Can I tow with a boxed S-10 frame?

It sounds as though you had your mind made up before you even asked the question. As I said before I hauled my 16' trailer behind a Ranger w/3.8 5 spd. I hauled this combo for over 10,000 mi and never had a problem. Why? Because I took the time to have the right equipment (equalizer hitch and electric brakes) and drove as though I had a trailer on the back. One of the things this means is you don't come up to a stop like you would with the truck alone and you don't tailgate. A bigger rig may make up for some mistakes but it doesn't cure stupid. I drive the current rig the same way. If you think I don't know what I'm talking about that's ok, but I have well over 100,000 mi. of seat time pulling trailers without an incident of any kind. For those who bring up about U-Haul requiring 3/4t trucks. They don't use equalizer hitches as they don't work with surge brakes which is how their trailers are equipped, so you need a heavy truck just to not bottom out and they cobble the wiring into your vehicle. Plus most people who rent don't know their *** from their elbow when it comes to towing. So they are just covering their ***

 

I see a lot of I done this and I done that and got away with it but the simple fact is that the Caddy and trailer exceed the towing weight of an S-10 ch***is.
In this area Uhaul askes what vehicle you are towing with and what vehicle you are towing when you rent a dolly or trailer. They write it on the rental contract. Or refuse to rent the trailer to you.
If you want to build the truck to tow build it to tow with and leave the S-10 frame to the guys who like the latest fad of the week.
It would be safer to find a beater 3/4 ton to tow with and just use the Binder as originally intended, a little hot rod.
Wrecking your truck, the trailer and the Cad because you thought you could get away with doing it a few times wouldn't be worth the few bucks you might save.
There is also the fact that your truck will probably be rated at 1/4 ton when you get tags on it and unless you pay for extra tonnage you will chance getting a ticket for being overweight and may not be allowed to continue on with the tow.
Just because you might be able to make it work doesn't mean it will work right.

 

My Colorado had a 4,000 lb towing capacity with the I5 and that was a decreasee in towing from the S10s towing capacity.

Towing that big of a car would not be fun but there is the abaility for it to be done.

 

Actually, I had my doubts as to if it could tow much more than a T-bucket on that trailer. But still, I figured I'd ask - I really, really, really wanted someone to tell me I that I could tow with that setup, but that I had to do ____ to make it work.

Granted, I'm not towing this thing all over the country, rather 20 miles here and 10 miles there - maybe 3 trips total or so with that Cadillac on it - just until it moves under it's own power again. But I wanted the ability to be able to haul a treasure or two home with that setup too, if I so desired later on.

At the moment, I'm looking at 3/4 ton ch***is that will fit the bill, and that aren't so wide I need to butch the cab.

Wish me happy hunting.

~Jason

 

As mentioned several times No it's not safe, can you do it, yes, would I sugest it, no... But please people leave U-Haul out of it, they are not the holy grail of towing, in fact they wouldn't rent half of their tow dollys, or car haulers, if the people renting them where honest as to what they were planning on towing, and what the tow vehicle is, fact is U-Haul **** balls, before I had my own trailers, I wanted to rent a car hauler from them, Tow vehicle was a ex-cab F-150, and wanted to haul a Road Runner rolling ch***is, no motor, ****** or even interior, they said no, so I went to another location and told them I needed to move a 1990 Geo Metro (really light car) got the trailer. Did I say U-Haul ****s?

 

If I need to get one from them.I always tell them I need to pick up a Golf Cart.I had the same problem as you before.

 

I had Uhaul tell me the same thing one time when I was trying to tow a 41 chevy master deluxe from MI to TN with a 2002 nissan xterra. Said no, so I went elsewhere and told them I was gonna pull a chevy caprice and they rented the thing to me. The reason they couldn't do it at the other place is because they didn't have the 41 chevy in their directory on their computer so I guess they couldn't see how much it weighs. Pulled that thing with no problem, I was surprised because it has a v6 in it. Oh yea, I used the car dolly and not the trailer.

