what size trailer for 2000-2500lb.load?

[Diamondpilot]

I stopped by today to do it by the book but unfortunately the kid working there wasn't that type of person? "s10, sure no problem" haha, he didn't check anything even engine, maybe they do that at right up.
The trailer is 6x12 with a full size bed which appears to be made of a lighter steel than a reg.truck bed? Has the super dooper brake setup at the tonque. 2 days if P/U Fri. just before close & "on the lot" when they open Mon.morn so that don't seem bad.

The brakes are surge brakes. Work very well and are simple. Master cylinder in the tongue pushes against the ball on your truck as it brakes which in turn applies the brakes on the trailer.

All of the car hauler types I have seen at the Uhaul's around here were not solid decked. They had just two gutters down each side for the wheels and open in the center.

I know from the pic your truck is a regular cab S10 that is 4x4. Tell me the motor (2.8 or 4.3 V6), tranny type, and gear ratio and I can tell you what the factory tow rating is.

Chris

 

[some zilch]

thats a little tractor, on a little trailer. my toyota tacoma 4 cylinder is rated to tow 3500lbs, and would have no problem with that trailer/tractor as pictured. i dont think he really needs a tandem axle trailer to tow an oversized lawn mower, and although a nice gesture, using someone's f250 or renting a uhaul truck seems a bit extreme. its no wonder everyone and their brother owns a f350 power stroke dually for weekend chores these days:confused2:

 

[radioman]

Yea I think the U-haul is the way to go for this move, plus I'll get a good idea on how it all handles too before buying anything.

why?! OP stated he borrowed a trailer before with his s10 with no problems.

I believe my 91 4.3l S10 long bed was tow rated 5,000 lbs.

I used it to tow my Samurai and the BX with a 3500 pound GVW trailer that weighed 900 lbs empty.

The truck had plenty of power with the 4.3 and stopping with the trailer's surge brakes was not an issue.

The only place I felt the S10 came up short is it was light in the rear.... I did add some sacks of concrete to the bed and I noticed it handled better when towing.

So did I, but mine is a blazer s 10. the pickup handles better with weight due to almost nothing in bed.

This has nothing to do with tow ratings per say. GVWR is "gross vehicle wheel rating" That simply means the max amount of weight that can be on the vehicles wheels. Lets say for example your truck weighs 4,000# with fuel in it and you are 200# plus you carry around 150# of junk in the bed. That would mean you now have 800# of payload capacity. Payload is anything on the trucks wheels like additional stuff in the bed, extra passengers, tongue weight of a trailer, ect.


What you need to find out is the the GCWR "gross combined wheel rating" This is rating is the max weight on the wheels of both the truck and trailer. Lets say its 9,000# for example. Now you simply subtract the weigh of the truck loaded from that and it will tell you the tow rating. This is only in the owners manual, not on a door sticker.

If you give me the year, engine, tranny type, rear axle ration, bed length, cab style I can look it up for you. I am a part time trailer dealer and have access to all this info for most stuff built in the last 15 or so years.

As for a trailer a tandem axle is probably going to weigh too much and kill your payload on the trailer. A single axle trailer with a 3,500# axle and brakes on that one axle is going to weigh about 800# so it will have a honest 2,200# tow rating. This will probably be the best you can do. I think 2,500# plus the weight of the trailer is going to be a bit much for a S-10 because you are going to be pushing the 5,000# mark by the time you add in the empty weight of the trailer.

You really need a 1/2 ton truck for this.

Chris

chris is making a point here. I have to constantly think about what I am putting in with my blazer AND 16' trailer because when I go over weight limit of truck but not trailer, I do notice the extra weight. This is where I feel the extra trailer parts come into play here. Like sway bar, WD bars and BOTH axle brakes( you probably know this but a tandem trailer in NYS needs both axles with brakes to be able to register it for use over 3500lbs. I am NOT saying you CAN'T do it with s10 pickup, but you are right on the edge of "legal" towing and it can be interpreted in thousand different ways if you get pulled over, just like me. I never had any issues with my setup.

 

[2001 JD4110]

wow, thanks for all the input! I have the 4.3, 4L60E auto, 3.42 w/posi traction limited slip and hd rear suspension pckg. plus I just rebuilt/restored the entire chassis 1.5 yrs.ago. so it should hold up ok.

 

[Diamondpilot]

According to my book the tow limit is 5,500#

Chris

 

[2001 JD4110]

Thanks Chris! I should be in good shape. I'll have to try to buy my own in the next year. Ideally I think I would want a 16' tandem axle with a hd steel or wood floor. but then it would be nice to have something that could haul a car too, maybe a 7k trailer(that's a common one I see)? of course then I would need a bigger truck too!...maybe..lol

 

[scrappy isb67]

I justed checked U-haul's website and I could rent a dual axle 6x12 job with up to 2500 lb. cargo for $30.00 a day (2 days) not sure if that comes with any kind of a ramp? I guess I could do that for my sisters yard and then take my time looking for the right trailer/price?

they may not allow you to pull it with an s10. I tried once to rent one to haul a '00 Durange for a move. I was trying to pull it with a Ram 3500 Cummins with a Reese class V hitch(1200 tongue/12000 Trailer non-WD weight rating). they refused to rent me the trailer even though I was well under the Maximum capacities of everything. They told me that because their "book" listed the truck with a class III hitch that it was exceeding the hitch's capacity. They did not care what was actually on the truck, just what the book said. Even doing the math for the weight of the trailer and Durango I was still under the hitch's capacity.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've had the same problem with U-Haul...

Never could rent the trailer I needed even though I a 3/4 ton truck with a factory 12K hitch... they told me I would need a one ton truck...

They did offer to have me rent their truck and their trailer.

 

[2001 JD4110]

I went to another u-haul..they're lame? I actually don't like there thin metal floor with no ramps/gate. I found a place close to us that now rents a couple though, an Aluma all aluminum 6'x12' single axle with ramp and the guy who is very knowledgable said no problem and at $30.00 a day or a nice 7' x 14' dual axle w/beavertail trailer made by Corn mfg. for $40.00 a day but then I gotta get a brake controller and use my 160k trailblazer to tow-would hate to have a trans.failure! I'm leaning towards the S10, that way I can use the bed for my 2 yorks, roller and spreader, that's like 600lbs tops. Geez, I hope I don't take out the trans on that one!