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Old 12-14-2013, 12:20 AM   #1
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Suburban 3/4 ton vs. Excursion

We're considering moving from our Ram to a SUV for a tow vehicle. I want a 3/4 ton suspension and somewhat decent power. Going from my Cummins to pretty much anything else is going to be painful. Who has an Excursion or Suburban who would be willing to share your thoughts and experiences?

I would be looking at early-mid 2000's rigs. V10 for an Excursion or probably 8.1l for a Suburban. My trailer hovers around 1000 lbs. tongue weight and 8000 lbs. overall, maybe a bit more for extended trips. We tow over the mountain passes a fair amount, so needs to have some power.

I like the 'Burb a bit more on initial impression, but the V10 Excursions seem somewhat plentiful around here in seemingly nice shape.
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Old 12-14-2013, 06:46 AM   #2
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Either one you will be happy with. I personally am a chevy fan and we bought a 3/4 ton suburban and it is very nice to tow with. I would go with the 6.0 instead of the 8.1 you will not feel the power difference but you will notice a slight and i mean slight difference at the pump. The Chevys in the years you are looking at had the 4;10 rear axle and that is where you make your power. My brother is a ford guy( must be adopted) he used the excursions as his tow vehicles with the 5.4 and the 3:73 rear axle and was never really happy until he went with the diesel excursion. This is just my experience with what you are looking at and hope you find it helpful.
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Old 12-14-2013, 11:42 AM   #3
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I had a 2000 Excursion with a Triton V-10 and it towed my 8200lb Flagstaff with ease. 16mpg not towing, 9.5mpg towing. Traded that in on an 05 Excursion with the 6.0l diesel. 19mpg not towing, 11mpg towing the same trailer. Both are rated with 1200lbs on the tongue with WDH. Both my Excursions were powerful, comfortable rides. IMO, the Triton V-10 was/is one of the best engines Ford ever produced. I can't say that about the 6.0l, but I really didn't have that many problems with mine. I would shy away from the 5.4 in the Excursion as they are very heavy vehicles and although it's fine for everyday driving, towing with it might be a little underpowered. Robert is right though, either vehicle would suit you just fine.
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Old 12-14-2013, 08:58 PM   #4
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We own a 2002 Excursion, we pull a 35.5 foot Jayco, about 9300 lbs loaded. the only problems is towing up big hills. on the flat and level we keep it in overdrive and cruise on and let me tell you when 18 wheelers pass me the truck and trailer doesn't move. We get about 9 mpg towing and about 14 empty. The power is there and comfort is up there with the best of them. We have airbags on the back and that helps. We gross out around 17,000 lbs. Our Excursion is a 4x4 and I think that with springs on all four corners that the truck handles better. When we are ready to go camping the front wheel fender in 1/4 inch difference then when the truck is empty. Truck and trailer tows great.
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Old 12-15-2013, 02:21 AM   #5
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I went from the Suburban to the Ram 2500 Cummins... Sorry, but I can't imagine having to go back...
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Old 12-15-2013, 09:25 AM   #6
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If your buying new order the 'burb with the Dmax engine option..
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Old 12-15-2013, 09:41 AM   #7
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If your buying new order the 'burb with the Dmax engine option..
I beleive the 2015 burb and yukons will only offer the 5.3l or 6.2l gas engines, no dmax
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Old 12-15-2013, 12:07 PM   #8
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I beleive the 2015 burb and yukons will only offer the 5.3l or 6.2l gas engines, no dmax
X2

GM has been toying with the idea of a Turbo V6, and possibly a diesel..., but not yet. I live near the GM Proving Grounds in Michigan and often see GM masked vehicles driving around the area...., I thought I heard a 'diesel' under what appeared to be a masked Yukon this past summer.

