Towing w/ '71 1/2 ton P.U.

[83K5350]

Do think I'd be safe to tow my '83k5 Blazer on a flatbed trailer behind my '71 1/2 ton GMC shortbed 4x4 w/3.73 gears? The '71 is all restored and only has about 45K on it. Or would it be to hard on it?

[krue]

Pulling with it shouldn't be a problem, I pull with my 1/2 ton with 3.08 gears. But you really need trailer brakes because pulling is one thing, stopping is another.

[83K5350]

I have trailer brakes on it and on the trailer that work great. Thanks for the info. I just don't what to kill the truck towing to much with it.

[mrein3]

I tow my 3000+ pound Triton around with my lwb 4x4. The chassis is 1971 (front disc brakes) and it has 373 gears. I don't think twice about pulling my boat with it. However the trailer has surge, disc brakes and stops nice for a heavy rig.

One time I rented a dual axel car trailer with surge, drum brakes. I put my 1971 Chevelle convertable on it and pulled it home from where I had it stored. I was NOT comfortable at all pulling that. It was easily 1000 pounds heavier. The drums on the trailer were about as good as front drums on a truck.

Your 83 Blazer on a trailer is going to be heavier than my convertable on a trailer. I don't think I would do it.

When ever anybody asks me,
"Can I pull this with this."
I usually answer it ain't the pulling you have to worry about. It is the stopping. When I see a mini-SUV or a mini-van pulling a big boat or trailer, I make sure I'm not in front of that guy because he ain't stopping.

When I see all the mud heads pulling their mudders up to Dresser, Wisconsin for their Memorial Day mud run I go home a different way.

[71swb4x4]

I towed a 70 Blazer 4x4 on a trailer behind my 71 SWB 4x4 with no trailer brakes. It sucked, but mainly b/c of the no trailer brakes issue. If you have trailer brakes it should be pretty easy.
I towed that Blazer 200 miles. I also towed my 2wd Jimmy (on the trailer) behind my SWB for 700 miles, no problems.

[GloryHound]

Well just recently I rented a car hauler from U-haul and towed a 70 chevy from down in west by god virginia up here to pittsburgh, about 120 miles, with my 150 F@rd. I only have a 4.2 L and between the trailer and V8 71 short chevy the load was about 1000 lbs over that of my truck. I got it here and going up some hills my speed dropped down pretty good. The back roads were also an SOB. It did it, didn't like it, but did it. I would do it again if I had to, but I have a lot of experience with towing loads. If your over wieght make sure you tow in daylight, under good weather conditions, good brakes on your truck, good brakes on the trailer, stop every 40 to 50 miles and let your brakes cool, Inspect the load after the first ten miles, keep a close eye on your oil pressure and temp, let the other idiots on the road pass you, keep an excessive amount of following distance, and take a friend with you on the ride to help keep an eye on things.

[HugrOrang71]

The '71 should have little trouble pulling that.

However, the weight of the Blazer and trailer probably outweighs your truck by a good amount. IME, the trailer is going to want to steer the towing vehicle at highway speeds and will lead to fishtailing which will be intensified by the short wheelbase.
It can be done, but be very careful.

When I hauled my 71 from my dads house to mine with my Tahoe, I was running along a straight stretch of road about 55-60 mph. The trailer got into the ruts in the road from the trucks and started fishtailing, which then transferred to the Tahoe. I had got off the throttle as soon as it started and never touched the brakes, but the shaking and lane to lane swerving became violent. At that point, I was still going about 40-45 and it was getting worse. I accelerated and got out of the ruts where it finally started to settle down.
At that point, I slowed down, pulled over to check the load and my pants. From then on I use my crew cab for pulling for the increased wheelbase and the fact that with a full fuel tanks it weighs almost 8500 lbs.

[krue]

Originally Posted by HugrOrang71

The '71 should have little trouble pulling that.

However, the weight of the Blazer and trailer probably outweighs your truck by a good amount. IME, the trailer is going to want to steer the towing vehicle at highway speeds and will lead to fishtailing which will be intensified by the short wheelbase.
It can be done, but be very careful.

When I hauled my 71 from my dads house to mine with my Tahoe, I was running along a straight stretch of road about 55-60 mph. The trailer got into the ruts in the road from the trucks and started fishtailing, which then transferred to the Tahoe. I had got off the throttle as soon as it started and never touched the brakes, but the shaking and lane to lane swerving became violent. At that point, I was still going about 40-45 and it was getting worse. I accelerated and got out of the ruts where it finally started to settle down.
At that point, I slowed down, pulled over to check the load and my pants. From then on I use my crew cab for pulling for the increased wheelbase and the fact that with a full fuel tanks it weighs almost 8500 lbs.

I'm not trying to start anything, but that sounds like to me that you didn't have enough tongue weight on your trailer. If you had shifted the load forward a foot or so it probably wouldn't have fishtailed on you.

[HugrOrang71]

No, I had the pickup as far forward as it could go against the front of the trailer. The majority of the weight was even with or forward of the front axle on the trailer.

I should have known better. Even with an empty trailer, it has a tendency to try to steer the Tahoe on that type of road. I've always concluded that it has to do mainly with the soft, cushy suspension.

[71swb4x4]

I had the same thing happen to me as happened to HugrOrang71. When I was pulling the 2wd Jimmy back things got a little too exciting. It was pretty scary for a few seconds. I stayed off the brakes and drove out of it.

[Rod]

I jack-knifed my Pontiac firefly towing my Chevy Sprint ..in the curved driveway in the yard I bought it at...then my towing strategy changed. I use a tow bar on most of my stuff and I wouldn't recommend it...soon enough those will be outlawed here. I'd prefer a trailer. Why I even chance stuff like that in the winter..me must be I've tow-barred suburban to suburban too..but it can get squirley on you.

[83K5350]

Well as far as it out weighting my '71, it would be close. I figure my blazer and trailer weigh about 6000lbs. My blazer has no top, doors or tailgate. So that makes it a lot lighter.

[krue]

OK, my bad.

[vcrazy8]

I pull a 26 foot camper with no problem since I got a weight distribution hitch and a friction bar.The first time I pulled the camper on the interstate to Talladega without it we had to pry my fingers loose from the steering wheel j/k but my hands hurt from holding on so tight. Weight distributation hitches and a friction bar make it a breeze to pull.

[Jason915]

It'll be fine brakes are overated anyway that is what reverse is for. J/K as long as you have the proper hitch and trailer brakes you'll be fine.