SUV vs. Pick-up

[tcartwri]

I went from a heavy half ton pickup to a 1 ton Ford Club Wagon to an Explorer with a trailer.

The Van was a beast of a vehicle and obviously the king of cargo, but it was underpowered for what it was. ( 5.8 L )

The pickup was a nuisance in the winter and I wasn't going to put a cap or a cover on it. Didn't make sense to ruin the capabilities of the box.

The Explorer will carry more than either one with a single axle $1200 trailer, and the interior will handle basically all of our day to day people moving stuff.

 

[bigtiller]

It's a "country thing" :laughing:

Ken

Your right about that. :thumbsup:

I have been driving a PU since '86.

 

[JDgreen227]

Used to have a heavy half ton F150 with a cap, it could carry a ton of cargo and 3 people, and tow 3 tons. I really liked being able to throw all kinds of stuff in the bed without worrying about damage. Yet, the cap limited the height of bulky items, and passenger capacity was very limited.

MY Yukon XL will carry the same ton of cargo, plus 5-8 passengers, will take 40 sheets of 4X8 material in back, and with the 2500 lb. capacity aluminum trailer hitched I can haul just about anything that will not fit in the back of the Yukon, and just dump in dirt, compost, etc. I can also tow an 8000 pound trailer with the full load of 8 passengers.

To me, a big SUV and a utility trailer are the ultimate in flexibility for anything you might want to carry.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Thanks for all of the input. I am in Eastern ON so 4x4 is a necessity.

I am leaning towards staying SUV, I have a small (4x8) dump trailer and I am looking for a 16' float. It is handy to have interior space clean and dry.

I did not realize that newer sub's would be better, I figured that my older one would be built heavier and would take the work better than a newer citified version. I am keeping an eye for a 3/4 diesel sub but they are not easy to find. But 3/4 diesel pick-ups are around.

Thanks

Mike

A late model 3/4 ton Suburban/Yukon with the 6.0 will put you old one to shame. A Ford Excursion with the V10 or better yet a diesel will run circles around it. The 8.1 GM had also makes good power but they are hit or miss on things like oil consumption.

Chris

 

[RoyJackson]

I think a full sized crewcab pick up is the best way to go. There's plenty of room inside the cab as well as the power to pull a decent sized traler (if you pick the right truck/engine combo).
For things like "bags of feed", either plan on waiting for a dry day, or use a tarp.
As far as the rear ends being squirrely...well, that's the nature of the beast (when not loaded). I keep a few 50 lbs bags of sand in the bed of my F-150.

 

[jeffsw6]

I did not realize that newer sub's would be better, I figured that my older one would be built heavier and would take the work better than a newer citified version. I am keeping an eye for a 3/4 diesel sub but they are not easy to find. But 3/4 diesel pick-ups are around.

It is a huge difference. I could write a thousand words on how much better I like my 05 K1500 5.3 than my older 99 K1500 5.7 without ever mentioning the improved creature comforts, but really what you should do is try one out. IMO the 2000 model year was a huge improvement and it has been mostly incremental from there.

 

[bigbull338]

i see yall have forgoten 1 thing to factor in.a suv will wear out faster pulling an hauling loads ment for a truck to haul.but the suvs are nice to have.weve made our suv squat down bad because of hauling 300lbs in the back.

 

[JDgreen227]

i see yall have forgoten 1 thing to factor in.a suv will wear out faster pulling an hauling loads ment for a truck to haul.but the suvs are nice to have.weve made our suv squat down bad because of hauling 300lbs in the back.

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

 

[RoyJackson]

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

Some SUVs are built on truck chassises (did I spell that right?) and shouldn't wear out any quicker then a pick up.
Tires might be a different story...SUVs are built more for comfort and hauling people. The OEM tires may not be up to the task of hauling a trailer.

 

[bigbull338]

Depends of the chassis the SUV is built on my Yukon is a 3/4 ton model and hooking up a 700 pound tongue weight travel trailer to the hitch only compresses the springs an inch and a half at most.

well this is a compact suv,an its treated an taken care of like a farm truck.your right the bigger frames help.but you still run the risk of blowing it out.now if i loaded an suv down like your talking about it still would squat down with our without a trailer on it.