Surprise, It Snowed a Ton - So Does the Suburban or The Excursion or The Escalade Get Stuck First?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
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Surprise, It Snowed a Ton - So Does the Chevy Suburban or The Ford Excursion or The Cadillac Escalade Get Stuck First?
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#suburban #excursion #escalade
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Why. They don’t care about these trucks
That’s hardly fair on the Cadillac and GMC, that Excursion isn’t actual climbing the hill but in actual fact it’s just changing the rotation of the earth with how much it weighs!!!😂
😂
The Excursion doesn't climb hills, it just flattens them 😂
These are by far my favorite videos TFL does, they take old vehicles most everyone can afford and pushthem a tiny bit. New tires for these will make a huge difference in my opinion.
Love this stuff keep it up guys!
Right 👍
Chevy would pull better if he put it in 4low instead of hi
@@tonytony438 who wouldn’t know that and who wouldn’t do that? 🤔😆 🤦♂️
@@Jason_Phillips3679 obviously the guy driving doesn't. He clearly said he put it in 4x4 Hi.
@@tonytony438 Both 4hi and 4low have their pro/con. Its hard to say which one would be better without seeing the condition first handed yourself.
Tommy get the door hinge pins and bushings. There only $30.
@Justin igloo Shouldn't have to. Get an extra person, a floor jack and a block of wood. Hammer/pry out the caps and pin on the top hinge first then work on the bottom one.
In the gmt400, you do need to completely separate the hinges to do both bushings. I've rigged mine with just to bushings and it helped. There is a kit that you can buy that comes with a greasable pin and steel bushings, I'd look at that if you want it to last.
Would make a nice little fix it video too.
@Justin igloo Not if you’re good enough. Honestly, every time I’ve replaced it, I’ve used my doctor’s stool and a towel under the doors. Couple twists and you’re at the right height to remove the pins. Couple more and you’re right for installing the new ones.
@Justin igloo NO. THe fames sag on those cars causing the door to misalign to the latch. Look at how the door aligns with the rest of the body. Use a floor jack to bend the door up to match the body lines.
The mid nineties Chevy commercial song “like a rock” started playing in my head on the black and white slow motion cut of the suburban. Awesome editing guys!
Also please don’t tow in Drive with the GMs. The overdrive can’t handle it. Tow in 3. Source: learned the hard way.
Lmao, me too! Like A Rock!!!
^^^This, it even tells you in the manual. Also NEVER do a transmission flush on a GM transmission. Just drop the pan , change the filter and dump whatever is in the pan. Trans flush = death for any of common GM transmissions. I did this and had a Suburban go over 300k miles before giving it away, trans still had firm consistent shifts.
idk about gm, but all of my ford's have overdrive off or tow haul mode, is that not common in gm vehicles?
@@Tyler_Ey on vehicles with tow mode I believe it locks the converter and adds more pressure for OD but if you are towing heavy it will stay off OD. Usually
Bob Seger is the man
Tommy does NOT need a new door. The problem with the Suburban drivers door is the same problem across all GMT400's... You need to replace the bushings in the hinges. They are brass, and wear over time, as the doors are quite heavy on the GM trucks. If you're going to do it yourself, you'll need some special tools, and a bushing kit (around $30), and probably an assistant. Be careful with the spring while it's in the compressor, as they can be dangerous. Also have a jack with a block of wood handy (along with your assistant) to help hold the door up while the pins and bushings are being changed.
As much as I like the Excursion the Suburban can't be beat for the price paid.
agreed, they'll last forever too
@@danielfish101 because they have no power, kinda like a Honda four wheeler 😂
The suburban is a very very nice vehicle for sure! But we bought our 7.3 excursion in 2004, here in 2022 with 300,000 miles it's still drives and runs just great, all we did is rebuild the transmission at about 220,000 miles.
@Brian Blake hey that's pretty good also! These old tanks go on forever.