 

The answers below told you what you need to do to make it work. Have you ever looked at some of the 5th wheels going down the road being hauled by a 1/2T? Some on here sound like what I hear on a travel trailer board that I'm also on. If it's bigger than a pop-up you need at the minimum a dually to haul it although a F-450 or F-550 would be better and of course it has to be diesel. You're not towing with an S-10 only using the frame. Your not hauling long distance just a few short hauls. Those who say the tow vehicle has to weigh more than the weight towed have never really hauled much or they would know that most trailers with a load are going to weigh more that the truck. My 2500HD weighs 7000# empty, my trailer empty weighs 3700# so if you apply that logic to mine I couldn't even haul an A roadster. The way my truck is equipped it's rated by GM to haul a combined load (truck and trailer) of 22,000#


Because I took the time to have the right equipment (equalizer hitch and electric brakes) and drove as though I had a trailer on the back.

I use a hitch with torsion bars to level the load.

equalizer hitch and electric brakes on the trailer are all a plus.

 

It will do it, but not safely. You will also grenade the rear axle or transmission as they are the weak points.

4.3L/automatic S10 extended cabs are rated to tow 5500lbs. My 2.8L/4spd S10 is rated to tow 3000lbs. I bought a dolley to tow my cars around behind my little truck and it does it without complaint - but all my cars are 3000lbs or less. The brakes even work fine. The izusu built trans is not happy however and is the weak link in the tow rating on my vehicle.

For that much weight - 3/4 or 1 ton truck and a trailer with brakes are a must. You will be looking at at least 7K total trailer weight, and with 10% on the tongue, you will be near the max weight for the rear axle. S10's are only rated for 800lbs in the bed!

 

I read about half of the posts.

I have pulled a car trailer with our explorer, similar to the S-10. I have also pulled the trailer with 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton pickups. They all work. The driver's ability and caution goes a long ways.

The novice drivers think you need a diesel and tonner with duals to pull anything. Over on a travel trailer forum that I read, they just got done with this same discussion. There were many stating the same thing. You need a big pull vehicle to pull a trailer.

My opinion is you need good brakes and some common sense. The common sense helps out when loading the load and driving. Yes, I do pull a trailer quite often. I also would use a S-10 if I needed to.

Neal

 

Funny how the newbees have all the answers and have to one up the rest of us. Again, a larger vehicle with a bigger engine doesn't have to work nearly as hard as a big truck wannabee that's half the size and working at or near it's maximum capacity, all the time. If you've pulled a few thousand trailers around then I don't have to explain that. Sure you can make it get by we've all done that but, it always ends in "we made it but, I don't want to do that again any time soon". That's common sense kicking in. Do what you like just stay off my roads so you don't kill my kids or anyone else's. Sometimes you're not the only person on the road....think about it.

 

Your newbee comment is funny. Those of us who told him it would work have been here longer than you. Or are you implying that we are your juniors? As long as your throwing insults out. How many miles have you pulled and how many different kinds of trailers and tow rigs do you have experience with? Myself I've pulled with the following, Ranger, 1/2T, 3/4T, 1T, Suburban, regular cab, crew cab and extended cab. Engines,3.8/V6, 272 Ford, 283, 327, 350, 454 and the present 496. Yes I'm basically a Chevy guy. If you read his first post thoroughly you will see that he's only asking about using the frame, not the running gear. As for your comment on bigger motors working less with a load, of course they do. No one questioned that it's a given. Maybe I come on a little strong, but I think with 40+ years and well over a 100,000 mi of towing without problems I know a little about towing and how to set things up to haul right. One disclaimer though. If the trailer is an ill handling, poorly built pos it doesn't much matter what you're towing it with it'll still be an experience you won't want to repeat

 

Your probally right, since you found this website before...well lets say me, that automatically makes you smarter than me on every subject for as long as I decide to post here... Well it's stupid commets like yours that just waist bandwidth, making this site slower. The question wasn't even "Hot Rod" related, so post count really shouldn't matter, the question was more of a transportation/hauling question so basically STFU

 

This is not intended to ridicule the OP or those who have been overly scared by the safety nazis but I have been towing antique cars and trucks thru 4 states for 16 years with a 1939 Ford 1/2 ton pickup. Drum brakes on the truck and no brakes on the trailer until I began pulling Farmall Model H farm tractors thru the Ozark mountains. I do like those trailer brakes. I drove all the way across the state of Arkansas recently with a pink 59 Ford on the trailer. The guy in the new Mustang who followed me says I ran 75 most of the time.

