truck/suv question

My only advice is to check beneth all trim, door panels, rocker panels, rer gates etc. These things (Fords Chevies and Dodges) have such spotty "paint on" methods that every so often a unit will come through where all the weep holes and drainage holes are clogged with paint and the damn things start rusting out (inside of wheel wells, bottoms of doors etc). Trailblazers have always had an advert base of a "macho" off road kind of vehicle and that always mens retained mud and moisture.
Also, if its got these foam sound dampening things on inside wheel well and door corners (especially down facing ones, )remove all that crap cause it will also promote rust by not letting it drain quickly. (I have no idea what truck makers are thinking about).
Im not familiar with the performance of your chosen unit but Id be watchful of any maintenance records. Its amazing how a bit of good maintenance can extend a vehicles usable life. Especially one that sells itself as an OFFROAD wagon

Just some ideas based on my experience with trucks.(Mostly all F250's and 350's)

Just for what it's worth, in the local oil field you will likely never see a chevy. According to conventional wisdom, the front suspension falls apart on the oilfield roads around here. It seems the Toyota Tundra is moving in, but the verdict is still out.

Chevy might have gotten its design right in the past few years, but it's a conservative business and the service companies are uninclined to change.

same thing in the coal fields, Chesapeake drilling has a lot of Dodges (I guess because of their "body on frame" suspensions

I understand that at the time in question, Dodge didn't have a full crew cab and missed being considered. That's what I was told, in any case.

thanks for the advise and I agree with you , one would be hard pressed to find anything GM or Chevy in the oil fields or farms, they tend to get hammered into the ground lol! My pickup/ work truck is a 2010 Dodge, my wife drives a Caravan! I'm looking for something I can pile a bunch of kids, a dog, some camping gear (6 or 7 people and one mutt) , it needs to be able to tow our tent trailer as well, summer camping vehicle, I was thinking SUV but I'm not sure what a good one would be.

why not. As long as youre not chasing rust you can pretty much keep the engine in shape and250K or more miles on a car isn't a big del anymore.
(No lead in the gas keeps your manifolds from being eaten by the acids associated with the old tetraethyl lead ****).

My neighbor has a family that likes snow mobiling and he has an Avalanche that he uses to tow 3 snowmobiles and (I think) he hs a roll up tonneau cover on his bed so that he can fit 5 people inside and keep luggage in the bed and camping gear roped onto the snowmobiles.
I have no idea about the weight but he seems to do OK and this year they had to drive to NY to find snow to skidoo on. You can carry gear inside your camper and even think about a break apart canoe maybe.
I love RVing , I must be a Roma at heart.

lol, I had it narrowed down to a Jeep Cherokee and a Chev Trailblazer so I decided to do a little research on the cost of parts, the cost of an alternator for the Trailblazer is $140 at NAPA and the alternator for the jeep is $600 lmao! guess I'm no longer considering the Jeep!

Those are valuable considerations. Here's another. How hard are the beasts to work on. In my old Focus, I'm dreading the day a headlight burns out. Hard to believe I can't replace my own headlight, but there is an incredible number of parts above and below them - probably all vital. Up until the late '70s, I used to do nearly all my own maintenance. No longer possible.

lights are all those sealed units. I have a friend who bught a Chrysler Convertible and he got tapped on the one lens and , according to the dealership, he had to replace the entire lens , cover, fancy light cover and all. One light cost him like 250 bucks. I woner what a Mercedes costs?

On mine, I'm betting the labor charge alone would be an easy four hundred dollars - American. Don't know about Mercedes, but BMW has really sewn up the replacement parts market. You buy BMW or do without.

no one here has any experience with the Trailblazers from 2004 to 2008? I heard from a few people that they are crap, not good runners, always breaking down, mostly bios due to the fact they are die hard Dodge owners so...

I think that every damn vehicle can be made to run long by being true to its maintenance ad getting ahead of some of the "What were they thinking" crap that they always do to trucks (Im talking about things that are designed INTO a truck that promote rust).
I especially hate rust .