Chevy Avalanche?

[un2xs]

I am needing a new-to-me daily driver. I drove a Yukon until recently when the main bearings decided to go out after I put $2,600 into the tranny. That's the way it goes sometimes. On the same theme, my GMC 2500 has water in the oil and maybe a bad tranny, too.

So, do I fix what I have or buy new-to-me? (I don't want a monthly payment.)

The Chevy Avalance intrigues me. It's an SUV when you need interior room. It can be a hauler with a 4x8 bed when you need that.

Do any of you have experience with Avalanches? Anything I need to watch for with these? There are a handful of 2500s close enough to consider. These had the 8.1L while the 1500 generally has the 5.3L. (My understanding is that the 2500s were only made for 5 years.)

[Trbo323]

I've not heard many good things about the avalanche. It's not like I'd expect it to fall apart the minute you drive it off the lot but also if you are looking for something more reliable I'm not sure it's the answer.

If you are not brand specific have you thought about the Toyota tundra? My wife and I have now owned 4 Toyota vehicles (Corolla, Tacoma, sienna, tundra) and all have been absolutely fantastic. Between my Tacoma and the tundra (roughly 10 years total) I've spent a grand total of $12 fixing broken items. That's it. Both were purchased used when I got them and right around 100k already. My tundra has a crewmax cab so the back seats are huge but the bed length takes a hit. For me that's fine because we wanted something that could haul car seats and a trailer. For you, you could look at the shorter cab versions if you want the bed length. Mine is a 5.7L (2016) but I think the newer ones are either a 5 or 5.3L that produces the same power.

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[Morgenstern]

Fix what you have or buy the nicest used Toyota pickup you can afford. Playing Russian roulette with used gmc trucks designed to turn into money pits when the warranty is up will not yield favorable results unless you get really really lucky. You already have two with both engine and transmission problems, don’t get a third! :-0

Also, if you need a people hauler that can also haul 4x8 sheets, unless you need the extra ground clearance or to move a lot of concrete and rocks, a Toyota Sienna beats a truck any day, but it might not be a good fit if you have an emotional need to be seen in a truck, which I don’t hold against anyone. Trucks are cool lookin’

[un2xs]

Odd you should bring up the Sienna. I drive one at work and really like it. I had just not considered it for a personal vehicle. And it IS reliable... and in my budget. Hmmmm.... This is why I post stuff here. The MAN hive mind often brings up options I had not considered. Might be time to see which Toyota's are available.

[redsquirrel]

I’ve had a Sienna for about 6 years and love it. Use it like a truck constantly. Middle seats are easy to get in and out and I’ve hauled just about everything: plywood, brush, couch, bed, rick of firewood (wouldn’t recommend as it was close to weight capacity). Have also driven up to 17hours in a day comfortably enough with a carload of people. ~150k miles and no issues yet.

[Mr. Hick]

I know you love the Tired Iron.... I have watched your post. You are honestly much better off short blocking the 2500 or Yukon if the rest of the truck is still in good enough shape then buying another used, almost completely spent Chevy that has known problems with the body and bed attachments. The 5.3 and 8.1 will have all the normal problems associated with chevys that are used by soccer moms and not well taken care of. If Kansas is anything like the north east I can also promise you that every avalanche is going to have body work done that was never reported. I have never seen one that didn't need a new bumper or two.

The avalanche is definitely a skip, In my book. You want goofy looking, barely running and constantly tinkering you should try to find a subaru baja. Odds are pretty good its going to need a motor too

[martix_agent]

I've got a 2005 sierra, and that's pretty much an avalance minus the weird bed covers. There's no way I would use it as a daily driver. It's super expensive to fuel, and I've already had to replace multiple things on it, including the radiator, transmission cooling lines, power steering lines, and the power steering pump. It's good for use as a work/hauling tuck on occasion but I wouldn't want to try to daily drive it. Too much is going to start going wrong.

[Jordan]

If you go Toyota Tacoma, watch out for frame rot.

[Meleager7]

do those coating places like Krown, help prevent rusted out frames, and body panels?

[Jordan]

Meleager7 they do, although I'm not a big fan of what Krown does to rubber door seals (they tend to fall apart after a few years of exposure to whatever Krown uses).

[Trbo323]

If you go Toyota Tacoma, watch out for frame rot.

???

I've never heard anything about this before, what's the story?

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[Jordan]

???

I've never heard anything about this before, what's the story?

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'04 to '17 have frame perforation problems in certain areas of North America.

Toyota replaced a lot of frames in '08, '09 and '10 on 5 year old trucks (at the time).

[Mr. Hick]

To chime in on this: Even the frames that didn't get replaced are far more prone to extensive surface rust. If you owned a 04-09 Tacoma in NH it wasn't if you were going to get a new frame, it was WHEN. 5 year old trucks were breaking in half. 2017 models are now in that catagory too. Them seem to be rusting from together near the front wheel wells more than the older (04-09) trucks.

