98 blazer towing

LT 4x4 4.3. my ? is on the bumper it says 5000 max and i have a 23ft boat and its only 3800lbs so lets say 4000lbs now i have 1000lbs left but with fam cooler and stuff i have about 4 to 500lbs to play with now is the 5000lbs is what my truck can pull or is that what the hitch can carry? plus my truck says 5000 and my hitch says 6000 do i go with the truck info or the hitch???

Re: 98 blazer towing

The hitch weight rating is exactly that, just what the hitch is rated for. I'd go with what your vehicle is rated for.....and use those numbers instead.

If your vehicle ie rated for more than the hitch (which it is not), then you'd need a larger hitch.

Stick with what the vehicle is rated for. Remember, the closer you get to your max towing weight, the more of a dog your truck is going to be. Since you have an older vehicle....1998, I'd be careful with going to fast as you're more than likely going to burn up the tranny with long distance and high speed towing. If it's just a few miles tothe ramp and back, you should be fine.

Re: 98 blazer towing

What Crusader said, plus be absolutely sure of the brakes on your trailer.

Re: 98 blazer towing

should i add another tranny cooler and maybe a gauge also?

Re: 98 blazer towing

Is the weight you posted for the boat only or combination boat AND trailer? How much you can tow and how well it tows depends a great deal on the axle ratio in your Blazer. They were available with ratios from 3.42:1 to 4.10:1.

Re: 98 blazer towing

Sorry lynnboy. 3800 is dry weight. You have to add gas, electronics, boat options, motor oil and the trailer for a start and that going to put you close to the 5000lbs. The best way is to load it up and have a buddy with a full size pick-up take to the scales.
You will need something to help the rear suspension to get everything level.
Short wheel base loaded to the max, this is not a good scenario for a long road trip at highway speeds. In town with good trailer brakes will be handful but should be doable. The good news, the ramp should be OK, 4.3 blazer have a lot of pull.

Re: 98 blazer towing

My thought is that your trailer for that size of boat will weigh a lot. The difference between the dry weight of my tiny 18 foot boat and loaded up with the trailer is an additional 1000lbs. Where trailering questions are concerned at least you have a body on frame vehicle and a relatively powerful engine. I just think adding the trailer probably dual axle, likely large boat gasoline capacity, gear, batteries, coolers, plus all your truck passengers, gear in the truck, etc you will be over the limit. It will most certainly tow it and maybe without much hassle but the margin of safety shrinks dramatically. To increase the tow capacity to that next level without going up to a Tahoe, you can go to the replacement for the Blazer being the GMT 360 series with a v8. That puts you in a 2004 on up Buick Rainier/2007 on up Trailblazer or GMC Envoy. These are cheap, highly capable body on frame vehicles made for towing up to 6700lbs with 2wd and 6500 with 4wd.

Re: 98 blazer towing

Tranny cooler is an absolute must have IMHO if you are going any distance,but personally I don't think that would be a very good tow vehicle for that size of boat.

Re: 98 blazer towing

Fatwing Chris said:

Tranny cooler is an absolute must have IMHO if you are going any distance,but personally I don't think that would be a very good tow vehicle for that size of boat.

Click to expand...

I agree,
May be ok for launching and pulling around the block, but I wouldnt attempt much more. I think that above boat would tax our Tahoe- and we previously pulled with an Astro 4.3L (similar to Blazer under the skin) and it wasnt very confident with over 4K in weight. (lack of power/ stability).

Re: 98 blazer towing

There is no way I would pull a 23' boat with a Blazer. When I sold my Suburban and was waiting on my new one, I used my 2000 Blazer to tow a 20' boat and it scared the heck out of me.

Your 3800# boat is dry. Add 80 gallons of gas and water and gear and you could easily be at 4500#. Add another 1000# for the trailer and you are now at #5500 minimum.

Re: 98 blazer towing

The Blazer is a short vehicle and I will say you may very well have some trailer sway issues. The one downside about my Rainier (again the replacement for the old school Blazer) is it is short compared to a Suburban or truck yet longer than a blazer plus is on another level of robustness. A 23 foot boat with the tounge length of the trailer and adding the outdrive length is going to be close to 30 feet long. I bet that beam is wide too and so towing down a narrow stretch of road with the wrong vehicle, just keeping the trailer in the lines is difficult enough.

Re: 98 blazer towing

Don't forget that a vehicles tow rating generally declines as you add weight to the vehicle. The manufacturer's marketing department publish the tow rating assuming an EMPTY tow vehicle. If you add a family of 4 and their gear you probably need to subtract 600 pounds or so from your tow rating.
I think any way you figure it your vehicle is not up to the task, especially for any distance.