My brother is looking for a Tahoe or Yukon. He wants to put a lift on it too, a 5 inch lift and 33 inch tires. It should still fit in our garage. He's not going to take it off-road ever. He just wants to cruise nice and high on these Phoenix freeways.

I found a beautiful 2004 with about 150K miles on it. It has the 4.8 liter engine and is 2WD. I've read that it is generally a reliable engine. But with the 5 inch lift and bigger tires, do you think this engine will have enough power? Edmunds shows the specs on that engine at 285hp at 5600 rpms. He doesn't have anything to tow. That's not to say that in the future he might not pickup a used 18' travel trailer for cheap. Could this 4.8 tow something like that, plus the lift/tires?

 

Total waste. Why? If it's just for highways then leave it alone. Baby it before the transmission blows up.

 

This would be the perfect Tahoe for my brother (and me too).

Can you imagine what a blast that would be to drive? The visibility, the tires could effortlessly roll over potholes and other debris. The truck in that video has a 4.8 liter, and it's a 6 inch lift + 35" tires. Unfortunately that's too tall for the garage. We're just talking about a 5 inch lift and 33" tires, nothing too radical. Just wondering if the 4.8 liter would be enough power, or if we should be looking for a 5.3.

 

as long as he is ok not being able to pass a car without 2miles clear highway.

 

Once you go down that road, you're looking at 10's of thousands of $$. Not to mention upkeep. The addons will be worth many times more than the truck. One accident and it's all gone.
potholes and debris, really?

 

You'd be surprised how much junk is on the freeways here. Pieces of cars, furniture, you name it. My brother ran over some tire rubber recently and it tore a mudflap off on his sedan. There was too much traffic for him to avoid it. He's since sold the car. Plus he's a very timid driver, and the Phoenix freeways scare him. He feels a lot safer driving my Chevy Express van. He's been driving it until he finds a Tahoe or other truck.

 

Are you driving in some kind of disaster area?
a ridiculous 6" lift doesn't increase the strength of your mudflaps. Road debris is still going to get thrown up.

 

Awe dude I like that truck! Here's the situation. My brother hates driving, these freeways in Phoenix scare the **** out of him (good thing he's not in Los Angeles!). Me, I can drive a compact car or a class 8 semi tractor, and appreciate the qualities of both. My brother's eyeballs need to be about 5'10" off the ground for him to be comfortable. Unfortunately this place is the epitome of urban sprawl, and he has to drive to his gigs. He's draws portraits for a living and gets "sensory overload" easily. If not a lifted Tahoe, what vehicle can provide this? I guess he can get a van like mine, an Express van, but the handling is rough, it's a very top heavy vehicle. Are there any other options?

 

sounds like he shouldn't be driving at all

 

My brother would rather live in a small city, but his career is tied to this place. Anyway I appreciate all the comments. Maybe he'll be content with the stock ride height once he actually gets the Tahoe.