is a blazer for me?

[supercoupe5]

i want to get rid of my 96 bronco. i want an old chevy. i am building a car hauler and have a 70 monte and an 06 vette that i will be hauling on occasion. i am wondering if a blazer is for me with its shorter wheel base or if i should opt for the short bed truck as it is 11 inches longer from what i can find. i do know that a long bed would be much better for hauling but i like the short bed better and the blazer the best. whatever i get i know it will be a 4x4. any insite from the more educated would be great. thanks in advance. dave

[lindstromjd]

Shorter wheel bases are more prone to rollovers when towing, depending on your suspension's ability to handle the trailer "bullying" the truck. I'd go with the SWB truck for towing. Blazer would have enough power, but might not like carrying a trailer twice as long as it is.

[AlaskaMatt]

My 15' travel trailer drives my blazer all the time....

Yes, I meant that exactly as written. Go for the truck.

[vtblazer]

I'd never buy a blazer specifically for the reason of towing.

Then again, same goes for a swb truck, love em both but neither for towing.

[supercoupe5]

the amount of towing will be minimal. it will take the monte to the strip 1 or 2 times a year and that is around 30 miles one way. may take it to a track up north maybe once a year around 180 miles one way. so it will not have the trailer hooked up to it all that much but will want it to tow it. just found out mama is pregnant so not sure how the truck would be with the car seat and both of us. dave

[bouncytruck]

Get a suburban - long wheelbase, available in 3/4 ton and room for the family.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by supercoupe5

the amount of towing will be minimal. it will take the monte to the strip 1 or 2 times a year and that is around 30 miles one way. may take it to a track up north maybe once a year around 180 miles one way. so it will not have the trailer hooked up to it all that much but will want it to tow it. just found out mama is pregnant so not sure how the truck would be with the car seat and both of us. dave

Modern 4-door 4x4 truck with a short bed, problem solved.

[1tonblaze]

thats why dullys are so long and the wide tire print on the rear more stable for towing and better carrying weight . blazer short bed pick up for the daily driver long bed suburban for the tow job .

[Torrey72]

Yes, a first jen Blazer is for you. I'd not use it to tow a 3200lbs car like a Monte though. Late 80's 4x4 Suburbans can be picked up for $2500 or so. At least in my neck of the woods. This will give more money to restore the Blazer, and it can ride on the trailer too. Well, on the trailer untill you get to the sand dunes or the woods

[old man jimmy]

I've pulled trailers with trucks, jimmy, and suburbans. The burban is by far my choice. Plus whatever you carry will stay dry, and not blow out along the highway. Pulled a 64 electra 225 2000 miles on a 18ft. car hauler. Like it wasn't even their. And if you're going to the track. I'm sure you will be carrying tools. Tough to lock up in an open pickup bed.

[supercoupe5]

guess it all boils down to the old adage "Just because it CAN haul it doesn't mean it SHOULD haul it"!

[k5hart]

I towed a vega station wagon from Florida to South Carolina with my blazer. All went well and I didn't feel like I was out of control with the truck but I also took it very easy and I made sure the trailer was loaded a perfect as possible. Everyone is right about heavy trailers driving the truck if not careful. I had a very heavy U-haul box trailer try to push the blazer around in a highway emergency maneuver. I about lost it. I also pulled a full size short bed pickup on a dolly which was pretty nerve racking. I only went from one town to another on back roads with no problems but there was no way I would have been able to drive highway speeds.

[dccarpenter]

I've towed pickups on a dolly with my gf's blazer as well as towed a single cab ppickup with a jeep cherokee. I didn't really have any problems.

I drove normal and within the speed limit, these trucks are rated to pull that kind of weight if you drive sanely and at 55 or so. I'm not sure where people are getting all these ideas of needing a 1 ton or 3/4 truck to do light towing...people have used half ton vehicles to tow for decades..back in the 50s, 60s, 70s people used these with towbars for long tows all the time. Nowadays people on forums recommend nothing less than , as one poster said, a modern big pickup to do this kind of task.

Get the blazer and have some fun in my opinion.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by dccarpenter

as one poster said, a modern big pickup to do this kind of task.

A modern 4-door truck was mentioned, nothing about 'big' and it was pertaining to the fact that the original poster was talking about having no room in a reg cab for the kids.

[OLD K5]

VTBlazer is right. It is all about comfort level while towing. With kids its easy in a 4 door truck. I tow a 6k travel trailer with an 8k diesel 4 door truck. It feels safe and the trailer doesn't push it around. I towed it with a half ton tahoe before and it was straight scary, even with air bags, and being under the trucks tow rating!

[Critter]

I LOVE Blazers! LOVE 'EM!!! But I have to agree with others in that I would have a hard time buying/building a Blazer with that much towing duty in mind. If you want an old nostalgic tow rig for the purposes you mentioned is to get a suburban as others have mentioned. Of course you can't go wrong with a new vehicle, but that might not be in the cards for you.

[lindstromjd]

Originally Posted by dccarpenter

I've towed pickups on a dolly with my gf's blazer as well as towed a single cab ppickup with a jeep cherokee. I didn't really have any problems.

I drove normal and within the speed limit, these trucks are rated to pull that kind of weight if you drive sanely and at 55 or so.

...people have used half ton vehicles to tow for decades..back in the 50s, 60s, 70s people used these with towbars for long tows all the time.

Get the blazer and have some fun in my opinion.

See, that's just the point. You can PULL anything you want with a tow dolly (the towed vehicle has 2 wheels on the ground) with any vehicle as long as the engine is up to the task. You CANNOT, however, HAUL anything on a trailer. The size of your towing vehicle is directly related to how well it will pull a trailer that's loaded.

I think my biggest thing is that I've always used bigger trucks to pull trailers, because it only takes ONCE to get the ever living crap scared out of you with a small tow vehicle and you'll never, ever go back to it again.

[70BLAZERX2]

and you have the brake issue...1/2 brakes are good..but for stopping it..add 5,000 lbs behaind it..and you will have to stop alot longer..Get at least a 3/4 with good big brakes. and you wont have a problem.. Longbed 4x4 truck or burb is the way to go.

It is also like trying to pull a car trailer with a 3,000lb car..with a S10...it may pull it for a while but wont stop at all..trailer pushing you right through a red light..

[Erik V]

The only part you mentioned that sounds scary is the long haul annually. I say if you have enough brakes, you drive like a sane person, and you load appropriately you'll be fine.

For comparison: This is why I'm rehab'ing my family's old Jimmy. The Subaru makes ~300hp, has upgraded brakes (factory ABS is awesome too), has a factory tow rating of 2000 lbs/200 tongue weight, but is really pretty much limited to those figures. In this pic:



The trailer axle tipped the scales at 2600 and I figure I had at least 300 on the tongue. Car was sluggish from a stop (not a healthy idea), but did fine on a 700 mile trek to Idaho Falls and back from the Portland area. Some of the mountain passes were kinda sketchy for the drivetrain, but I slowed down and all was well. Soon I'll be needing to tow my baja bug to the beach and back, which is way more than I want to have the subaru do. ATVs are one thing, complete cars are entirely another.

So I'm with the Suburban camp. If we didnt already have my Jimmy in the family awaiting a use, I was shopping for a 3/4 ton Burb. Plus in WA if you can find a decent one 85 and older (next year 86 and older) you're emissions exempt.

Erik