Kawboy, So for 25 years I owned a vehicle dealership here in Washington State. I dealt in government surplus vehicles. Over 90% of the vehicles that I sold were US Forest Service vehicles. I personally have bought and sold over 1200 green forest service vehicles. I bought them from all over the western united states and Alaska. Shipped them to me by the semi-truck loads. I sold trucks to private individuals, businesses, farms, ranch's, and other government agencies. People traveled from multiple states to buy vehicles from me. I sold all kinds of Dodge, Chevy, Ford, Jeep, and other American made vehicles. Mostly trucks and SUV's. While doing this I decided I would try to find the ultimate hunting rig. My buddies all owned Dodge, Chevy, and Ford one ton and 3/4 ton diesel pickups. They had too due to their work and hauling needs. I hated hunting with them in those rigs because they beat you to death and drive over adverse roads terrible. I tried everything. 1/2 ton pick ups of all makes, I had a 85 Dodge crew cab short box that wasn't bad but road rough. I had a 1994 Ford one ton crew cab that I took off the bed and had my auto body guy cut the frame and shorten it down (lost one of the two fuel tanks) and custom made a short flatbed for it (super cool looking) but it absolutely beat you to death when you were off road with the one ton springs. I was looking for the perfect vehicle that could do four things for me. It needed to have a tight turning radius, ride as smooth as possible off road, be able to haul myself and up to three others, and be able to haul dead deer and elk. I never really considered an SUV because i figured you couldn't carry critters home. Once we went to the gutless method and never bring anything home except bags of meats and antlers, I realized that an SUV with a hitch-hualer on the back might work. Im 6 foot 8 inches tall so a smaller SUV wouldn't cut it. My first SUV was a 1999 Chevy 2 door Tahoe. It worked wonderful and with the hitch-hauler it worked perfect. But it was really only good for two guys due to the two door. If I was only hunting with one extra guy I would still have that rig. You could turn on a dime and it road like a Caddy off road. I went to the vehicle I have now a 2005 Chevy 4 door Tahoe after my kids started to hunt and I will keep it forever. The hitch-hualer can easily haul three to four de-boned deer or a de-boned elk with horns and cape easily. I stock it all up at the beginning of the hunting season with everything I can or could possibly need or use. All of my gear is out of the weather and locked up. Now i will have to say that this rig is used by myself only during hunting season and is for hunting only. Some guys cant do that and need to use the truck that they drive regularly or use for work like my buddies I mentioned above. But if you are looking for the ultimate hunting rig and used exclusively for hunting, The Chevy Tahoe cant be beat in my opinion. the weight distribution compared to the wheelbase makes my Tahoe better in the snow and ice than my buddies trucks. I can get into areas they simply cant. The short turning radius is amazing and the smooth ride is absolutely like nothing a truck can produce. If you have to get a truck due to other reasons than I would recommend a Chevy 1/2 short bed. Chevy trucks and SUV's have better suspensions for a smooth ride over the other makes. I have owned them all and Chevy/GMC is what you want to stay with. I hope that helps a little. Might be some foreign made SUV's that might work for you but what I like about my Forest Service Tahoe is that I can take it through rough sage and bushes and not care about scratching and so on. My Tahoe can just about go anywhere a side by side can go and I can have the heat or AC on and I am not covered in dust, dirt, snow, or mud on the inside. Just one more thing, you want your Tahoe to be a 2004-2006 if you can. Anything newer than that has all plastic front and rear bumpers that wont hold up to serious off road driving. They possibly could if you want to spend a fortune buying after market bumpers. Good luck on your search. Everyones needs are different due to their individual circumstances but The Tahoe has been the "Cat's-Meow" for me.
View attachment 107628
View attachment 107630
View attachment 107633
