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Older van vs older 'large' SUV for towing, does chassis matter?

Lil'John said:
My curiosity is how I could change it from commercial to passenger... not how to identify them :) Or even more so, if I'm buying out of state, how do I ensure it gets registered as a passenger. My quick search implies that passenger has more than one row of seats(ie station wagon).
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When I registered my van, it was already a commercial vehicle, even though it had 5 rows of seats from the factory. I was intending to convert it to an RV ASAP, so I didn't argue with them. Life happens, saving that $200/year wasn't a priority, maybe it should be.
 
Suburban will be more versatile.

Buddy that tows with his duramax Suburban and he runs forest service roads. He drove it down black bear pass and all over colorado.

My understanding is the frames aren't exactly "1 ton rated". After he bent it towing something he shouldn't have
 
Lil'John said:
My curiosity is how I could change it from commercial to passenger... not how to identify them :)
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The license plate type.

Easy to change from one to the other, here. A two seater with cargo goes commercial, and a seat factory or motorhome is not. Take seats out, or put seats in... and show them.

I made my suburban commercial to save on plate fees when I swapped insurance from one truck to another.
 
Thank you all for the feedback so far. It is very much appreciated and giving me more to think about.

My target is to cut yearly type costs as well as a reasonable initial price... Calif sadly bases yearly reg on initial price.:homer: I definitely understand that I might be better off just renting a u-haul or the like except that $500 per shot is a bit steep(~$2.00/mile) and convenience. Also, nice to have another backup vehicle.

This is for hobby type towing not professional. Think hauling a car to an exhaust shop or paint shop. Or picking up a car project(TDI swap donor) Possibly using a mini trailer to pick up axles, engines, trans, etc... maybe just toss them in the back of the van/suv.

Gravy said:
Suburban will be more versatile.

Buddy that tows with his duramax Suburban and he runs forest service roads. He drove it down black bear pass and all over colorado.

My understanding is the frames aren't exactly "1 ton rated". After he bent it towing something he shouldn't have
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I thought Suburban was only 3/4 ton 2000 and earlier.

I don't think my intended towing really requires a won ton duellay:flipoff2:

u2slow said:
The license plate type.

Easy to change from one to the other, here. A two seater with cargo goes commercial, and a seat factory or motorhome is not. Take seats out, or put seats in... and show them.

I made my suburban commercial to save on plate fees when I swapped insurance from one truck to another.
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Sadly, Calif has their own brand of stupidity with vehicles:shaking::mad3: If they would follow simple logic like you present, it would be easy.
 
They made suburban 3/4t way after 2000, rumor is you can still get them, but I couldn't say for sure, definitely in to the 2010s.

A van with one of the little pivoting cranes in the back would be handy as fuck for picking up axles, engines, transmissions, ect.
 
9th gen Suburban was 2000-06. 2500 could get the 8.1. But they came with junky trailer hitches that were too short and caused people to bend the frames. Aftermarket solved that problem. Buddy has one, it tows pretty good.


10th gen was 07-14 and still had a 2500 version. Dunno about the newer ones.
 
Think around 2018 GM only offered the 3/4t burbs as 2wd.

I towed and daily drove for almost 10yrs with an 02 8.1 2500 yukon XL that I loved every moment with till I noticed bad frame rot. Replaced with an 04 cc sb 8.1 2500hd that does everything the XL did besides let me camp in the back covered on a queen air mattress.

I understand your want to avoid smog and fees, if that is the main driving factor then get a econoline or excursion. I prefer the GM vans for comfort but that's just me. I have many years of driving and towing 7k with all platforms and chose the GM 8.1 and just deal with GM issues.
 
Godzilla swapped Excursion with coil spring front would be bitchin, but the oldest excursions still need to be smogged in CA.

If E350, you’re looking at a 95, 96, or 97 to both be smog free and Powerstroke.

If Chevy, you need a 96 or 97 to be smog free and a moderately modern chassis, you still have the 6.5L diesel.

You’d also need it to be registered as a passenger vehicle or RV.
 
have a friend that's towed all over with a7.3 van
Other than the standard vans suck to work on things it's basically a 3\4 truck.
 
Jeffh555 said:
Godzilla swapped Excursion with coil spring front would be bitchin, but the oldest excursions still need to be smogged in CA.

