Ed- you still have your Suburban?

[rideswithchrist]

Mine just rolled over 220K and I just love it so much that I told hubby to just fix what breaks until 300K or it really dies. He is not as convinced, plus GM blue was a horrible failure so we need a paint job. He wants a new one but I don't like the boxy yucky things or the price tag, so I told him to get a truck and leave my burban alone.

Everytime I glance at the odometer, I wonder if you're still towing your A-liner with yours! How many miles are you pushing now @bama_ed ?

 

[bama_ed]

Ed- you still have your Suburban?

Everytime I glance at the odometer, I wonder if you're still towing your A-liner with yours! How many miles are you pushing now @bama_ed ?

<did I hear somebody call my name?>

Hiya rwc. Yes I still have my 2005 Suburban and am still towing the Aliner with it. Here is the current mileage reading.

I bought it used in 2010 (5yo) with 85k miles. What year is yours?

It's got a lot of little things not working anymore but it just keeps running and running. You can see in the pic above that most dashboard gauges don't work (speedometer and temp do). Blue GM paint peeling on the hood. CD doesn't work any more. Ceiling foam is drooping. Moon roof doesn't close/seal reliably (so it stays closed). Leather seats torn and foam padding exposed. DVD player hasn't worked in about 5 years. Middle seat windows no longer go all the way up with the button (pulled it up with both hands into the weather seal and instruct passengers not to touch the switch).

But it runs fine and tows great. I get 18mpg on the highway cruising and 15mpg towing two months ago down to the Fort (fully loaded). My ODBII scanner and Torque app on an old cellphone that mounts on the dash when I tow gives me all the data from the gauges that don't work. (RPM, engine load, battery status, coolant temp and speed digitally). I got a $100/yr SiriusXM subscription and a big enough trunk space to throw in anything I think we need on a camping trip.

We moved/downsized three years ago and I worked from home mostly until I retired this summer and our new lifestyle has me not putting as many miles on the Suburban a year now (about 4k-6k annually). I looked up the book value and in its condition it MIGHT be worth $1,000 supposedly. So like you I will drive it till the wheels fall off or an expensive repair is required.

I've got two 2-week camping driving vacations planned next summer (now that we are retired) and have no qualms about using it (which will add another 5k miles collectively). I do want to replace the full size spare tire before we undertake those trips but otherwise it's ready IMO.

Birds of a feather flock together. I share your vehicle love.

Bama Ed

PS - oh and it's burning a little oil so I have to stay on top of that. But it is still bank. Looking forward to rolling past 300k.

PPS - I check AutoTrader on line for another 2005-2007 around me with "only" 150k miles or so in case this one dies and I do see one every once in a while. That's my "next Burban up" strategy/plan so the spirit can still live on.

 

[tigger92662]

(speedometer and temp do

Mine's an '03, same problem, laughing when I saw the tach pegged. I set the trip odometer and refuel at 320 miles (31 gallon tank)

 

[bama_ed]

Mine's an '03, same problem, laughing when I saw the tach pegged. I set the trip odometer and refuel at 320 miles (31 gallon tank)

You know what, Joe? What's interesting is that the tach meter will come down in cold weather like we're having now in December. It's still not accurate but at least it comes down from being stuck over 6k rpm. From April to November, it's pegged and still useless.

I do still have the mpg functionality in my steering wheel buttons so I hit that for in-town driving and again for highway/towing driving and then follow the "Distance to Empty" display that I can punch the buttons to see. Haven't run out of gas yet.

One thing I've read is that the 2007 Suburban models underwent a major redesign so I'm reluctant to step beyond a 2006 (unless I win the PowerBall). I checked again here and I can still get a 2004-2006 Suburban or Yukon XL (its GMC cousin) with less than 200k miles in good shape.

When I get close to 300k, I will post an update but it will be a while at this rate.

Ed

 

[rideswithchrist]

Mine is a 2006, headliner is coming off in the corners- we remedied that with tacks because the headliner glue did not work. CD player quit, DVD player quit, Heat on the driver side only has two temps- air and 90, but that is good enough for Texas weather.
Gauges are golden- seats are cracked (I hate leather) so I put covers on and it almost feels new haha. I do wish my lumbar worked again though.

We have to keep replacing the fuse for the rear air to keep the kids happy, but that is not a biggie. We do burn through some oil and may have a small leak from the pan so we add a qt every month or so.

I do need a bit of a tune up I think, I am only getting 15-16 and should really be closer to 18 I think. Sadly...we get 8 towing our hybrid. (We miss the popup while pulling, but not while camping).

I heard the 2010 models had all the bugs of the "newer"models worked out, so that is what we would be looking at next when this one finally just poos out, but I assume I can get another 3 years out of it, and like you said, I might still keep my eyes open for the same year model with less than 200K on it and drive it until 300K

 

[bama_ed]

I heard the 2010 models had all the bugs of the "newer"models worked out, so that is what we would be looking at next when this one finally just poos out, but I assume I can get another 3 years out of it, and like you said, I might still keep my eyes open for the same year model with less than 200K on it and drive it until 300K

That's good to know about 2010s. I don't particularly WANT to buy a 14yo (or older) replacement when that day comes. And I'll have to read up about when the next major redesign was after the 2007 one (so I can look between 2010 and that year) but glad to say I'm not in the market yet.

Will probably going past 250k in January 2021.

Ed

PS - yeah, your hybrid is heavier and probably stands out some over the roof line of the Suburban both which hurt your mpg more.

 

[bama_ed]

A bit of an update to this thread.

My Chevy went to the shop early this month for regular servicing and the outcome was not positive. More things were going wrong and I did not feel confident in taking it out on the road this summer for an aggressive camping schedule. Over the weekend, DW and I decided that it was time to move on.