 

Heres a recent pull over a pretty steep mountain

 

MR48..Latest fad? My truck has been on an S-10 frame since 96 and have put over 100,000 miles on it since the frame swap. Do you think a Mustang II suspension and frame would do better?

I do agree that the Caddy is too big for me to pull with my truck.
Clark

 

The frame on an S10 is vitually the same size as a 55 Chevy pickup, but a bit wider. the height of the rail is close, and it's a bit thicker. The frame is not really a cosideration.

Now, if you install a 8/5 rear, with big brakes from a Caprice, and Caddy spindles with 12" discs on the front, you pretty much have the same running gear as a 1500 pickup. I have towed 4000 miles in a single trip, pulling 7000 lbs with my GMC 1500. Equaliser hitch and electric brakes. I have been towing for over 40 years with everything from a stock 52 F1 to a 2 ton truck. I even pulled a boat trailer on trips with a Chevette. Anything will do it with the proper preperation, and common sense.

 

Having towed a 3400 lb '57 Dodge that had 1500 lbs of parts in it on a steel car trailer with a full size half ton Suburban 2wd... the frame probably won't be the problem. Stopping, and making it up hills, will be. I damned near had myself pushed through a light with that load on and I wasn't going that fast. Then I had to put it in low and put my foot right on the floor and still wasn't sure I'd make it up the one hill. This with a 350 and the low first in a 700R4. Granted part of the problem was a 2.73 rearend gear, but still.

When I was towing another half ton Sub flat behind me and had to stop from 55 on a hill for a red light, it wanted to push me right on through, too. Maybe the HD rear brakes on it would be better, but personally if I had to tow something like that again I wouldn't use less than a 3/4 ton with a hydroboost brake system in it. The half ton, up to around 3500 lbs, it's happy and pulls whatever - 49 Hudson, 50 Chevy - like it's not even there. More than that, and it wants to shove me all over. And with all the **** in the back of this truck it weighs an easy 5000 lbs all by itself.

FWIW, you could put the hydroboost on your truck, they used it on some of the cars, it bolts in place of the vaccuum booster and is a lot smaller. It just hooks into the PS pump and lines, not a huge deal to set up.


On the other hand, we sold a '41 Chevy short wheelbase COE to some guy who sent his buddies up with a short trailer and a Ford Exploder to bring it back. This through an hour of two-lanes and then I-88 to I-81 and through PA to Maryland. I ***ume they made it home alive, but I'm sure glad I wasn't along for that ride. I could sure picture them needing to stop fast and having that thing shove them, all 4 wheels locked up and smoking, down the road.

 

I tow with an S-10 and haven't had much problem, but on a trip from Arizona towing a 54 Chevy wagon back to California I did have a bit of a scare. My open trailer has brakes on all 4 wheels and does a nice job of stopping until something I ran over hit one of the wires going to one wheel. When I stepped on the brakes coming down a hill, the mismatch of two brakes on one side and one brake on the other caused the trailer to pitch to the right, turning the S-10 to the left. I quickly turned down the brake controller gain and headed for an off-ramp. Luckily there was an empty lane next to me when the whole rig decided to change lanes. Even with good brakes, **** can happen!

 

It's amazing how badly you can overload an S-10. In my case when I was remoddin my house I frequently overloaded it with 1800#s of bricks, mortar, shingles, etc. The frame is MORE than up to it. The rear end is too. The truck now has 228K on the original drivetrain, incl clutch!
I towed almost everything, everywhere with that lil truck & my experience told me that the brakes were the weak link. Stopping distance GROWS big, & surge brakres ****, so I'd say go elec.
"Discression is the better part of valor", so I would NOT tow the Caddy, as it exceeds the S-10 towing capacity (6400#s I believe) I towed an way overweight trailer full of firewood for my ex-FnL & it'll pucker you up quickly when the trailer starts to "wag the dog".