If E350, you’re looking at a 95, 96, or 97 to both be smog free and Powerstroke.

If Chevy, you need a 96 or 97 to be smog free and a moderately modern chassis, you still have the 6.5L diesel.

You’d also need it to be registered as a passenger vehicle or RV.
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Pretty much the summary I'm looking at. But here are some adjustment:
E350 could also be 92-94 with 7.3L IDI... same chassis as 95-97.
Suburban could be 'much' earlier with the 6.2L with expectation of bolting a different drivetrain.

Technically, Blazer/Jimmy with 6.2 or 6.5 could be on table except for lower tow rating.

I'm somewhat trying to make sure 'real' tow rating is appropriate to what I'm towing. This implies to me that the chassis itself is up to the load... maybe not the power to get it up to speed/maintain speed.

I don't recall seeing any other 97 and earlier SUV or van chassis that came with diesel.
 
Idi ford aren't bad with a turbo and a few tweaks. Pretty hard to hurt.

Biggest thing I'd do for your use diesel or gas is gear it to work in the mountains. 4.10s should work well with those old diesels in the hills and be available in the junk yard if it didn't come with them.
 
Van gets my vote if 2wd and suburban if you need 4wd

Everything else is close enough to the same underneath.

Also gas, but that's out of the cards :rasta:
 
Provience said:
Van gets my vote if 2wd and suburban if you need 4wd

Everything else is close enough to the same underneath.
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I agree, but more specifically

Ford Powerstroke van (95-97) if 2wd. I agree IDI motors aren't junk, but the stock Powerstroke is underpowered enough, I wouldn't choose the IDI unless you're in a real budget/time crunch.

GMT400 6.5L Suburban if 4wd (94-97). No diesels 92-94. Every time I work on a 91 or earlier GM, I'm reminded just how antiquated it is. If you build a replica of the Suburban from Dante's Peak, that would be rad, and offset any negatives of an older tow rig.

My 4x4 van is awesome, but only because I put a good amount of money and effort into getting it right. Nearly any budget 4x4 van would not outperform the Suburban for what you're doing with it.

I can't find a pic, but I once saw a trailer with a bridge crane that extended out the back of it. If I recall it was a snowmobile race trailer, and it allowed them to load sleds that had studded tracks without tearing up the floor in the trailer. Would be bitchin to load whatever random part in the back of your van.
 
Jeffh555 said:
I can't find a pic, but I once saw a trailer with a bridge crane that extended out the back of it. If I recall it was a snowmobile race trailer, and it allowed them to load sleds that had studded tracks without tearing up the floor in the trailer. Would be bitchin to load whatever random part in the back of your van.
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You won't have the height under the hook for much and you'll be smacking your head on it moving/loading other shit. Truck bed crane mounted in the corner and call it good.
 
I'm leaning toward having 4wd and thus a suburban.

Jeffh555 said:
Ford Powerstroke van (95-97) if 2wd. I agree IDI motors aren't junk, but the stock Powerstroke is underpowered enough, I wouldn't choose the IDI unless you're in a real budget/time crunch.
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I had heard the IDI was 'bullet proof' because mechanical over electronic injection and could be tuned to be better.

No real time crunch and while the budget isn't tight on it, I'd rather get a solid base.
Jeffh555 said:
GMT400 6.5L Suburban if 4wd (94-97). No diesels 92-94. Every time I work on a 91 or earlier GM, I'm reminded just how antiquated it is. If you build a replica of the Suburban from Dante's Peak, that would be rad, and offset any negatives of an older tow rig.
<snip>
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From wiki(not entirely accurate at times), it appears that Suburbans got diesels from 81 to 97(plus more but those are my focus). Granted, 78 to 81 is that great LF9 350 one and 82-91 being the 6.2L detroit.

FWIW, I like the interiors of the older rigs(simple, non-add on meth design). Hell, I use 86 S10 truck/blazer steering columns in my FJ55s:flipoff2: A seat/bench issue is as 'simple' as fabbing a bracket for new seats.

I like the older 6th gen (67-72) body style except for the three door ;) A close 2nd for me is the 7th gen(73-91) Not 'keen' on 8th gen(92+) but I would suck it up and deal with it.

I'm still trying to find tow ratings for the various years with questionable results. I thought I found 7th gen being about 7500 which is good enough. Not finding 6th gen.
 
