Update on my tow vehicle!

[04Gravity]

Well after considering what most of you said about me not towing my boat with my blazer, I decided to get a new suv (new to me)

Purchased a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer SS with the LS4 Corvette engine in it and All wheel drive! Full y loaded with every option except navigation. Owners manual says it will tow 6600lbs. Its got Corvette brakes and a tow package so I think ill be good!

(not to mention the fact that it does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and runs the 1/4 mile in the high 13's!!!)

[mapleleaf]

All that and we don't get to see her?????
Congrat's sounds like fun, pretty sure I saw an LS7 stuffed in an inboard at the boatshow....good stuff!!!!

[jonyb]

I thought you said you were buying a tow vehicle? That's a hot rod, not a workhorse. Good luck with that either way. Those are nice, but I'd never try to tow with something like that.

[04Gravity]

I thought you said you were buying a tow vehicle? That's a hot rod, not a workhorse. Good luck with that either way. Those are nice, but I'd never try to tow with something like that.

Umm it has a higher tow capacity than an F150, Silverado 1500, and Tundra

Not to mention bigger brakes, auto leveling air suspension, and class IV hitch

[jonyb]

Higher towing capacity on a smaller frame. There's not a rating for how the boat trailer will throw the truck around. Silverado's suck for towing anyway. I've had a few and the only ones capable of towing worth a crap were diesel powered.

My wife's 05 Denali has auto-leveling suspension also. It works so well that it makes the truck sag 4" and almost puts the wheel into the fenderwell. I added helper bags to alleviate that problem. GM's idea of auto-leveling doesn't take into account for heavy loads, only small loads.

Maybe the TBSS will do fine, but it's been proven that you can't look at a piece of paper and think it'll be awesome.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

damnit jony be nice

[jonyb]

Well I didn't mean to sound harsh.... Sorry :D

[csuggs]

Well after considering what most of you said about me not towing my boat with my blazer, I decided to get a new suv (new to me)

Purchased a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer SS with the LS4 Corvette engine in it and All wheel drive! Full y loaded with every option except navigation. Owners manual says it will tow 6600lbs. Its got Corvette brakes and a tow package so I think ill be good!

(not to mention the fact that it does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds and runs the 1/4 mile in the high 13's!!!)

I think that for what you are towing, this vehicle will do a fine job! :D

[csuggs]

damnit jony be nice

Thanks Mikey, couldn't have said it better myself. I mean, 04Grav just spent his hard-earned money on a pretty nice vehicle, just to get an earful on this forum? Come on . . .

[jet]

group hug..come on get a little closer, there we go.

[docdrs]

I think that'll do just fine, your only towing a 2700lb boat. I have an envoy xl and it tows my 3800 lb launch just fine :)......thats a sweet vehicle the ss

[SupraTamu]

I tow my 2008 24SSV Gravity Launch Edition with a 2007 Denali and do not have any issues at all and plenty of room at the fender well.

[michael hunter]

I think what jonyb is getting at is the trail blazer is NOT a truck. Is is a crossover SUV.
It will do better than the S10 but it is still a short wheel base light duty vehicle.
You will probubly be OK for short trips at lower speeds . In the event of emergency such as a blowout with a single axle trailer and no brakes the boat could steer the vehicle.
Be extra careful and make sure it has a good trans cooler and see how it goes.

[Fman]

I towed my '08 22V last year with our '04 Toyota Sequoia and it seemed to do quite well. I think the sequoia only has 245 HP and is a heavy rig. One item that makes a big difference is having 4 wheel disc brakes on the trailer, this will eliminate the boat pushing the vehicle, especially when traveling downhill. I figured with my boat full of fuel, loaded with gear, and trailer it is easily over 5000 lbs of weight. Disc brakes a must!

[jonyb]

I think what jonyb is getting at is the trail blazer is NOT a truck. Is is a crossover SUV.
It will do better than the S10 but it is still a short wheel base light duty vehicle.
You will probubly be OK for short trips at lower speeds . In the event of emergency such as a blowout with a single axle trailer and no brakes the boat could steer the vehicle.
Be extra careful and make sure it has a good trans cooler and see how it goes.

That's kind of what I was getting at, but everyone seems to think I'm being hateful. That's not the case.

I rode in my friends Avalanche 1500 one time towing his 26' Sonic and the trailer swayed so much it got scary. The trailer was a Myco, and it's a very well-built trailer. That's what I was pointing out about the TBSS. It's a smaller frame then the trucks.

