Questions on Towing a Blazer

[88Silverado]

First, does anyone make a tow bar that can be easily attached and removed from a blazer?

Second, is there any issues of just dragging your blazer behind your tow vehicle with the transfer case in neutral?

Third, do you tow it with the steering locked or unlocked so the front wheels can turn when the tow rig turns ??

Seems all the info I have found here shows everyones blazers on a tow trailer. Trying to see why I cant drag it behind my motorhome on some trips /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[BadDog]

I made my own based on other common designs (actually, originally to borrow one). Basically brackets from 1/4 x 2 strap that bolt on the front of the frame with a double shear clevis type "hinge" hanging down. These go between the bumper and the frame, or in my case, just on the end of the frame. They can also be encorporated into a bumper mounted with good hardware and maybe a little beefing of the frame for highway flat towing.

Towing in neutral should be fine as far as I know. But if I were going to Moab or something (shudder... flat tow to Moab... ewwww) I would pull the shafts...

Steering MUST be unlocked to flat tow.

Flat towing a 6k lb K5 is going to take a significant tow rig. A full on Class A motorhome should be fine, but Class C (particularly small ones) will likely have fits both from power and wheelbase/stability issues. Even the big boys with less than a 300 hp Diesel will sure know it’s back there. With the mileage/wear of off road tires, I would seriously consider a trailer. Then you can back it and there are no “oh no, I broke it too bad to flat tow this time” issues to worry with…

In my opinion, flat towing a K5 is a "local convenience" thing and nothing more. To many negatives for serious tow miles...

 

[imiceman44]

[ QUOTE ]
First, does anyone make a tow bar that can be easily attached and removed from a blazer?

Second, is there any issues of just dragging your blazer behind your tow vehicle with the transfer case in neutral?

Third, do you tow it with the steering locked or unlocked so the front wheels can turn when the tow rig turns ??

Seems all the info I have found here shows everyones blazers on a tow trailer. Trying to see why I cant drag it behind my motorhome on some trips /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Well it all depends on how you use it obviously and as you noticed most people tow on a trailer, and i will be soon too but so far I have been doing ok Flat towing my blazer behind my crew cab and I just got a stow master that was on a toyota truck (love it , it folds away neatly) and I made a string mounting braket on the front of the frame, (no bumper), and the only thing I am thinking about is maybe adapting a brake system to help but so far it doing fine for 5-6 hours drives.
I haven't been going further but plan on it soon so that is why I am getting a trailer.
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[88Silverado]

Thanks BadDog and imiceman44. My motorhome is 35' and has a 1988 5.9 Cummins 12Valve Turbo Diesel hooked to an Allison at-545 4 speed (non-lockup) and gear vendor under/overdrive with 4:56 gears. I believe the engine is rated around 200hp or so. It has a pretty large trans cooler with dual fans on it.

As I now have 4 vehicles and have no where to store a trailer, I was looking for a different solution. Also hate to get another small car to tow on long vacations. I would like to tow the blazer out to the local desert or mountains (Maybe up to a max 3-4 hr drive) if possible.

Guess what I dont understand is it appears to me by towing on a trailer you are adding another 1000lbs (or whatever the trailer weighs) to your load which would make pulling harder? Am I missing something /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[BadDog]

Even with the extra weight, a trailer will generally pull easier than a 4x4. This is (I believe) primarily due to the 4x4 tires vs. high pressure, low resistance trailer tires. It also will handle better due to the tongue weight (for trucks anyway) and balance on the centered trailer tires as well as having brakes, being able to back up if needed and less “push” in turns. It's just over all a better "experience".

Sounds like a nice motor home, should have little problem with flat towing the K5 I would think, though 200 hp is not a lot (maybe 450 ft/lbs at most in that motor?). It's easily "turned up" though if you desire. With that engine and trans, you could probably get 350+ hp and 600-700 ft/lbs easily without significant risk or impact on longevity (but check with the Cummins Diesel folks to be sure if you are interested).

Given what your towing with, I would expect the major drawback to flat towing would be wear and tear on the K5 (mainly tires) and the lack of backing ability. There is also the “oh crap, I broke a spring/axle/whatever and it won’t roll home” problem. I don’t think that 35’ pusher would pay much attention to the rest (but I’m no authority on the matter)…

Good luck!

 

[88Silverado]

Thanks....yea, ive been looking at performance mods.
Banks has some nice setups but I worry about damaging the trans. Several old timers say that trans can take a heck of a beating. I just dont want to break it.

Thanks again /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

 

[chubbybob]

if I were you I would leave the engine alone unless if you do just small mods because your tranny will not last with any more torque.
I have the same engine in my truck but with a 5 speed and pull my 28ft enclosed trailer with my truggy in it and all my gear plus some 4x4 polaris quads and the weight is a little over 21,000 pounds and I dont worry about it.
a lot of my friends have the auto and they do not hold up at all.

I dont think you would have any problems flat towing with that big beast. dont tell anyone but I flat towed my chev to washington and back to vegas with my wifes 2wd expedition. thats over 2000 miles you just get used to the sway /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif