SUV or Truck

The Avalanche is awesome. With the rear seats folded down you have a bed over 8' long and 4' wide with the tailgate closed. On those nice days you can open the rear covers and take out the window and have that open-air jeep thing going on. Helped my dad pick up some drywall and plywood and I can tell you for sure that it will fit 4'x8' sheets of whatever. It also makes a good camper. We just leve the covers on the back, fold down the rear seats, throw down an egg-crate thingy and a comforter and sleep in sleeping bags. Almost no down time to set-up camp. When we get to the lakes we pay our fees, post a reservation sticker and get to fishin'. In the morning we just roll it all up and throw it aside and go. No waiting till the afternoon to come back to camp and tear down a tent that you had to let dry. Rides good, pulls good, camps/sleeps good, hauls good, and you have the best of both worlds. Since being in my dad's a few times, I know the next time I purchase a vehicle, I WILL BUY AN AVALANCHE. For all of the people talking about American made vehicles, here is my deal: I have a Ford and a Honda. My Honda was manufactured in the U.S. and my Ford has parts in it from all over the globe. My Honda gets better gas mileage and has been more dependable. Both have been dealer serviced at the scheduled mileages and the ford has had higher service charges and more actual repairs other than the scheduled maintenance. With the reliability and re-sale value, why not give them a shot? Honda now has 2 vehicles that can pull a boat. Looked @ the Pilots and the Ridgeliners recently and both seem to be decent vehicles, although I do still prefer the CHEVY AVALANCHE. Just my $.02

Get a truck. You never know when you are gonna need to haul some cumbersome piece of furniture that will not fit into the back of an suv. I have a 2WD Ford F-150 that does everything I need it to.

The Avalanche bed is not much different than having a standard truck bed. Have you seen one with the rear covers removed? Same open bed and if you are hauling something that can't be exposed to the weather you can easily put the covers on in a matter of seconds, unlike a hard cover or topper. The rear covers make the bed totally water-tight. Lots of toppers and hard covers leak after just a short time, but my father's 4 year old Avalanche still stays as dry as can be when the covers are on. I just helped my father pick up a decent load from Lowe's the other day and had no problem gatting it all in and covering it (it was raining). Undo two latches on each of the back two panels and four on the front, load it, and then slide the panels in place and re-latch them. Nothing to it and you don't have to worry about the weather. What can a pick-up haul that an Avalanche can't? Not much if anything. Washer, dryer, couch, no problem and with the seats down it will accomadate all tournament legal (8') rods. What else could you ask for?

I like the comfort and the "drive-ability" of my previous SUV's in particular the Tahoe. The problem I experienced with them was I was not satisfied with the pulling power when towing my boat. Overall power was great but pulling power or torque sucked. This created a MPG issue when trying to get more power without a larger engine. With $3 per gallon gas I didn't want 10-15 MPG on highway. I settled on a chevy crew-cab duramax 6.6L diesel with an allison transmission. Lots of power and pulls like a dream with 20+MPG on the highway when not pulling something. I get around 15MPG pulling my boat depending on the terrain. I still like the comfort of the suv but love the power of the duramax.

My ultimate vehicle would be a chevy suburban with a duramax engine and a allison transmission. You will never know you are pulling your boat plus it gets better MPG than any truck of size that I know of. Maybe someday Chevy will wake up on this concept.

Ever considered a van. Honda, Kia, and Toyota can tow 3500 lbs per the manual (Honda the best). My boat weighs 2000lbs and I have towed it from the gulf and Canada many times. Works great. Plus you can put all your stuff in the van and lock it up or keep it out of the rain. I got down to the the real late Friday put all my stuff from the boat in the van on one side and slept strteched out on the other at the boat ramp.

I know vans aren't for everybody but the practically of a van for a fisherman is great.

Good luck

I'm going to have to agree with the Avalanche comments.

I was not a fan of the Avalanche, mostly because of looks. That plastic grey cladding was kind of nasty, but the new 07 models are HOT. I got an up close and personal look at an 07 yesterday and I think I'm in love.
The 07 Tahoe/Suburban front end, no cladding, with a truck bed that's somewhat useable. I'd fire off on an 07 Avalanche LTZ model right now if I wasn't so upside down on this stupid Jeep.

Anybody want to give me $9000 over book on an 05 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4X4 with all the bells and whistles, V8, navigation, and sweet chrome wheels? LOL Daddy needs an Avalanche!

DODGE RAM 1500 4.7 LITRE 240 HORSE and the mileage is great for a pick-up but I'am only pulling a nx882 nitro with a optimax 175

Full sized van. Try a Ford E-250 or 350. 5.4 liter motor, limited slip rear end. Why? Room for a ton of equipment inside, out of the rain, far more than a SUV, and far more secure than a pickup bed. Full size van is easy to sleep in to save a motel bill, you can even stretch out. At the ramp, back rig in, then get out of drivers seat toward the inboard side, and walk thru the van to the boat, over the tongue and on board. NO WET FEET!. Same when you come in, run on the trailer, climb over the bow, over the tongue, thru the van to the drivers seat, and off the ramp ya go. Get an 8 passenger seating arrangement, take the last row seat out, and you can now haul the boat, 5 people in comfort, all the luggage, all the gear, and the ice chest is inside with you. And, I can even set up the porta potty, and momma don't make me stop every 30 minutes! And by the way, I got one totally loaded with leather, Video system with 2 screens, power everything, front and rear AC, ABS at all 4 corners, running boards, privacy glass, 5.4 liter motor, LS rear, Class 3 hitch, CD, compass, outside temp, the works. It MSRP'd for $34, with rebates and white knuckle negotiating, I walked out a just a touch over $30K. Better, get the same thing back from lease, 2 years old, still has warranty, like my last one. It MSRP'd for $32K when new, and I bought for $18k, loaded totally to sin levels. You won't burn more gas than and SUV or pickup, and you will save a ton of bucks, as Vans just AIN'T SEXY. Last, they are no more prone to crosswinds than a hog SUV. But do get the 3/4 ton 250, or 1 ton 350 as they do ride and handle better than the wimpy 150, 1/2 ton.

hey bassmaster,
I am selling a 2003 Dodge Ram HEMI 4x4 towing pkg etc. I will give you a really good price on this vehicle, only 51000 miles. I have it on autotrader for $16 300 but am willing to come down on that price quite a bit, I have too many payments and need to sell quick. Email me at [email][email protected][/email].

F-350 with 7.3 diesel, crew cab. will haul 7 people and pull a house without a decrease in fuel mileage. I get 17 mpg stock pulling a 20ft boat. Add a chip , cold air intake and 4-5" exhaust. This will put your fuel mileage up to 23 mpg with boat behind you.

Well i purchased myself a Truck over the weekend. I had a 1998 F150 with a V6 2WD previously, and it handled my boat real well. There was nothing wrong with the truck until I totaled it. It was a great truck. So I was looking for something along that line. I bought me a 2004 F150 with a V6 2WD like the one before.

After all those people said to buy a Chevy he bought a Ford! What a good Man he must be. From someone who makes a living building Ford Trucks, THANK YOU!