Towing with 4.3L S10 question

[Justaboatin]

Hello,<br /> The hunt for a new boat continues... I am looking at a 1995 Godfrey marine 24FT pontoon boat. Dry weight is 2000lbs. I have a S10 with the 4.3L V6 motor. Question, is this too much of a load for the S10? Or is it ok? Has anyone ever pulled a pontoon of this size with a S10? <br /><br />Any advise is helpful...<br /><br />Thanks<br />Scott

 

[texomatom]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

I used to pull mt 19 foot I/O (with a 4.3l v-6) with my old S10 Blazer. Pulled a buddies 20' on occasion too. Other than the squat caused by the tongue weight it seemed to handle it OK.<br />Burned up a transmission one time (my fault entirely and could have been avoided). But other than that it pulled fine. STOPPING was an entirely different matter.<br />Your 2K lb boat should not be a problem.<br />I would strongly suggest a transmission cooler and caution.<br />HTH<br />Tom

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Pontoons are like pulling a barn door through the wind at highway speeds so it depends on two things. 1) What the axle ratio is and 2) how far are you going. I have towed many boats with several 4.3L power plants for years and they are excellent work horses and fairly economical as well. If your truck is a 2 wheel drive it probably has fairly high gearing (3.52:1) which is not especially helpful for towing. If its a 4WD it may have 3.73:1 or even 4.10:1 gears which helps greatly. The S10 will easily handle the weight. How it behaves at highway speeds is an IF because of the high wind resistance. I would guess if you stayed under 60 MPH you should have absolutely no problem. Any faster than that will likely cut performance significantly. Again -- weight is not a factor. Wind resistance is.

 

[Justaboatin]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

It is a 2WD, The most it will be pulled is maybe 50 miles (one way) on mostly flat interstate highway. Is retreving the boat a issue (power wise?)

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Originally posted by justaboatin:<br /> Is retreving the boat a issue (power wise?)

Not an issue, plenty of power. Traction? Only you and your ramp will know that answer...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Two wheel drive is always an issue on slippery ramps. Power again is not an issue. Make sure you have some "grippy" tires and if it becomes a problem, check your local salvage yards for an S10 rear end with a locking differential (assuming of course it doesn't currently have one). Problem solved relatively inexpensively.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Has anyone checked the tow rating for the S10? I suspect it will be fine, but that is the place to start. (I checked www.trailerlife.com and they have the 2004 at 5,200#).<br /><br />After that the question is stopping. I would think with a dry weight of 2000# you would be looking at closer to about 3400# loaded, or somewhere in that range. Brakes for the trailer would be very highly reccomended.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Most states have a trailer brake requirement at anywhere from 2000 to about 3500# regardless what you are towing with. Some states get a little complicated by factoring the trailer load VS tow vehicle weight. If its within certain limits trailer brakes aren't required but that's an exception.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Trailer Brakes are a must with that much weight.<br />Stop by the local Chevy garage and ask them to read the RPO codes on your truck.<br />This will tell you what the truck is rated to tow, and will specify whether or not it has the towing package, and the gear ratio.

 

[OFD56]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

Originally posted by justaboatin:<br /> It is a 2WD, The most it will be pulled is maybe 50 miles (one way) on mostly flat interstate highway. Is retreving the boat a issue (power wise?)

On the ramp I would probably reccomend using the low gear on your transmission (I am assuming it is an automatic) and just take it slow, I have a 18' fish/ski that I tow with my 1999 F350 2WD, my truck how ever is a 6 speed manual with creeper gear, I use the creaper gear when pulling the boat up the ramp.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

You don't need to "select" low gear in the transmission. An automatic starts out in "low gear". Low gear selection merely "holds" a transmission in whatever gear it happens to be in. It prevents upshifting which is not much of a problem on a ramp unless you are doing a "burn-out".

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Towing with 4.3L S10 question

when retieving you boat at the ramp. when got to pull out, put you left foot on the brake, release emerg. brake, apply a little throttle and slowly release you brake foot. this helps to keep the traction. if you have a manual transmition and can slowly release the emerg. brake will do the same thing. been doing it for 30 years. towed many boats with the 4.3. highly recommend trailer brakes, especially with a pickup as the rear end is light. i've been push through several traffic lights, until i went to trailer brakes.