F150 or Blazer

Hello Folks !
 This is my first post. Dianne and I are retired and looking seriously at the Trail Manor 2720SL. We are planning a trip to Alaska from NC next year and will obviously cross a lot of mountains.. Need your  advice on best tow vehicle. We own a 1994 F150 5 liter V8 with a 3:08 rear end and a 2000 Blazer with a 242 ci V6 and a 3:42 rear end. The books tell me the F150 can pull abt 4700 lbs and the Blazer nearly 5600. Seems wacky to me that the Blazer is more capable. Are there any of you out there that are towing with one of these rigs ?  Whats your personal experience ?  Thanks for the help.

             Al Bruce ???

Hi Al,
Welcome to the group. Yes the numbers you have are right. It has a lot to do with the gearing. I don't have your set up, but have a lot of experience towing. I currently use a 99 Explorer V-6 with 3.08 gears that is rated to 5100#. If I had the same vehicle with the towing option it would have 3.83 gears and be rated at 7000#. Also a lot of tow packages add wiring and transmission coolers, some add a larger radiator too. Hope this helps a little. I know there are a couple of people on this board that are towing with the V-6 Blazer. It is the more capable of the two especially if you use a WDH set up.

Aaron

[Happytrails]

I think either would work, I tow mine with a 4.3L 1991 S-10 blazer, it does ok.....little slow on the takoff up a hill, but does just fine......but you'd be better off with the blazer than the ford..........my two cents........

Happytrails.........

[Moonshot]

Either truck should be ok. The wheelbase of your Blazer is 107 in, versus the 138 in wheelbase of the F-150 (assuming you have the ext cab shortbed). So, yes get a weight distribution hitch if you plan to use the Blazer. The TM will likely tow fine behind the F-150 w/o a WDH.

[Bill]

Let me inject a different sort of thought into the discussion. It is true that the Blazer with the high-ratio rear end will probably pull your trailer better. In this case, "pull" means things like accelerating away from a stop light, starting uphill, maintaining speed on an uphill grade, etc. And since "pull" is what your tow vehicle does most of the time, of course you should consider pulling performance. My Explorer has a 4.6L V-8 and a 3.83 rear end, and it pulls like a champ.

But you also need to think about what your tow vehicle does for you when something unintended and basically uncontrolled happens. Like handle an emergency stop if the trailer brakes go out on a downgrade, or control the effects of a sudden violent gust of wind as you come around a hill or onto a bridge, or perform an emergency-fast lane change without losing control, or bring you back onto the pavement when you've dropped off a three-inch lip onto the dirt shoulder, or maintain control when you have a blowout. In these situations, a trailer - any trailer - tries to take control of the car, and the car has to win. To me, there is nothing like WEIGHT and LENGTH in a tow vehicle in these situations. Your F-150 probably weights more than the Blazer, and it certainly has more wheelbase. My guess is that it is more likely to win the battle in an emergency situation than the Blazer is.

We'd like to think that these emergency situations won't happen - but in my experience, they occasionally do. I've done the "no trailer brakes on a steep downgrade" thing, and I can tell you I wouldn't have wanted a trailer back there that outweighed the car. And with the exception of the blowout, I've done all the other things as well.

Part of the decision depends on where you plan to use your trailer - flatlands or mountains. And part of it depends on your driving style - very conservative or a bit aggressive. And the distances you plan to go - you are less likely to encounter a situation in a 50-mile trip to a local campground than a 5000-mile country-wide marathon. And of course part of it depends on which trailer you buy - the Trail Manor is probably the best behaved unit I've ever known about. But in the end, it also comes down largely to your risk tolerance.

Just a thought. Maybe I'm overstating it, and I certainly don't mean to be Mr Doom and Gloom, but I think it is important to think about more than just "how does it pull?"

Bill

[Windbreaker]

I'm too am a new guy to towing but I'll share my story, dull as it is.

I had an 2000 Dakota 4x4 four door big v8 with trailering package then got a 2027. Even while using a WD hitch I still felt that the trailer was controlling the truck. The truck pulled fine, stopped fine but just didn't "feel" right. After the first trip I traded that truck for a full sized Chevy k1500 4x4 four door. Took the trailer on a 500 mile trip and could not even tell it was back there. Wife drove half of the time and had no worries.

In short, I'll bet both of your tow vehicles will work but if it were I, I would go for the heaver of the two. Try them both out, what ever feels right most likely is.

Bill's points on stopping and controll should be considered with more than just passing interest.

I also just returned from a rally where there was a guy pulling with a F150 v6 he said the truck did well after he installed an antiskid rearend but he too felt a lack of controll while pull through hilly country before changing the rearend.

Hope this helps

[camperboy]

I would use the F-150 and get the rear-end changed out to a higher gear ratio, Like a 3.55 or better a 3.73. It's just gonna tow better and be easier to drive, read less stressful. Make sure that either vehicle has a good tranny cooler on it also. I just towed a 1990 26 (3023) across country (NJ to Yellowstone, to Salt Lake, Grand Canyon, San Juan Mountains, Cheyenne, WY back to NJ with a 99 Ford Ranger with 4.0 v6 and a limited slip 4.10 in the rear. Connected the two with a equalizer brand hitch and a top quality brake controller. Performed flawlessly over 10,000 foot passes, highway speeds up to 70 (sustained and legal) and a blowout (didn't even wiggle). Your blazer has alittle more power, but a shorter wheelbase. If you choose the blazer you might want to consider adding top quality shocks to the back and definately get a weight distributing hitch. Mine also has sway control and I was glad I had it when the street side tire blew on a busy section of I-80 at 60mph.

Just my long-winded 2 cents.
Camperboy

[Chris_Bauer]

I have both a Chevy 1500 and a Pathfinder.  I recently bought the Pathfinder and from my short experience, a trip from McAllen to Corpus Christi and now a trip to San Antonio, I wouldn't go back to the p/u.  The p/u pulls great and does everything it is supposed to do.

However, thanks to the great advice I always receive on this board, I purchased the WDH.  It tows as well as the p/u and it is a real step up in comfort and quietness.  I will keep both but am sure I will use the Pathfinder for the 2720SL.  It makes a great package.

My penny's worth. (I'm not up to the two cent category yet ;D)

[Happytrails]

Just walked in the door after towing my 3023 450 miles or so with my blazer.....it did extremely well. We stopped off at the Williamsburg Pottery shop and found out there was a problem in the brake control system. Somehow, the plug on my tm looked like it had come off at some point and rubbed the ground. (??? dunno, it was still plugged in, and no melted rubber anywhere, and was functioning perfectly till we went into the pottery shop). I did get it right and got the lights to work right, but completely lost the brakes on the TM for the rest of the trip back. I do use a WDH, and it did just fine even with no brakes......and even went over Afton Mountain which is no small beans just fine. I'll post another message under a new topic on the problems I encountered in a few......but I had no problems at all even without brakes towing with my blazer...........


Happytrails.........