Lil'John said:
From wiki(not entirely accurate at times), it appears that Suburbans got diesels from 81 to 97(plus more but those are my focus). Granted, 78 to 81 is that great LF9 350 one and 82-91 being the 6.2L detroit.

FWIW, I like the interiors of the older rigs(simple, non-add on meth design). Hell, I use 86 S10 truck/blazer steering columns in my FJ55s:flipoff2: A seat/bench issue is as 'simple' as fabbing a bracket for new seats.

I like the older 6th gen (67-72) body style except for the three door ;) A close 2nd for me is the 7th gen(73-91) Not 'keen' on 8th gen(92+) but I would suck it up and deal with it.
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I also used wiki to get some dates, as I was curious about the 6.2 to 6.5L transition, and it seems that when they launched the 8th gen, there was no diesel for the first couple years.

I see your point about liking earlier/simpler interiors, and it's probably a matter of personal preference.

I was more thinking about things like push/pull steering, 10 bolt front wheel bearings/hubs/spindles, everything being old and rusty, and general things like that. A creampuff 7th gen wouldn't be a bad idea, but I think those are getting up there in value. I know the pickups are.
 
Jeffh555 said:
I also used wiki to get some dates, as I was curious about the 6.2 to 6.5L transition, and it seems that when they launched the 8th gen, there was no diesel for the first couple years.

I see your point about liking earlier/simpler interiors, and it's probably a matter of personal preference.

I was more thinking about things like push/pull steering, 10 bolt front wheel bearings/hubs/spindles, everything being old and rusty, and general things like that. A creampuff 7th gen wouldn't be a bad idea, but I think those are getting up there in value. I know the pickups are.
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Good catch on the no diesel for 92 and 93 Suburbans:homer:

I would more than likely track down a disk brake rear full float 14 bolt for the rear of whatever I get and then a kingpin D60 and use a crossover arm to fix that push/pull issue ;) Same with the engine/trans. But all of those would be opportunity buys (ie a steal of a deal)

My quick craigslist searching has shown a couple of interesting specimens just to get a feel for pricing and availability. I've seen a few 7th gens under $5k that looked reasonable... same with 8th gen. 6th seems to get a bit high quick.
 
Idi is not bulletproof. 7.3s got pinholes in cylinder walls from cavitation if you didn't keep up on the coolant maintenance. Old pumps don't like the new diesel much either so you have to add lubricity with additives. There's even a stanadyne fluid for it specifically. Glow plugs mushroom out and are a pain to replace. Pre combustion chamber cups can crack and fall out the head.
But they are pretty stout as long as you take care of them and you can make them run with a hammer most days.
 
There is a pretty cool 7.3 PSD 4x4 van on Expo….
 
87manche said:
Idi is not bulletproof. 7.3s got pinholes in cylinder walls from cavitation if you didn't keep up on the coolant maintenance. Old pumps don't like the new diesel much either so you have to add lubricity with additives. There's even a stanadyne fluid for it specifically. Glow plugs mushroom out and are a pain to replace. Pre combustion chamber cups can crack and fall out the head.
But they are pretty stout as long as you take care of them and you can make them run with a hammer most days.
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Interesting. Guess I'll re-think that line of though:homer::lmao:
 
Idi turbo can make more power than a stock obs powerstroke with some tweaks.

A new pump and 8 injectors is cheaper than one 7.3psd injector :laughing:

For what op is talking about, I wouldn't pass on a nice rig that fit my criteria with one.

The 6.2 I had felt decent. But that was probably the 4.56 gears :laughing: it was in 3rd by like 25 mph
 
Thatg9659 said:
Should definitely get a meth mobile of a motor home, wall off the cab strip and burn the rv section and make it a ramp truck.
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I actually have a plan along those lines but it involves peeling the wall back where it meets the floor, cutting 2/3 of the way through every stud and a very particular road in Boston. :laughing:
 
Lil'John said:
If I find a suburban that is 75 or earlier and in good shape that actually has a tow rating of 7k+, I'm there.
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Start with a 20 series for the frame. Put on a hitch with a big rating and send it. Bigger brakes and hydroboost help too.

There's no official tow-rating back then. Depended on a bunch of shit, and it was only a guideline anyway.
 
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