Suggestions for a new TV

We expect  to buy a new(or used) tow vehicle this spring for our 173.  We usually go out for a week or more and travel through mountains and all types of terrain(not 4 wheel off-road). We boondock and camp in parks.  There are only 2 of us, and we typically take a fully loaded pod(no liquids  in the tanks, just food and gear), 2 bikes and a canoe. 

We are currently using a Chevy Astro van and like it well enough, but feel it is minimal in the mountains.  We don't have any brand loyalty to a great degree. We have initially pared our list to a Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon.  I hope  to buy a vehicle that is 2-3 years old.

So far, from what we have read and seen, the biggest difference seems to be  dealing with the Tahoe/Yukon 3rd row seat issue-we don't want/need the third row and would probably remove them.  The other differences seem more with the specs(hp, torque, mpg, engine size, axle ratios, etc) and don't seem very different  overall .

I don't mean  to start a brand loyalty war, but would love to hear  any thoughts or suggestions??  We would love to hear from owners of these(or other) vehicles.

Thank you

Vann Evans

+1 for GMC products.

We have a 2005 Chev. Tahoe 4WD and have been extremely happy with it.  We have towed our Pod about 6K miles since purchasing it in June of 2012.  Goes up huge mountains with nary a sweat at 65 or faster if I needed to do it.  Our mileage varied from mountains of 10 MPG to 13 on the straightaways.  We have the third seats and do remove them when camping but really don't need the extra space.  Can't say enough good things about Chevy products.  Every brand has a few "lemons," however we have been extremely satisfied and will buy another when needed.  Only have about 65K miles at present.  Safe Travels.

Well as a Chevy owner with 4 WD we have not had any problems.  That being said, while living in So. Cal. for many years we never had a need for 4 WD and when buying our Suburban, which I sorely miss, I ordered it without 4 WD.  However, in Oregon, we do get the occasional snow and 4 WD is just what the doctor ordered when trying to get around all of the 2 WD vehicles that have gotten stuck in 2-4 inches of snow.  You will have lower fuel economy while in 4 WD and with the additional mechanical equipment, more of a chance for maintenance problems.  But, if you need it, its fabulous.  Safe Travels. 

My Suburban (a sister model to the Yukon XL and big sister to the Yukon and Tahoe) gets an A+ for towing and hauling.  Whether that is 8 people, my utility trailer full of 3500 pounds of mulch, or 3000 pounds of pod, I don't regret selling our Toyota Sienna for those purposes.  For the loads I pull I've found I don't use the tow/haul mode.  I like the alternative shift points and automatic downshifting, but the shift points also reduce mpgs a little so I now prefer to not use it and manually downshift when necessary.

Christmas week gave us several chances to see how the 4WD would allow it to handle on our road, which has extreme curves and hills.  Our Prius got stuck coming home from Christmas Eve services a half-mile from our house since the road hadn't been plowed yet.  The Suburban got us back to the Prius, allowed me to tow it up a hill to a neighbor's driveway, and then get home without a problem.

I have different feelings about the overall user interface, I give that a D.  After owning two Toyotas in the last decade I wish Toyota's design team had been involved in GM's truck redesign back in 2006.  I could list 50 things that drive me nuts. Such as the clock on the radio disappearing during a phone call - right when I often need it most ('yeah I'm running late I'll be there around ...<glance at clock>... 8:10').  Lots of buttons on the steering wheel but none of the ones that are really important, like the windshield defroster.  That is a little teeny button the size of the end of my pinky finger way below the radio where I have to take my eyes off the road and look way down to find it.  Even though it is a huge vehicle, there is almost no storage for all of the small stuff - sunglasses, coins, etc.  The middle and back seats have almost no storage including none on the doors (and the door storage in the front seat is impossible to reach with the door closed!).  Etc, etc.

A helpful hint if you don't like the headrests on the front seat.  They had to be designed to push your head forward to meet new whiplash safety standards, but I found I couldn't get comfortable at all.  It wasn't something that was apparent during the test drive.  Once I was home and drove it around for a while I started looking for a solution.  Someone online suggested this - you can switch the headrests from the front seat with the ones in the middle or rear.  I switched them with the middle seats.  The rear headrests don't jut forward as much so it allows you to keep your head upright in the front seat, and the larger front headrests work well in the middle seats.  To do this you need a paperclip to push in the very small release located at the base of one of the two metal poles.