Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

[SigSaurP229]

OK everyone here is the setup currently.

2005 Chevy Trailblazer
18' Starcraft which I hope to in the future be the main boat towed behind this vehicle. No problems at all. Well under gross fully rigged out my guess on weight would be around 2500 LBS.


The problem is that we have been towing a 28' Lowe Pontoon with it as well. The Boat weighs 3,000 LBS Add the trailer of another 600 lbs, 15 gallons of gas at another 100 lbs the motor is another 385 lbs with 4 people in the truck and minimal gear we are at 4650 lbs +/- a little. No coolers or ice chests we keep all of that at the camper.

My trailblazer is rated at 4900 lbs it pulls the boat fine on flat ground it stops the boat fine as well BUT you can definetly tell it is alot of weight.

We are considering upgrading since we can only get around 11 mpg around town in it empty anyways. It is ridiculous.


My family needs an SUV we occasionally seat 7 MUST have four wheel drive. We live in the mountains and I have to get to work when it snows.

Would upgrading to a Tahoe/ Suburban Expedition make that big of a difference.

We have test driven a few but I don't want to take the plunge buying a new Tow vehicle if it isn't worth it. I owe less than 1 year on the truck. Buying a spare pickup to keep around isn't much of an option as most older trucks are two door and getting a car seat in and out is pretty much impossible and most of them won't seat 4 people.

I don't think standard MPG around town would go down very much if any as the V6 in that Trailblazer always seems to be working hard.

What do you all think?


Any options I should consider?

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I have a silverado and I get around 15 mpg and its my understanding a hoe is around the same. But you go up to around a 9500 pound towing class.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

How far do you tow the boat? If its only a quick drive to the lake then you should be fine. if you are pulling on longer trips then I would consider the upgrade.

I think many people buy waaay more vehicle than they need. A 1995 F350 with 7.3L diesel was rated for 10,000. A 2013 F150 can be equipped for over 11,000. A new 350 can handle over 17,000 when equipped correctly.

Technology and engineering is constantly improving. Trucks and SUVs are more capable than ever, and will only get better.

All 3 of the vehicles you mentioned should work well, especially considering the passenger requirements you mentioned.

Any of the 3 vehicle mentioned would defiantly pull steadier than your trailblazer!

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Its around a 45 minute drive to the lake hence the reason I don't want to be using 2 vehicles, and it is not all flat ground, a couple of times the truck has started to heat up a bit when pulling some of the inclines. Honestly I believe the truck is way over rated for what it is.

 

[16victor]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

you'd be surprised, but the GM Lambda (GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, Saturn Outlook) with AWD and the V92 towing package are rated about 5000lbs tow capacity. My own is a FWD non V92 and it hauls our 4000 lbs boat + trailer with absolute ease. This is a heck of a platform and has 3-row seating.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

16 Victor I appreciate it, but my Trailblazer is built on the same inline 6 4.2 L engine my trailblazer is factory rated at 5000k lbs and it realy struggles on the hills around here. Anyway you spin it 30 feet worth of trailer is ALOT of trailer and while it all holds the road well it just struggles in the hills.

I think I am just of the mindset that there is no replacement for displacement at this point. Especially since we are considering adding a camper to the list of toys as well.

 

[16victor]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Then I'd be looking at something with a Duramax...makes me drool.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

you'd be surprised, but the GM Lambda (GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, Saturn Outlook) with AWD and the V92 towing package are rated about 5000lbs tow capacity. My own is a FWD non V92 and it hauls our 4000 lbs boat + trailer with absolute ease. This is a heck of a platform and has 3-row seating.

Limited engines, and build on a car based unibody platform. Although they are rated for it, they are less capable than the body-on-frame trailblazer the OP already has. Those models would REALLY struggle hauling around a 28' pontoon. (pontoons are unique to haul, the weight isn't the problem, its the massive wind drag of hauling around a billboard)

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

16 Victor I appreciate it, but my Trailblazer is built on the same inline 6 4.2 L engine my trailblazer is factory rated at 5000k lbs and it realy struggles on the hills around here. Anyway you spin it 30 feet worth of trailer is ALOT of trailer and while it all holds the road well it just struggles in the hills.

I think I am just of the mindset that there is no replacement for displacement at this point. Especially since we are considering adding a camper to the list of toys as well.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Do you have a Trailblazer, or S-Blazer?

In one post, you reference a v6, in another, you mention an I-6.

Either way, you will benefit from a full size truck if you are hauling 4900#.

Your 11 mpg seems awful low.
I've always gotten 13-15, on both my s-blazer, and my Trailblazer.
And 16-21 on the highway.

Needing 7 passenger seating and 4x4 kind of limits your choices.

