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Old 02-24-2013, 11:24 AM   #1
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96 S10 Blazer/Wildwood x-lite 195bh

Hi everyone!

Not new to camping but soon to be new to rving. My wife and I had a baby and we love to camp. I'm looking at getting the wildwood x-lite to tow behind my blazer. I've been doing research and found that my s10 blazer can haul 5000 lbs. I want to stay way below that for sure. Don't want to have more trailer than vehicle.

So the empty actual for the trailer is 3175, gvwr 3903.

Its going to be my wife 120lbs, me 220, son 25, two dogs 25 each, cargo.

I believe I'm within my limits. Does anyone think otherwise?????

The plan is to get a small camper this year, upgrade to a suburban next year then upgrade the camper etc etc etc.

thanks in advance.
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Old 02-24-2013, 03:08 PM   #2
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that 5000 number is based on only a 150lb. driver in the car.
so, subtract your weight, kid's, dogs'(295) and you're down to 4,705. add back the 30lbs. from the 150 driver's weight and you're at 4,735.
now subtract 75lbs. for the WDH and say 60lbs. of cargo.

now your tow capacity is 4600. figuring that you'll easily be near the GVWR of the trailer, loaded for camping, you'll be near max.
but if your numbers are correct for the trailer, you could do it if you don't have to deal with mountains. the 4.3 v-6 is a great engine.
but feedback on older Blazer owners, haven't been glowing when it comes to towing a full-height TT with one.

what i don't understand is why is this TT lighter than the shorter hybrid 17EX?
the numbers don't seem right for the 195BH.
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Old 02-24-2013, 03:59 PM   #3
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Welcome to the forum. You sure know how the upgrade thing works.
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Old 03-01-2013, 12:26 AM   #4
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Hello J567488,

Welcome to the forum.

I am by no means an expert in the world of travel trailers but since I just bought my X-Lite 195bh last August, I thought my two cents may come in handy.

It sounds like you are looking at the trailer the way I did. I wanted a small trailer but not so small that my whole family wouldn’t fit. Our family of four loves the trailer, sure it is small compared to some of the other trailers out there, but it is perfect for us. We needed it on the smallish side because I tow it with my Toyota Tacoma which is outfitted with the factory tow package.

Using a weight distributing tow hitch, the V-6 Tacoma has no problem towing the 195bh on the roads of eastern Massachusetts. However, I know the trailer is behind me so I’m glad it came with the electric brakes. I have yet to take it to an area with large hills. I anticipate that I will definitely feel its weight behind me as I tow up some of the mountain roads in New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts (my first “real” trip is this June to northern Vermont). I bet your Blazer would be able to handle the 195bh as well as my Tacoma. When you upgrade to a Suburban, I bet you won’t even know the 195bh is behind you.

If you do purchase the 195bh, you’ll probably find that you’ll need extension mirrors so you can safely see around the trailer. An s-10 Blazer is pretty narrow if I remember correctly.

Whatever your decision is, good luck and happy camping.


On a side note, bikendan’s asked…

“what i don't understand is why is this TT lighter than the shorter hybrid 17EX? the numbers don't seem right for the 195BH.”

I wondered that too when I was looking at trailers. The salesperson at the dealer informed me that the 17ex has more options like a larger fridge, three burner stove, larger kitchen sink, TV, sound system, a sink in the bathroom, larger air conditioner, etc. The 195bh is a “bare bones” trailer with few options (or at least ours was, we bought it off the dealer’s lot as is with no options). He also told me the folding beds on the 17ex added weight due to the heavier construction material that they are made of.
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Old 03-01-2013, 09:29 AM   #5
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I own a 99 Blazer and bought a Coachmen Apex 151RBX that has a GVW of 3890 1 year ago. We're already upgrading our tow vehicle because "The RV dealer said we could tow it". We got camping fever during the winter RV show last year and bought a hybrid that we didn't really want but it was the only non-popup that would fit our tow vehicle.

Please check the RPO sticker on the back of the glovebox door. It will be a white sticker with a lot of 3-character codes in alphabetical order. The codes you need to be aware of usually start with GT(x) this will be the Regular Production Option code for your axle ratio.

