Big Family - Trade Tahoe for Suburban?

[Puddin422]

I love my Tahoe and prefer the way they look over the bigger SUVs. I wish Ford would bring back the Excursion w a diesel option, but that's another subject. lol I just have never liked the way GM takes the Yukon/Tahoe/Escalade and just stretches the body in the rear. I wish the extra length was spread out better from the outside, and it bugs me enough to want to keep my overstuffed Tahoe.

We are a family of 4, but one is a kid in sports with lots of equipment (football right now, so pads, helmet, etc), and the other is a baby, so there's a car seat, 2 different strollers, and a diaper bag always. My husband is 6'3" 300lb body builder, so he almost counts for 2 lol And I'm the grocery getter. I have captains chairs in the middle. So our family of 4 completely fills the first 2 rows, and I have one half of the 3rd removed. All that said, this is the longest I have ever owned a vehicle without a stereo system of some sort. I have no room for even a single sub box. I've also got a pop up canopy and 2 folding chairs that have had to stay in my truck since the start of football season. I NEED MORE ROOM!

I have never even driven a Suburban or similar. I'm afraid I'll get rid of my Tahoe for a Suburban and hate it. My truck has a programmer, cold air intake, and a couple other things and runs really great. I traded a 2010 F150 Platinum that I bought new for it, and I'm extremely impressed with it. It pisses my husband off that I smoke his H2. lol (we're both drag racers) His has exhaust, and it sounds really healthy, and mine has stock exhaust, so it's a total sleeper. I love love love my truck. Anyone else swap to the bigger SUV because it was more practical?? Please tell me you put some money into it and you love it as much as your Tahoe/Yukon etc.

 

[calif phil]

That is a great looking Tahoe. I also have an H2. While your right that the Tahoe is better looking than a Suburban you need a bigger vehicle. Yukon XL would be a good choice.

 

[swathdiver]

Well, first off, the longer trucks came first, the shortened Tahoe style arrived on scene around 1992.

Those extra 20 inches make a big difference and you can move many of your mods over to a new truck. Or you could get a minivan!

You won't even notice the extra length after a while, only to be glad you have them, or the first time you pull into your garage.

I can haul five or six rug rats around and still have room for a generator in back and some groceries. Bigger fuel tank too.

 

[schaffer05]

Why not get a crew cab with a camper shell or tonneau cover?


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[HiHoeSilver]

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/do-you-regret-short-body-vs-long-body.93935/

 

[Miami-Dade]

I have yet to hear a Suburban owner say I should have got a Tahoe..I do hear Tahoe owners say I should have got a Suburban..Those who say they should have got a Suburban are families of 4 or more..For long trips for a family of 4 a Suburban or Yukon Denali XL works best..Otherwise almost zero room for all your gear.

In my case it is just me and 1 other [for the most part] so a Tahoe is the best fit for me.

 

[adventurenali92]

Funny how people are different. I don't think the SWB tahoe/yukon/escalade looks bad by any means. Re a good looking rig. But I love the look of the LWB much better. Just my opinion. I never had a SWB gm full size. I went from my 2001 Dodge Durango limited, to my 2006 XL Denali. I drove a few of the tahoes, and yukons throughout my search for the rig to replace my Durango. But the standard wheel base models didn't offer any more space interior wise than my Durango did, especially because gm third row seats aren't a true fold away third row. They just tuck up against the middle row seats. Which left me with exactly the same amount of room that my Durango had and I had outgrown the space with all of my auto detailing gear. When I looked into the suburban and XL, I knew it was a good fit. The extra room to have all my gear, and still have middle row seats if I need to take my sisters kids anywhere is perfect. In addition I like towing more with my XL. And of course you can do many of the same mods to a burb or XL that your tahoe has.

 

[08HoeCD]

As long as you aren't ever faced with taking extra passengers, a family of four can have plenty of cargo room in the Tahoe with the third row removed.

If you do need that flexibility to take extra passengers for sports, trade for the long body. You'll never look back.

 

[2011SSVHOE]

Why not get a crew cab with a camper shell or tonneau cover?

I had a crew cab Four wheel drive dually, with a 8ft bed and camper shell. a Great truck but it's like driving a school bus where ever you go. I sold it to my son and the first thing he did was to take the camper shell off.

 

[moosehead]

You will notice the length in parking lots. Also suburbans so t fit in most garages.

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[tsltrek]

Family of 5. 2013 Suburban. Test drove a Tahoe and said if I'm getting a vehicle this big I might as well go all the way. Have never regretted it once. I can and have parked the Suburban anywhere, width is usually more of a concern than length (getting door dinged by careless others).

