Sierra Vs. Avalanche

[old-chevy-dude]

The Avalanche configuration is very similar to the above as the passenger compartment is exposed to the elements with the mid-gate down. I was thinking with the Avalanche you can have the mid-gate down with the window in place, than the passenger compartment is not exposed to the elements, apart from the water leaking through the various points, than entering through the mid-gate.

 

 

if you leave the window up and the bed covers in place there is no reason for anything to leak into the cab.

 

 

I used a power washer in my Avalanche after getting the xmas tree last weekend and with the midgate up, no water in the cab at all; even with 150 - 200psi spraying out the bed, and all the drain points worked as they should.

 

 

now if you throw a leveling or lift kit on the AV I can't say you won't have problems, with the lifted rear the water runs to the drain points as it should, but leveling it might prevent that from working correctly..

[tonygxp]

The XUV was just ugly... And from the look of it, without the tailgate, it looks like it would have been completely useless

 

looks identical to an Envoy XL or Trailblazer Ext. so i can't help you change your opinion of those, beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

 

As for usefulness of the configuration. i woned it for 3 years (lease) and found it to not only be very useful hauling too large to fit in a suburban or similar SUV (as you can open the roof and make it a pickup) the tailgate was able to open both traditional fold down as seen in the picture and from right to left like an old station wagon so you can easily acces items far into the storage area. it had a texure "rhino lining" type material in the stroage area and can either be sealed off from weather or the rear open and able to be washed out with a hose. that along with the 4x4 features made it attractive. it also rode like a cadillac, not bouncy like swb envoys/trailblazers.

 

Like i said, great idea wrong vehicle for the execution, needed to be on a suburban.

[4wd]

Avalanche is NOT a truck!, even though we call it so..Avalanche is a suburban with body modified for certain taste, so if you are looking for a truck then look somewhere else.

[old-chevy-dude]

Avalanche is NOT a truck!, even though we call it so..Avalanche is a suburban with body modified for certain taste, so if you are looking for a truck then look somewhere else.

 

 

The avalanche is classified as a sport utility truck. Its basically one of the first "crossover" type vehicles. Its not a true truck or suv.

[Wingnut]

my envoy XUV was a great truck. much more useful than an avalanche. GM should've used that concept in a tahoe configuration.

 

 

with power midgate window, power rear window and power retractable roof it did way more than an avalanche. you could easily power down the midgate glass and rear glass with the touch of a finger to haul long items over the midgate, still have the midgate down and cab secure by closing the roof and back window, etc.. hauled 4'x5'x6' shower unit, 13'x15' carpet, etc. load floor was 8'6" with both gates down, was awesome.

 

at 208" long it's only 11" shorter than a suburban, a suburban with this setup would've been great.

 

I'm trying to figure out how that's more useful than an Avalanche? Both gates down on an Avalanche will net you a load floor over over 10' x 4'. You can drop 4x8 sheets of sheetrock in there, close the tailgate, and drive all over town in the rain without worrying about it.

 

Not bagging on the XUV, I loved those things. But you'd have to do better than what you described to convince me that an Envoy will haul more crap than an Avalanche

 

OP, one of the big reasons I went with an Avalanche this time around is because they're being discontinued after next year (2012 MY). I've had GM pickup after GM pickup after GM pickup, with and El Camino here and a K1500 Blazer there for good measure. I've always liked the Avy, and since it's going away, I wanted to add one to my list of vehicles I've owned.

 

And I've not been disappointed with it yet. It drives GREAT. I've hauled a couple of decent sized loads so far, and it's no hassle at all. The bed is bigger than people give it credit for, even with the midgate up. There's also the impressive little touches that still get me. The saddle bags are just plain awesome. They'll hold TONS of stuff. The midgate itself is a marvel. I'm still shocked that GM ever produced these trucks.

 

/drives around on nice days with the back completely open and midgate down...Because he can

[old-chevy-dude]

/drives around on nice days with the back completely open and midgate down...Because he can

 

 

+1 and with the sun-roof open you are almost a convertible..

[Nick The Great]

If I was in your boat and didn't *want* a truck, I'd go the Tahoe/Burban route.