Bob
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Old 12-15-2013, 12:24 PM   #9
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I beleive the 2015 burb and yukons will only offer the 5.3l or 6.2l gas engines, no dmax
I've always wondered why GM hasn't offered the Duramax in the 3/4 ton Suburban. You would think they use the same frame as their 3/4 ton pickups. My Excursions were on the same frame as the F-250/350 short box crew cabs. It would be nice to have that kind of torque in a Suburban.
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Old 12-15-2013, 12:36 PM   #10
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Chevy or Ford?? You're choice, nothing more.
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Old 12-15-2013, 05:20 PM   #11
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We have the 6.8 V10 in our F350, and it tows our 11,000# trailer with ease. Absolutely the best towing vehicle I've ever had. Because GM customer service once admitted to me that their warranties were essentially worthless if you are too far from the selling dealer to take it back there, I would never have a GM unit again. I was out in Wyoming some years ago when my Suburban with an almost new engine failed, and GM refused warranty coverage, simply because I couldn't get written permission from the selling dealer in Virginia to replace the engine. They never disputed the defective engine - just relied on the technicality of distance to refuse my claim. So we got an F350 and never looked back.
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Old 12-15-2013, 08:47 PM   #12
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I've always wondered why GM hasn't offered the Duramax in the 3/4 ton Suburban. You would think they use the same frame as their 3/4 ton pickups. My Excursions were on the same frame as the F-250/350 short box crew cabs. It would be nice to have that kind of torque in a Suburban.
I pull a 2013 Jayco Eagle 334rbts with a 2011 Suburban 3/4 ton. I took the burb to a pro welding shop and they beefed up the receiver with a nice weld job. The spare tire now rides inside and I strap it down tight. The beef up is certified 1400 lbs with wdh. But the point I wanted to make is I wouldn't want to tow a 37 ft pull behind that weighs more than 10,000 lbs. that's what fifth wheels are for. So newer 3/4 burbs don't need a dura max. The 6.0 iron block and the suspension, frame, tires, tranny, etc. does great with a 10,000 lb long trailer.
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Old 12-16-2013, 08:00 PM   #13
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A while back before I trended in my 'burb I found this company (http://www.youtube.com/user/DuraBurbinc). The owner posts often on dieselplace and his trucks looks awesome.
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Old 12-17-2013, 04:53 AM   #14
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That might explain why I thought I saw and heard a Suburban with a diesel engine?
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Old 12-17-2013, 02:31 PM   #15
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The website lists the 2013 3/4 ton Suburban at 9600 lbs max towing, that seems low to me. That's the same as my 1/2 ton Sierra 5.3. You can get more out of the pickups with the 6L engine. Not sure about the payload though, that's usually the limiting factor with a trailer on the 1/2 tons...
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Old 12-17-2013, 08:30 PM   #16
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I went from the Suburban to the Ram 2500 Cummins... Sorry, but I can't imagine having to go back...
I'm kind of leaning back in this direction... working on a plan to keep the Cummins and get a used Tahoe or Sequoia for family daily driver duties and road trips without the trailer. Having a 3rd row and a bit more elbow room does sound nice, but it's going to be hard to part with my Cummins Ram that I've put so much time into making/keeping nice.
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Old 12-17-2013, 08:58 PM   #17
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We used to pull a 2000 31 ft Eagle TT with an 02 Excursion diesel. It did ok but wasn't great for towing. Traded the tt for a new eagle 5th wheel and got a 13 ram 3500 cummins to pull it. I've got a 97 & an 04 dodge both with cummins diesels. The new truck tows even better than the others. I would never go back to an SUV or anything gas powered.
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Old 12-17-2013, 10:13 PM   #18
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The original question was: which mid-2000 (gas) SUV -- the Suburban or the Excursion? I would not recommend the Excursion. It was a poorly designed SUV by Ford as way to compete in the "hot" (at the time) SUV market.

As just one example, the Excursion is prone to rear-axle induced steering. When the Excursion is driven over an abnormality in the road surface that affects only the left or right-side wheels, the leaf springs allow axle-wrap to occur, but the axle-wrap is not equal from side to side (as it is under acceleration or braking). The weak leaf springs allow the rear axle to momentarily become out of square with the vehicle's centerline. The rear axle then steers the vehicle briefly, and unexpectedly. As a result, the Excursion will suddenly shoot one way or the other in a lane on the road when you hit a pothole, bump, etc. This then leads to you overcorrecting and sometimes leaving you wondering why your Excursion is so difficult to keep in a straight line. See http://www.supermotors.net/clubs/for...le_1/index.php.

The above can be verified from other websites, including the following:

http://www.faqs.org/car/ford-excursion-2003/suspension/
http://www.faqs.org/car/ford-excursion-2004/suspension/

Bottomline regarding the poorly designed factory suspension: it's a safety issue, especially when towing a trailer. Do a search for suspension issues and/or discussions on rv.net and the like. (it is, however, possible to modify the rear suspension to help eliminate the rear-axle induced steering)

Also, while many think of the Excursion as a "monster" of a truck, and thus capable of towing "anything," the reality is that it has less payload than a 8.1L Suburban. This is due to the heavy curb weight of the Excursion. For your situation, let's run some numbers for a 6.8L V10 4x4 Excursion: curb wt = 7190lbs; GVW = 8900lbs; payload = 1710lbs (8900-7190); tongue wt for a 8000lb trailer at 13% = 1040lbs; new calculated payload = 670lbs (1710 -1040); gasoline wt for a 44gal tank = 273lbs; new calculated payload = 397 (670-273). Without going into further calculations, it should be obvious that adding a couple of passengers and some gear will put you over the "monster" payload (note: the above, calculated payload is most likely less b/c the curb wt of an Excursion, with options installed, is greater than 7190lbs). The heavy Excursion also has a lower towing limit (11,000) vs the 8.1 Suburban (12,000).

For mountain towing, the Excursion also takes a back-seat to the 8.1L Suburban. The Excursion produces a max of 425 pound-feet of torque at 3,250 rpm; the 8.1L Suburban produces 445 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm.

If you do some research, I think you'll find that the Excursion, despite the image/advertising by Ford, was never ready for prime-time as a daily driver or as a tow vehicle (note: despite the poor handling capabilities, many soccer moms found the Excursion desirable from an accident or fender-bender perspective and a passenger/cargo capacity). Hence the reason you'll find many Excursions for sale but not too many 8.1L Suburbans.
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Old 12-18-2013, 02:31 PM   #19
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In my 12 years and 320,000 miles of Excursion ownership, I never experienced any of those issues, nor at any time did I feel unsafe while driving them. Axle wrap was/ is a common problem but not limited to just Excursions.
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For mountain towing, the Excursion also takes a back-seat to the 8.1L Suburban. The Excursion produces a max of 425 pound-feet of torque at 3,250 rpm; the 8.1L Suburban produces 445 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm.
After 2003, they redesigned the V-10, giving it a 3 valves per cylinder upgrade which increased horsepower to 360 and torque to 460 ft. lbs.
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Old 12-18-2013, 08:13 PM   #20
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Hence the reason you'll find many Excursions for sale but not too many 8.1L Suburbans.
I think it's more likely that Excursions far outnumber the 8.1L Suburban, which is the reason that there are more for sale.
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