not Suburban-huge.
 
Houndoc

Houndoc

Registered User
Location
Grantsville
We had a Yukon XL- nice family SUV. Bigger than a Tahoe, but mpg etc basically the same so why not enjoy the space? Especially nice when traveling.

Currently have a 2002 extended cab Silverado 1500 (mine) and 2004 Silverado Crew Cab 2500 Duramax (wife's). The extended cab has a surprisingly comfortable back seat and again far more storage room than any SUV (have a shell on the 2500).

The 1500 has 175k miles, the 2500 325k. Both running great (knock on wood...)

Used to like Durangos (had one in late '90s) but now hate all things Chrysler....
 
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