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towing my blazer 1000 miles, need advice

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75K5

1/2 ton status
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I am moving to florida, and I really don't want to drive my blazer the 1000 miles. My plan was to rent a large truck (25' uhaul or similar) and a car trailer. The problem is that all of the car trailers only support a vehicle weight of 4000lbs.

Has anyone dealt with this before? My K5 is a 75 with full time 4WD.

Thanks,
Brian
 
Are you renting the U-haul just to tow the K5? Or is it for moving your other crap too? If it's just for your K5, I would look into a transport service, because the rental fees on the Uhaul are gonna be outrageous! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
We are moving to florida, so the plan was to fill the uhaul up with all of our stuff. I looked at transporting it, but that's $1000, and I already have to pay $1000 for the uhaul, so if I could find some way to tow it I can save a thousand bucks.

Brian
 
That's what I figured. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif I've seen people putting heavier vehicles on their trailers. Not sure how safe that is or long they were towing them, but it has been done... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
yea, when I checked with them they said my 99 explorer was okay to tow, but the blazer wasn't. They are about the same wheelbase, and I can't imagine the blazer being that much heavier than the explorer. I may end up just doing it with a little more weight and driving slow, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any experiences with this before I take any risks. I can pull the back seats out and get some weight out of it, but I doubt it's near 4000lbs. The nearest weight station is about 50 miles away too /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
i towed my 72 cross country from california to pennsylvania on a uhaul trailer.they have a specific trailer you have to use for heavier vehicles.the stock weight on my 72 was 4600 pounds,so being over 4000 pounds wsasnt a factor in them letting me rent the uhaul.
 
I towed mine from CA to NC. /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif Uhaul wouldn't rent a trailer so had to use Ryder. They offer 2 trailers. One won't fit which is slatted bottom. The other has a full bottom (aluminum if I recall correctly)and will hold it barely. /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif I had to get some wheels and tires from Junkyard to get it to straddle correctly, but it made the 3000 mile trip. On finding a cheaper moving truck, play the two or three companies against each other even if your set on using one. They will drop prices dramatically. I had a 25' truck and trailer for 800 bucks cross country. I am in the military so know how to save money when doing a long distance move. /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif
 
Surprisingly, a loaded 4x4 Ford Explorer 4 door weighs
almost 250lbs more than my 1990 Blazer (explorer's curb weight is 4891 lbs /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif!!!! kind of surprised me a little bit, wondering where all the weight is since it's def. not in the metal (body panels are made out of aluminum foil on these, speaking from experience....)
weight taken from http://www.fordonline.net/ford-buyers-guides/ford_explorer.html

[ QUOTE ]
yea, when I checked with them they said my 99 explorer was okay to tow, but the blazer wasn't. They are about the same wheelbase, and I can't imagine the blazer being that much heavier than the explorer. I may end up just doing it with a little more weight and driving slow, but I wanted to see if anyone else had any experiences with this before I take any risks. I can pull the back seats out and get some weight out of it, but I doubt it's near 4000lbs. The nearest weight station is about 50 miles away too /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
 
I want to use ryder, but apparently they don't do one-way trips anymore. The only three I could come up with is uhaul, penske, and budget.
 
Ryder/Budget are one in the same now. Budget had bought Ryder. Same equipment from either. If they won't do it then go with Penske. They have the same trailers. Some how U-Haul has their own line of trailers. Good luck and Have fun. A 25' van and trailer with a Blazer are fun to drive.........
 
I used a penske trailer to tow my 74 1000 miles 6 years ago and the toungue cracked 900 miles into it. They told me the blazer was too heavy, but I did it anyway. Pucker factor was high for the last 100 miles.
 
Buy a used trailer for $750 and sell it in Florida for $900 That is the way I have always done it. The key is to buy right and then selling is easy.
 
no time to buy a trailer, and unfortunatly nothing to tow it with. I really don't want to put the miles on the blazer.

I'm going to give it a shot with the 25 foot truck and car hauler. The weight max is slightly under, but I am going to pull the seats and things out of the blazer and run the tank empty.

How fast would you cruise with somthing like this? They say no more than 45mph on their site.

Brian
 
i went about 65 with mine and had no problems.my truck was also loaded with a dirtbike and some other things so i know it was overweight. /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gifbut oh well it made it fine.just make sure you check your tiedown points every 300 miles or so.the trailer can be loaded with more weight than they say.they just dont want you to because of liability. /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gifgood luck with the trip.i did it with 2 cars my truck and the uhaul also my wife mother in one car and 2 dogs and a cat.so everybody got to move.what fun.
 
I went as fast as the truck was governed at. Key is just knowing how to handle something that big in case of an emergency. Hitting a grade with that much weight your max speed will be between 30-40. I wouldn't worry about pulling stuff out of the truck. I put stuff in my 79, like the 35's and all my tool boxes. Good Luck.
 
I ended up taking the explorer the first time, because I never measured the tire size and my 33" tires were about 1" too wide to squeeze on. It did okay with the explorer, so I assume the next trip it will do okay with the blazer. There are some steep hills we went up in GA that slowed me down to like 40mph, but most of the way I cruised with the pedal to the floor on the governor at 70mph.

I have the 6-lug wheels on my 75. Do you how what all years would be compatible to find some wheels and tires? I am going back home next week to fill up another 24' uhaul and try towing this again!
 
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