RE: Trading TV

[Preacher]

 
We are looking at trading our 2001 GMC Jimmy on a 2003 Expedition with the large V8.  I am looking for people s experience with the Expedition and also what is the " real world"  gas milage.  We have a 2002 Westlake.  We are looking at the large engine because we might want to move up to something else in the future.  The small engine is rated for 6050lbs. (only 500 more than my Jimmy) while the big engine is rated up to 8900lbs.
 
 Thanks for your help.

[Red neff Barchetta]

 Preacher
We tow with a 2000 Navigator (8 cylinder, 5.4 L) and absolutely love it!  I don t even notice the PU back there and can see over and around the PU with no problem at all.  It self-levels the load so I am perfectly level at all times.  We do not use (or need) sway control.  We use a WDH which brings the rating down to 8,850 lbs. (from 8,900), but obviously is still much higher than is needed for the Utah.  We get about 17 mpg regularly and 14 mpg when towing.  We use the premium gas (which is reccomended for the Navigator), but since we pretty much drive it only when camping, we fill it on average about every 5 weeks or so, so the higher fuel cost isn t even an issue.  We can get almost 500 miles on a tank of gas.  I filled it up right before our last camping trip last w/e and probably won t need to fill it again until our next trip on August 1st.
 Here s the weird part;
 When I fill it up with only a few gallons left in the tank I can pump in about 27-28 gallons and then the pump shuts off.  Well, then I can add an additional 6 1/2 gallons by " topping it off" !
 Also, the large seating capacity is great when bringing the kids friend s with us (which we are doing on our next 2 trips) so we all fit in one car with plenty of cargo space.
 
 SCCS tows with a 2003 Expedition and is extremely happy with it as well.  He has a Niagara and doesn t need sway control either.
 
 Hope this helps and good luck on your decision!