@Brian Blake hey I heard those v10s are pretty flipping awesome as well. Yes my paint is baked, just bought a new grill and headlamps going to take in to be painted soon. And I feel it's worth it because they will never make vehicles like this again I would have to say there classic at this point
Love videos like this, seeing you guys buy vehicles and throw everything at them.
I have to say, at the beginning of this video I had zero faith in that Escalade but that thing handled really well!
It's a tire issue for sure with Tommy's Suburban. I had a 99 Yukon with BFG KO2s and it was an unstoppable tank!
My 96 Suburban K2500 with BFG KO2s with 45k miles on them will do better than Tommy's performance. Mine can keep going with snow up to the bottom of the bumper.
Agree tires is everything when comes to any vehicle for good traction.
i used to have a 1997 Suburban SLE and sold it just at the start of winter
Same! My 99 suburban was an absolute beast!
Keep up the good work! I honestly prefer these videos over new car reviews. It’s nice to see videos on vehicles the vast majority of us can actually afford.
Definitely, me too.
oh man y'all should of gotten another tire sponsor for this series. general grabber atx would of been nice for a better comparison. that way we know all things are equal regarding tires and its not a limiting factor.
Agreed on leveling the field on the tires… Take that out of the equation for the “Best Beast” comparison!
18:33 This is some exquisite sound editing in this shot .. it was timed to make it sound like Tommy was singing his positive vehicle encouragement right in time with the music. Well done.
Guys- tire are KEY. what would be AWESOME would be to do a vid like this & a follow up immediately after w/ all 3 vehicles rocking all the same new tread- BFG KO2s or some Michelin snow tires or something- that would be very interesting & I rarely if ever see something like this done. The tire makes a huge difference especially when you’re in extreme conditions/terrain
This is such a great series. With proper tires, this would have been easy for these vehicles. I like these series the best. All the fun comments and lack of concern for the vehicles is great. The comedic comments have perfect timing. Thanks guys
or even air down the tires too
Those lionclaw atx2 actually aren't bad at all. I know a few people who have run them for multiple vehicles and Ive had them on my truck for 20k miles and absolutely love them. Especially in the snow. Barley could tell a difference from my dedicated snow tires as they are extreme weather rated. Definitely airing them down helps a ton off road too.
@@hajjman99 that's good to know. I had never heard of them before.
@@dalejones4322 now I definitely wouldn't say they are better than name brand like bf goodrich or toyo but are quite a bit cheaper. 👍
All that GMC door needs is hinge pins $18 at oRielly about a hour to put on.
The door bushings and pin kits are so common s10 also, when you look for them at the part store, there on a rack like for sunglasses.. I think it's called the most disappointing parts that fail from huge manufacturers rack.
These old Suburbans are brilliant in the snow. This showing right here is 100% all Driver + Tires. I know from first hand experience. Lovin this series! Very Fun.
Tommy’s yelling “grip, grip,” while he’s getting air! Great fun!
It's good to see Nathan making it look easy in the Exxon Valdez!
The Excursion would be my choice. Solid axles are so much better for lifting.
OMG! I just love these car challenges. I found them when I was as down on life as one can go at age 78 (female) and they bring me so much joy. I laugh, cheer, cry just have the very best time. Thanks so much for thinking of doing these and then doing them. Can't wait for the next tow-job but must run to store. Oh thank you!!!!!
Have you guys ever tried the poor boy/ hillbilly locker trick? Put your parking brake on about 1/4 to 1/2 way engaged, keeps the tires from free wheeling. Have helped alot of 2 wheel drive trucks get unstuck over the years.
Had a 99 GMC sub. It was our hunting truck. "Come on baby" got us out of many a predicament. Get new tires and your golden. Love that truck, cried when we sold it.
I have to admit, I have a soft spot for the Excursion - wholesss...it still looks sooooo good.