 

[ezstriper]

well the wheel base is longer, not just added in the rear, I will say the longer wheelbase really helps the ride quality, I have a escalade(short) and a avalanche(suburban length) and the ride is better on the av

 

[njracer]

Went from an 01 Tahoe Z71 to 11 Suburban Z71 and don't regret it at all. We are a family of 4 with 2 large dogs and both boys play soccer so at any given time there are multiple foldup chairs and one or two 10x10 EzUps in there. The extra room is great and even better when you pull out the third row.

I love the truck.....the wife HATES it! lol

 

[KSanborn]

Go Suburban/XL. Period. I'm on my second, and my wife's '10 Tahoe could be looking at it's last hurrah any day, only to be replaced with another Suburban in our garage. We have 3-kids, and 2-large dogs. Need to be able to jump in the car and go, and not worry about who has what vehicle.
As my dad loves to say regarding the Suburban vs Tahoe debate...."once you're going forward, what does the length of the vehicle behind you matter?". He's on his 3rd Suburban. I'll catch him soon.
The other response on here that said you'll hear Tahoe owners say they wish they'd bought a Suburban, but never the other way around, is 100% correct.

 

[Larryjb]

I got the Tahoe. The deciding factor for me was the ability to put it in the garage. A Suburban wouldn't fit. If I need more storage space on a trip, we're packing too much. If I'm getting 8' long material, I can use the roof rack. However, this simply reflects my needs.

 

[Fosscore]

Suburban/XL hands down. Love my Tahoe, but the LWB for the kids, dog and grandparents popping in and out during the year is worth it every time. Road trips, camping, just getting around town and the ride is great. My wife came from an Odyssey after 10 years and was nervous about the length, parking, turning, doors, etc...

Other than her recent curb rash, she wheels that big land yacht with style, she backs it in, loves the features, the room (2nd row buckets) and all the bells and whistles the LTZ offers. Get the XL and you have the bigger motor already in your favor and that extra cargo room that the SWB cannot even compete with.

I don't think you will regret it for 1 minute. Just my .02.

 

[dirtydenali07]

07 Denali XL and 01 Ford Excursion here. 6.2 vs 6.8. I love the room that having a full size (for the width) long wheelbase (for the cargo room)gives us. Three kids, one in a booster and youngest in rear facing car seat. As said before, we have folding chairs and a stroller in the back of the Yukon, with the third row seats folded up, and I carry enough tools in my X that I could disassemble it if need be. I usually have the third row taken out of the x, but the storage unit is full, so it's back in. Sometimes my wife wants to get a Tahoe or Yukon, but that's mostly because she doesn't like to(can't) parallel park. Other than that, no regrets having longer vehicles. Just need to lift them to get height-to-length ratio a little better.

 

[intheburbs]

You won't regret the extra size of the Yukon XL/Suburban. I've owned three different homes while I've owned Suburbans, and they've fit in all 3 garages. Yes, there's about six inches of room left, but they do fit.

If you're a hot-rodder, I'd recommend a Yukon XL Denali or the Escalade EXT. They have the 6.2 motor, with 400+ HP and I guarantee either one is significantly quicker than your Tahoe. You can't get a Suburban with the 6.2. My 6.0 Suburban will outrun 5.3 trucks all day, but my Sierra Denali with the 6.2, 1000 fewer lbs and 50 extra horsepower is scary-quick for a truck. It also eats Hemis all day. Only thing that can beat it is the 3.5 EcoBoost.

 

[adventurenali92]

The length of the burb/XL does take some adjusting. But for me that's because I went from a Dodge Durango to a Yukon xl. Big difference in wheelbase between the 2. I learned how to maneuver it pretty quickly and I don't think it's an issue at all. I always park further away in grocery store lots and such anyways so that made parking a bit easier with the xl.
Edit: I agree with @dirtydenali07 , parallel parking the XL is like trying to park a school bus. It does suck. But I was never very good at that anyways. So I just avoid parallel parking and find regular parking and that solves that problem! Haha

 

[S33k3r]

We have a Tahoe and a Suburban. My wife had the choice of a Denali (she hated the seat layout -- 2nd row bench), Suburban (it needed all new leather for the seats), and the Tahoe we bought (it, apparently, was JUST right). However, driving her Tahoe, I realized that I really wanted a Suburban, and her Tahoe just didn't work as a people mover AND a cargo hauler (it was good at one OR the other). So I started looking at Suburbans, and even she admitted she probably should have gotten the Suburban.

I eventually found the one I am driving, and I have slowly been restoring it.

If you can get the Suburban, given the circumstances you described, get the Suburban.