 

THAT is one of the things I was wanting to hear. Surely an S-10 is comparable, albeit a little stronger, than that frame... right?

~Jason

 

THAT is the info I've been looking for, actually.

~Jason

 

No doubt! Hauling with a very small load it'll sometimes do that. Freaks my **** right the hall out, too.

I see the value of a nice hitch and electric brakes in totality, now.

~Jason

 

I towed for about 3 years with my V8 S10. Had a narrowed frame boxed from the cab back, and a narrowed 9 inch. It did fine with trailer brakes, but you do have to watch the road and traffic just to be safe.

 

So after all this, 50% say you'll kill yourself, and 50% say they've towed more than that with a rascal. I think you're going to do it.

Please report back with the results.

Oh, and good luck.

 

I've read a couple of the replies to this question, But I didn't read them all. Here is my opinion based on experience. The short wheelbase of the S-10 along with the relatively light weight will throw you all over the place. I used to tow my car trailer (open) as well as a 26' travel trailer with an 87 fullsize Blazer. The truck was plenty heavy, But the trailers would cause terrible sway problems because of the short wheelbase of the tow vehicle. I had sway control set-ups and weight distribution on both trailers. In windy weather or on bumpy curvey roads it was a white knuckle ride. Both of the trailers were set up level with all of the manufacturers recomendations followed. I finally purchased a longer truck and it became a much more enjoyable and far less stressful experience.

If you are only planning on an occasional or very short tow you'd probubly be OK. Just make sure that you have excellent brakes on your S-10 and trailer brakes. I have seen trailers push small tow vehicles through a panic stop. Not pretty to watch, But even less pretty to experince.

Good Luck!!!!

 

Being pushed through an intersection is driver error and poor set-up. Why.

1--expecting to stop as quickly as the truck does with no load

2--no trailer brakes

3--no equalizer hitch so the back end of the tow vehicle is really squatting, the front is up and the front tires slide

I saw this happen with a friend of mine a number of years ago. He felt he didn't need brakes or equalizer hitch. I was following him (I was towing with the Ranger) he came up to a stop sign and expected to stop as if he wasn't towing. Needless to say he needed to change his shorts after he slide through just missing a car.

With the problem of sway, it's generally because the load is distributed wrong and the tongue is light, this can also be caused by the trailer being high in the front. Ideally you should be level or slightly nose down

 

Read the rest of my post....the trailer was set up right and level. My point is that a vehicle that is too light dragging a load that is not properly set up can be catastrophic in a panic stop regardless of the preparedness of the driver. Other drivers can cause you to have to do things that you could not forsee!!!!!!

Abominations question is can he do it!!!! You can do anything with anything!!! This is simply my opinion and experience speaking as to whether he SHOULD.

 

It would be a grand experiment to do***ent it and see what the results are, reporting back to the HAMB my findings. Granted, it would be one guy's experience, but it would be a do***ented one.

Man, this seems to be an awful lot of BS just to get my Cadillac to the media blaster. LOL!

~Jason

 

I have towed alot of cars with an F250 and a big a construction trailer (friends) and a local rental place that has surge brakes on their trailers.
I had a 49 Ford and a trailer that was in the range of 2500 pounds alone.
I couldnt stop on a dime but I took it easy and had zero problems.
I could feel the front suspension start to shake under hard braking coming off a mountain.
I think if you had a real load on an S10 you would probably jack-knife if you had to lay on the brakes hard. Just because the truck has good brakes doesnt mean the trailer wont push you off the road.
You throw in rain and or blowing a tire and that really ups the danger factor on a light truck.
You hurt someone and your going to be sued big time.
The craziest thing I saw once was a semi fifth wheel dolly being towed by a dually truck. The truck hit a bump and the dolly started bouncing. It ripped the hitch apart on the truck and proceded into the median tumbling like a propeller.
Imagine if the guy killed someone.