stevedug

I am going to purchase an older model suburban for the primary purpose of transporting 6-8 people and gear to Canada 2x a year for fishing trips. It will not be a daily or even weekly driver. The trips are approx. 1000 miles each way. We may pull a small storage/canoe trailer on the trips, but would not pull anything weighing over a few thousand pounds. I am looking at 90s era or early 00s. My question is whether I need to look at the 7.4L 454 or whether a 5.7L 350 will be sufficient to haul everyone up there without overloading the vehicle. I've ruled out the 5.3L. I'd love a diesel, but they are out of the price range I'm going to spend (under 4K). Also, does having a 4L80E transmission matter that much given that towing will be infrequent and nothing really heavy?
Thanks.

Rednucleus

Based on your description the 5.7 will be fine. Our 93 easily pulled a 3,700 lb ski boat back & forth over WA passes. Still have the 93 as my spare car and find it's much happier if I drive it every week or two, vs letting it sit for weeks at a time. Need to keep the old juices flowing.