I ran 94 & 04 suburbans up to 300k miles, both were unstoppable WITH GOOD TIRES. 94 was my favorite, family called it the War Wagon. Have a 99 F250 crew cab 4WD with a topper, which is damn close to the excursion. Also unstoppable WITH GOOD TIRES
Suburban has the same issue mine had with the front doors being crooked... they are to heavy so you need to replace the pins in the hinges every few years.
never sleep on the escalade, i have one. she's a beast in the snow!!
Reenforces my thought that our Suburbans with the selectable transfer case beat AWD all day long. In 4-lo, they will climb the side of a house. Of course we need tires that aren't bald. :wink:
GM got rid of AWD on the Escalade and Denali in 2011 and replaced it with selectable 4 wheel drive.
Tommy I had 99 suburban and it’s the hinge in the door it’ll get a little stuck grease it up or replace it or just pay attention to it so u can fix it before u close your door
Best channel on TH-cam. Been watching since Aundre spoke Russian and kept coming in and out of view checking the heat on the breaks.
Love this series. The Ford Excursion is what got me into trucks
At3's snow rating is pretty useless...
Wife's xj had a nice brand new set of 32 inch, they sucked in our north idaho snow. We bought some 33 inch cooper snow claws-AWESOME
At3s, duratracs, k02s all great. But nothing beats a true snow tire.
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Hey tfl i hope you are gonna do the mpg loop test on these vehicles
Is that place estes park?
Thank you guys. Great job.
I know you have tumbleweed ranch but I love the views when you have when you take beautiful Colorado trails.
I know it was some years ago, but if unsure of G80 or axle ratios. On GM vehicles always check the RPO sheet in the glovebox. Its a great resource for vehicle info
"Road sensing suspension" LMBO
You guys are great. Appreciate all you put out here for us.
i kinda love that Excursion
I had a 99 Suburban half ton with barn doors that I bought at a time when it was the right vehicle for us. Big dog, family and all that. White with blue leather interior, 3 row seating, front and rear AC. We used the hell out of that thing. Towed trailers in the mountains and went everywhere with it. It remains to this day one of my favorite vehicles I have ever owned. Had a plain jane 90 3/4 ton Suburban before that and it was excellent as well but short on power. I just loved driving them.
I had to do door bushings on my Tahoe and my Yukon. Loved those trucks
I have an 04 Yukon Denali and it does great in the winter. 6.0 has lots of grunt to make up for no low gear. G80 locker helps surely. Center lock or something would be nice but you work with what you got 🤷
Man I wish I was there romping those beasts around with you guys, so much fun!!
This series is so fun!! Can’t wait for more videos!
the GMC would have gone everywhere with good tires, I have a 1999 tahoe, never ever ever been stuck in sand , mud or snow, we use it whenever we have bad condition, better than all or our other ALLWheel or 4X4 trucks. Try taking the escalade to soft sand, they are littered all over the outer banks , the tow truck that pulls them out is a Tahoe with good tires.
“Never been stuck “ just means you haven’t found your Tahoe’s limit yet. That doesn’t mean the same thing as having no limits. Any vehicle can get stuck.
The problem with the Escalade isn't the AWD, and on the 4wd versions they are identical to the Tahoe and Suburban, which themselves are essentially the same. The problem is and always has been tires and wheels. The Escalade comes with a tire and wheel configuration that is 100% street duty with a more performance tread design than those of standard LT tires. It's great if you want to stop, turn, and handle on paved roads but they absolutely suck in snow or loose surface. Dummies think "oh I have 4wd I'll be fine" and forget that the most important part of their vehicle is the one that actually contacts the ground.
@@MrJamesLuz exactly! got our 2002 z71 stuck all the time cause we were sending it 🤘
I'm running an old set of nitto terragrapplers, and get everywhere in my 95 burban, without 4wd in. Worn mud tires can be better than new all seasons.
I live in the desert, I always see plenty tahoes stuck in the soft sand, not to mention stranded with other failed parts. Any vehicle with good tires is harder to get stuck, nothing special about the tahoe.
Love the EX. That why I have one.
