Chevy TrailBlazer, TrailBlazer SS and GMC Envoy Forum banner

first towing report

1K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  jroden 
#1 ·
I have a 2006 extended wheelbase with the i6. I did a trip this weekend towing a larger jayco popup over about 200 miles of fairly flat, but windy terrain. The popup has a slide forward of the axle along with a small bathroom, so it has decent tongue weight, maybe 350 and weighs about 3500 ready to camp.

I hooked up the charge wire and spliced in a prodigy brake controller, it was quite easy and worked fine without any issues. On the way up I decided to use the weight distribution hitch and try towing without it on the way home. On the way up I was towing into a strong headwind in 4th gear and averaged about 13.1 mpg at 60 mph. The camper felt very solid with no sway and the torque of the engine was excellent at keeping the converter locked for the most park. On the return trip, I averaged in the high 15's for mpg which is not much worse than normal non-towing.

Overall, I felt like that setup without weight distribution was acceptable, the rear sags a bit and it feels a bit less stable, but overall fine. I think for longer trips I will use it. Sway was a non issue.

I used to tow a lot with a sienna van, but have to say I like the TB a lot better in terms of the chassis and the lower end torque. We towed a hybrid camper with it for a few years and it was OK, but required a lot of reving to get into the powerband and it swilled gas. I can't say how it would do with a higher profile trailer, but a heavy popup is a great combination with this truck.
 
See less See more
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top