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DD/Tow Rig

RGV72BLAZER

RGV72BLAZER

1/2 ton status
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Jan 23, 2006
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Edinburg*San Bene*Online-The Real South Texas
I want to build a tow rig using a Gen 1 Blazer for my '72 project. I'd like to run a mild 350 or 383 with a th350 or 400 with a 205 t-case & a 60/14 or 44/14 bolt combo. Will the 14 hold up to the towing rigors?? or should i scrounge around for a 70? also i'd like to run a 6" lift with 37s, but i'm thinking that may be overkill. any opinions?? that's what i really want to run but not at the expense of safety, so i may have to go with 4" & 35s. on the rear should i run a shackle flip or all springs?? also any idea on what size class hitch i'd need to tow up to about 10000 lbs?? thanks.
 
The 14B should do fine. For towing I wouldn't go above 35" and 4" lift, and I'd definitly go with the full spring lift. Make sure you get HD rear springs too. A class IV or V hitch is a good investment, as well as a weight distrubuting setup if trailer weight is over 5K. I think the biggest problem you will run into is the short wheelbase tow vehicle, and also 10K is too much weight even for a one ton blazer. 6K is pretty much the limit. What are you looking to tow, how far will you be towing, and how often? What type of terrain are you crossing?
 
yea that's what i was thinking 35s & 4" would already be pushing it. & i'll look into the 4 & 5 hitches with a distributing setup...but not sure what the distributing setup actually does?....i plan to tow my '72 blazer trail rig that has no top, but lots of rock protection, ie bumpers, rockers, rollcage, a bbc, doubler, 42s...plus equipment...so i think it'll be a bit of a heavy weight...not to mention the addition of the weight of the trailer...so i just said 10000# to be on the safe side. i'll probably be towing long distances, i hope to take my blazer out to moab one day, which is a good 1500+ miles from where i live here in TX...lol...& terrain would just be pavement, don't plan to wheel it much since it'll also be my DD. so a Gen 1 Blazer wouldn't be a good base for a tow rig? that'd be pretty sweet tho...any more suggestions then?...thanks so far
 
I wouldnt do it at all the blazer is way to short to tow that, I tried towing im w/ a reg cab/short bed z71, took all of 5 miles to realize that it was dumb and very unsafe
 
Yeah, you will need more wheelbase to tow your trail rig. The weight distributing setup distributes the weight of the trailer over both the front and rear axles of the tow rig for a much more stable and safer rig. It is reccomended on any trailer over 5K. A swaybar is also a good idea for crosswinds and trucks passing. It hooks right up on the weight distributing setup. Total cost for the whole kit and kaboodle is usually 200-350.
 
Your best bet for towing that kind of load would be a longer wheelbase truck. Even a regular cab longbed P/U has about a foot longer wheelbase. 3-4 inches will help, but not much. The other thing to consider with the older trucks is the chassis. Your K5 isn't rated for that type of load. A 3/4 or 1 ton will generally have a thicker gauge chassis, with proper crossmembers to handle the higher loads. I have towed with a k5, bronco, and ramcharger, as well as two 3/4 ton subs, a 1 ton P/U, and now a 2500HD. The short wheelbase trucks were only good to about 5000-5500 before I felt uneasy towing with them. Even then I knew the trailer was there, and had to really keep the speeds down and prepare for passing trucks. The same trailer on a longer wheelbase was so much easier and safer to tow and stop with. I have towed 6000 with my 2500HD 141" wheelbase, and i felt like I was towing a little 4x8 utility trailer. It just tracked so nice, and passing trucks were barely felt.
 
RGV72BLAZER said:
so at about wheelbase should i be thinking about?
Click to expand...

Anything the length of a regular cab long bed or longer.

A Blazer with a big lift and 37's as a towrig for a bumper pull trailer and very heavy K5 is a terrible idea, no offence.

You can't build a towrig the same way you build the wheeler. That lift and those tires do nothing for towing performance, and in fact hinder it. I'd run no lift and stock size 265's or so. If you get into something longer like a crew cab short bed or crew cab long bed, maybe then you could lift a COUPLE of inches and some 33's, MAYBE 35's. I don't think I'd want to pull much more than 10K on big wobbly 35's. I'm different though, I tow all the time and want maximum efficiency with fuel mileage, handling, braking, and power.
 
I'd agree with the consensus here, go longer and play it safe.

I'm towing my 71 K5 off-roader that's set up similar to what you'll be towing weight wise.
Towing it with a 72 K/20 that's set up with a big block, built th-350, over load springs, 285x16 load rated tires and 4:11 gears.
The truck has towed everything to date with ease but my K5 is just plain heavy, so I'm putting on a load leveler system to make it even better/safer.

Cause like you, I plan on attending Moab but this next trip is to Rausch. :wink1:

dcp_3933towtrailer.jpg
 
vtblazer said:
I'd agree with the consensus here, go longer and play it safe.

I'm towing my 71 K5 off-roader that's set up similar to what you'll be towing weight wise.
Towing it with a 72 K/20 that's set up with a big block, built th-350, over load springs, 285x16 load rated tires and 4:11 gears.
The truck has towed everything to date with ease but my K5 is just plain heavy, so I'm putting on a load leveler system to make it even better/safer.

Cause like you, I plan on attending Moab but this next trip is to Rausch. :wink1:
Click to expand...

I got a wet spot from looking at that.
 
You guys crack me up...:haha:

Here's a later pic with the load leveler installed.
Blazer is 10" farther forward in this pic than the other one and notice how the truck/trailer sit pretty much level now compared to the butt squat I was getting before.

dcp_3942.jpg
 
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