I sure hope you have trailer brakes.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Roscoe,

I have a Trailblazer more specifically the EXT LS 4.2l 6 Cyl 4x4.

The 4x4 and Mountain terrain here drink the gas. Not to mention at least 3 times a week there is a trailer of some sorts hooked to the truck be it the utility trailer (no problem for the trailblazer), the Starcraft (again no problem for the TrailBlazer) or the Pontoon (which was not supposed to be pulled by the pontoon it was supposed to be parked at the campground).

When I bought the Trailblazer the requirements were seats 7 4x4 for moutain driving in the winter and pull 5k. As I said the Trailblazer pulls the load but it seems to struggle in areas and it has tried to overheat on me twice. I simply think that while it is within the rated specs it just isn't enough.


The pontoon boat is a family boat my parents, my sister, my wife and I all use it, and the camper out on Douglas Lake. Which is where the pontoon boat was supposed to stay, however since I have purchased my house, and my shop which is big enough for the pontoon to fit without closing the door it has basically been at my place long story but really gets on my nerves.

My wife and I own the Starcraft just for our family, which was as big as we wanted to go. I never intended on pulling this boat except for maybe twice per year if that much. Now that I have it in the shop I am pulling it every weekend and am afraid that pulling this thing every weekend during the hottest months of the year is going to take its toll on the Trailblazer.


On the interstate it does decent at 20-21 mpg but I think its a combination of all the towing and terrain works the I-6 to hard, and that I may actually benefit from having a V-8 because it won't be working as hard all the time.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Especially since we are considering adding a camper to the list of toys as well.

How big of a camper are you considering?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

With 7 passengers, it limits you to either a van, or an SUV. A full sized Tahoe or moving to a Suburban would keep you in GM. An Excursion or Expedition from Ford is another choice. While the Durango/Jeep may be a consideration, they are a smaller chassis (about the size of a ford Explorer)

a Suburban with the 6.0 would be a great tow vehicle IMHO

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Differential gear ratio has a major impact on towing performance. Towing specs always say "when properly equipped."

 

[500dollar744ti]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Your trailblazer may not be equipped with a good enough towing gear to get the job done. The engine, chassis and suspension of the trailblazer should be just fine for what you are trying to do.

If your truck is equipped with a 3.42 rear gear, it's going to struggle towing 5000# where the same exact truck with the 4.10 gears will drive up hills easily towing the same load.

When I changed the gears in my F150 from 3.08 to 4.10, it enabled me to tow my 5500# boat/trailer where it could not do so previously. Even though the engine turns more RPM now, it does not work as hard and I've seen an increase in fuel economy along with the massive increase in towing capacity.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Bingo my trailblazer only has the 3.42 in it. Im considering a 26-28 foot ultra lite camper nothing to extreme looking at a gmc yukon as a tow vehicle now. If the upgrade is worth the difference.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I think with the passenger and storage requirements you have you might as well go for the suburban.

Personally, I prefer vehicles that are built without tax dollars so I stick to Ford but suburbans are tried and true. They are great vehicles.

Why not have some extra space for luggage and gear!

 

[500dollar744ti]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

Bingo my trailblazer only has the 3.42 in it. Im considering a 26-28 foot ultra lite camper nothing to extreme looking at a gmc yukon as a tow vehicle now. If the upgrade is worth the difference.

Be aware you might have the same problem with a Yukon if it's equipped with a taller gear and the smaller engine.

It's not cheap, but changing your current trailblazer's gear ratio is also an option. A suburban or tahoe is not going to give you any better fuel economy in the mountains.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

I think your conundrum is going to be the possibility of a camper. The Trailblazer is going to severely limit the size of camper trailer you can tow, where a Expedition/Tahoe would have a tow rating high enough to give you a ton more options in that department. I'd recommend nothing less than the 3.73 on the Fords, but a 4.10 is even better. Putting taller gears in the vehicle you currently have will make towing the pontoon much more enjoyable (the length of the trailer has little to do with it). However, that camper trailer you are thinking about will max out the Trailblazer in no time.

 

[emilsr]

Re: Give me some opinions on a tow vehicle.

A Tahoe (or Yukon) with the 6.2 and 6L80E tranny would be all the truck you'd need/want. Stay away from the 5.3 which can be a bit anemic at altitude. The Suburban (or Yukon XL) would be an even better tow vehicle with the longer wheelbase (I kept my Suburban for 15 years/200k miles....that's how much I liked it), but it's a little harder to park in tight areas.

Properly optioned, an Expedition (or Expedition XL) would also make a fine tow vehicle if you prefer the blue oval.

Honestly, any of those options are good ones. If you're going to tow a full sized load you need a full sized truck, no matter the tow ratings. One of my friends LOVES his Trailblazer SS and even tows his 7k lb boat with it, but only about 1/2 mile to the boat ramp.