Towing with a V6 anyone??

[Cue]

I tow a 6x12 enclosed trailer a couple times a month and was wondering if anyone else tows a similar trailer with a V6? I have a 98 Explorer with the 5.0 in it and it tows it fine, but I was thinking about getting a new one with a V6 for better gas mileage during the week. I tried a 1997 Blazer with a 4.3 vortech V6 engine and on some hills it seemed to be straining.

I don't think its the weight as its only 1000 pounds, I think the wind resistance is whats holding it back.

 

[Mneofreek]

With our 96 V6 4.0 OHV we did a good amount of towing. Never an enclosed trailer though...mostly just a 16' boat and a small utility trailer. It didn't have alot of power but it had enough for what we do. We also don't have to many hills or mountains around here to speak of so that makes for easy towing with almost any SUV. I can't tell you how much better the V8 is though because I have never towed anything with mine.

 

[Cue]

Yea boat wouldnt be a problem as it doesnt stick up above the roof level a couple of feet.

 

[sdaviddr]

I tow a pop up trailer around 2600 lbs with a 97 V6 ohv with a manual trans.On the flats its fine but hills do slow it down good.

 

[stubborn1]

I have a 98 with the 4.0 OHV, and I've towed an enclosed trailer (same size) before. Just keep it out of overdrive and it isn't too bad. My boat actually weighs about twice what the trailer did, and the boat pulls easier due to wind resistance.

 

[IZwack]

I tried a 1997 Blazer with a 4.3 vortech V6 engine and on some hills it seemed to be straining.

My friend has a Blazer with the same engine and I've noticed that its more powerful than the two 4.0-sohc powered Explorers I drive. So I say a 4.0 will be struggling more than the 4.3-powered Blazer.

 

[badgett]

I tow a 6x12 with 2 four wheelers straight up the mountain with my 98 SOHC. It pulls it fine. It struggles a little but not enough to get on your nerves. My 4.0 SOHC will outpull my father in laws 4.3 Blazer. My X has 3.73 LS in the rear. Not sure what the blazer has.

 

[GJarrett]

Mine doesn't have a problem as long as I keep it out of overdrive. I pull some 5x10 trailers for construction use but they are open. However I also pull my boat, and contrary to the other posts, I believe that my boat at least equals the wind-resistance tug that an enclosed trailer would - so you can use me for an example. Be aware though that my mpg goes from about 17 hwy to 10 when I tow my boat. On trailer it weighs approx 5,000 lbs and has a good wind drag profile (which may make a lighter trailer w/a bad wind resistance sort of comparable). But then maybe not, but here's my post anyways.

Note that I am lifted on 35" tires and 4.88 gears which should about equal a stock Explorer with regular sized tires and 4.10 gears. If you do a lot of towing then the 10 mpg will kill you..... you need to decide how much you'll be doing it (towing) and calculate the loss/reward vs. the gain in mpg when you're not towing. If you do much towing, I think you'd be better off keeping the V8. I don't know the mpg a 5.0 would get while towing but it would have to handle the stress a lot better than a SOHC. The SOHC has the same horsepower as a 5.0, but it gets it as a higher-revving engine and it does not have the low end torque available to the v8. Also keep in mind that the V8 has a different tranny than the SOHC. I don't know what tranny the V8 has, but it's bound to be better for towing and last longer under those conditions than the tranny I have.

Your call, hope that helped. If you do decide to switch, re-read my first sentence. Do NOT tow in overdrive with a 4.0. The tranny is not made to take that sort of strain.

 

[IZwack]

GJarrett - that looks more like a cruise ship than a boat

 

[Cue]

Thanks for the info guys. As for towing with the overdrive on, does it hurt it while going down a hill? On the blazer I kept turning it off when going up but turned it on going down a hill.

I tow the trailer every Sunday for about 30 miles each way so im not too worried about the mileage just for that day, I would rather have the better mileage during the week.

 

[badgett]

It's never hurt my OD. I'm like you are. When it starts screaming down a hill , I want to put it back in OD. I don't think we need to though.