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That would be '88-'98 pickups (plus '99 Classic) with the exception of '88-'91 crew cabs and '92-'99 Suburbans. The '99 pickups and '00 Suburbans were of the next GMT-800 generation. I would say to stick with the '95+ bench on these trucks, though, since the interior was updated in '95 and the late seats are much nicer than the early.
You are correct. I had a 96, while I didn't like the pickup the seats and interior was nicer than the earlier.
You are correct. I had a 96, while I didn't like the pickup the seats and interior was nicer than the earlier.
Yeah, I have a '91 and '94 truck and a '98 Suburban and used to own a '99 Yukon. I definitely prefer the later seats and interior. I even have a set of buckets out of another '98 Suburban that I plan on putting in another truck I have.
That would be '88-'98 pickups (plus '99 Classic) with the exception of '88-'91 crew cabs and '92-'99 Suburbans. The '99 pickups and '00 Suburbans were of the next GMT-800 generation. I would say to stick with the '95+ bench on these trucks, though, since the interior was updated in '95 and the late seats are much nicer than the early.
I beg to differ with you on this. One of my former client families had a 2000 K3500 crew cab long bed, and it was of the 1995-1999 body style. I imagine they waited to swap them over for one more year, just as Dodge did in 2002 when the Ram 1500 became the new style but the heavy duty 2500 and 3500 Rams retained the 1994-2001 styling.
However, you may be right about the Suburban. I have yet to find a 2000 Suburban that had the boxier style of the previous generation.
Sometimes I wonder if I could swap the rear bench from my '96 crew cab C3500 into the front. I doubt I'd be able to port the power seat mechanism over, but if I could keep the bench at one set position, that'd be fine.
Or I could always take that rarely-used rear bench out of my truck and swap it into the front of a Tahoe / Suburban......?
I beg to differ with you on this. One of my former client families had a 2000 K3500 crew cab long bed, and it was of the 1995-1999 body style. I imagine they waited to swap them over for one more year, just as Dodge did in 2002 when the Ram 1500 became the new style but the heavy duty 2500 and 3500 Rams retained the 1994-2001 styling.
You are right. The 2500 and 3500 trucks continued with the GMT-400 platform through the 2000 model year. In '99 and '00 you could get crew cab shortbeds on the 2500 and, my most desired body of these trucks, the 3500 dually. I already have a normal crew cab dually but would so LOVE to have a crew cab shortbed dually to play with. The 3500HD carried the GMT-400 through the '01 model year.
It's just like in '88 when the new Chevy and GMC truck bodystyle came out, the crew cabs, Suburbans and Blazers/Jimmys continued with the old square body through the '91 model year. In 2007, all the fullsize SUVs were the current GMT-900 models, yet when it came to pickups, you still had the 2007 "Classic" trucks being sold for the first half of the year on the GMT-800 platform until the new 2007s on the GMT-900 platform started hitting the lots.
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However, you may be right about the Suburban. I have yet to find a 2000 Suburban that had the boxier style of the previous generation.
I am absolutely correct about the Suburban. The GMT-400 Suburban was a '92-'99 model with no exceptions.
Most people don't know it, but there were actually 4 GMT-400 SUVs still being sold alongside the new GMT-800 SUVs in the '00 model year. 2 of them were Tahoes. There was the Tahoe Z71 and the Tahoe Limited. The Limited was 2wd. It was available in black only with a monochrome paint scheme and a 2-tone gray leather interior. It came with the suspension, brakes, cooling and other items from the Police Package Tahoes. It had special 16" wheels and was the only 2wd half-ton truck of this bodystyle to be sold with 16" wheels. The Z71 was 4wd also had a monochrome paint scheme but was available in a selection of 4 colors: Emerald Green Metallic, Indigo Blue Metallic, Pewter Metallic and Victory Red. It also came with a set of 16" wheels exclusive to the Z71. The final GMT-400 SUVs sold for the '00 model year were the GMC Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escalade, both in their second and final years of their first generation. The Escalade was MIA for the '01 model year and wouldn't return until the '02 model year on the GMT-800 platform.