Once he gets the right tires on that Escalade, that thing is going to be a serious contender off road.
I am in the Vancouver, Canada area where the locals are buying 10 to 15 year old Luxury SUVs and trucks like the 'Slade, Tahoe and Suburban even Infiniti Q56's and Range Rovers and putting 35 or 37 inch tires and 4 to 6 inch lifts on them and adding skid plates, bumpers/bushbars, rear swing-out Jerry Can and Tire cages and even custom swaybars on them. $10,000 to $15,000 worth of upgrades and you have the ULTIMATE LUXURY off-roader.
I see them a lot in the backcountry of Harrison Lake and Coquihalla to Merritt to Kelowna High Mountain areas where there is mud, rain, snow, sleet, hail, rock, sand and other 4x4 type terrain. The thing that everyone likes about them are the extra room for family and friends, the premium sound systems, the FANTASTIC Heating and Air Conditioning and the Leather Seats which they TEND to cover with Sheepskin seat covers!
It's a BIG THING here in Western Canada to upgrade old Lux-SUVs with 4x4 features!
V
The 00-02 Escalade had a much better transfer case that had a viscous coupler where the 03-06 Escalade had open rear and t-cases and relied on the abs system to simulate lockers
Wasn't the 00-02 Escalade a GMT400, basically the same as the old Tahoe, or even the Suburban Tommy is using? Of course with a fancier trim and front end, maybe some better shocks too.
Just the 2002 Escalade had the viscous coupler NP transfer case with LSDs. So did the 2001 and 2002 Denalis
The 99 and 2000 Escalade were GMT400s with a real 4wd and they didn't make a 2001 Escalade
@@mdk7376 ah a man of culture i see.
Doesn’t the Escalade have the G80? It’s listed on glove box.
@@dond9994 The 2003 and up had a G80. The 01 and 02 with viscous coupler t-case did not have G80. It is weird!
Has anyone noticed that instead of no pavement needed it says no payment needed. 3:15
I had an 06 ESV and the AWD system was amazing!
Man Tommy's come a long way since he started on the channel. He really feels like one of the guys now.👍 Despite some of his weird takes.😂
I love your series!
You guys are great Team, its a joy to watch the Episodes. Please go on with challenges. "GO BIG"
I'm great ❤️Excursion ❤️ fan.
Best reagards from a long time viewer from Switzerland🇨🇭
Nice spotting the moose. The only time I’ve seen one on a trail was also on Bunce but further in near the South Gate.
I feel like you should use a control tire for future off-road tests...since it removes the lottery of what tire you get when you buy a used truck. Having said that, all three trucks definitely performed better than I thought, and are definitely more capable than most people think.
I belive they did that with the previous series where they had the jeep , the Mazda and, the blazer since they had a tire company as a sponsor
@@BryanGullickson I do remember that. Even if they're cheap Chinese tires, it still eliminates the biggest variable that no one has control over.
@@cup_and_cone oh I agree
The black and white of the burb was fantastic footage. And the following slowmos of the guys were 🤣
i really liked the editing the slow mo! and i love these types of videos.
Love older suv I have an 06 v8 4Runner myself and I love it all the torque and full time 4wd.
A new door striker and some tires and that suburban is mint. My favorite of the 3 by far!
I LOVE the Excursions.
What is it about a guy putting his hand on the passenger seat & looking over his shoulder while reversing?!?! 😍 Totally have a new internet crush now.. thanks Tommy 🤭😂😂
It is all about the tires !
Excursion! 💪
I like the classics SUV’s better than new SUV’s ( my opinion). Y’all can keep the snow, love the videos, keep’m coming
Whoever is editing your videos is doing a fantastic job. Quality continues to trend up!! Favorite channel by far. P
Kinda looks like they never driven in snow before lol. Good plan taking the steps off the escalade. I had a tahoe and that was the best thing I ever did to it for ground clearance on a stock gmt800 SUV. It was good on little goat trails in the bush cause it was short and easy to turn around
I love how you guys are even debating which one is best for towing, the excursion are just the suv brother to the f250s that are made for it
The escalade surprised me. Did it except it to handle the snow so well
Dang, it’s still snowing in Colorado. It’s already may, it’s about 100 here in San Antonio.
