towing with an Envoy and H3

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

i sold my exursion (diesel). that is what i use to pull my 24 supra with. But now i just bought an h3. It rated at like 4500 lbs. I wandered if anyone has ever pulled with one. Also my wife just got an Envoy denali and it is rated at 6500 lbs. I will be towing most of my long distance with hers. Wandered if anyone has towed with either of those

NAW · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 10:52 am Post subject:

The boat and trailer is just over 5000lbs...and it has a 52 gallon gas tank, plus gear, etc.

I don't know that either of your vehicles are a safe choice. Your Envoy would move it along, but stopping and menuevering in an emergency situation would be alot to ask of an Envoy/Trailblazer, etc.

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

my trailer hass brakes so im not to worried. Anyways a trailer blazer and envoy have a differnt engine and axle differntial. The envoy denail is rated at 6600 lbs a trailblazer is at like 5400. Even kno they share the same chasis and a similar frame. I have the 4 wheel drive and 3.73 axle

http://www.chevrolet.com/trailblazer/specifications/
http://www.gmc.com/envoy/specsDimension.jsp?vehicle=denali

Bambamski · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 11:04 am Post subject:

Bad call selling the Excursion.

I wouldn't tow a 21 foot boat with either for short distances let a long anthing over an hour.

Your Envoy probably doesn't have an adequate tranny cooler and the drive train is not made to tow anything over a 2000 pound tent trailer. I'm sure tranny's and Diffs are pretty cheap in them though Rolling Eyes

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

i put a transmission cooler in it. u may be right about the diff. I sold my exursion because i used to tow a 38 baja (11000 lbs) from ohio to tennesee and back but then decided to leave the boat in florida and was sick of driving that bus around town.

Bambamski · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 11:17 am Post subject:

Honestly

The envoy is not really made to tow. My buddy tows a lot of trailers and things for his business and said it's really not safe to go above 75% of the rated towing capacity of your truck. What does the Supra weigh? It's gotta be pushing 5500 pounds with fuel, if not more than that. YOu have to throw in gear, also how many people will be in the Envoy? If you have 4 adults that's another 800 pounds.

You could easily be over you limit without even trying. You might get away with it once or twice but if you continue to tow that much weight the truck will fall apart and the boat is going to drive you, not the other way around.

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

lol thanx for the in put, what do u have and what do u tow it with???

Bambamski · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 11:33 am Post subject:

I used to have a Yukon that I towed an X-10 with. The thing literaly fell apart. The mechanic I use is a heavy duty truck mechanic and he basically said the Yukon is a grocery getter. It's not made to really tow anything long distances or very often. When my Diff went out he put a heavier diff in for me that wasn't posi, that helped but was a bit of a pain when I was trying to get out of the boat ramp and it was slick. That's another thing, boat ramps that are slick and steep, it could be tough getting the 24v out.

My tranny went along with my transfer case. We do tow a lot during the summer and we head over the mountains 4-5 times a year as well. It ended up being to hard on the Yukon in the long run. I run an F350 now, which may seem like over kill, but I'll never go back to a smaller tow vehicle.

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

i put a total of 2 (not inlcuding the stock one) transmisions in my exursion when i was towing my baja (11000) i thought since it was a diesel i wouldnt have to worry about my tranny. i think i might be putting a new one in my envoy at one point. Sad

Broccoli B · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 12:12 pm Post subject:

That sucks you have to drive the girly car and your wife gets the envoy. I wonder if that H3 will even move with the boat attached to it.

For what it is worth my trailblazer tows my mobius LSV with no problems. I used to tow with a suburban and it was better though.

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

i got its for 18 months untill my son gets it. i got it on a trade in with my exursion good deal couldnt pass it up.

Broccoli B · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 12:18 pm Post subject:

Let me guess, your son turns 16 in 18 months?

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

like 14 months

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

what does your moomba weigh??? i got about 5300 lbs with trailer and gas

Broccoli B · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 1:50 pm Post subject:

I think boat and trailer falls in the 4500 pound range give or take a few hundred for gear and gas.

NAW · Posted: Jan 30, 2006 1:55 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I think they rate the '05 LSV/'06 Outback V at about 3,850lbs dry.

I tow my Upra 21V with an '01 Yukon with the 5.3L. The set up weighs about 4500lbs plus and I wouldn't consider a smaller vehicle to tow it anywhere. Just my opinion and my comfort level.

austin11 · Criminal Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 74

yeah i am so used to towing with my diesel that i dont kno what im gona do with these little things i have now. I will probably just buy like an 02 or 03 250 diesel for towing purposes

jpk · Outlaw Joined: 07 Aug 2005 Posts: 215 City: Redmond

I'm kinda surprised that the Enoy rated at 6500lbs would not be able to handle a ski boat. Is the powertrain just totally overrated for what the suspension and frame can handle?

Brit Rider · Posted: Feb 01, 2006 2:57 am Post subject:

There seems to be such a lot of this talk on here recently about trucks/cars not being powerful enough to tow with....

For eg.. We tow a SAN with a Merc ML270 turbo diesel... we have never had any problems and it tows great but would that be considered by some of you as insufficient?

This got me thinking - where do these load ratings come from? does the manufacturer just come up with a figure? or is there a regulatory body in the US for this?