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Sometimes I wonder if I could swap the rear bench from my '96 crew cab C3500 into the front. I doubt I'd be able to port the power seat mechanism over, but if I could keep the bench at one set position, that'd be fine.
You can, actually. I had a friend pull the rear bench out of his '00 crew cab dually and swap it into the front of his brother's '96 regular cab. It fit perfectly. I believe it is actually the same bench as is used in the front.
I already have a normal crew cab dually but would so LOVE to have a crew cab shortbed dually to play with.
They made these during that vintage? I can't remember ever seeing one. What'd be the point of a short bed model anyway? I've never understood that. If you're going to pull an RV or gooseneck trailer, you'll want a long bed... right? And if you have something that tough, capable of carrying a huge payload, why not have a long bed to haul the payload? Just some curious questions...
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Originally Posted by 1badgmc
You can, actually. I had a friend pull the rear bench out of his '00 crew cab dually and swap it into the front of his brother's '96 regular cab. It fit perfectly. I believe it is actually the same bench as is used in the front.
How would that work with the individually adjustable front bucket seats? I haven't checked under the rear bench in my truck lately, but I imagine that the bench lacks that under-seat bar that old truck bench seats had for forward / backward adjustment. (But it does have the reclining function. That makes no sense.)
I've never done this but I imagine that if I pulled out the bucket seats in my truck, I would find individual tracks for forward/backward adjustment of those seats. How would I install the solid bench onto those individual tracks, especially if it lacks its own adjustment mechanism?
Do those seats have the same bolt pattern? Will the bench bolt in without modifications?
I'm handy enough but I wouldn't want to attack a seat swap if it required welding, a blowtorch, etc. And I'd hate to start the swap by removing everything, just to find out I can't execute it.
Keep in mind that bucket seats have a different mounting surface than bench seats.
My experiences with Fords' is they have all the necessary bolt bosses already in place in the floorboard for both bucket and bench.
My experiences with chevys' is that you will have to use large washers and nuts in place of.
Really not important either way. Use very large washers and you are already ahead of the factory mounts.
They made these during that vintage? I can't remember ever seeing one. What'd be the point of a short bed model anyway? I've never understood that. If you're going to pull an RV or gooseneck trailer, you'll want a long bed... right? And if you have something that tough, capable of carrying a huge payload, why not have a long bed to haul the payload? Just some curious questions...
I already have a longbed crew cab dually for whatever I may need it for, but the majority of stuff that I end up hauling in the bed of that truck would be just fine in a shortbed as well. I would love to have a shortbed dually to pull my 31' travel trailer with to have the capabilities of the dually with a little less overall length to the rig. My trailer is a bumper pull, but modern 5th wheel trailers work just fine in shortbed pickups too. Plus, I think the crew cab shortbed dually just looks super cool and would be an awesome addition to my collection. While Ford sold some in more recent years, '99 and '00 were the only years you could get them from Chevy and GMC. They still make the crew cab shortbed 3/4-ton trucks, but never the 1-ton duallys after the '00 model year.
I think what I'm going to end up doing is getting a Tahoe. I discovered that the Suburban was made with the proper type of seat (though it's much more rare even than the Tahoe with the bench seat)... but my wife said she prefers the shorter Tahoe anyway. (I don't understand that... if you can get the same gas mileage and same functionality in a larger vehicle, why not go for it?.... but I figure, she should be the one to call this shot.)
The one I'm eyeing looks to be in good shape but has 183,000 miles. Are these things known for having certain problems in frequencies much higher than other vehicles would? I know that the only thing that's for sure with any vehicle is that it will need repair eventually... but we all know that certain vehicles have certain problems way sooner / way more frequently than other vehicles do.
I think what I'm going to end up doing is getting a Tahoe. I discovered that the Suburban was made with the proper type of seat (though it's much more rare even than the Tahoe with the bench seat)... but my wife said she prefers the shorter Tahoe anyway. (I don't understand that... if you can get the same gas mileage and same functionality in a larger vehicle, why not go for it?.... but I figure, she should be the one to call this shot.)
