Opinions on best newish Suburban or Tahoe

[DoubleDingo]

Having Lola, and wanting to be able to take her on trips, been kicking around the idea of a van, but then looked at Suburban and Tahoe.

Before, traveling with three dogs in the Cherokee, Forester, or Regal wasn't a big deal because they were good travelers.

Lola is not. We have been boarding her, which has only been twice, as we haven't taken longer trips since she attacked Bugsy in 2023. We boarded her two weekends back so I could help my parents split and stack wood, and I didn't want her killing or hurting any of their cats. If I wasn't going to be busy I could have kept an eye on her.

She is much improved, and taking her with us will make her even better. After picking her up after helping my parents, she sh!t all over the jeep between the vet and home, and tracked it everywhere, and I had to spend the whole day cleaning sh!t out of the jeep.

She needs to be crated if traveling, no matter what. That will contain any sh!t or p!ss messes, and she won't be able to run around the entire vehicle.

Having a crate and gear requires a lot more space. Thus, van, suburban or tahoe. Would prefer one with the ls engine, but I know nothing about these newer-ish vehicles.

Sorry for the long post, but an explanation seemed appropriate.

So provide some recommendations if you don't mind. Thanks.

 

[Finkaire]

Loved my Suburban!
Depending on where you live dictates on how much it will cost to fill the tank.
The LS engine is bulletproof. I like the 11th edition 2015 thru 2020, a good looking truck IMHO. Too much electronics on the latest edition. Wouldn’t mind having one myself!

 

[PrairieDrifter]

I'd personally try to stay older than 07-08, whenever the body style changed. Cylinder deactivation/dod is just nothing but a problem child.

But that's just me. They've all had the trans they needed by now, some might be ready for a new engine by now too lol. Like anything you just have to find the right one.

 

[mcarlo86]

I had an '02 Tahoe and an '05 Suburban. Both were dead nuts reliable. I agree with Mason about staying away from the DOD stuff. We test drove a '10 Suburban years back and I didn't like the interior as well as the GMT 800 'burbs either. I have no experience with anything newer than that.

 

[TX87R10]

Hot take here but the used GX-460s from Lexus are the top rated suv for reliability especially for road trips and they are a good 4 wheel vehicle as well.

I'd be looking that direction personally.

 

[TotalyHucked]

GMT800 Suburban or Tahoe/Yukon would be my choice. They run '01-06 and I specifically would pick '03-06 just cuz I like the updated interior better, especially the seats. LS 5.3s and 6.0s (Denali, Escalade and 2500 Suburbans/Yukons only got the 6.0) are dead nuts reliable. The 4L60/65 are known weak points but are fine in stock vehicles and most have been rebuilt/replaced at this point.

My mom bought one when I was in middle school, it was a used '01 or '02 with like 30k miles on it, 2wd 5.3/4L60/3.73. She traded it off at like 202k and we'd done nothing but brakes on it. Steering, motor/trans/axle was all still original and worked great. Got 14ish mpg in town and we regularly saw 19-20hwy.

I've owned 2 myself, an '04 Tahoe and an '04 Yukon. Both L59 5.3s, 4L60, 3.42. The tahoe got totaled before I could really get to do my thing to it but the Yukon was awesome. Easily one of my favorite daily's I've had. Comfy as hell, very useful having such a large enclosed storage area out back (I never had the 3rd row in it), ran great and was easy to park. Traded it off to a buddy in south Ga, he just gave it to his 16yr old son. It's got ~275k on it now with no major work done.

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[DoubleDingo]

Loved my Suburban!
Depending on where you live dictates on how much it will cost to fill the tank.
The LS engine is bulletproof. I like the 11th edition 2015 thru 2020, a good looking truck IMHO. Too much electronics on the latest edition. Wouldn’t mind having one myself!

Filling up is what it is, can't factor that in. It's expensive to travel now, we just complain about the hit to the wallet.

I saw some nice newer ones, but I noticed it all depends on the trim package. Some look sharp, and others look horrible. LS from what I hear is reliable, even high mileage.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I'd personally try to stay older than 07-08, whenever the body style changed. Cylinder deactivation/dod is just nothing but a problem child.

But that's just me. They've all had the trans they needed by now, some might be ready for a new engine by now too lol. Like anything you just have to find the right one.

I had an '02 Tahoe and an '05 Suburban. Both were dead nuts reliable. I agree with Mason about staying away from the DOD stuff. We test drove a '10 Suburban years back and I didn't like the interior as well as the GMT 800 'burbs either. I have no experience with anything newer than that.

I would prefer not to have the DOD, but I do understand that it saves on fuel. When I first heard about DOD I was thinking it was a dumb idea. I hope by now it is improved. My FIL has that on his 'Vette and gets 28mpgs on the highway, but maybe 1mpg with his foot in it.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Hot take here but the used GX-460s from Lexus are the top rated suv for reliability especially for road trips and they are a good 4 wheel vehicle as well.

