My situation -

I currently drive a 2003 Chevrolet Extended Cab Z71 pickup. My wife drives a 2011 Toyota Highlander. We have a 5 month old baby and the last two trips we have taken I have felt like the car (Highlander) was stuffed to the gills, and that was without Christmas presents, dogs, etc.

I am thinking about trading my pickup in and buying a Suburban/Yukon XL.

Questions -

I have always driven a truck and use the bed fairly often for plants, mulch, wood, etc. Am I going to miss having the bed? Can't I just buy a craigslist utility trailer?

Any concerns with the 2010-2013 Suburbans/Yukon XL's? Any major issues to look for when looking at used Suburbans/Yukon XL's? Is a new body style coming out soon?

About what should I pay for a 2011 Yukon XL with leather seats, 35,000 miles?

I am going to sell my pickup on Craigslist. About what should I ask for a 2003 Chevrolet 1500 V8 Z71 with 120,000 miles?

Thanks in advance!

In my experience, once you own a truck, and use it often for it's intended purpose, you will always want a truck in your stable of vehicles. You will miss not having one greatly.

Have you thought about purchasing a cargo hitch carrier? We have one that we use with our CX-9, and it provides us with plenty of extra space when taking trips.

You, your wife, and a 5 month old leaves your Highlander packed full? What are you carrying?

I would rather drive it packed than spend the money to get a bigger, thirstier vehicle.

Why not get the wife a suburban? I am in a family that has a suburban, a truck, and a smaller SUV. No kids, but several dogs.

No one vehicle can do everything we need it to do, so I've kept my old chevy truck running for its special uses instead of selling it. The only penalty is another registration and higher insurance costs.

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You, your wife, and a 5 month old leaves your Highlander packed full? What are you carrying?

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This. I swear, people have a kid and all of a sudden they think they need to be driving a semi.

Regulations and peer pressure make people obligated to carry a ton of crap around with the one baby, it would seem. Another baby basically only adds one more carseat it would appear, so it is that first one that is the big burden.

Car seat, stroller, baby bag, pen, etc. I've seen it all in my sister's SUV's.

OR, you could replace the highlander with a minivan. My inlaws have a highlander, and they're not all that big inside. What we may have here is new parents that haven't learned all the tricks of what they really need and don't need on a trip, so they take it all just in case.

[This message has been edited by MouthBQ98 (edited 8/13/2012 11:02a).]

As a family who has had at least one truck in the fleet since 2000, I thought I'd miss having one when we went to two SUVs a couple of months ago. I've probably had the need to haul more in the last two months than in the past year, but my single axle landscape trailer has served me well. I can hook it up in less than 5 minutes and have more versatility than I would in a truck.

Car seat - check
Stroller - check
Baby bag (diapers, bottles, etc.) - check

A 5 mo. old doesn't need or use a pen.

Luggage for parents - two bags
Luggage for infant - 1 cu. ft.

How did my family of three get by without a full size SUV?

Crew cab truck with roll up bed cover and bed rug and a hitch rack. Can bring everything, plus get stuff done.

We are absolutely guilty of taking too much "baby stuff" with us on trips. Pack & Play, travel swing (kid won't nap w/o her swing) toys, BOB stroller, etc. But we also have our luggage, a cooler, laptop bags, etc. The Highlander just doesn't have a ton of room without moving some of the luggage to the back seat.

I have thought about a truck with a bed cover, and that may be where I ultimately land, but I personally hate bed covers on trucks aesthetically.

Wife doesn't want to drive a Suburban around town (and neither does the general public) so that option is out.

Thanks for the input and I will continue to ponder....

Mouse,

Buy a bakflip cover. I just put one of these on my truck to allow us to travel in it with our kids gear. When I don't need it, the cover is removeable within 30 secs, and only weighs 35 lbs. it locks, is weather resistant, and not something one can tear.

I purchased a car a year ago thinking I needed more practicality in my life,strike one.....Then bought a beast (yukon xl), and hated it, strike two. Finally, went the sensible route with crewcab. So far, home run.

I like our burban alright. You can do almost anything with it. Wife loves it. But when you need a truckbed...you don't have it.

