bchristison
Regina, Sask. Canada
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Joined: 10/06/2004
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Hello, I have a Chev S10 4.3L truck with a GVWR of 4,600 lbs and currently have no problem pulling my pop up trailer but I'm thinking of upgrading to a pull trailer such as a Gazelle 178 QBS which has a total dry weight of around 2,900 lbs. Would I realistically be able to pull this trailer over different terrains? Thanks for any information on this subject.
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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I'd be surprised if you had much of a problem. I had a Mazda with a 4.0 6 cyl engine that I towed my 3,000 lb.l pop up with and it had no difficulty at all even in the mountains of Colorado. Of course it all depends on the LOADED weight of your trailer not the dry weight. Your truck seems to be Rated to tow from 4,000 to about 6,000 lb. depending the DETAILS of your truck (body style, transmission and gearing).
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles)
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
We have enough YOUTH...how about a fountain of SMART
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Caddywhompus
Southeast WI
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Joined: 06/27/2001
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A 4.3 liter truck (I used to have one) will pull decently up to about 4500 pounds depending on equipment and loading...etc. If you are planning on a lot of mountain pulling, stay under 3500 pounds. It'll pull 4500 thru the Rockies, but it will be slow and and irritating if you are doing it often.
Note that the MAJOR load at freeway speeds is not weight, but drag. Pulling a barn thru the wind will slow you down much more than weight. For example, you could easily pull 6000 pounds of boat (I know this) because it slips thru the wind, but with a conventional brick-like travel trailer 4500 is about tops. The point to take away from this is try to find an aerodynamic style trailer for maximum happiness on the road. The more slippery in the wind, the better.
The one problem with the S-10 series trucks is they are narrow, so you have to get some HUGE towing mirrors to see down the side of any full-width travel trailer. They also have low payload capacity, which makes a Weight Distributing hitch system a MUST in order to keep the truck level and safe on the road. Neither of these are show-stoppers, just notes to pass on.
Happy Camping!
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tjar66
Portland OR
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Joined: 03/09/2004
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I had a 4.3 in a S-10 Blazer mated to a 5 speed and it would do ok. Then I upgraded my trailer to an enclosed model that had more frontal area to catch wind and it was a real bear to hold onto. Even following a big rig if I got into the air turbulence we would be a rockin.
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345jeep
Fort Worth, TX
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Joined: 09/10/2009
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Skipnchar wrote:Of course it all depends on the LOADED weight of your trailer not the dry weight.
And she is built to carry a load....GVWR of the Gazelle quoted is 7,227.
Very nice looking TT.
I know that my old (4.0 I-6) Cherokee would suffer mightily from frontal area. I would never have pulled a TT with it, but I did pull a couple of twin axle U-Hauls and it labored hard on the highway. Part of reason was high gearing (3.0ish) at the axles. It did just fine with pop-up and low profile loads.
Does your S10's tow package come with tranny cooler and lower geared axles ? That would help from a strain perspective.
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BlackiceLSC
Sonoma County
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Joined: 07/13/2009
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not really an answer, but I have a 2001 S-10 w/ the ZQ8 package(not "eXtreme")
and the 4.3...and that thing is a torque monster. I have a roll pan on the rear, so I wont be towing anything with it-but...good to know what it can handle.
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