Towing with a 2001 Chev S-10 w/v6

[1968mooney]

Looking for a lightweight trailer that I can tow with my S-10 extended cab. Manual says truck is capable of towing 5800 lbs. Friends of mine say it will not. I have found a few trailers with dry weight of 3000 lbs. and a load range of 1000 lbs. Has anyone pulled 4000 lbs. with a v6 S-10 successfully?

[camperfamily]

Not a S10, but a 1999 Ford Ranger with the pushrod 4.0 V6 – direct competitor. Pulled a 3023 trailmanor across the country and back with it. Stable, no problem. Sure, the Colorado mountain passes were pulled at 35-40 tops, but then I wouldn't want to go faster anyways considering the roads.

Select your trailer carefully. Look for a narrow unit - there are 7' wide models to be had.

[mgirardo]

If you stay in Florida and keep the weight down, you will probably be fine. We owned a 1996 Chevy Astro Minivan with the 4.3l Vortec and it towed our 5,000 lb Hybrid TT just fine, power wise. The front end was sloppy on it and made towing more stressful. We switched to towing with our 2000 Nissan Xterra, which has a smaller engine (3.3l V6) and it towed well too.

Most of our towing was flat, along the East Coast, with a few trips to Central, PA with small mountains, but no really steep grades. That's about as mountainous as I'd want to tow with either of our Tow Vehicles, I would think the s10 would tow fine on flat ground.

-Michael

[falconbrother]

I had a 1991 S-10. It was a great truck. But, I wouldn't think it would have towed a travel trailer very well. The 4.3 is a good engine. And, the S-10 had a stronger feeling frame and suspension than the Nissan that I had before that. Will it do it? Probably.. I'd think it might be unsafe though.

[1968mooney]

KD4UPL wrote:
Just because a vehicle has a certain tow rating doesn't mean it's going to work well with a travel trailer of that weigh. Travel trailers are probably the most difficult style of trailer to tow. They have a huge frontal area, are very non-aerodynamic, have a large sidewall area, lots of tongue weight, and not much way to adjust the weight.
Towing a 6,000 pound boat, flatbed, or dump trailer would probably be a better experience than towing a 4,000 pound travel trailer.
The truck is certainly up to the job power wise, That 4.3 V6 made more HP than the GM 6.5L diesel of the same era. However, having enough weight and wheelbase to prevent sway and having enough rear spring capacity to carry the tongue weight are going to be your problem areas.

Ok, I will forget towing a tt with my S-10.

[jfkmk]

Had a S10 Blazer with the 4.3 and, while I got a lot of mileage out of it then it got passed to two of my kids, there is no way I would have towed more than a small utility trailer with it.

[KD4UPL]

Just because a vehicle has a certain tow rating doesn't mean it's going to work well with a travel trailer of that weigh. Travel trailers are probably the most difficult style of trailer to tow. They have a huge frontal area, are very non-aerodynamic, have a large sidewall area, lots of tongue weight, and not much way to adjust the weight.
Towing a 6,000 pound boat, flatbed, or dump trailer would probably be a better experience than towing a 4,000 pound travel trailer.
The truck is certainly up to the job power wise, That 4.3 V6 made more HP than the GM 6.5L diesel of the same era. However, having enough weight and wheelbase to prevent sway and having enough rear spring capacity to carry the tongue weight are going to be your problem areas.

[1968mooney]

lawrosa wrote:

1968mooney wrote:
Looking for a lightweight trailer that I can tow with my S-10 extended cab. Manual says truck is capable of towing 5800 lbs. Friends of mine say it will not. I have found a few trailers with dry weight of 3000 lbs. and a load range of 1000 lbs. Has anyone pulled 4000 lbs. with a v6 S-10 successfully?

What floor plan are you looking for? Kids? Queen bed< Couch/dinette?

Just me, wife, and 20 lb. pug. Kids all grown. Want something to travel from Ga. to LV and visit son. Probably do some touring in the west. Want something we can leave the Pug in while we tour. Always staying in RV parks. Never without electric. We traveled for 6 yrs in MH so we are fairly expierenced in RVing.

[1968mooney]

lawrosa wrote:

1968mooney wrote:
Looking for a lightweight trailer that I can tow with my S-10 extended cab. Manual says truck is capable of towing 5800 lbs. Friends of mine say it will not. I have found a few trailers with dry weight of 3000 lbs. and a load range of 1000 lbs. Has anyone pulled 4000 lbs. with a v6 S-10 successfully?

Yes I had an s10 zr2 with stock 31" tires load C.
Had a 4" wider stance and lifted a bit... all factory.
4.3 liter with 4 speed. 3;73 rear.
I added a big trans cooler and suggest you do the same.

The good thing with the 4.3 is it makes all its torgue @ 2800 rpm.

I towed in 3rd and on highway 65-70 mph I was in the 2800 rpm torque band.

Trouble was with a tongue weight of 410 lbs and a payload of 800 lbs you run out of room fast. So I mostly towed alone and had wife follow me with the kids.

With that said I towed as heavy as anyone should with such a truck.

Get a good WD hitch.

I towed an 2003 coachmen that was about 4500-5000 lbs loaded. It towed it well.

You will not win any races but it gets it going.

Biggest issue was wind from trucks passing. I used to get a wiggle until I aired tires up to 50 psi max inflation when towing.

Short wheel base ya know...

My advice would be to get a 7ft 5" wide trailer like I had.

Ill post some links in a bit

Thanks for the positive info.

[lawrosa]

1968mooney wrote:
Looking for a lightweight trailer that I can tow with my S-10 extended cab. Manual says truck is capable of towing 5800 lbs. Friends of mine say it will not. I have found a few trailers with dry weight of 3000 lbs. and a load range of 1000 lbs. Has anyone pulled 4000 lbs. with a v6 S-10 successfully?

What floor plan are you looking for? Kids? Queen bed< Couch/dinette?

[lawrosa]

1968mooney wrote:
Looking for a lightweight trailer that I can tow with my S-10 extended cab. Manual says truck is capable of towing 5800 lbs. Friends of mine say it will not. I have found a few trailers with dry weight of 3000 lbs. and a load range of 1000 lbs. Has anyone pulled 4000 lbs. with a v6 S-10 successfully?

Yes I had an s10 zr2 with stock 31" tires load C.
Had a 4" wider stance and lifted a bit... all factory.
4.3 liter with 4 speed. 3;73 rear.
I added a big trans cooler and suggest you do the same.

The good thing with the 4.3 is it makes all its torgue @ 2800 rpm.

I towed in 3rd and on highway 65-70 mph I was in the 2800 rpm torque band.

Trouble was with a tongue weight of 410 lbs and a payload of 800 lbs you run out of room fast. So I mostly towed alone and had wife follow me with the kids.

With that said I towed as heavy as anyone should with such a truck.

Get a good WD hitch.

I towed an 2003 coachmen that was about 4500-5000 lbs loaded. It towed it well.

You will not win any races but it gets it going.

Biggest issue was wind from trucks passing. I used to get a wiggle until I aired tires up to 50 psi max inflation when towing.

Short wheel base ya know...

My advice would be to get a 7ft 5" wide trailer like I had.

Ill post some links in a bit

[1968mooney]

So you feel the manual saying it will pull 5800 lbs. is wrong?

[Jebby14]

Popup would be a good fit

[samsontdog]

I would stick with a tent trailer if I was you