After some a bunch of research I finally pulled the trigger on a '01 4wd V10 Excursion Limited with 93k miles from a fellow member on this board. We have a cottage about 4 hours from our house so it is perfect for those travels which is usually my wife and I, daughter and usually a friend, and two dogs + gear. We also on occasion will tow a 25' enlosed snowmobile trailer (#7500 loaded) with either sleds or ATV's in it. We are coming from a '01 2500 Dodge Ram/ Cummins and the last year used an '05 Dodge Ram/ Cummins after the '01 was sold. Love both of those trucks but just can't justify having that much money tied up in something that will be driven less than 10k miles a year. Plus we just didn't have the comfort for the trips, we where all packed in pretty tight.

The X we picked up has :
Hellwig rear sway bar
Timbren rear suspension kit
Bilstien shocks
Warn hubs
Banks cat back exhaust

The ball joints, CV joints , trans lines, spark plugs, and brakes where done around 20k miles ago. Manifold bolts where done a few years ago, one bolt is broken though. Front and rear axle gearlube was done within a few years ago.
The truck came with a complete maintence folder/log with all receipts.
All i've done with it was change the oil , had the trans flushed and filter changed, and replaced a front left wheel bearing. I will probably change the driveshaft u joints before summer is over and we start towing. I think the only thing wrong with it is the rear drivers door lock doesn't unlock, it has to be manually unlocked. Not a big deal, I've actually got a spare lock unit but don't think I will replace it for something this trivial. Eventually I'll have to do manifold bolts again as well. I'm very happy I found a very clean truck expecially being in MI, that was well maintained. I didn't steal it but paid a fair price for a nice vehicle.
So far we've put about 600 miles on the truck and the family is loving it, being a Dodge/Cummins guy it's taking some time for me and the X to bond
Our first 240 mile trip I was pleasantly surprised with the mileage. Now I did have the cruise control set at 70mph for the majority of the trip but even loaded up with the A/C on we got a manually calculated 15mpg (overhead showed 15.3). I can live with that. Now the couple of times I've driven the truck to work 74 mile round trip in rush our type traffic...well I will have to say the mileage is laughable , I struggle to get 10 and have seen 8. It is what it is though. I really do like the truck, it looks great, and is very comfortable was a little surprised about how it drives though. It sort of reminds me of an old '77 Chrysler New Yorker I once owned. I hate comparing my old truck (don't want to do the Dodge vs Ford thing) to this one but I used to be able to zip thru traffic with it, it didn't feel like 3/4 ton truck, it actually felt pretty nimble. The X feels like a lumbering land barge. It's got to be due to how much it weighs. I think my old truck was something like #6600. Again it is what it is. Now I just can't weight to see how it tows. Overall , I am happy with the truck and the more I get used to it the more I like it.

Sorry for the long post, and finally here are some pics:

 

Very nice looking X. Same color combo as mine but yours is little more pristine. You will love the room on the trip up north. My family loves the room as they can be sitting not on top of each other. Envision packing 6 in a pickup for a camping trip! Likewise I am a Dodge guy, coming from a 04 Ram for towing. Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised from the towing aspect. Your truck setup seems good for that. Mine was stock and my first tow was stressful to say the least. Lots of wandering. Being a fellow Michigander, if we can just keep the rust off it, we should be good for a long time.

Welcome to the club!

 

Damn, we have twins ! One of the many major selling points for me was the fact it was set up to tow. It's hard to explain to the wife that we just spent "x" amount of money for a 3/4 SUV but will have to spend another $1k or so to make it tow safely.
And yes Michigan sucks for keeping vehicles nice, the previous owner did such a great job of keeping the rust off this truck, hopefully I can as well.

 

Congrats on the purchase, and 15 mpg highway is impressive for a V10 X IMO, I wouldn't expect that good especially going 70 mph.

I feel your pain regarding the search for an X, I am in IL and I bought an X back in December and finding a clean example can be quite a challenge up here.
I went with a diesel and I have had over $20K in work done to the truck (warranty and dealer paid for) since December. Now the truck is running perfect and I love it, but if I knew then what I know now I would have taken a much more serious look at the gassers myself.

Enjoy the X!

 

Tripplets?

 

Trust me, it wasn't an easy decision for me to go with the gasser. I've had diesels since 2000, my car my truck.. I love diesels. So I decided that I wanted nothing to do with a 6.0 and started looking for 7.3's... saw what the prices where for a nice one then did the math on how many miles we would use it, upkeep etc. Then thought I'd go the 6.0 route just because I still didn't want to go with gas then a friend had a 6.0 in his shop , told me what the bill was and I just about fell over... now I'm a V10 owner. I still get a little teary eyed when I hear a Cummins rattling away. Now if about $10k fell into my lap.. this X would have a Cummins.

 

Very nice !

 

Quads??

I have one like it myself. I told the wife that'd all I would need to tow our travel trailer. Since then I have added several mods. She says I thought it was what we needed when we bought it? Darn PMS!

 

To be part of the blue and tan club we need proof, let's see some pictures!!!

 

congrats on new ride

 

I love those but dont know what I would do without a pickup bed. Guess I will have to get an X and keep the F350 too. I'm sure the wife won't mind. Right?

 

[QUOTE=DouglasH;11940108]To be part of the blue and tan club we need proof, let's see some pictures!!![/QUOTE

If I only knew how! Lol

 

welcome to the family

 

That is a nice looking Excursion, we have one as well with the V10, it has given us over 150K miles since we bought it 6 years ago.
Welcome to the forums, we wish you many trouble free miles. Happy motoring!

-Mark

 

Welcome to the club. I suspect you'll be happy with the V-10 for towing, and as others have said ..... you can't take 6 in comfort with all the toys in anything else!

BTW, that's not a long post.