Next to sprinting up a serpentine mountain road on a sportbike, there’s nothing more magical to me than a road trip in a great truck with a powerboat snuggled up behind it. Putting the transmission in “D,” feeling the trailer hitch take a set, throttling up and merging onto the highway is a tremendously freeing experience, like a spacecraft shaking loose the reins of gravity. Because it signifies freedom ahead, both on scenic roads and on the water.

The Tahoe has always been an MVP for boaters. Tough enough to master big boat-and-trailer combos and agile enough for daily driving, it might just be the most versatile model in Chevy’s SUV range. I especially like the new powertrain options, including a Hybrid model, V8s that run on either four or eight cylinders, and other V8s that burn gasoline or E85 ethanol.

A buddy and I once used a Suburban to tow a 100-mph offshore raceboat over California’s coastal mountains to Lake Elsinore for a test flight. Its long wheelbase made towing such a long boat and heavy trailer arrangement a breeze, and on this and other trips I always relished the Suburban’s ability to accommodate any foreseeable passenger and cargo loads.

From my perspective, the only downside of a pickup is the difficulty of weatherproofing and securing cargo when you’re on a multi-day drive. With its lockable and reconfigurable pickup bed and rear seat, the Avalanche solves this with ingenious practicality. And as the commercials promise, you really can fold the rear seats, stow the rear glass, and lower the mid-gate in under a minute.

I’m partial to the high altitudes of the Sierra Nevada range, and for that line of duty a turbocharged engine is pure magic. Largely unaffected by altitude, the Silverado’s Duramax turbodiesel seems to pull just as hard over a 10,000-ft. pass as it does at sea level. And it’s a noticeably quieter than some of the competition – a huge bonus when you want to arrive relaxed and upbeat. And isn’t that the whole point?

–John L. Stein