Good Morning All,
I'm in the fortunate situation of having just received a company vehicle and will be able to sell my commuter/work vehicle and get a more fun vehicle...AKA a vehicle where fuel mileage doesn't matter anymore. The proceeds from the sale of my Camry and the expendable funds I'm allocating should net me somewhere in the neighborhood of $10k and while I'd love to have a pickup (having had a pickup before this camry) it just doesn't seem like a truck that fits my needs (AKA a crew cab 1/2 ton or larger) that sells for around $10k (at least in Texas) is worth buying. They're all ragged out or super high mileage or just in some way undesirable.....but something that would similarly meet my needs - and in some ways be better for my family of 4 plus a dog - would be a suburban. We take several road trips a year and my pickup was great but we also tend to travel with family so a suburban may actually be better. From an offroad perspective either could meet my needs. You can find clean low-ish mile 4x4 suburbans for 10k a little easier.
All that said - I go back and forth on what kind of suburban. I have significant experience driving similar vehicles - my first vehicle was a GMT400 K1500 pickup and my mom had a GMT800 2wd suburban for years that became an extra car for my family over the years. I don't have a strong opinion about driving one or the other - I think both would suit my needs and I'd enjoy both similarly - but one thing I don't have is experience maintaining either with higher mileage, modifying them, etc. I also don't have experience with the 2500. I definitely wouldn't need a 2500 but i'll load up a 1500 and on occasion pull a big enough trailer where a 2500 would be nice so I'm not against the idea as long as the ride isn't punishing.
I'd LOVE to have a square body but I don't think I can sell my wife on that old of a vehicle being the family road trip machine.
I'd love to hear the pros and cons from all of the vast experience on this forum with each of those platforms, so learn me up.
I'm in the fortunate situation of having just received a company vehicle and will be able to sell my commuter/work vehicle and get a more fun vehicle...AKA a vehicle where fuel mileage doesn't matter anymore. The proceeds from the sale of my Camry and the expendable funds I'm allocating should net me somewhere in the neighborhood of $10k and while I'd love to have a pickup (having had a pickup before this camry) it just doesn't seem like a truck that fits my needs (AKA a crew cab 1/2 ton or larger) that sells for around $10k (at least in Texas) is worth buying. They're all ragged out or super high mileage or just in some way undesirable.....but something that would similarly meet my needs - and in some ways be better for my family of 4 plus a dog - would be a suburban. We take several road trips a year and my pickup was great but we also tend to travel with family so a suburban may actually be better. From an offroad perspective either could meet my needs. You can find clean low-ish mile 4x4 suburbans for 10k a little easier.
All that said - I go back and forth on what kind of suburban. I have significant experience driving similar vehicles - my first vehicle was a GMT400 K1500 pickup and my mom had a GMT800 2wd suburban for years that became an extra car for my family over the years. I don't have a strong opinion about driving one or the other - I think both would suit my needs and I'd enjoy both similarly - but one thing I don't have is experience maintaining either with higher mileage, modifying them, etc. I also don't have experience with the 2500. I definitely wouldn't need a 2500 but i'll load up a 1500 and on occasion pull a big enough trailer where a 2500 would be nice so I'm not against the idea as long as the ride isn't punishing.
I'd LOVE to have a square body but I don't think I can sell my wife on that old of a vehicle being the family road trip machine.
I'd love to hear the pros and cons from all of the vast experience on this forum with each of those platforms, so learn me up.