I'd be looking that direction personally.

They are fugly but reliable and capable is what matters. Will look at those too

 

[DoubleDingo]

GMT800 Suburban or Tahoe/Yukon would be my choice. They run '01-06 and I specifically would pick '03-06 just cuz I like the updated interior better, especially the seats. LS 5.3s and 6.0s (Denali, Escalade and 2500 Suburbans/Yukons only got the 6.0) are dead nuts reliable. The 4L60/65 are known weak points but are fine in stock vehicles and most have been rebuilt/replaced at this point.

My mom bought one when I was in middle school, it was a used '01 or '02 with like 30k miles on it, 2wd 5.3/4L60/3.73. She traded it off at like 202k and we'd done nothing but brakes on it. Steering, motor/trans/axle was all still original and worked great. Got 14ish mpg in town and we regularly saw 19-20hwy.

I've owned 2 myself, an '04 Tahoe and an '04 Yukon. Both L59 5.3s, 4L60, 3.42. The tahoe got totaled before I could really get to do my thing to it but the Yukon was awesome. Easily one of my favorite daily's I've had. Comfy as hell, very useful having such a large enclosed storage area out back (I never had the 3rd row in it), ran great and was easy to park. Traded it off to a buddy in south Ga, he just gave it to his 16yr old son. It's got ~275k on it now with no major work done.

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Success stories are great, that's what I need to hear. I've done very little research, but did a quick search this morning and found this best/worst article.

https://motorandwheels.com/best-worst-chevy-suburban-years-models/

 

[Frankenchevy]

I agree with the early pre DOD ls comments here. We too, were looking for a dog/kid mobile for my wife as she is not a fan of the manuals in my trucks. Her ideal is a 6.2 diesel with 700r4 or 4l80 in a burb/blazer/jimmy. We are also looking at pre-DOD Tahoes/burbs, as well as any Toyota SUV with the 4.7 v8.

The 4.7 is available in the 4Runner in certain years, the Sequoia, Landcruiser and LX470. It’s one of the most reliable Toyota engines ever built and that’s a pretty high bar.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Success stories are great, that's what I need to hear. I've done very little research, but did a quick search this morning and found this best/worst article.

https://motorandwheels.com/best-worst-chevy-suburban-years-models/

That article was definitely written by someone that has never been involved with GM trucks lol. I just found this out, 2019-up 6.2 powered trucks and SUVs are blowing up left and right, just FYI. The 5.3 seems to be ok but the 6.2s have issues.

The '07-up trucks have DOD/AFM systems that fail constantly. The interiors are lesser quality and not as comfortable IMO. They're also more electrically complicated as you get newer and harder to work on. For example, changing a headlight bulb on my buddy's mom's '07 required fully removing the front bumper and grille.

The GMT800s are a great middle ground. Still simple electronics, full time V8 with no weird cylinder deactivation or anything to go wrong, transmissions are simple and cheap to fix, everything is simple to fix. But new enough to be comfortable and have most of the same creature comforts current vehicles, just not the amount of tech (that's another source of a lot of problems in newer ones)

 

[TotalyHucked]

I would prefer not to have the DOD, but I do understand that it saves on fuel. When I first heard about DOD I was thinking it was a dumb idea. I hope by now it is improved. My FIL has that on his 'Vette and gets 28mpgs on the highway, but maybe 1mpg with his foot in it.

DOD doesn't help as much as it should in real world. Regular LS powered pre-DOD Corvettes were getting 28mpg too. From what I've compared with friends with DOD trucks, it's less than a 2mpg difference, generally it washes out about the same as my old LS stuff.

 

[vr1967]

Have a 2011 Suburban we bought in 2011 that has 290k on it with a DOD 5.3. I’ve always changed oil at 6k miles instead of going by the Oil Life Monitor which is 12k for it.

Also 2 years ago, my wife was given an 07 Tahoe with DOD. It has 160k on it with no issues. The OLM on it is 12k also! I changed oil in it the other day with 6100 miles since last change and OLM was at 46%.

I add a quart of Lucas with each oil change, and use Wix 57502 filters.

I believe people doing the long OLM intervals is the reason there is so many DOD lifter issues.

From my phone notes for the Tahoe. Have one for each vehicle

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[Soundmound]

I had an '04 Yukon and loved it. Only sold it for two Hondas, one for me and one for my now wife to commute. I replaced those with a 287k miles, 4.8, 4wd Silverado and it was awesome. Sold it at 315k with everything still working and the guys still driving the wheels off it. I replaced that with an '05 Silverado, 5.3 2wd CCSB with 84k. Couldn't recommend the 01-06 Silverado/Sierra/Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban more, they're the pinnacle of function, comfort and simplicity for GM trucks. The DOD years are problematic at best amd uncomfortable when compared to the previous two generations. The new ones are overcomplicated, bloated, plasticy and overpriced. GM has totally lost me with their newest offerings. I will very likely never buy anything newer than 2006 again, especially in a truck.