Attention Chevy Guys: I need some advice

[KCSA75]

I've been a Ford guy most of my life, but a month or so ago, my 2004 Explorer was totaled in a car accident and now I'm in the the market for a NTM second car.

A local dealer has a 1999 Suburban 2500 2WD with about 141K miles that appears to be real clean. The attraction for me is that it would probably handle our 32-foot travel trailer a little (a lot?) better than my F-150.

Most of my experience with Chevy's -- save my '72 C-10 pickup which I'm restoring -- hasn't been real good. But Suburbans seem to hold their value and the fact that there are a lot of them for sale with 250,000 to 275,000 miles tells me this old girl might still have some useful life left.

What say you?

[Cannon]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

I've been a Ford guy most of my life, but a month or so ago, my 2004 Explorer was totaled in a car accident and now I'm in the the market for a NTM second car.

A local dealer has a 1999 Suburban 2500 4WD with about 141K miles that appears to be real clean. The attraction for me is that it would probably handle our 32-foot travel trailer a little (a lot?) better than my F-150.

Most of my experience with Chevy's -- save my '72 C-10 pickup which I'm restoring -- hasn't been real good. But Suburbans seem to hold their value and the fact that there are a lot of them for sale with 250,000 to 275,000 miles tells me this old girl might still have some useful life left.

What say you?

I use to tow a 32' with a 2500 4wd. It tows good but likes the gas, but anything that tows good likes the juice.

[Bookemdanno]

We had the Suburban 2500’s in our fleet and they were unstoppable. When we switched to the 1500’s and Expeditions there was no comparison. We have a couple newer ones still in service and the guys driving them refuse to give them up for a newer vehicle! That’s about all I can tell you...good luck! Let us know what you decide.

[topshelfredlabel]

[QUOTE=KCSA75;667642]A local dealer has a 1999 Suburban 2500 2WD with about 141K miles that appears to be real clean. The attraction for me is that it would probably handle our 32-foot travel trailer a little (a lot?) better than my F-150.[QUOTE]

Not a Chevy guy, but I do own a bone stock 2000 Ford Excursion that I occasionally tow my 33' Octane 272 TH (~7,800 lbs ready to camp, ~9,300 loaded with the toy) with. Having owned and towed with an F-150 in the past, its not even close to the Excursion when comparing control and handling under a heavy load. The Excursions were built on the F-250 frames, similar to the 2500 Suburbans. Its a much heavier rig than the 1/2 ton. My Excursion is not my dedicated TV, so I have kept it bone stock, but I know people who tow more weight than I do with both Excursions and Suburbans (2500) as their primary TV with minimal mods to the rear suspension. If its clean and has been well-maintained, it ought to have plenty of life left in it. Make sure you do your homework on a proper WDH as the longer TT will tend to wag the Suburban more than it would a truck with a longer wheel base, especially since the rear suspension is softer compared to a 3/4 ton pick up. I dialed my WDH in with several weigh ins and use a P3 brake controller and have never had any issues.

[SloPoke]

We still have our 93 half-ton. Used to tow our old TT with it for years. Still runs great today!!!

[Camper_bob]

It's hard to go wrong with a Suburban. I've owned 2, and my dad owns one now. My BIL used to own a 3/4T version and it was one mean beast (in a good way). My FIL owned one when DW and I were dating and it was a great truck.

Good, clean 2500 versions are hard to come by these days. Most of them that I've seen have been beaten to death.

That 7.4 will be thirsty though!

[DocBrown]

If it was well maintained you'll easily get 250k+ out of it. Keep in mind that age is a worse enemy than miles at this point. You will stick a few bucks into it. I had a '95 1500 'Burb that I bought with 95k on it. When it had about 150k I gave it to my dad. He just gave it to my brother, I think it's got about 210k on it. I also owned an '80 'Burb, and an '85. All served me well.

One thing to watch for especially if they use salt in the winter down you are, is rusty brake and gas lines.

Do your research, check Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds for an idea how much you should really pay for it.

[tcanthonyii]

Hard to kill that truck. I would love to have it.

[Chet & Marie]

Had a 99. Got 200k on it and gave to son-in-law. They drove it to 300k and he sold it. Ran great but held together with masking tape.

[DC8Captain]

I have a 2002 Suburban 2500. It has about 196K miles on it and still runs smoothly. I did have to rebuild the tranny about 15K miles ago. It was not an Allison transmission though.

[DOUBLETROUBLE]

Being that it is a 2500 with the 7.4 it will be thirsty when towing but it will pull whatever you put behind it. With the bigger engine comes the heavier transmission as well. That one should have the 4L80E trans or an Allison. Either one are hard to beat, also has the big rear to. Do you know the gear ratio? I have a 1500 burban and love it. I'm towing a 29' TT with it but have only done a short test run so far. Had I known we would be buying a camper I would have passed the 1500 and searched for a 2500 myself.
Just my $.02