Towing Question

MoonRiver · #1 10/02/12, 06:14 PM

I have a 1995 Blazer that is rated to tow 5000 lbs.

I want to tow a trailer with a GVWR of 4550 (dry weight of 3123 lbs).

Should I be OK with the Blazer as the tow vehicle?

My one experience towing a trailer ended very badly, very quickly. I learned later the problem was I needed an under bumper hitch and the guy installed an above bumper hitch. The result was I didn't have enough traction with my front wheels.

ETA: What I want to tow is a 20', lightweight travel trailer.

farminghandyman · #2 10/02/12, 06:30 PM

IF the trailer is loaded properly, you should not have a problem,

does the trailer have brakes? and do they work? if not drive car fully and pretend you driving on ice, you be fine, take a lot of distance to stop and watch a head for potential problems,

if you double you weight and not your brakes you may have problems, if you do not drive and brake with that in mind,

most people now days do not give them selfs any margin of safety when it comes to braking,

(a hitch bolted/clamped on a bumper is not a good idea), it should be a frame mounted hitch, (now on some trucks there rear bumper is designed for light hitch duty and farme mounted), and to me your problem of not having enought weight on the front tires sounds like you had to much tounge weight, and the trailer was not properly loaded,

frogmammy · #3 10/02/12, 08:20 PM

How long do you want the Blazer to last?

Mon

luvrulz · #4 10/02/12, 08:27 PM

I'd be more comfortable with an actual vehicle hitch on the frame of the blazer.... And how is the transmission on that blazer?

MoonRiver · #5 10/02/12, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrulz

I'd be more comfortable with an actual vehicle hitch on the frame of the blazer.... And how is the transmission on that blazer?

2 different vehicles. My accident was with a bronco and a u-haul installed hitch that was the wrong hitch for the Bronco.

For the Blazer, I will have the proper hitch installed.

MoonRiver · #6 10/02/12, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frogmammy

How long do you want the Blazer to last?

Mon

I was going to buy a newer tow vehicle, but my '95 Blazer only has about 80,000 miles on it. I'd like to get a couple more years out of it before I have to replace it.

MO_cows · #7 10/02/12, 09:37 PM

Because your trailer is just about as heavy as your blazer, it is going to push you around. If you have to swerve for some reason, good luck getting it back in line behind you. The short wheelbase of the blazer won't be doing you any favors, either. Using your vehicle so close to its maximum capabilities is going to age it a lot faster than normal use. Relatives of ours towed a boat with their SUV and the boat was right at the max rating for what it could tow. Tranny was gone by 100k miles.

JohnP · #8 10/02/12, 09:45 PM

I've owned lots of blazers (the small S10 types) and have towed with them quite a bit. They do pretty well but there's general towing issues with any vehicle. As was said, your previous experience was probably way too much tongue weight. (regardless of hitch installed) Think of a teeter totter with one end having an elephant on it and you on the other. Even if that teeter totter was twice as long on your side, you're still gonna get lifted. Tongue weight is the weight where the trailer sits on the ball. Usually it should be about 1/10th of the total trailer weight. For example; towing 5000lbs, you'd want 500lbs of tongue weight maximum. Your hitch should have a rating on it. One for total weight and one for tongue weight. With a small blazer, I don't want more than 400lbs or so. (That would be the equivalent of having approx 1000 lbs in the cargo area, it's that teeter totter thing again) The effort involved in cranking up the front of the trailer should give you some indication of the tongue weight. Another indication os how much the back of the vehicle goes down when the trailer is put on it. Does it look scary? Then it probably is. When loading the trailer try to keep the main weight of the load just slightly forward of the trailer axle or just slightly forward of, center between the axles on a dual axle trailer. On the other end of the tongue weight subject; You don't want it tongue light. Of almost no weight is pushing down on the tongue, or even worse, lifting up on the tongue then you can lose control of the back end of your vehicle while braking on a curve/turn. Plus you'd have low traction for, say, climbing a hill on gravel. Also, it gets real bouncy on minor dips and bumps which once again will try to lift tires off the pavement. It can also cause sway. Sway is when the trailer starts yanking the rear of the vehicle side to side and it can get so bad that you will jack-knife and wreck. It like to happen going downhill and putting on the brakes only makes it worse as does higher downhill speed. Not fun. With trailer brakes, you can manually activate the brakes on just the trailer and it will straighten the sway out due to it pulling on the rear of the towing vehicle. Kind of like pulling a rope taut.

Trailer brakes are a wonderful thing especially if the load you're towing is even close to being as heavy as what vehicle you're towing with. Once you have trailer brakes, you'll never want to do without them. I got pushed into the back of another vehicle by my trailer once. I wasn't that close and we were taking off from a traffic light that had just turned green. The guy in front of me decided he suddenly wanted to turn instead of go straight so he slammed on his brakes. Only 15 mph but I couldn't stop nearly fast enough with that weight pushing me. That was on dry pavement.

That's an interesting trailer you have. Kind of heavy by itself considering what it will haul. Only half it's own weight. Odd.
Check your owner's manual regarding towing. As heavy as that load is for the blazer, you really shouldn't tow in overdrive. The transmission will overheat. Since you can't use overdrive, your top speed will be 50-55 mph without winding out the engine.

