Author Topic: Suburban or Excursion XL?  (Read 6447 times)

TEX_SUP

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Suburban or Excursion XL?
« on: July 31, 2015, 03:26:28 PM »
Looking to go bigger in the transportation department but I want to make sure I can transport 2-4 SUPs.

For those of you with Chevy Suburbans or Ford Excursion XLs how are the offerings for SUP racks?  What do you like and what would you do differently? 

Chevy doesn't offer the barn doors anymore so how does the giant lift gate work when you have boards loaded?  Ford has the interesting looking half doors with a glass lift gate.....any feedback?

Thanks in advance.

OUTSIDEWAVE

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2015, 04:45:07 PM »
I always like chevy better than ford we have an edge now      it sucks mostly go with chevy
SEA BIRDS THEY DO TOUCH AND GO AS THE WORLD JUST TANGOES BY.... SO I SADDLE UP MY SEAHORSE WITH MY FLYROD IN MY HAND.... 10'3 King custom  10'6"  c4 da beachboy

TEX_SUP

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2015, 04:47:26 PM »
Thank you for the input

Easy Rider

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2015, 02:39:16 PM »
Might be worth looking at some of the new "big" vans.
Nissan / Ford / Dodge and Benz all make varying sizes and trim levels.

My record is 29 SUP's inside my MB Sprinter van. 

Just a thought.
Easy Rider is the name of my store in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
My name is Warren Currie . . . and we SUP Surf indoors . . . in a shopping mall!

TEX_SUP

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2015, 06:37:15 PM »
Oh trust me I've been looking at those things since they came out.  Even had a friend who used them in his guide service and rated them highly. 

I will continue to evaluate vans but right now I'm pretty set on a larger (than what I currently have) SUV.  Trying to put people and animals inside the vehicle and boards and bikes outside.  I already have a pretty sweet Yakima hitch mounted bike rack that holds 4 bikes but swings out of the way allowing full opening of hatch or doors.

So I'm wondering what people do for SUP racks on Suburbans or Excursion XLs.

lucabrasi

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2015, 10:31:30 AM »
I got Tahoe's. One with barn doors, one without. I tried kayak saddles, etc. and just go with pads on the cross bars.  One with factory bars, the other has Thule bars. Thule bars only because they are there and have used a j rack for a kayak there with boards on the rest and that gave me some more width to do that. The pads are simplest and just as secure in my mind as any of the saddles I have tried. I really don't think anything out there is a better option than just some pads on the bars for a few boards, even a kayak for that matter. Not sure if I have done 4 boards before, not this season for sure but have done three often.
The hatchback on mine is always closed as the back is just a giant toy chest and I just flip the window up to get my stuff. If I lift the whole door crap comes tumbling out. Boards hanging off the back keep the window from going up all but 6 inches or so. On a suburban you may not hang as far off the back tho.

SUP Sports ®

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2015, 01:13:19 PM »
My wifey has the Yukon XL...best vehicle we have ever owned...and, I have a Sprinter...
We've driven it all over the Baja in search of waves and wind...put it in 4X4 and getaway...super comfy...

I set it up with triple bars...sometimes we will run it with a Packasport...four boards on the racks no problemo...but, she mostly just runs her board inside...longer boards just open the back window and run them outside surf style fin up...
Mahalos...{:~)

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TEX_SUP

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2015, 02:29:22 PM »
My wifey has the Yukon XL...best vehicle we have ever owned...and, I have a Sprinter...
We've driven it all over the Baja in search of waves and wind...put it in 4X4 and getaway...super comfy...

I set it up with triple bars...sometimes we will run it with a Packasport...four boards on the racks no problemo...but, she mostly just runs her board inside...longer boards just open the back window and run them outside surf style fin up...

Sweet rig, thanks for the photos.  Especially that first shot, that's pretty much what I'm looking to do.

Did you use factory rails with aftermarket bars or some sort of custom set up?

Thanks!

