Ford Excursion VS. 3/4 Ton Suburban

[ScottR]

Hey all,
I am thinking pretty hard about a rig for towing, moving the family and hunting. What are your thoughts on both of these choices? Bear in mind we are a family of 6 so crew cab style trucks are not in the cards at the moment.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

4x4 or 2wd?

 

[ScottR]

4x4

 

[idcwby]

Diesel or gas?

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I am a Ford guy and my son likes Chevy. He has a 2022 3/4 4x4 Suburban and loved it. It had the big gas engine in it (I think it was 6.2) and got great mileage and plenty of power. As far as Excursion goes, I don't know much about them. We had an Explorer that was great. I bought my wife a new Bronco Sport for our 6oth anniversary that is nice too....but NOT an Excursion or Suburban. If you are buying new, you can either one equipt the way you want. Even tho I am a Ford person, I probably would really look at the Chevy.

 

[ScottR]

Diesel or gas?

Ford, i'm ok with Diesel. With the Suburban gas.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Just don't get a used Ford with the 6.0 or 6.3 diesel. I have a 6.7 and it has given me no trouble at all. This is my 4 th Ford diesel and the 7.3 was bulletproof. Put almost 300,000 miles on it and all I did was normal maintenance.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

 

[buckbull]

The ford excursion hasn't been made since 2005. The 3/4 burb for the retail market was ended in 2013. Burb fleet models were made for a few years after that but neither manufacturer makes a HD suv currently.

A family of 6 should fit in a crew cab with a bench front seat. You would be in a work truck trim for that option but doable.

 

[ScottR]

The ford excursion hasn't been made since 2005. The 3/4 burb for the retail market was ended in 2013. Burb fleet models were made for a few years after that but neither manufacturer makes a HD suv currently.

A family of 6 should fit in a crew cab with a bench front seat. You would be in a work truck trim for that option but doable.

I have thought about that, the only advantage to the SUV style is that I can pull up to a trail head and sleep in the back very easily.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I like the ford diesel over the Chevy gas. If you can find a ford with low miles would be a great choice.

 

[ScottR]

I like the ford diesel over the Chevy gas. If you can find a ford with low miles would be a great choice.

I'm ok with high milage if major work/maintenance have been done in the past.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I've had diesels since Ford introduced their 6.9 in 1983. My first one didn't even have a turbo ( I put one of the first Banks Turbo on it back then). I have had 3 more since then. Every one had over 150,000 miles when I got rid of it. My 99 had 300,000 miles on it when I got my 2013. The only reason I replaced it was we were taking a summer 3 month trip pulling our travel trailer to Alaska and I just didn't want to take that kind of trip with that many miles on my truck.
I always serviced all of my trucks when Ford recommended it. I never had any major repairs in my engines or drivetrains. If you are pulling a load, I always wanted a diesel.

 

[25contender]

My 2001 4x4 7.3Ford Excursion has made 6 trips from NC to Montana without a hiccup. It is a beast of a truck. I also tow a 10k boat with it. I sold a F250 6.0 to buy a excursion. I do have a six position tuner but I only use the +40 on it.
When I bought it it only had 70k miles it now has 260k. It has never left me stranded. When I bought it I did a few things to it as a precaution. I replaced the trans cooler with a 6.0 cooler. Changed the main wiring harness and the under the valve cover gaskets. Changed the passenger side fuel line. Recently changed the front ball joints and the serpentine belt and replaced the alternator with a high capacity alternator.
I have owned a bunch of trucks and the Excursion is by far my favorite. So simple and super easy to work on. Also lots of parts available if needed.