[beast 496]

I work on and tow so many different boats from 16' to 35' My suburban 2500 with 454 4X4 works great. I also use a Ford Expedition, Ford Ranger, Ford Bronco II and a Jeep CJ 7. The vehicle mentioned by the original poster will work fine for the type of occasional towing it will be used for. Be extremely carefull with the tires on the tow vehicle. I had a customer last year with Cadilac Escalade XL who thought it would tow his 27' boat just fine. The vehicle had the large rims, small sidewall tires. The boat had around 750lbs hitch weight, the auto level on the Cadilac did work but both rear tires blew on a trip to Erie. Thus leaving him stranded as only one spare. Al

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Jony your comments were fine, just try to phrase them nicely! :)

Jet lol group hug

[Okie Boarder]

I'd agree with the thoughts jony and michael have shared. Just be careful. That rig will do fine most all the time, but could get a little sketchy in an emergency. You might try playing around in a parking lot or something once you get a chance to experiment with towing and see what it does. Ideally, go out on the rain with it somewhere with lots of room and see what happens if you slam on the brakes. Just think of it as you have a "mid sized" SUV rather than a full sized truck or SUV. There is a difference on how the weight being towed can affect a smaller vehicle.

Sounds like a cool set up though...kind of fun!

[dusty2221]

We will be towing our new one with my wife's Ford Edge when we camp. It's only about 35 miles to the place we camp at, otherwise we will tow with my Silverado. I believe the boat is right at the limit for her car.

[WadsworthSunsport22V]

I have a silverado, and (other than poor quality) I have not problems towing my boat. I have yet to have the boat push or sway on me. Granted, this is was an upgrade from a Volvo XC90 (straight 5 Turbo) that was way under powered to tow.

I think Jonyb is picking on me :)

[TayTay]

Umm it has a higher tow capacity than an F150, Silverado 1500, and Tundra

Not to mention bigger brakes, auto leveling air suspension, and class IV hitch

I have to defend the Tundra! It has over a 10,000 lb towing rating and in my opinion tows great! Not busting your cojones, just gotta defend whats sitting in my garage, haha. Sounds like you got a pretty nice ride!

In all honestly looking back I should have bought a 3/4 ton Diesel. Eventually I want to get a travel trailer and I dont know if the Tundra would do great. I have always been told, if you want to tow, use a diesel.

Maybe you should post some pictures of the Trailblazer. It sounds pretty jazzy.

[jonyb]

In all honestly looking back I should have bought a 3/4 ton Diesel. Eventually I want to get a travel trailer and I dont know if the Tundra would do great. I have always been told, if you want to tow, use a diesel.



I've towed with diesel's and gas burners. Even 3/4 ton gas burners, and they weren't even close to the power of the diesel's. Going up hills, the ramp, even the slightest inclines, you'll notice if not in a properly powered tow rig. Maybe my boat is just a lot heavier then most. I know it's not much lighter then the 25' Baja that we had.

[beast 496]

Horse power at the ramp is a joke. TORQUE is what you need, either by Cubic inches or gear multiplication. Next is WEIGHT and TRACTION. I can pull out 30,000 lb boats with a 45hp 4X4 tractor. GEARING and WEIGHT. Deisels are fine if you are towing over 10,000lbs. But for the price and maitanance cost of a Deisel, Gas is the better choice for most boat towing. The 8.1 496 GM power plant is a great package in a suburban. For towing any of the Supra boats a standard gas, with proper gearing and transmissions, 1/2 or 3/4 ton vehicle would work fine. Another down side to deisels are the soot left over on the towed unit. Not to mention the higher cost of fuel and the mess that goes along with it. Al

[jonyb]

I was told before buying my Duramax "the extra cost isn't worth it". I highly disagree. That's from experience, not from looking at a piece of paper or taking someone's word for it. Extra cost of maintenance? I changed the fuel filter and oil. Big deal. Extra cost of fuel? Right now in my area diesel fuel is no more expensive then gasoline.

[Kip]

We have an 88 Mariah and are looking for a new vehicle. I have a Dodge diesel that will pull the boat most of the time but would like our new crossover to be able to pull it if need be. Has anyone had any experience with pulling a 3500+/- lb boat, trailer, and gear with a crossover such as an edge, Lexus RX, etc.

We live in Northeast Indiana so the only hill we have to pull the boat on is the boat ramp ;).