SUP Sports ®

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2015, 02:53:13 PM »
It definitely works...we use Yakima racks on her GMC to the factory rails...but, it doesn't matter...we use Thule racks as well on our other rigs...
Around town we'll use the standard two rack strap tie-down method...but, for road trips, we use a 3rd "aww sh*t" strap in the middle that goes thru the back doors over the boards and holds the whole kit & kaboodle to the vehicle...
« Last Edit: August 02, 2015, 03:27:59 PM by SUPsports »
Mahalos...{:~)

WARDOG ®
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(805)962-SUPS (7877) store
(888)805-9978 toll free

Retail Store:
Standup Paddle Sports, LLC
121 Santa Barbara St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

eastbound

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #9 on: August 03, 2015, 05:30:49 AM »
bought a yukpn new, years ago. had it for 6 years. changed the oil, filled the washer fluid, did the brake pads once, new tires at 35k. other that that i turned the key and drove the thing. very solid, reliable ride. great gm platform, too much steel for me to drive around empty these days.
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andygere

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #10 on: August 03, 2015, 02:58:24 PM »
I have an '04 Suburban with Thule racks mounted to the factory rails.  Super strong, and we have carried three 14' race boards easily.  10 footers fit inside with the the second row of seats folded. My SIMSUP fits inside flat with only half the third row folded.  Mine has 130k miles and has been trouble free.  I like the 6.0 liter motors much better than the 5.3s for low end torque when towing. Mine is a 3/4 ton for the tow capacity, but the 1/2 tons do just fine for regular hauling and lighter towing. I like the lift gate much better than the barn doors. Easy to load and unload, and if you nreed to grab something quick, the glass is even easier to open.  I plan to keep this truck for a long time.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2015, 03:00:19 PM by andygere »

Space Wrangler

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #11 on: August 04, 2015, 01:30:58 PM »
I have a 2015 Yukon XL with a Thule rack attached to the factory rails.   The rear lift gate extends high above the roofline when opening and the factory rails are positioned far back on the roof which limits the ability to open rear gate or rear window with race boards on the rack.   
I have a rack from my 08 Tundra which attaches further forward and allows the liftgate to open with a 12'6" board.   I made several long trips (to the Carolina Cup, Florida Cup races from Tennessee) with multiple boards on the rack and no problems.   Then I hit a turkey that flew in front of me while going about 75 mph on the interstate  with 3 race boards on the rack.    It hit right between my windshield and the boards and pulled the front bar/rack off of my roof.  (what are the odds? right?)  The boards were OK other than the feathers and bird blood all over them but I am reluctant to continue using the bar that wasn't specifically designed for my roof.  So I am back to using the factory rails and being careful not to open the lift gate very far when boards are on the roof.
Factory rack:

Watch out for turkeys!

TEX_SUP

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2015, 03:43:08 PM »
I have an '04 Suburban with Thule racks mounted to the factory rails.  Super strong, and we have carried three 14' race boards easily.  10 footers fit inside with the the second row of seats folded. My SIMSUP fits inside flat with only half the third row folded.  Mine has 130k miles and has been trouble free.  I like the 6.0 liter motors much better than the 5.3s for low end torque when towing. Mine is a 3/4 ton for the tow capacity, but the 1/2 tons do just fine for regular hauling and lighter towing. I like the lift gate much better than the barn doors. Easy to load and unload, and if you nreed to grab something quick, the glass is even easier to open.  I plan to keep this truck for a long time.

Thanks for the info.  Fortunately I won't need to tow much so I can get away with the smaller engine and more efficient gear ratios.

TEX_SUP

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Re: Suburban or Excursion XL?
« Reply #13 on: August 04, 2015, 03:48:05 PM »
I have a 2015 Yukon XL with a Thule rack attached to the factory rails.   The rear lift gate extends high above the roofline when opening and the factory rails are positioned far back on the roof which limits the ability to open rear gate or rear window with race boards on the rack.   
I have a rack from my 08 Tundra which attaches further forward and allows the liftgate to open with a 12'6" board.   I made several long trips (to the Carolina Cup, Florida Cup races from Tennessee) with multiple boards on the rack and no problems.   Then I hit a turkey that flew in front of me while going about 75 mph on the interstate  with 3 race boards on the rack.    It hit right between my windshield and the boards and pulled the front bar/rack off of my roof.  (what are the odds? right?)  The boards were OK other than the feathers and bird blood all over them but I am reluctant to continue using the bar that wasn't specifically designed for my roof.  So I am back to using the factory rails and being careful not to open the lift gate very far when boards are on the roof.

Watch out for turkeys!

I like what you did with that extra bar.  It really extends the distance between the front and rear support for the boards.....which is always good.  Too bad about the turkey.

 


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