 

But it sounds like that's out, so then I'd go the Sierra w/ a topper or a tonneau of some sort. I can't really think of any advantage that an Avy has over a CCSB Truck. The mid gate seems more like a novelty and a future headache than a convenience.

[Mckenzie]

 

 

Nuff said.

[IanM]

I think the input from this thread has pushed me closer to my original choice of the Sierra.

 

I saw a good deal on a 2007 GMC Sierra SLE with seemingly all the options, but when I spoke to the dealership I was informed that someone had decided to purchase it over the weekend.

 

How beneficial is the Z71 offroad package? I quite like the idea of the guards and suspension.

[Chris]

comes with a locker, different shocks, lower tow rating i think though but dont quote me on that part

[Pyggy]

Sierra Brochure

 

z71 Off-road suspension package. Includes off-road jounce bumpers, high-capacity air cleaner, skid plate package and z71 decals on rear quarters.

 

The package itself doesn't seem to come with the G80 locker, but it seems to get selected automatically when you select the Z71 package *shrug*

 

You also get On/Off road tires with it.

[jdubub]

 

Nuff said.

 

 

holy hell this is awesome. i thought of the song when the OP started this thread

[AvalancheZ71]

If you ask this question over on the Chevy Avalanche forum you will probably get very different answers. For a niche vehicle, the Avalanche has a surprisingly large and passionate fan base, and I would believe it if that is one reason GM is still producing them after 10 years, one $4/gal. gas scare, and one bankruptcy. IMO the Avalanche offers the best of a SUV and pickup: cargo hauling when you need it and a comfortable ride. As with everything, there are trade-offs. Both are great vehicles.

[Wingnut]

If you ask this question over on the Chevy Avalanche forum you will probably get very different answers. For a niche vehicle, the Avalanche has a surprisingly large and passionate fan base, and I would believe it if that is one reason GM is still producing them after 10 years, one $4/gal. gas scare, and one bankruptcy. IMO the Avalanche offers the best of a SUV and pickup: cargo hauling when you need it and a comfortable ride. As with everything, there are trade-offs. Both are great vehicles.

 

For such a large following, that forum is...Well...Lacking.

[tonygxp]

my envoy XUV was a great truck. much more useful than an avalanche. GM should've used that concept in a tahoe configuration.

 

 

with power midgate window, power rear window and power retractable roof it did way more than an avalanche. you could easily power down the midgate glass and rear glass with the touch of a finger to haul long items over the midgate, still have the midgate down and cab secure by closing the roof and back window, etc.. hauled 4'x5'x6' shower unit, 13'x15' carpet, etc. load floor was 8'6" with both gates down, was awesome.

 

at 208" long it's only 11" shorter than a suburban, a suburban with this setup would've been great.

 

I'm trying to figure out how that's more useful than an Avalanche? Both gates down on an Avalanche will net you a load floor over over 10' x 4'. You can drop 4x8 sheets of sheetrock in there, close the tailgate, and drive all over town in the rain without worrying about it.

 

Not bagging on the XUV, I loved those things. But you'd have to do better than what you described to convince me that an Envoy will haul more crap than an Avalanche

 

OP, one of the big reasons I went with an Avalanche this time around is because they're being discontinued after next year (2012 MY). I've had GM pickup after GM pickup after GM pickup, with and El Camino here and a K1500 Blazer there for good measure. I've always liked the Avy, and since it's going away, I wanted to add one to my list of vehicles I've owned.

 

And I've not been disappointed with it yet. It drives GREAT. I've hauled a couple of decent sized loads so far, and it's no hassle at all. The bed is bigger than people give it credit for, even with the midgate up. There's also the impressive little touches that still get me. The saddle bags are just plain awesome. They'll hold TONS of stuff. The midgate itself is a marvel. I'm still shocked that GM ever produced these trucks.

 

/drives around on nice days with the back completely open and midgate down...Because he can

 

 

 

quite simply, you're limited in height on a stock avalanche for "weatherproof" hauling, the XUV turned into an SUV, that's my point, yes the avalanche is bigger. also the power featurs of the XUV were much easier to deal with than the manual adjustments made by the avalanche conversion, also the storage of the XUV roof compared tot he panels on the avalanche. the XUV roof moves up and over the body, where do the avalanche panels go? at thetouch of a button and it's done on the XUV, etc., etc.