Alright I know this isnt heavy for some of you guys but its a little heavier than what I am acustom too. My friends truck broke down 150 miles away and he wants me to go get it. I have dual axle car trailer with electric brakes. I am not sure of the weight of the s-10, its and extended cab 99 with v-6 if anyone knows the weight that would be cool. Well here is my question what do I need to be careful about I am going to take my time of course. I went and got some max 10k straps to hold it. I have a voyager brake contoller too. Well thanks for anytips.

Dave

Just guessing I would say around 5500 lbs. Add the weight of the trailer which is probably in the 3500 lb range so you will be under 10K my guess. I pull a 15K 5ver and the truck handles fine. As with towing anything watch your speed and always, always ensure you have room to stop. I was a little nervous at first but after several trips I have mastered the beast..Jim

I would bet that if you have a lighter duty car trailer that weighs only 1800lbs or so. (6 or 7k GVW trailer) Most 10-12k car trailers weight 2200 or so.

s10 probably weighs only 4500-5000 max

I don't think you are going to get over 7500lbs.

I don't worry about loads like that at all. Make sure you have 10-12% tounge weight (750-1000lbs or so) I Pull up on the trailer till I see a little squating in the tow vehicle, I have never weighed the tounge.

Lots of different thoughts on securing the vehicle, I am a firm believer in cross ing the straps and securing the axles to the trailer. Trying to compress the suspension never works and the straps always loosen.

Take it easy, adjust your brake controller, make sure you have enough tounge weight. Make sure you ball and receiver are rated for 8k (some 2" balls and receivers are not)


Good luck
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these guys offer good advice, so Ill throw in a bit... when you strap the s10 down, imagine trying to stretch it out... hook one strap to the frame under front bumper, and the same under rear bumper mounting to FRAME of course. then as you tighten either side, it'll stretch the opposite strap equally tight, thats how the tow truck guys do it, anyways. be careful of cornered strap conditions, example, left front strap mount and right rear strap mount, the draw combined with road hop and loosen the weight. bad........center your straps as best you can. as for the truck, as others have said, itll haul 2, even 3 of theses setups without breaking a sweat

All good advise, so here's my $.02 worth. I would make sure the truck is centered over the dual axles of your trailer. This will keep excessive weight off your tongue and keep the trailer from acting wierd. I hauled a car once and had it too far back the outcome was very scary:eek: . Good luck and "slow" is your friend first time out, I say this because that won't be much weight for a DMAX and you'll get a sense of "no big deal", but when you add speed to the equation things happen very quickly. Also, a set of wheel chaulks are a good idea as added protection to keep the S10 from moving around on the trailer.

JP

Well left early this mornign got there about 11 am got the truck on the trailer( non working fuel pump problem). got it pretty centered and straped her down like you said pretty much the exact spots u explained. Towed home at 60-65 mph and it handled very well. Thanks for the great advice. Also the back only sunka bout an inch should i have put more on the tongue or was that good??

dave

i probably would have put a bit more on......just me though. the chevy's arches are real soft, so they sag til they hit the big bars... thats why they ride so nice......

Well left early this mornign got there about 11 am got the truck on the trailer( non working fuel pump problem). got it pretty centered and straped her down like you said pretty much the exact spots u explained. Towed home at 60-65 mph and it handled very well. Thanks for the great advice. Also the back only sunka bout an inch should i have put more on the tongue or was that good??

dave

Hmmmm good question. Keep in mind though, that the trailer itself is probably exerting some weight on your truck without anything loaded on it and if the truck (S10) is centered on the trailer you still have a good bit of the weight ahead of your front trailer axle (engine weight). You could probably adjust it forward a couple of inches if you feel more comfortable, but you don't want the front axle doin' all the lifting. Of course short hauls are no big deal, but on a long haul I would still center it.

Purty fun towing isn't it? I was amazed how well the Dmax towed compared to my '94 dually w/the 7.4L big block. Except for pulling into fuel stations and backing up, it's like my 9500lb 5ver isn't even there.
JP

On Edit: I just thought about something. I might not have been clear when I said center the truck on the trailer. I meant center the S10 over the two axles not just in the middle of the trailer. Sorry if I wasn't clear. Anyways, it sounds as though you were successful.