can a 03' Chevy trailblazer towing 20' Jayco?

If you can I would go look at it and see what the label on the trailer says sounds high to me for that tt .I bought a new 2000 30' bunkhouse quest tt for$ 10,500 so I would talk them down if possible good luck

Ok got some more info.

The diff is a GU6 = 3.42

On the door post I have:
GVWR 6400lbs
GAWR FRT 3200lbs
GAWR RR 3400lbs
Payload 1385lbs

On the receiver I have this printed:
(Weight carrying 4000lbs)
(Weight distributing 7600lbs)

I know that the receiver isn't what the vehicle could tow...but at least my receiver is large enough?

Last but not least, Here is the actual craigslist post (with pictures) maybe someone could identify the jayco model.

Craigslist TT listing


Thanks again for all the help!

Campfire Time wrote:


Finally, look at the weight sticker in your driver door. It will list your payload. If I recall, mine was just over 1100#. That sounds good, but it's not a lot. Once you subtract the weight of the loaded tongue and the hitch, you may only have a few hundred left for your family and "stuff" in your truck.

I'm going to make a wild guess and say there is not cargo capacity label on his 2003. That wasn't legislated until 2005?

Campfire Time wrote:
The Quest line was everything from pop-ups to 5vers. It sounds like this is a 20' travel trailer.

I wonder if the 4190# is dry weight, or GVWR? If it's it's dry weight, the towed weight will likely be closer to 5500#.

I owned an '03 Trail Blazer with similar specs. I6, 4WD, 3:42 gear, and EXT. It was an excellent tow vehicle for smaller trailers, 4000# and under GVWR. And while it towed the trailer in my sig OK (4740# GVWR), I would not have towed it through mountains or on trips longer than a couple of hundred miles. Lots of downshifting on hills and in wind. This is, in part why I bought the Sierra.

Here's what you need to know, your real towing ability. Not what people here are guessing at. Your owners manual has a chart that lists possible body configurations, with and without 4WD, and the different gearing options available. In your glove box is an RPO code list, you will have one of the following codes:

GU6 = 3.42 RATIO
GT4 = 3.73 RATIO
GT5 = 4.10 RATIO

3.42 is the most common for the I6. While adequate, you really want the 3.73 or 4.10 for towing a bigger trailer. I'm not sure too many I6s came with 4.10.

Finally, look at the weight sticker in your driver door. It will list your payload. If I recall, mine was just over 1100#. That sounds good, but it's not a lot. Once you subtract the weight of the loaded tongue and the hitch, you may only have a few hundred left for your family and "stuff" in your truck.

As far as your transmission. Add an axillary cooler, make sure to change fluid and filter every 50k as specified in the manual. And use DEX VI, not DEX III as it came from the factory with. DEX VI runs cooler and is a far better fluid, and is backward compatible on the older transmissions. My Trailblazer had 160k on when I sold it, and the transmission was excellent. And I towed one trailer through mountains with it. The trick is to keep it from shifting a lot to maintain a reasonable temperature.

agesilaus wrote:
people have commented that the hitch on these small SUV's are usually rated at 600#.

The GMT 360/370 family of trucks are not small SUVs. The EXT's wheel base is only a few inches shorter than a Suburban. They were considered mid-size and were also available with the 5.3 V8. The Trailblazer's dead hitch weight limit is 720#. The limit with a W/D hitch is over 900#, I can't recall the exact number.

good catch!

DEWM is it a pop-up or a TT? The M-240A has a UVW of 4370#. The M-244B has a 4510 UVW. The M-256 has a 4625 UVW, all quest TT. More info needed?

The Quest line was everything from pop-ups to 5vers. It sounds like this is a 20' travel trailer.

I wonder if the 4190# is dry weight, or GVWR? If it's it's dry weight, the towed weight will likely be closer to 5500#.

I owned an '03 Trail Blazer with similar specs. I6, 4WD, 3:42 gear, and EXT. It was an excellent tow vehicle for smaller trailers, 4000# and under GVWR. And while it towed the trailer in my sig OK (4740# GVWR), I would not have towed it through mountains or on trips longer than a couple of hundred miles. Lots of downshifting on hills and in wind. This is, in part why I bought the Sierra.

Here's what you need to know, your real towing ability. Not what people here are guessing at. Your owners manual has a chart that lists possible body configurations, with and without 4WD, and the different gearing options available. In your glove box is an RPO code list, you will have one of the following codes:

GU6 = 3.42 RATIO
GT4 = 3.73 RATIO
GT5 = 4.10 RATIO

3.42 is the most common for the I6. While adequate, you really want the 3.73 or 4.10 for towing a bigger trailer. I'm not sure too many I6s came with 4.10.

Finally, look at the weight sticker in your driver door. It will list your payload. If I recall, mine was just over 1100#. That sounds good, but it's not a lot. Once you subtract the weight of the loaded tongue and the hitch, you may only have a few hundred left for your family and "stuff" in your truck.

As far as your transmission. Add an axillary cooler, make sure to change fluid and filter every 50k as specified in the manual. And use DEX VI, not DEX III as it came from the factory with. DEX VI runs cooler and is a far better fluid, and is backward compatible on the older transmissions. My Trailblazer had 160k on when I sold it, and the transmission was excellent. And I towed one trailer through mountains with it. The trick is to keep it from shifting a lot to maintain a reasonable temperature.

agesilaus wrote:
people have commented that the hitch on these small SUV's are usually rated at 600#.

The GMT 360/370 family of trucks are not small SUVs. The EXT's wheel base is only a few inches shorter than a Suburban. They were considered mid-size and were also available with the 5.3 V8. The Trailblazer's dead hitch weight limit is 720#. The limit with a W/D hitch is over 900#, I can't recall the exact number.

You will be fine with a unloaded Quest weight at 1360# I can't see carrying more then 1000# in the trailer. Your Trailblazer is more then adequate.MY POST COULD BE WRONG IF THE UNIT IS A TT INSTEAD OF A POP-UP.

I believe the Qwest is a pop-up camper? If so, I can't see it weighing in at 4190#. If it is a conventional hard-top trailer, this is probably about right for a 20 ft unit.

I have a 21ft Fleetwood Orbit conventional hard-top trailer. Dry weight is 3800#. I normally tow it behind a GMC Sierra 1500 with a 5.3L V8. The two are a pretty good combination. My wife drives a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer with the inline 6 and 4WD (sounds similar to yours). In a bind, I once towed the 21ft trailer home with it (about 1 hour away). I learned very quickly that even with a weight distributing hitch and sway bars it was not a fun to drive combination. Although it pulled OK on a straight, even surface it was scary into the turns and on the highway. I don't think the SUV had enough mass behind it to feel very confident.

My advise to you would be to check the mfg spec plate on the Qwest itself. If it is under 3500#, you'll probably be happy. Much more, you'll likely be more comfortable sticking to the back roads when towing.

Look at the door pillar on the driver's door and see if there is a sticker telling you how much you can tow and what the allowable tongue weight is. You can usually figure around 15% of a trailer's weight as tongue weight. For 4190# that put's you at over 600# and people have commented that the hitch on these small SUV's are usually rated at 600#.

A dry weight of 1360 doesn't usually allow a loaded weight of over 4000# so I suspect one or the other number is wrong. The only way to be sure is to have the TT weighed at a truck scale. The TT may have a sticker, often inside one of the kitchen cabinets with the dry and max weights.

Your trailblazer should handle it fine with the proper hitch setup.

There are techniques when towing that will help reduce the stress on engine, tranny and other components. You may want to do some research on RV Forums using towing tips as your search.