Blazer Tow Rig?

[NuBomb]

My wife really wants us to buy a travel trailer and start taking several mini-vacations through the year. We planned to save up money and sell my 91 silverado to buy a newer 3/4 4 door pickup to pull the trailer. Since Vince Y's post on his holiday with the blazer I'm thinking I may try to bypass the newer truck and use the blazer. The problem is that my wife is looking at trailers that weigh more than Vince's.
The point of this post is; What can be done to make the blazer able to handle towing a 32ft. trailer weighing about 8000lbs? Does the wheel base of the blazer make this an all-around bad idea. I'm just tossing the idea around.

[smbrouss70]

The short wheelbase is the real killer. It just won't keep a heavy load stable. With a weight distributing hitch the K5 suspension should handle the weight, but the stability would be bad.

I just pulled a 7600lb 31' trailer to the board meet in my 04 crew cab short bed (5.5 ft), it's the 1/2 ton version, with the same wheelbase as the regular short bed extended cabs. As far as stability was concerned it did great, just wish I would've gotten the 3/4 ton with the Duramax!

My $.02

***EDIT*** Now that I went and looked Vince Y's thread, I may have put my foot in my mouth. You can always try it out keeping semi-close to your house, if it doesn't feel good you haven't lost any money by trying it on the K5!

[RED72blazer]

I've towed a 26ft boat and trailer combo, weighed about 6000 pounds. I wouldn't recommend going very far....

[vtblazer]

I'd think it would be tough on the current blazer suspension.

If you gear up the blazer suspension with towing in mind, that could certainly help.

Another big benifit when towing are the tires, get some 10 ply tires on the blazer with a load leveler type hitch with beefed up springs/shocks and I'd bet you'd have a workable combo.

[NuBomb]

I would guess 3/4 ton axles and a beefed up engine and transmission would help, but still dicey due to the short wheel base. All the input is great. I'm just trying to get a feel on what direction I should go.

[Chevyman63]

My brother pulls a 30' trailer with a 1/2 ton '02 Tahoe but he has a Hensley hitch. I would talk with a few different places that sell campers/trailers and see what they say. The Hensley hitch is an amazing thing, but very expensive. But with it you may be able to pull it with a stock or almost stock set up. As stated above, the short wheelbase may be the biggest problem.

FYI
http://www.hensleymfg.com/

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by Chevyman63

My brother pulls a 30' trailer with a 1/2 ton '02 Tahoe but he has a Hensley hitch. I would talk with a few different places that sell campers/trailers and see what they say. The Hensley hitch is an amazing thing, but very expensive. But with it you may be able to pull it with a stock or almost stock set up. As stated above, the short wheelbase may be the biggest problem.

FYI
http://www.hensleymfg.com/

the hitch could make all the difference.

I was thinking this over today while towing my trailer and personally, I'd do it or at least try it with a minimum of specific upgrades.

*An "good" equalizer hitch (mine was almost $800 bucks)
*Good tires, rated for the load (D's minimum but E's would be better)
*Overload springs minimum but a new spring pack all together, better.
*New shocks, again rated for the load/task (no air shocks)

Your 1/2 ton axles will be fine but 4:11's in the diff's couldn't hurt.

[RED72blazer]

with such a short wheelbase trailers really push the truck around.

[69TowRig]

There is a plus-side to the short wheelbase: backing a trailer is a breeze. I love towing my boat with my Nissan Frontier, the thing is like using a tug on an airplane. I can put the 25' trailer anywhere I want to. I would expect that using my Blazer would be just as good, if not better.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by RED72blazer

with such a short wheelbase trailers really push the truck around.

That's where the specialized hitch comes into play.

The hitch is designed to control and tone down both the up/down forces and most of all the side to side sway that the shorter wheelbase trucks have issues with.

When I installed mine, it was a night and day difference even with an extra-cab full size, imagine how much it would help with a shorter wheel base truck.

[71swb4x4]

I am sure you know this, but electric trailer brakes would help a lot too.

[RED72blazer]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

That's where the specialized hitch comes into play.

The hitch is designed to control and tone down both the up/down forces and most of all the side to side sway that the shorter wheelbase trucks have issues with.

When I installed mine, it was a night and day difference even with an extra-cab full size, imagine how much it would help with a shorter wheel base truck.

I've heard nothing but good things about those hitches, But I have access to a Suburban now....thus no need to tow with the blazer.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by RED72blazer

I've heard nothing but good things about those hitches, But I have access to a Suburban now....thus no need to tow with the blazer.

Even so, you'll be better off/love towing with one.

Try it, you'll like it!

[VinceY]

Originally Posted by RED72blazer

with such a short wheelbase trailers really push the truck around.

Just returned from camping last night and had to push a huge wind all the way home. I usually pull at 60 mph on flat runs on the highway but had to work it at 55 mpg because of the headwind. Whenever, a semi or even larger pickups passed, the wind pushed the truck around. This is normal in very windy conditions but the short wheelbase thing makes it worse. I would not advise pulling a trailer that is over 6000 lbs. as there will be lack of power issues also. Big trailers need diesel pullers especially in areas with high wind and big climbs. It is probably advisable to go with 5th wheels over bumper pulls in larger trailers also.

[NuBomb]

I've pretty much concluded that the blazer probably needs to stay away from pulling trailer. That hitch costs $3000 on the website, upgrading the motor and trans., along with tires and everything else leads me to believe I would be better off just buying a 3/4 ton diesel. My wife really likes the floorplans of the pull behinds, but I hope she will find a 5th wheel she likes when the time comes. Gotta love this site. As usual great replies.

[Chevyman63]

After looking back at the posts I realized that the price of the Hensley hitch didn't get brought up...sorry. On the other hand, the fifth wheel behind a diesel, IMHO, is the best choice. I pull a 30' 5th wheel with a duramax and I couldn't say enough good things about it. It is AWESOME!! Before I got the diesel, I had an '03 crew cab with a 6.0 liter... what a pig, I wasn't impressed.
Just my $.02.

[ClassicJimmy]

Out of curiosity, does the length of the trailer affect the tow rig or is mostly the weight that can make a tow rig squirrely? I'm wondering if I'll be able to pull a tent style trailer with my Jimmy. Sorry if I'm jacking the thread, but I thought it was relavent.

[Chevyman63]

Originally Posted by ClassicJimmy

Out of curiosity, does the length of the trailer affect the tow rig or is mostly the weight that can make a tow rig squirrely? I'm wondering if I'll be able to pull a tent style trailer with my Jimmy. Sorry if I'm jacking the thread, but I thought it was relavent.

Both are factors, but I would say weight would cause more problems. As far as a tent camper/pop-up goes, you should have no problem at all pulling one with your Jimmy. Just my $.02.