Hate to break it to you, but Tahoe isn't THAT much larger inside than the Highlander.

Took wife/I and two kids to FL in a Highlander and we had room to spare. FIL also drove and took his Tahoe, wife, and a young couple (20's) and the only way he was able to pack everything was using a tailgate extension rack. Been through what you are going through now and having essentially two identical vehicles doesn't make the most sense. If you need more space get a roof rack for the Highlander and prioritize your packing. More than enough room for 1 child + parents and crap if you plan it well. Keep in mind that you are also going to outgrow much of what ails you relatively quickly: Swing and pack/play are both going to be gone in no time and the stroller is next. Don’t dive into a new car when you are quickly going to outgrow many of the items taking up much of the room.

Back to the OP, I'm like you. I can get by with a midsize, but throw in my 2 dogs and the Xterra was useless. Granted I have great danes so my challenge is greater than most. If your dogs are small, keep the highlander and get a hitch rack. Problem solved.

Now if you're like me and have giant breeeds, If it is financially feasible, could the highlander be dumped for the Suburban?

No way the wife wants to drive the Suburban. BoyNamedSue - I am going with a Suburban. I agree about the Tahoe vs Highlander. I have decided to go with a 2011 Yukon XL and then found a 1996 F-350 single cab power stroke with manual transmission on CL. Loved that body style and it's a great price. I'll have best of both worlds.

I love my Thule cargo carrier.
Opens on either side. Swedish made, I think.

We had this need and we decided on an avalanche and loved its versatility. When we had to pack to the gills it never wasn't adequate. Don't underestimate its function as a truck!!

Oops, DP

[This message has been edited by Mr. Dubi (edited 8/14/2012 6:07a).]

I had a Tacoma DoubleCab (42"x48" bed") for four years, Dubi was driving a 'Burban. We were active in motocross, camping and home renovation at the time, so we bought an 8x5' mesh bottom trailer. The trailer served us well for what we did, but in reality, we could have just rented one for $30/day over the years and actually come out ahead. I like the idea of a trailer to meet the landscaping and home improvement needs, but surely you could get by with what you have with one kid? We did it with two infants/toddlers in a Subaru wagon for a couple years, then down sized to an Acura Integra until the kids got big enough for motocross and camping....

It's not an issue of "getting by" more so than an issue of comfort, I suppose. Sure we could put a carrier on top or pack lighter, etc. but I just feel that we are going to need the room. The last trip we took we found some great items but couldn't buy them because we didn't have the room. If we'd had a Suburban we could have had plenty of space. Again, this was without the dogs and their carriers. I'm also thinking ahead to Christmas. Even before the kiddo, our Highlander was packed to the brim with presents, food, etc. coming and going to each family. It's going to multiply this year as everyone will want to give her some big pink plastic something or other.

Every one of my friends that has given up a truck for an SUV has regretted it. I have a 16 month old, the first few trips we over packed but learned real quick how to bring less. We also bought a rack for the receiver hitch, helped out a lot.

Get a 4 door truck and either a camper shell or bed cover. Solves all the problems.

One more thing...at the time we had the avalanche I loved being able to have all that gear unseen from the outside. I was always concerned someone would break into the back of they saw 2,000 worth iof kid stuff.

I now have an armada and love the power 3rd how and back gate!!

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No way the wife wants to drive the Suburban. BoyNamedSue - I am going with a Suburban. I agree about the Tahoe vs Highlander. I have decided to go with a 2011 Yukon XL and then found a 1996 F-350 single cab power stroke with manual transmission on CL. Loved that body style and it's a great price. I'll have best of both worlds.

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OK, so YOU are going to drive the Suburban/XL...and keep the Highlander AND get an older model truck? Is that right?

BoyNamedSue - Yes, that's correct. Trading in my old truck for a Suburban for me to drive and then purchasing an old beater truck to have around if needed. The Ford fell through once I went and actually inspected/drove it.

That's kind of funny. My wife LOVES big trucks. She would have bought an excursion if I would have let her a few years back.

She drives the suburban. I drive the Xterra 4x4 or sometimes my old truck. I'm trying to save the truck for towing and carrying stuff for a few more years by going easy on the miles.