As I have done a bit of research on the Blazers, the 5000# tow rating is with the 3.73 axle. Most came with the 3.42 to increase the mileage. If you have the 3.42, your tow cap I believe is between 4000 and 4500.

If you go to GM RPO Codes - Axle & Ratio Identification - Sierra Gear & Axle with your GT- code, it will tell you what your axle ratios are. You want to see a GT4 for the 3.73 (there are others, but the most common for the Blazers are the GT codes)

As stated above, GM rated your Blazer with a full tank of gas and a 150# driver. Above that, you have to start subtracting every pound of driver, passenger, cargo, weight distributing hitch, other vehicle accessories, cell phones...

My family, dog, and gear that we didn't put in the trailer caused us to be over tow cap once we hooked up to go camping.

Tow rating 4500 (guessing as I have the 3.42 axle)
Trailer GVW -3890
family (4) - 870 (we're big folks)
dog - 50
WDH - 75 (BlueOx SwayPro)
Over tow cap 425#
Of course, this is assuming that we haven't overloaded our trailer.
This doesn't include any of the gear that we put in the Blazer either. Bikes, Portable DVD player, DVD's, pillows, cooler...

I haven't been over a CAT scale with my rig yet. But I'm sure the weight police would ticket me.

Now, living in SE Michigan, there aren't a lot of hills that would give anyone trouble. However, even with the gentle rolling terrain, we could tell that the Blazer was struggling a bit. I was ever aware of the barn door behind me. Crosswinds, while it didn't initiate sway, did blow the entire rig sideways. Also, while following semi's, the turbulence was enough to make me nervous and grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

We just acquired our new tow vehicle. A 1995 Chevy 2500 Suburban with a 7.4L gas engine. Should be able to haul 10,000 with it and not have to worry about the tail wagging the dog. This will also allow us to get the trailer we really wanted. Sorry it's not a FR product but my cousin's Jayco 26bh is a really nice rig.
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Old 03-03-2013, 10:16 PM   #6
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Thank you very munch for all the help.

Mhartzel-- I too have been doing some research. I have the 342 rear end which doesn't make me really happy but it should work fir one summer. WE just moved to Iowa to help start up a new facility for my work. So we won't get to go very far away this summer but we want to still go camping. If I get more than 100 miles away I would be surprised

I think for the flat roads around here it will be sufficient the one thing that does worry me is the wind. It's very friggin windy here!!!!

MrB. Thanks for your two cents. I am going to get some mirror extensions.

Weiscampin and bikendan. Thanks for the advice and help! Def going to be upgrading to a burb as soon as we can.

I'm currently doing my research on the best motor trans combo in the burban
xl and the wheelbase topic. What do you all think about the difference in wheelbase between the Tahoe and bur ban? I hear that the longer is king. But is it worth it for the sacrifice of the turningnradious? Or the day to day use while not camping? I would like my wife to not be afraid tondrive it. I'm sure this could open pandoras box. But if anyone that has experience could chime in that would be awesome.

Thanks everyone!
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Old 03-04-2013, 07:38 PM   #7
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I had an 93' with the 4.3L and I towed a 4000lb boat through the mountains. Over 8 years I blew one motor and 3 head gaskets. I now have the 2004 YukonXL Denali 6.0L and love it, I still tow the same boat and can forget its back there. I have a Wildwood 26bhxl and know its there but I do just fine use a WD system. I was worried about turning radious and even test drove the QuadroSteer in the end I think my Yukon does great and my wife drives it too
Good luck
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Old 04-12-2013, 12:54 PM   #8
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I had a 2003 Blazer and an 18' TT which I bought, I'll keep the story short. I ended up upgrading to a Tahoe!
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Old 04-14-2013, 07:34 PM   #9
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FWIW, my dad had a 93ish S10 Blazer with the 4.3 V6 and the automatic transmission. Towed the popup great, but not when he upgraded to a 27 ft Fireside TT. He towed that camper with the Blazer once for a weekend campout. The next week, he traded it in on a full size Silverado.
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