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Tow Rig


Moufoo

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Hey guys, I was wondering how powerful your tow rig has to be. I have a tahoe that pulls it fine, but I'm looking to downgrade in size to something like an 03 trailblazer, or maybe an old CJ-7 because I heard that it is powerful. Whats your opinion?

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It depends on how you tow.

If you are towing a long distance, on hills or on winding roads, a longer wheelbase is better / easier and a CJ7 would not be a good choice. The Trailblazer is probably fine. I used to tow a 5000 lb trailer (all in) with a 6 cylinder Ford Explorer (160 HP/230 ft. lbs). It worked ok except for going to Tahoe up a long steep grade.

If you're moving the boat from your shed 100 yards to the ramp, a CJ is OK. Test the tongue weight to make sure it does not make the front end of the CJ too light to get up the ramp safely.

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Yikes towing the Bu with a CJ.

I've got an old '77 CJ7 with the 258 straight 6 and yes it has a lot of power. Sometimes I use it to tow my dads Hobie 16 to the storage shed. But a heavy load and the very short wheel base of the Jeep makes me scarred. Inaddition to the the short wheel base the brakes. I have discs up from and drums out back, they work to stop the CJ but probable not the boat too, even though the trailer may have brakes also. Just my 2 cents, I would hate for you to wreck the jeep and the boat.

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I have used Trailblazers many times with good results. If you are going to travel much distance, it will be better to have a 3.73 or a 4.10 axle ratio in lieu of the standard 3.43.

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I towed with an 05 GMC Envoy,

It seemed like it had ok power, but it was a rental so I had it floored all the time.

I sure could feel the boat push it around, so in my opinion it's to light of a vehicle for me to feel comfortable using as a tow rig.

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My feelings are a full size SUV or 1/2 ton pick up and 300hp is your starting point if you have a choice about it. It doesn't mean you can't tow with a mid size suv/pickup, but if you can't get more I would. I notice a pretty big difference between my 1 ton diesel and my Navigator.

Edited by Greg_S
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This topic has been discussed to death on this board and MBO. The consensus is that a 1/2ton p/u or SUV is ok for short or flat trips. If venturing near the mountains a 3/4 ton P/U or SUV would be much better in mosts opinion. (MINE INCLUDED) (I would not tow with less than 3/4t brakes..... Cali drivers and the mountains. 'nuff said.) Most any V8 will do the trick but the thing that MOST sets 3/4-1 tons apart is BRAKES. It's your family (and those of us around you) you be the judge...

Pat

Edited by Faceplant409
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The issue in the MBO boards always came down to stopping power and the lack of being pushed around while braking and not the pulling power of the small and midsized SUV.

It is a safety issue.

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The issue in the MBO boards always came down to stopping power and the lack of being pushed around while braking and not the pulling power of the small and midsized SUV.

It is a safety issue.

Exactly!! The Envoy or Trailblazer will work.

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I didn't think that stopping would be a major issue, because the trailer supposedly has some fancy smancy brakes. The pull to the lake from my house is about 50 miles, but we leave the boat on the lift at our lot, so do I think a trailblazer or envoy could tow once every now and then, when my mom is using her one ton chevy for horse stuff.

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I loved passing those gassers going up 540 to Beaver last year, thos poor half tonners couldn't even pull at 40MPH, me i had to slow down to 60MPH my EGT's were rising, don't even ask me about the comedy of watching the slow on the bottom

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I tow my 21xti with an '03 Trailblazer that has the 3.73 axle. I've towed since day 1 of ownership and now have 70k on the OD with no issues to report. With 275 hp and just as much torque, there has been plenty of power for our, braking has never been an issue (trailer also has surge brakes), and the wag of the trailer at higher speed is hardly noticeable. Note that this is in MI though and roads are fairly flat. Towing on the highway is very solid as long as you run it in 3rd gear, in regular drive the tranny does a lot of shifting to maintain speed at 70 when dealing with rolling hills or long inclines. Anyhow it suits our use perfectly, I get around 8-10 mpg when towing, but avg 19 mpg when commuting.

If you're towing on mostly flats and infrequently take long trips (we avg 2-3/yr), I wouldn't think twice about it. Mountain passes are a different story.

Jay

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You'd be fine with a Trailblazer - CJ or Wrangler, no way, but a bigger Jeep (like a Gran Cherokee) will work fine too. You'll get hundreds of different opinnions on this, but for what it sounds like you'll be doing (i.e. towing rarely, and no more than 50 miles) there is no sense in having a vehicle that is sever over-kill for the daily commute (unless of course, you want one!)

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I have pulled our old MC PS 190 (no trailer brakes) with our Trailblazer (with the 4.2L I6) quite a bit. I was doing 2 hour trips over the mountains between NC and TN. I did not have any issues with brake fade and did not feel it was lacking power. We just got a '06 VLX which I have pulled with the Trailblazer from Atlanta into the NC mountains and back once. More power is always nice, but I did not feel held back by the I6 in the Trailblazer.

We had a Ford F-150 supercrew with a Triton V8 before the Trailblazer and I don’t miss the Ford one bit.

-Philip

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I have pulled our old MC PS 190 (no trailer brakes) with our Trailblazer (with the 4.2L I6) quite a bit. I was doing 2 hour trips over the mountains between NC and TN. I did not have any issues with brake fade and did not feel it was lacking power. We just got a '06 VLX which I have pulled with the Trailblazer from Atlanta into the NC mountains and back once. More power is always nice, but I did not feel held back by the I6 in the Trailblazer.

We had a Ford F-150 supercrew with a Triton V8 before the Trailblazer and I don’t miss the Ford one bit.

-Philip

Nobody ever misses a Ford. Tongue.gif

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You'd be fine with a Trailblazer - there is no sense in having a vehicle that is sever over-kill for the daily commute (unless of course, you want one!)

That's why they make sports cars ROFL.gif

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