Chevy Trailblazer tow vehicle

[redfoxoline76]

My wife and I currently camp in a 14' pop up and are looking to upgrade. We both know that we want a hybrid for the extra open space feel in the interior of the trailer and I like the feeling of still being in a tent. WE currently tow with a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer which is rated at about 6100 lbs for towing. A new tow vehicle may be in the cards down the line a year or two but currently that is not an option. We have one newborn son currently but hope to have at least one more child in the future. Any suggestions on hybrid campers to tow with the Trailblazer or advice from people who have towed with a similar tow vehicle? I have no problems with the pop up (about 3600 unloaded) and have comfortably towed it in the mountains of the Adirondacks as well as on flat land.

[PAThwacker]

[PAThwacker]

Darn good pup hauler. We are at 9999lbs combined weight. That 5.3 was a pig towing the pup on 15% grades in NEPA.

[toolmantr]

I tow my 2006 Travelstar 19CK with my Trailblazer. It does have a 6L V8 in it though. No lack of power there; 400hp and 400ft-lbs of torque. I did have an I6 Trailblazer prior to this beast and it worked fine. Don't overload and things will be fine.

[PAThwacker]

I would use the TB in a pinch, and not load anything in the rear except the dog.

It is setup with a brake controller and trans cooler from it's pup duty cycle.

[PAThwacker]

The TB is an excellent popup tower, but not ideal for full height TT when it comes to payload and frontal area issues.

I have a 2008 ADM 5.3 V8 trailblazer, the same powertrain of 1/2 anything of the time, and final production run. I DO NOT tow a 3400lb dry 4100lb wet hybrid with it. I have two kids, car seats, and 90lb lab and run out of payload easy.

[redfoxoline76]

Thanks for the advice. What it sounds like is I will be able to tow until we can get an upgraded tow vehicle and that short trips are our best bet. We don't load too much gear with us when we go so weight shouldn't be an issue. I also can borrow a larger tow vehicle (2013 chevy silver ado 1500) from a family member if needed for longer trips. Thanks for the advice!

[Mr_Beebo]

I've used my wife's trailblazer for towing when I couldn't use my truck. For our Roo, it pulls it ok for short trips but I wouldn't use it to pull 6K anywhere out of the area. It is a good solid daily driver and if I had a pop up or a 4500k or less camper I'd feel much better about towing.

[ShawnMG]

X2 as for what Bikedan and Campfire Time had to say.

I have a Kodiak 195 and originally towed with a 2007 Trailblazer. I did but an auxiliary tranny cooler in and when ever there was hills I would not push it too hard. With the short wheelbase on the Trailblazer, I would highly recommend a sway controller like the equalizer or reese dual cam. I have the dual cam. I hardly notice trucks passing me with it. At first without it, one truck passing wasn't bad, but if there were two or three in a row, it got hairy. Like you possibly, I did upgrade the TV after a few years, and noticeably better, but the Trailblazer will get you through until you decide to upgrade. Just watch your weights for loading. The Trailblazer has a low payload capacity so most has to go in the trailer.

[mbopp]

My I-6 Envoy (twin to the TB) made a marginal but workable tv for the 21SSO HTT we had. IIRR the HTT came in at 3850# unloaded and it was DW & me, no kids. With a Reese Dual Cam there was no sway despite the short wheelbase.

Get the biggest external transmission cooler you can along with a temp gauge.

[Campfire_Time]

Billbeat wrote:
Up until last summer it towed wonderfully , up hills no problem. But now that its getting older there doesn't seem to be as much power.

Its not the strain. Ours never lost power, and it had 160k on it when I sold it. A couple of thoughts on that. Clean the throttle body. These are notorious for getting gummed up and killing both mileage and power. If you are mechanically inclined it is easy to take apart and properly clean. Are you over 100k? If so change the plugs if you haven't. Only use what GM recommends. Some folks try to put performance plugs and cause themselves nothing but grief. Change your thermostat. They typically go bad at 100k. A bad thermostat can make it run a bit cold, which causes the PCM to make it run rich, which in turn can melt the inside of your catalytic convertor. Clogged CATs are very common on GMT360/370s between 75 and 120k. Symptoms are loss of power and using more gas, and they won't throw a code either. My CAT went bad at 110k. The only test for a CAT is a pressure test. Find a good shop that will work with you. Most never consider a bad CAT when there is loss of power on a Trailblazer/Envoy. Search for "catalytic convertor" on http://gmtnation.com/. A bad thermostat can also cause your engine to eat more gas.

[Billbeat]

We've been towing our 22' Coyote Hybrid with a 2005 Envoy for 6 years, which is similar to a Trailblazer. Our trailer weighs 4100 lbs dry. Up until last summer it towed wonderfully , up hills no problem. But now that its getting older there doesn't seem to be as much power. I've had to replace all the bearings , ball joints, shocks , struts and brakes.
My point being where your vehicle is also a 2005 and the strain of towing more weight might be too much for it. Maybe stick to short trips til you get a new tow vehicle.
I'm sure you can find a hybrid under 4000lbs. Ours has 3 pop out beds, we have 3 kids and usually a few extra on trips. We love our hybrid , it's ideal with plenty of living space.

[bid_time]

Hum, I towed at about 700 lbs of payload with my TB and had no trouble at all. Didn't like the P tires but it sure wasn't anything even remotely close to white knuckle.

[bikendan]

you need to stay with a hybrid 19' or less, preferably less.
the biggest issue will be payload also. SUVs/CUVs Achilles Heel is low payload and soft suspension.
i also question the 6100lbs. towing capacity. that's only for a TB with all the right towing equipment.

warning, many Trailblazer owners have been on this Hybrid Forum and other such forums, complaining about how towing a hybrid with their TB was a white knuckle or just plain lousy experience.
they generally get a better tow vehicle.

[Campfire_Time]

Since you are already used to the open feel of a pop-up you will love a hybrid. We bought our second one last year after having our first for 10 years. The Trailblazer is a great tow vehicle for the right trailer.

We towed a 3500# hybrid for 8 years with a 2003 Trailblazer, tow capacity 4900#. The configuration I had was I6, 3:42 gears, EXT, 4WD. It towed that little trailer beautifully, including mountains. When we bought our X20E (4750# GVWR) last year it towed fine in the flats of WI, but I was really pushing all the capacity numbers. I would not have towed this trailer through mountains with the Trailblazer. Our Sierra on the other hand, handles it like they were made for each other.

Are you sure your TB has a 6100# rating? What engine (I6 or V8) and gears does it have (3:42, 3:73, or 4:10)? I would not tow a trailer longer than 21'-22' if its not an EXT. If you really do have a 6100# TC, as kvangil says, look for something that has a sub 5000# GVWR trailer. Check your door sticker also for the payload. Its not real high on SUVs.

Another thing to consider is the care of your transmission. The 4L60E is a fine transmission if its cared for properly. With my light trailer I never put an axillary cooler in it, but I did with the bigger trailer. So an axillary cooler is something to consider. It's cheap insurance. Use only DEX VI when changing the fluid. Its a blended synthetic and runs cooler than the old Dex III which is what your trans came with from the factory. My Trailblazer had 160k original miles on the transmission and it was as strong as ever when I sold it.

A good web site to get more real world perspectives on towing and maintaining your GMT 360/370 is GMT Nation. Great bunch of very helpful folks and lots of good info on your platform.