[Boblongfan]

Used trucks are always a gamble as some people drive them like lunatics. They stopped making the avalanche in 2013 so even the newest ones are almost 12 years old now. I’m not a “it needs to be new” guy but they do have some known problems and I find the 15 year mark is when gm vehicles start needing serious repairs. Depends how many miles. Also the “extended bed” gimmick they have is a little deceiving. I don’t remember if you can take the back window out but basically the seats just fold down. I would look at maybe a gmc 2500. Those have serious get up and go compared to the 2007 avalanche I drove for a bit

[acrewofone]

2004 to 2012 Chevy Colorado / GMC Canyon had the same frame rot problem as the Toyota, except Chevy refused to do anything about it, unlike Toyota, which replaced a bunch of frames under warranty. Luckily my 2007 Colorado was garaged in California, in it's early life, no rust, no rot.

[JeeperCreeper]

The Avalanche was the one that went from a truck to an SUV, right? I know anything that's convertible is going to leak eventually. I know this because I drive a Jeep, and it's on its second top and is leaking again. (Bestop is the best top my ass. Dang thing didnt last 5 years, but didnt fail until just after the 3 year warranty ran out 🙄)

I don't see many people needing that feature. You usually either buy a crew cab pickup, or an SUV. Why would you need to switch between the 2? If you have a truck, you can use a tonneau cover, or even an old man camper cap, and have even more hauling capacity.

I'd say it's a downgrade from what you have. I always go for the fix it option, but that's me. Why buy new when I can swear at the thing and the dang engi-nerds for 2 hours, then eventually get it back together (the car and my composure.)

I'm currently fixing a window regulator in my lady's Grand Cherokee. It makes me want to cry, but I'll get the thing working again. Frigging engineers.

[martix_agent]

The Avalanche was the one that went from a truck to an SUV, right? I know anything that's convertible is going to leak eventually. I know this because I drive a Jeep, and it's on its second top and is leaking again. (Bestop is the best top my ass. Dang thing didnt last 5 years, but didnt fail until just after the 3 year warranty ran out 🙄)

I don't see many people needing that feature. You usually either buy a crew cab pickup, or an SUV. Why would you need to switch between the 2? If you have a truck, you can use a tonneau cover, or even an old man camper cap, and have even more hauling capacity.

I'd say it's a downgrade from what you have. I always go for the fix it option, but that's me. Why buy new when I can swear at the thing and the dang engi-nerds for 2 hours, then eventually get it back together (the car and my composure.)

I'm currently fixing a window regulator in my lady's Grand Cherokee. It makes me want to cry, but I'll get the thing working again. Frigging engineers.

It a 1500 with a fancy bed. The bed has hard covers and some side storage.
The back seat folds down, and you can also fold down the separation between the cab and the bed, to store longer stuff. I'm not aware of this part ever leaking. My parents had a generation 1, and the hard bed covers always leaked; I'm pretty sure this was addressed quickly for the later built ones.

[Tarsun2]

i know a retired foreman who was tough as nails, no nonsense kindda guy that would hesitate to throw someone offsite. (as in feet leaving the ground).
he drove a sienna instead of a pickup. loved it. put a few hundred thousand miles on it and was genuinely upset when it finally bit the bullet.

my father drove a 08(?) rav4 and took the rear seats out. used it as a pickup truck. was used to haul a trailer, carry firewood, bring about a 1,000lbs of batteries to the recycle center, and haul gear/supplies. he didnt have to worry about his stuff getting wet or stolen either.

dont sleep on the "family haulers".

i think the 5.3 is a solid engine, just everything connected to it and the vehicle will fall apart. like the audi 1.8T.

[JeeperCreeper]

I've hauled so much in my 2 door Wrangler it makes people question my sanity, you know, more than usual.

The worst thing I did was put a 32 ft ladder on top, strapped to the roll bar and my light bar rack with the top down. The noise was unbearable. Clanging ladder hooks and the wind going through the rungs. But I did get it where it needed to go.

[Grendel]

All I can say about the Avalanche is never drive down a dirt road or through a bunch of dry leaves with it open between the cab and the bed. The truck creates a perfect low pressure zone in the cab when you do this and sucks all of the debris right into the cab. Which defeats one of its main selling features.

[JeeperCreeper]

Was this knowledge you picked up first hand? This seems like something I would figure out the hard way.

[martix_agent]

The same thing happens when you have a rear window that opens. I also found this out firsthand.

[Grendel]

Yup, was helping a friend build a pond and took his Avalanche to go get some sandwiches and drove down a dirt road, thought I was going to get in a wreck it obscured my vision with so much dust in the cab. Tim laughed his ass off when I got back.