As the result of a long drawn out divorce, I now have 2 vehicles. One is a 03 Excursion 4x4 6.0L and a 06 Liberty Sport CRD 4x4. As a single guy, I can’t justify keeping both, so one of them has to go. But as a prepper, I am trying to decide which would be best to keep as a daily driver/BOV. I can do basic repairs/maintenance, but some of the bigger things I leave to the pro's.

I love the Excursion on the Highway, it has seating for 8 and tows up to 11k lbs, but the turn radius is rough in tight spots offroad, just like the F250 w 7.3L it replaced. The Excursion has a 6.0L, with the risk of EGR cooler failure. So an EGR repair/delete is in it’s future. It also has mediocre takeoff compared to the F250, so it will be getting gauges, exhaust and an SCT if I keep it.. I use it for trips with my son, mom and nephews family (+3) to visit family pretty regular.

The Liberty CRD is smaller than I want, but is all I really need for me. Offroad the turn radius is good and ease of parking is nice. Highway handling is horrible, it seats 4 and tows 5k lbs. The Liberty CRD in general has a horrible reliability record and low power with limited upgradability. A bigger concern is the engine was only sold in the US for 2 yrs, so it is getting hard to find affordable parts, or even to find a knowledgeable mechanic willing to work on the engine. I am having issues w leg/ hip pain after driving the jeep for longer than an hour, so the drivers seat needs changing and it would need a dvd player for my son. My mom is 84 and wont ride in the jeep, she says it is too small and unsafe. I have done the ORM and EHM mods and the mileage got almost 1mpg better

The mileage advantage of the jeep never materialized. I have gotten between 17.1 and 21 in the jeep hand calculated. And between 13.9 and 17.1 in the Ex, also hand calculated. I tend to mix city/highway, then every other weekend (visitation) I put about 700 miles on whatever I am driving. Best I can figure, that’s maybe 600 a yr saved with the jeep on fuel (20K miles a year @ $3 gallon), but I am not sure that makes enough difference with the trade-offs to be worthwhile.

I don’t really wheel offroad, but I do drive on a lot of dirt/fire roads and hunt/camp. Hoping to get a small camper soon to start getting my son involved also. And it would be nice to keep pre-staged in case of a weather related or regional bugout.

And the economy is big for everyone right now, I can afford to drive either SUV, but would prefer not to keep up both. So I am going to get rid of one of them. I like the Excursion best but keep trying to convince myself because of input from others that the jeep might be better. So I have been waffling for 3 months as to which to keep and The jeep was supposed to get 26ish mpg and didn't come close. If it had I would likely have tried harder to work out a way to keep it too. While I am not strapped for cash, if I get rid of the jeep it does free up about 400 a month for other things. Unfortunately, neither is paid for. I wish I hadn't gotten rid of the F250 or that I had found a 7.3L Excursion. I got tired of looking and took a decent deal on the one I have.

I realize no one can tell me what to do, but I am looking for suggestions. I am not considering buying another vehicle, only which of these 2 to keep. . I know which I prefer, but wanted some opinions from others to help with deciding if I was leaning the right way.

 

I would keep the EXCURSION 6.0 but I wouldn't add a tuner, cause you're going to blow the head-gasket, replace the EGR with an AFTER-MARKET one

 

Let us know what tire size and what kind of thread you have on the Jeep.
This is the first time that I hear about that bad mileage of the Jeep.
The thought of BOV and a DVD player makes me smile.

You made your decision already towards the Excursion,did you?

 

The jeep has 225/75-16 goodyear wranglers with less than 7k miles. I have comfirmed using GPS that the speedo is showing 7% high. Originally I thought I was getting 23 mpg highway, but after compensating for the difference in mileage, it's not the case.

I know the dvd player is a sillyt thing, but a first for me. And for keeping a spoiled 3 yr old occupied and not difficult or whining it is a godsend. My vehicle is primarily a Daily Driver, but in case of craziness I want to be able to get out of dodge.

Honestly, I got rid of my F250 and bought the Excursion for me when I thought my marriage was working out. Then the Excursion had a title problem(now fixed) and the wife wanted a small suv for her. Got her the jeep and not 3 months later I was divorced, making payments on both, her parents gave her an Escape. Never believe a woman who you know can lie well, regardless of feelings.

I have been making payments on both for 3 months since the divorce. Partly don't like the reminder out front, and just don't want to have to make payments on both. I have held off making a decision because I wanted to take my time making a decision. Especially if the mileage claims were true. At L.O.S.T. folks are claiming 30mpg, car and driver averaged 18. I am getting more along the lines of what car and driver did.

In the last week I went under the Jeep to do an oil change and found the undercarriage, exhaust, and both driveshafts covered in rust. So much that the subframe around the forward axle flaked off in powdery chunks. That freaked me out a little.

I emptied my storage unit this weekend. The excursion did in 2 trips what would have taken 4 in the jeep. And the safe wouldn't have fit in the back of the Jeep, even though it almost killed me getting it into the Excursion(getting out of shape in my old age).

If I keep the Excursion It will get a bulletproof egr upgrade,exhaust, gauges, and new springs/shocks from a F350. And maybe studs/headgaskets if I do an SCT. If I keep the jeep it would get a GDE turbo, hot tune, tcm tune and frankenlift. AND a new power drivers seat.

So yes I am leaning heavily towards the Excursion. But still hanging on to the jeep cause I cant seem to make up my mind. I appreciate the input so far.

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And if I keep the jeep, the EHM has to go. It is a smoky smelly haze coming out of that hose. So it would need a provent too.

 

keep the excursion and throw out that jeep.... hauling what and however much of it you want when you want makes the vehicle worth its weight in gold in my opinion even if you do pay more in fuel.

 

Seems you already know wich one you want. It's hard to replace driver comfort with a few mpg's

 

Do not believe what other drivers claim in fuel consumption.
I have the previous Diesel model
2.5 L (XJ) and if I go like grandpa (not faster than 55mph!) I get an average of 28mpg, but this is only possible with pure street tires and avoiding passing or hard accelerrating.
Only once I would do that I'm down in the low 20 range. The same goes for stop and go traffic- low 20mpg.
If saving is your major concern get rid of both- a VW TDI will save you to death and still providing driving fun...

But they might be not safe

Just have in mind that every dollar in your wallet left is a good dollar.

I would go with the Jeep(having one, of course). But to be honest I also did a lot of modifications.
Jeep parts are extreme expensive in europe.So I was able to exchange the complete exhaust line into a handmade stainless steel exhaust with bigger diameter. And I still saved about 50% against factory prices...

The first thing you need, if you want to keep the Jeep is a Factory Service Manual. The Jeep requires a lot of attention( as every 4 wheeler). It enables you to save a lot of money with a bit of attention. You will find the link in the Jeep threads. If not shoot me a PM.

 

Keep the 03 Excursion 4x4 6.0L it will come in handy.

 

I did look them both up on the cost of ownership calculator on edmunds. Had to use a 05 Excursion It claims the jeep will cost me 22k less over 5 years(but 2.8L diesel wasnt an option). Thats a lot of change. That is enough to make me think a lot harder about this.

 

6.0 all the way, just a better vehicle in my opinion, sure the 6.0 has it's issues, but there's a plethora of aftermarket companies out there making parts for them to make them very reliable, head studs, egr cooler/delete, and oil cooler relocation kit and that is the major problems they have and you'd be good to go for years and have the comfortableness of the Excursion