That was fun to watch! If you roll the window down just a little the door will shut easily, GMC is air tight.
What about small suv or cuv next? Thinking BroncoIi,Escape, Tracker/Storm,Commander/Compass.These were examples I could think of. Modern GM version not a clue.
The Honda Element, great little suv.
A lot of mods available for them.
For the 100th time.
90% tire
10% vehicle
Excursion is amazing
Great series!! I’d take the Excursion.
Give all this metal its due. They are old but when maintained they are all tough as hell. Cadillac i think will be the surprising dark horse. Hope you have a mpg test since we are all in a gas crisis
at least none of them are diesels, price is $5.49 here on NC.
snowbasing is just good clean fun!
OMG, you guys are hysterical. This is great fun for your viewers!!!!!!!!!
I work at a landscape nursery and, it’s funny how Excursion and Expedition owners tell us their vehicle is a Suburban.
Keep it up with the truck series ... maybe next... after this is done ... do other suvs ....(midsize ones ) then Euro suvs ......last but not least even AWD cars/wagons perhaps.... volvo vs subies ....and something else 🤔
Volvo - Subaru - Volkswagen
Which one is a mall-crawler with street rims and tires? Laughed until dizzy watching a jeep with low aspect tires attempting to walk the hill near my house. Sliding down sideways was the icing on the cake.
Good thing Nathan was driving the ford because the way he drives he would have broken something in the crap gm suspensions.
I absolutely love this episode I can’t wait to see the next one
Would it be better to use winter tires?
AT tires are not very suitable for winter and snow... 🙂
The Excursion has a set of 3 season tires on it. very comperable to all seaon or all weather.
How he overcame the urge at 03:48 to not run his hand around the wheel well to take all the icicles off I will never know!
I’ve been pulling for the Suburban from the beginning. However I’d never try off-roading with such sub par tires.
I LMAO when they do these !! Please keep up the great work Ford all the way!!!!!!!
15:37 we have been spotted!
Been in athe automotive field my entire adult life and just learned m+s on and tire means mud and snow. learn something new everyday
Tommy needs to put the window down to release some pressure the door will close on first try
7:38 Like a lot of people, you guys seem to struggle with the difference between curb weight and GVWR. The suburban weighs about 5k lbs.
lion claw tires are a big o all weather. i love your video's especially the tumbleweed ranch stuff
You gotta get that suburban some tires and check on the 4wd because those are amazing on the snow
How yall live like that? We just had 90°F with storms gusting winds 100+mph and golf ball sized hail lol
I think I felt the Earth shake when the Excursion climbed the hill.
I love these kinds of series where y'all buy a bunch of used vehicles and see what they can do. They always turn out to be so much fun. 🙂
Hello again from Europe!! I wish I was there with you. You should put the same tires on the trucks, so you will give the same chances to each and every one of them. The suburban if you put it in second gear it will start in second and not in first gear, then shift to second!! I don't know if you know this Tommy!! If you chose second, it will start in second and you will have more rpm on wheels and this will help in this situation!!
Can't wait for the next episode!!
I'd say the best is a tie between Tommy's gmc and Nathan's excursion for what I'd add is tires and lockers, fix the fluid leaks and the door on the gmc and Nathan's add lockers and that's about it as far as Andres get rid of that! He should have gotten a grand Cherokee!!!!
Yo Tommy, to close your door: try it by opening the window a bit, then you won't build up pressure..
and/or slam it like a man
Do you guys still have your vw touareg that definitely be a good match up
I think it is more honorable to say the reason why truck truck is bad is because of the tires, not because of the truck.
When was this filmed? I'm in Broomfield and I haven't seen snow since March