New tow vehicle in the family

[admin]

So the time came to give up my beloved Jeep Wrangler and go for an upgrade. We have our primary travel vehicle in our Honda Pilot and we love it. It tows well and packs everything we need with no problem, but its my wifes daily driver so it doesnt do me much good
I wanted something that gave me a bit more versatility so I wanted a truck. I have no dedication to any one make or model. I would have been just as happy with a F-150 as I would a Ram or Chevy 1500. However I had a few must haves on my list. I would not go without 4x4, and I needed at least the 3/4 door if not a true 4 door truck. Oh an my budget was aggressive to say the lease, I wanted to stay in the 10k range.
I searched high and low to see what the market had to offer and I started to get depressed. Everything in my price range was either beat up, rusted out, or 200+k (some significantly higher than 200k) miles. As I was looking around I kept finding myself pulled towards the Chevy Avalanches. These trucks have the bones of the Silverado, with the comfort and function of an SUV. It was the perfect mix of the weekend worrier truck with the ability to comfortably haul around the family. Thats when I stumbled onto a 2006 Avalanche with under 150k miles on it, and it was amazingly well kept and clean. I thought it would have to be out of my price range but I stopped and started talking to the sales guy. Long story short I walked out with the truck and kept it in my price range. I guess they really wanted to get this off the lot by the end of the month or maybe I'm just lucky. Either way I know I'm happy! 
Oh and I dont know whats in the paint, but it is technically blue yet with the light in the right direction it looks green its kinda cool with a color change effect...

[a href="https://flic.kr/p/wpzVcB"]
[img style="max-width:100%;" src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/523/19957600109_2f145074c6_k.jpg"][/a][a href="https://flic.kr/p/wpzVcB"]20150730_075141[/a] by [a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/52403555@N05/"]Sean_NC Camper[/a], on Flickr

[david]

Sean:

The Avalanche has always been considered a foo-foo truck and not suitable for a real, he man ;-). That is why the resale price was so good. But with the bones of a Silverado and full four door seating, it should be a great TV. It is essentially a Suburban with no aft cover.

Congratulations!

David

[hogtyd]

Congrats!  I had a Suburban in that same color, and really liked it.  The Avalanches are an interesting beast...sounds like the right fit for your needs.  

Graham

[leslie]

What is the tow capacity of the 2006 Avalanche? You might have the tow vehicle to get a larger towable, like a Camplite

[whoofit]

Can't wait to get a TV like this one we can load to the hilt. Congrats!

[admin]

Thanks guys and gals, I'm excited and cant wait to put it to the test

@leslie, the truck specs at 7900 pounds for tow rating which is more than enough for me. As I was considering a truck I was thinking about the future and the possibility of upgrading to a Camplite
Though, if I recall the 2 wheel driver models have a slightly higher rating since they have a reduced weight to start with. I just couldnt see myself giving up 4x4 to gain a few extra pounds for towing. In NC we get enough odd weather that its a real comfort to have 4x4 even if you only use it once a year

Now if I was planning to haul something with much weight for any real length of time I'd consider adding an additional transmission cooler since these didnt come with a "tow package". I would think the truck could handle towing everything I need without a problem, but for the relatively low expense of adding an additional cooler it just seems to make sense.

[thudd3r]

my last tv was a 2009 avalanche.  was a great vehicle, but was basically the swiss army knife of trucks...great for little jobs, but if you have a real job you need a better tool.  i towed my 8.5x18 vrv loaded (about 6k lbs) with it for a season before i upgraded to a larger tv.  in the wind coming across kansas i was seeing 4 mpg and that was the point that i decided the avalanche wasnt enough.  

a couple things to note...

-check on that tow package by looking up the vin codes.  mine came with it, but it was a couple model years later
-if yours didnt come with a brake controller and you want to add one, there should be a bundle of wires it under the carpet behind the pedals.  good controllers like the tekonsha brands have cables available that wire right into this bundle of cables
-if you plan on running a wdh or towing anything with quite a bit of tongue weight, add air bags.  they are cheap and simple to install (assuming you have coils in the back).  they help immensely to reduce "porpoising"
-if you plan to run a wdh, be careful with the tension.  i bent my oem hitch using a wdh.  it wasnt caused by the excess weight, but by the pressure placed on the hitch by the wdh.  it actually bent the hitch [b style="font-style:italic;"]up[/b]. the only place to get a replacement hitch was oem.  companies dont make a replacement because all of the avalanche's came with a hitch
-there is a fuse missing in the fuse block under the hood...insert a fuse (i think it was 15a, but i cant remember what slot) and your tv will charge your batteries anytime you use a 7 pin cable
-while it is true that they are similar to a 1500, the rear frame is different and not as beefy, hence the reduced towing and loading capabilities
-if it shifts all the way down in tow mode, it may not like to disengage and shift back up once you are over the hill.  sometimes i had to disengage and re-engage tow mode to get it to shift back up.  tow mode when descending worked incredibly well
-there is a fuel line that runs along the driver side between the engine compartment and the firewall that is known to chafe and leak.  a simple piece of rubber hose covering the line will prevent any problems.  a friend got stranded in montana because of this.  look through the avalanche forums for more info

overall i enjoyed mine (other than a couple issues that the dealer covered).  it was comfy, decent on gas when not towing, and the utility of the short bed and the mid gate was really nice.



[img style="max-width:75%;" style="" src="http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q439/mushr00min/camper/IMAG0003_zpsu2kkcwxn.jpg"]

oh...i still have a set of timbren springs if you are interested.  they are essentially replacement bump stops that take up some of the load when the suspension compresses.  if the model number for the 2006 is the same as the 2009 they are all yours...just pay for shipping


http://timbren.com/timbren-ses/

[walt3]

There pretty solid trucks one thing to keep an eye on is the seal on the rear window glass. They have a tendency to leak.

[admin]

Yeah, that mid-gate glass seems to be a notorious problem. I dont recall seeing one that didnt have a crack in it. I'm actually a bit curious about why it wasnt recalled and corrected since it sounds like the cracks have been an issue since the truck was first produced. Either way this one still has the crack in that seal, but it in a sheltered location and the exterior facing weather stripping appears to seal it up for now.

[thudd3r]

had mine for 4 years and never experienced any issues with cracks or leaks...maybe i got lucky