From the outside, I do prefer the shorter look of the 4-door Tahoe/Yukon to the Suburban, but for the 3 rows and all the cargo capacity, you can't beat the Suburban for sure. I loved the '99 Yukon I had, but for overall utility, I'll stick with my current '98 Suburban for sure.
I've been in a lot of Tahoes, Yukons and Suburbans over the years and I've only seen one with a front bench. It was a '98 Tahoe LS 4-door that I test drove before getting my Yukon. They do exist, but are exceedingly rare.
If she's set on the Tahoe, there are some things to keep in mind. The 4-door Tahoe and Yukon didn't start until the '95 model year, so they're '95-'99. The '92-'94 years were the 2-door versions only (Chevy retained the Blazer name for those years as well) and only available in 4wd. The '95s still used the TBI 350, while the '96-'99 trucks got the Vortec 350, so if you like the extra power, keep that in mind. Being in Texas, the biggest thing when I got my Yukon was making sure I got rear A/C. The rear air was only available for the '98 and '99 model years and unlike the Suburbans, it is rear A/C only. There are no rear heat controls.
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The one I'm eyeing looks to be in good shape but has 183,000 miles. Are these things known for having certain problems in frequencies much higher than other vehicles would? I know that the only thing that's for sure with any vehicle is that it will need repair eventually... but we all know that certain vehicles have certain problems way sooner / way more frequently than other vehicles do.
The absolute #1 big issue with these trucks is the intake manifold gasket on the '96-'99 Vortec engined trucks. The factory gaskets were crap and it's not a matter of if it's going to fail, it's a matter of when. Maybe you'll get lucky and buy one that's already been replaced. I bought my '99 Yukon with 64,000 miles. I had it for 5 years and about 100,000 miles and never had to deal with the gasket. I bought my '98 Suburban a little over 2 years ago with 174,000 miles on it. I have 179,000 on it now and just had my intake gasket replaced a couple weeks ago.
I'm not sure how common this one is, but when I got rid of my Yukon, it had a crack in the plastic tank on the driver's side of the radiator. Shortly after buying my Suburban, it also developed a crack in the driver's side tank, so I put in a new radiator. I'm not sure if it was a fluke or if it's a common occurance.
My Suburban had been basically parked for 2 years before I bought it, so I expected to be going through things. I've replaced the radiator, intake gasket, thermostat, starter, alternator, hoses and belts and also had the transmission rebuilt. With what I've put in it, I feel that I have a pretty reliable family hauler now.
I'm also not one for leaving things alone and I love playing with the trucks of this bodystyle. I've given mine a mild drop with some chrome 454SS/Sport wheels, removed the luggage rack, installed some clear headlights and parking lights and some LED taillights. I have a GMC grille that I need to get painted and I'll put a billet insert in it and put it on sometime. I also now have blue LED illumination for the gauge and HVAC lighting and white LEDs for the interior courtesy lights.
That would be '88-'98 pickups (plus '99 Classic) with the exception of '88-'91 crew cabs and '92-'99 Suburbans. The '99 pickups and '00 Suburbans were of the next GMT-800 generation. I would say to stick with the '95+ bench on these trucks, though, since the interior was updated in '95 and the late seats are much nicer than the early.
I also agree. I have a '94 Silverado and a '99 Tahoe, the interior design on the 95+ is much better.
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Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy
I think what I'm going to end up doing is getting a Tahoe. I discovered that the Suburban was made with the proper type of seat (though it's much more rare even than the Tahoe with the bench seat)... but my wife said she prefers the shorter Tahoe anyway. (I don't understand that... if you can get the same gas mileage and same functionality in a larger vehicle, why not go for it?.... but I figure, she should be the one to call this shot.)
I've had both a Suburban (daily driver for 5 years) and Tahoe (current daily driver), and for hauling people or stuff the Sub can't be beat, but without a doubt the Tahoe is easier to park, especially in parking garages. On paper the turning radius isn't much different, but in the real world it makes a world of difference.
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