If you're going to tow a load like that on a regular basis then you should have an auxiliary transmission cooler installed.

I don't even tow with my blazers on wet pavement. I only do it occasionally. If I wanted to tow more often, I'd get a 3/4 or 1 ton.

Other than that, if the owner's manual says you can and the hitch says you can then technically you can. Take it very cautiously until you have lots of experience.

blooba · #9 10/03/12, 06:27 AM

Like what was said, loading the trailer correctly will be very important, you haven't said what cargo your towing,I hope its dead weight and not like a live horse that can move on ya. you want enough weight on the tongue but not too much, if you are filling the trailer to the max you want alot of the weight at or near the trailer's axle. The farther forward you put it the more tongue weight, the farther back less weight.

Also driving is key, remember that your pulling a trailer and you can't jump out in traffic, or take corners like you used to. When I pull max loads I think of myself as a semi driver, leave tons of room and be prepared for slow takeoffs. Don't push your vehicle too hard or it will leave you sitting on the side of the road. If your gonna be towing much as said, trailer brakes and transmission cooler will be a must.

I pull a trailer with my Jeep Wrangler sometimes that maxes or exceeds my tow rating so its possible but is dangerous so proceed with caution.

PD-Riverman · #10 10/03/12, 07:42 AM

Make Sure the trailer Brakes are working. I bought a used enclosed 16ft dual axle trailer and when I got home checking the brakes was my first thing. They had to be reworked. I have a F150 4 wheel drive. I knew this trailer would be loaded to the max Plus often so I fixed the brakes. I then---with the trailer tires off the ground, had someone to in the truck to mash the brakes to make sure the brake on all 4 wheels were working properly. I then took it out on the road and manually activated the brakes and they were working but did not seem to be stopping the empty trailer as fast as it should----after taking the trailer out after dark I seen why. The trailer lights would go almost completely out when I mashed the brakes. The trailer was not getting enough ground through the Ball. I then installed a 8 gauge ground wire from the trailer tounge to the truck frame with a disconnect---then the brakes and lights worked as they should.

Selling at the Flea Market and going to auctions, meant that a trailer was hooked behind my Truck daily---some 200 to 300 mile round trips often. I have never had a problem. When I got it loaded I always take off slowly and allow plenty of room between my truck and the vehicle ahead of me. When I pull up to a red light and stop-- I leave a couple car lengths between me and the vehicle in front. Always pulling up to the Traffic lights in the right lane When possible. I always leave early when I am heading some where so I do not get in a hurry.

AS Stated---Loading the trailer properly is something that Has to be done correctly. I would pull everything out of a loaded trailer and reload it before I took off down the road with a trailer that was to tounge heavy and or to light. To much of a risk.

Put your truck on level ground and Get a couple of your 200lb friend to stand on the ball/hitch and you stand back and watch---if your truck squats bad and/or your front end goes up alot----I would not hook a heavy loaded trailer to that truck until the suspension is worked on. Some squat is expected but not Alot.

mountainwmn · #11 10/03/12, 07:50 AM

The biggest problem I ran into with pulling my trucks max was that the suspension couldn't handle it. The truck rode so rough that my back couldn't take more than a few miles. I think you're pushing your luck but I guess you could try it on a few short trips and see how it works before you upgrade if you need to.

frogmammy · #12 10/03/12, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoonRiver

I was going to buy a newer tow vehicle, but my '95 Blazer only has about 80,000 miles on it. I'd like to get a couple more years out of it before I have to replace it.

Ok, we're talking travel trailer then?...sorry, somehow didn't see that!

Check to see what transmission you have. You WILL need electric brakes/brake controller and a weight distributing hitch. Uhaul can install the CORRECT hitch, the correct way, and electruc connection (if needed) at a decent price. One thing to do will be to find out what the manufacturer of your intended trailer likes as the hitch height.

Heck, go to a local RV park and look around for someone with a Blazer and ask them how towing with it works out for them.

Mon

foxtrapper · #13 10/03/12, 11:29 AM

With that engine, it's going to be working fairly hard to pull that. Gas mileage won't bee wonderfull, nor will going up hills. You can certainly do it, but it won't be relaxed towing.

Braking will be ok, but nothing more than that. If the trailer has brakes, and it should, braking will be fine. Do budget for a good controller in the Blazer.

If automatic tranny, think about an external oil cooler. The oem one will work, but on a hot day, or long hills, you can get things hot. Hot isn't good for ATF.

MoonRiver · #14 10/04/12, 07:23 AM

Thanks for the information. The Blazer is in great shape for being 17 years old, but I guess the best thing to do is sell it and buy a better tow vehicle. Thing is, I would prefer a larger SUV with 4wd over a pickup truck and that will break the bank.

greg_n_ga · #15 10/04/12, 06:20 PM

We have one about that yr model. I wouldn't tow on a regular basis with it. On occassion, you would be ok. JMHO. If you are are gona tow on a regular basis, I think over kill in the tow veh. is money well spent.