My 2005 Suburban has literally given its all in the service of our family. I bought it in May 2009 with 71,669 miles and traded it in today with 250,111 miles as we passed the 250k milestone on the way to the dealership to look at a new-to-us replacement vehicle.

We'll remember the milestones along the way with our family like bringing home the Aliner for the first time:

And its last trip to the Fort this past October at the Fort Wilderness 2020 DISMeet:

We got a used 2012 GMC Yukon XL which we hope will give us several years of additional service to the family.

At least the change didn't have to occur in an emergency situation on the side of the road somewhere. I count 17 trips to WDW for our Suburban (sometimes stopping at the Fort on the way to or back from other destinations in South Florida) and ONE TIME of that we stayed at the Caribbean Resort and took it.

But I'm taking it a little hard because the change was necessarily quick and somewhat sudden. But I am looking forward to the future with all the trips we have planned in retirement. If we can get 5-6 years out of the Yukon, I'll be happy.

Bama Ed

PS - and what is this thing called Navigation on this big screen in the Yukon? And a lady's voice tells me when to turn and what's coming up?

And it has those new fangled AUX input and Bluetooth capabilities.

PPS - did I mention it has the 3.42 ratio rear axle and Heavy Duty Trailering Package for 8,100# of towing (not that I'll need that with my Aliner).

 

[4077]

Congratulations! I love having the back up camera behind a big ole truck (I am making assumption here)... nice to have a quick glance on there before moving as I never completely trust my eyes....looks great, Ed...enjoy!!

On the PPS... it’ll help with the Airstream....

 

[4077]

One more note...shiny white will go well with shiny silver....

 

[bama_ed]

Congratulations! I love having the back up camera behind a big ole truck (I am making assumption here)... nice to have a quick glance on there before moving as I never completely trust my eyes....looks great, Ed...enjoy!!

It does have the back up camera (another gizmo) but I'm afraid if I start relying on it then I'll get soft and complacent. Want to stay on my toes and aware of all my angles and corners (and their position in three dimensional space) using the intuition I've developed over all these (analog) decades.

On the PPS... it’ll help with the Airstream....

You don't say ....

It's almost like Ed was LOOKING for a replacement vehicle SPECIFICALLY with a 3.42 rear axle.

Just in case I win the lottery. (and get that Airstream)

Oh and Jimmy those 20-inch tires may force me to sell a kidney when it comes times to replace them ......

I should close my blathering by saying to our OP, rideswithchrist, that I am passing the baton to you. The Chevy Suburban flag is yours now to wave proudly as long as you can. I'm now just a lowly GMC cousin in the big GM family.

 

[tigger92662]

But I'm taking it a little hard because the change was necessarily quick and somewhat sudden. But I am looking forward to the future with all the trips we have planned in retirement. If we can get 5-6 years out of the Yukon, I'll be happy.

It's always hard to get rid of a tried and true vehicle with so many memories.
But as with the A-Liner when it was new, a chance to make new memories.
Just curious what size fuel tank does it have?

 

[bama_ed]

Just curious what size fuel tank does it have?

The same as my Suburban had, Joe - 31 gallons. But I got 20.5 mpg on the way home (the Suburban was 18.0 tops) and it has that new fangled engine that drops out some valves at low idle/load which helps. My sales guy said it has a LS 5.3L V8 engine which was a pretty good performer for GM in the last decade.

 

[Teamubr]

Sorry to hear the old 'burb was put out to pasture. I suspect you'll build just as many memories with the new one. Does the tach on this one always read 6,000 rpm? Or does it even have a tach?

j

 

[bama_ed]

Sorry to hear the old 'burb was put out to pasture. I suspect you'll build just as many memories with the new one. Does the tach on this one always read 6,000 rpm? Or does it even have a tach?

j

Oh sure. We have to get it up to 88 miles per hour ........

 

[2goofycampers]

Congratulations on the new wife. She only tells you where to go when you're driving. It is still up to wife #1 to keep you on track otherwise. LOL

 

[jbrostek]

Congratulations on the newer tow vehicle. I know what you mean on having to decide on changing up a vehicle. My 2006 F350 was paid off, but the repair bill outweighed something newer. I bit the bullet with the 2012 and all the extra electronics.

A quick check from the 17" to 20" tire sizes for a yukon, you'll pay about a 20 dollar per tire premium over the 17" tire size....that penalty used to be much much higher. I looked at cooper, goodyear and bridgestone and the difference between them was 20 a tire.

 

[friendofeeyore]

Congratulations!! I know you will enjoy making new memories with your new ride. It is hard to replace something you have had so long & just remember all the fun & memories your Suburban gave to you. I personally like the back up camera, but I also do check my side mirrors when backing out. Can't wait to see it in 5 months. "Happy Trails to y'all"

 

[Sjm9911]

Have fun with it ed. Looks sharp.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) STAY WITH YOUR SUBURBAN!
2) It is such a safe vehicle when traveling and dodging tourists.
3) This was my Yukon.
. . . I was hit head-on by a tourist who crossed the center line.
. . . We collided at highway speed.
. . . Trooper said I should have died!
. . . This was compared to me hitting a wall at 100 mph.
. . . Got away with two broken back discs and broken ankle.
. . . Since 2017, I still hurt, but I am alive.
4) We enjoy my rag-top, but stay mainly in right-hand lane.
. . . We drive around town, but don't venture too far.
. . . For long trips, we rent a Yukon or Suburban.
. . . We learned that big and boxy beats sporty and dead.

 

[4077]

Waiting for first pic of the new TV hooked to Aliner