[mapleleaf]

I have to defend the Tundra! It has over a 10,000 lb towing rating and in my opinion tows great! Not busting your cojones, just gotta defend whats sitting in my garage, haha. Sounds like you got a pretty nice ride!

In all honestly looking back I should have bought a 3/4 ton Diesel. Eventually I want to get a travel trailer and I dont know if the Tundra would do great. I have always been told, if you want to tow, use a diesel.

Maybe you should post some pictures of the Trailblazer. It sounds pretty jazzy.

I foolishly pulled a 33' travel trailer about 50 miles a couple summers ago with my '03 access cab.......I will NEVER do anything like that again, weight requirement is only part of the deal........

[docdrs]

We will be towing our new one with my wife's Ford Edge when we camp. It's only about 35 miles to the place we camp at, otherwise we will tow with my Silverado. I believe the boat is right at the limit for her car.

Dusty, be careful with boat gear and trailer you will be over the rating for an Edge , only by about 500-900lbs

[tg0824SSVGG]

I own 2 Powerstrokes for the very reasons that John states... TORQUE baby, I got
SOOOOOOOOO tired of the wimpy 454 in my old Suburban.

Heck, I like deisels so much, I even have a Volkswagen deisel with 265Kmiles on it, and
it STILL gets 48 MPG!!

No gassers for me for towing. My camper is 8000 lbs dry, and the boat isn't far
behind when loaded for Powell - remember, I start at 5000 feet elevation and drive
thru the mountains, over 10k passes.

[csuggs]

Horse power at the ramp is a joke. TORQUE is what you need, either by Cubic inches or gear multiplication. Next is WEIGHT and TRACTION. I can pull out 30,000 lb boats with a 45hp 4X4 tractor. GEARING and WEIGHT. Deisels are fine if you are towing over 10,000lbs. But for the price and maitanance cost of a Deisel, Gas is the better choice for most boat towing. The 8.1 496 GM power plant is a great package in a suburban. For towing any of the Supra boats a standard gas, with proper gearing and transmissions, 1/2 or 3/4 ton vehicle would work fine. Another down side to deisels are the soot left over on the towed unit. Not to mention the higher cost of fuel and the mess that goes along with it. Al

Couldn't agree more - well said. I have towed with diesel and gas and for the heavier loads like 8-10k, only a diesel will do. But for the boats we are talking about, you don't need it. Don't get me wrong - if you like a diesel and don't mind the expense when new and repair cost when something breaks (and everything breaks sooner or later), then by all means tow with a diesel. I'm just sayin that a full size truck with a good gas v8 and proper gearing is all you really need to pull most of our Supras. IMO . .

[csuggs]

Honestly, even though my truck does great with my boat (towed 400 miles from West Virginia to Maryville, TN through the mountains with no trouble at all) I wish I still had my old 83 Suburban. It was a 2-wheel drive 3/4-ton with carbureted 350 and 4.10:1 gears. A little hard on gas, but man I loved that truck. I bought it from an old guy that had it in Georgia - no rust or anything. One of the many vehicles I wish I never sold . . . . :(

[mapleleaf]

Honestly, even though my truck does great with my boat (towed 400 miles from West Virginia to Maryville, TN through the mountains with no trouble at all) I wish I still had my old 83 Suburban. It was a 2-wheel drive 3/4-ton with carbureted 350 and 4.10:1 gears. A little hard on gas, but man I loved that truck. I bought it from an old guy that had it in Georgia - no rust or anything. One of the many vehicles I wish I never sold . . . . :(

that 'burban needs its own thread....what I nice truck......

[ssmith]

I had bought a 2009 4-door Jeep Wrangler, added lift kit, MT tires, AEV rims and the upgrades were continuing...then I bought the Launch and my wife became pregnant. She drove an Expedition and wanted a mini van (this was going to be our second child). Unfortunately I didn't feel the Jeep would safely tow the boat through the hills of TN, so after only 10k miles on it, it was traded for the mini van. The Expedition became my ride and the tow rig. Works great but my buddies stripped me of my "man card" and still give me crap over trading the MAN JEEP for the mini van. Point..I'd rather lose my man card and be safe on the roads with my family. Man I loved that Jeep...

[beast 496]

Scott, Have you had the spark plugs check on that Expedition? If not you should, Ford triton heads are known for blowing out the spark plug threads, The repair will set you back over 2k if done correctly. I have had problems on our twice now with the heads, once for spark plug blow out and another for oil leakage head gasket. both over 2k to fix each time. Another one of Fords bright ideas. Al