ok SUV KING owner, i've been kickin this around ALLL day. here's a brief background

my "cousin-in-law" acquired a 2002 EX from a forestry auction. here's the stats......... 2002, 114K, V10, carpet replaced with vinyl floor, 3rd row seat taken out, XLT package, all A/C, CD player, ect, all records kept by forestry service (oil changes, trans fluid changes, diff fluids). he put a better set of tires on it, and a billet grill, other than that it's a great driving truck (SUV sorry guys). and if the tags are correct on the diffs......... it has a factory set of 4.30's in it.

i drive a 1992 chevy Z-71 with 142K, little to no issues (yea it gets it quirk every now and again, but hey it's almost 20 years old), it does what a work truck is suposed to, and i make sure it's well maintained. the kicker is, with the exhaust work, intake work ect....... i consistantly get 17-18mpg out of the good ol 5.7L!

now to the kicker......... my "cousin-in-law" said he's looking at selling it........well i know the round about what he payed for it, and i have no problem with an honest effort to make a little money in this economic situation.......... well i told him i'd have to pay off our van first (the only vehicle i have a payment on)..... well he throws out the idea "how bout trading me your Z-71 and $2000 and we'll swap..........

well this almost seems "to good to be true" kind of thing, be he is an honest guy, and he offered to let me drive the EX while he's off working for the rail road for a couple months, and when he gets back we'll work on the trade. i've never had a NON-truck "work truck" before, and i hate to give up the gas milage of the 5.7L for the estimated gas milage of the good ol 10er, AND the open bed of a truck.......BUT i have a F250 V10 built the way i want, and i know the V10 potential, but still am real LEARY of the drop in gas milage for a work truck/work SUV.

what do the EX owners think of this situation?? thanks for the imput.

 

You are already aware of the MPG situation, so my only thought to add is I'm glad Ford didn't sell out to the guvmint like Chrysler & GM!

 

LOL........ AMEN brother..........

i know/ heard that the EX may get a couple mpg's less......... but he says he's been around 10-11mpg on home to town and back adventures.......but hasn't taken it on any long steady trip with it to get a good mpgs for HWY.

 

Well the question is can you live without the open bed? My suggestion is to make a list of what you regularly put in the bed of the z71. Then decide if you can live with the idea of having that inside the back of the EX.
Removing the third seat make up a lot of space to put things. Even with just folding down the second and third row seats I have 7'6" fence posts in my Ex and not have problems.
As to the gas milage issue... It's and Excursion not a Sub-compact car. If MPG are your greatest concern keep the z71.

 

that is a good idea, and i did sit down with some PRO's and CON's of both.

here's what i've come up with......... first off i have 4 kids....... 2 kids and myself BARELY fit in the Z71, and the EX has way more potential as far as loading up the kids and the wife to go out to the woods to camp/ride atv's ect. there are some things that a minivan just can't carry, with the EX, i'd have a second option when heading into town for supplies!

and as for hauling a load, every once in a blue moon, i load up one of our atv's to take over to a friends house/to the trails/or to work....besides that, i use it for misc cargo to include, the every other day trash take out, ect.......but as for normal every day use it's empty. i usually keep an extra uniform/boots, ratchet straps, and a few misc tools in the box in the bed, but that can be held in the back of the Ex just as easy. and i was contemplating the trash removal situation, and i've already started the plans for a rear cargo extension off of the hitch. i have most all the material at work so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

and last, i think that going from an almost 20 year old truck to a 7 year old suv will be a good upgrade. i'll be gaining a vehicle 10 years newer for $2000, and to top it off it's going to drop my insurance about $50/month, so that might make up for slightly less gas milage.

we are finalizing everything monday morning, so i'm looking forward to the swap. i'm keeping all the stereo speakers and head unit out of my truck, so now i'll just have to decide if i need to upgrade the sound system right away, hahaha. looking forward to being part of the royal family!!

 

If you can handle the fual mileage I think you can get that minivan and truck all wrapped up into one. You just wont get all the jokes form your buddies that come along with the minivan lol. The excursion is a VERY stout platform and some very high quality parts throughout. You really cnat go wrong, and may think about buying a cheap small trailer to tow around those ATV's or anything too big to fit inside the X if you have room to keep the lil trailer. Your truck plus 2K seems very fair on your end and I would even say your getting a pretty darn good deal if everything on the excursion is in good shape. Considering your mileage on the chevy, and what it would cost to get a minivan for the family, the X and a small trailor will save you $ in the long run I'd imagine. The only catch is the extra $ would go towards the extra fuel you will burn, but hey at lest its not a minivan!

 

LOL.......... i already have the "goober mobile"...... hahaha

we bought a van about 2 years ago(when we saw TWINS in the sonogram), i can't complain (to much) gas milage is good 23/28 and it hauls the family......... but cargo room SUX!

this EX is going to replace my daily driving, to and from work truck. PLUS double as a second option for hauling around the family.

i know many people say (and i've tried never to do this as well) NEVER do business with family, but this one is really hard to pas up.

i drove it for a weekend, ran errands, took it out on the road for about 40 miles each way, and checked for leaks, grinding noises, loose parts ect...... it checks out pretty good!! he changed the oil about 2K ago (so he says, and he keeps a clean vehicle as do i). so the oil looks clean, i checked the tail pipe and the #1 plug for oil residue, came up with nothing, all pressures (according to the gauges) read normal, no trans slippage, fluid looked good..........

all in all it looks like a well maintained/used EX. my cousin-in-law wants a "TRUCK" work truck, not an suv work truck, well i just happen to have what he might be able to use, lol! he works with a contractor for railroad operations so he's gone from home off and on, so he wanted my z71 for his work truck while he's home to run errands. AND he found out that when you have a few boo boo's on your record an SUV doesn't help the monthly cost, lol!