This past summer (July 2024), I was lucky enough to get my hands on a 2018 Chevy Suburban 3500 HD. I spent about 2.5 years steadily watching the market for the rarest of these mythical unicorns - one with the LT trim package. Internet rumor holds that only 200 of these trucks were made for the '18 model year, and only a handful of those were LT's. They would come up for sale maybe once or twice a year, but they were usually 2016 model year, higher mileage, and a little dog-eared from 4-7 years of fleet duty.
Finally, "the one" hit the market on eBay Motors this July, and it was a beauty. Only 18K miles, and kept in a climate-controlled garage, just 3 hours from my front door, in Maryland. The guy who bought it new, owned a fleet of trucks, so he was able to pull some strings and get ahold of this one from a dealer in Maine in 2018. I paid $65K for it, which is high, but I plan to keep it for many, many years. It will only see limited towing duty pulling our camper, and will be garage-kept when not being driven. With any luck, it will be the last tow vehicle I ever buy.
I'll use this thread to document any changes or upgrades I make to it, as well as document some of our adventures with it, along the way. The only things I've done to is so far is a Blackbear tune, which was a good decision, and aftermarket crossbars for the roof rack. And the only immediate plans I have for it it to add a transmission dipstick. I have the parts but probably won't get to it until the spring. It's wearing its original tires, but they are flawless, with zero dry rot, flat-spotting, or other signs of age, so I plan to run them for another camping season, next summer.
Long term plans include new tires, of course, along with black wheels, but apart from that, it's a blank canvas. I welcome any ideas and feedback others may have for investments to make in it.
Finally, "the one" hit the market on eBay Motors this July, and it was a beauty. Only 18K miles, and kept in a climate-controlled garage, just 3 hours from my front door, in Maryland. The guy who bought it new, owned a fleet of trucks, so he was able to pull some strings and get ahold of this one from a dealer in Maine in 2018. I paid $65K for it, which is high, but I plan to keep it for many, many years. It will only see limited towing duty pulling our camper, and will be garage-kept when not being driven. With any luck, it will be the last tow vehicle I ever buy.
I'll use this thread to document any changes or upgrades I make to it, as well as document some of our adventures with it, along the way. The only things I've done to is so far is a Blackbear tune, which was a good decision, and aftermarket crossbars for the roof rack. And the only immediate plans I have for it it to add a transmission dipstick. I have the parts but probably won't get to it until the spring. It's wearing its original tires, but they are flawless, with zero dry rot, flat-spotting, or other signs of age, so I plan to run them for another camping season, next summer.
Long term plans include new tires, of course, along with black wheels, but apart from that, it's a blank canvas. I welcome any ideas and feedback others may have for investments to make in it.
