Nope, you are adding apples and oranges. GCWR is Gross Combined Weight Rating and GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight. Look on the door post of the trailblazer for curb weight. The weight of the TT should be found on the tongue on a sticker. Remember, that is unloaded, no proane, no water, no clothes, etc. The Trailblazer owners manual should give a towing capacity. That all depends on gear ratio, engine size, cooling capacity etc.

As Ken said, the only way to know for sure is too look in your owner’s manual.  It depends on factors beyond the V8 engine.  Such as, what is the rear axle ratio – 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive, etc.

 

We have a V-8 Trail Blazer.  My manual says the trailer can weigh from 5,400 to a maximum of 6,400 lbs depending on the rear axle ratio and if the vehicle is 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive.  The total weight of the loaded trailer and the loaded truck we own, together, can weigh up to 10,000 to 11,000 lbs depending again on the trucks rear axle and 2 or 4 wheel drive configuration.

 

With all that said, only the manual and information for your specific vehicle will tell you the facts.  Anything else said, IMO, is just speculation.  However, in the speculation department: The Trail Blazer may be able specification wise to tow a 4,950 lb trailer, but from my experience it will be pretty much at its limit. Engine and transmission cooling may be a factor if mountain towing is envisioned.  BTW, this is not limited to Chevrolet.  These light duty SUV’s are really not designed to do a lot of long distance or mountain towing, especially the transmissions.  It may be just fine, but they really are limited vehicles for RV’s.  That’s an opinion from one who owns one of them.  But as I say, Your Mileage May Vary.

 

Hope this helps and safe travels.

 

Bill

Flyone -Is 1,050 lbs. below the (GCWR)  12,500lbs.  too close or am i safe with this.
Another point is my Blazer has 102,000 mi on the engine, is this too many miles for F/T?
I have all kinds of questions on F/T travel.  Just want to cover all the bases on F/T, want to be very safe. I'm gathering as much knowledge as I can about this.  Thanks 53 Merc & Flyone.

There is no such thing as "Too Much Truck". (Well,almost so such thing).

Seriously, if you are looking at full time, you would be well served to go for a much heavier tow vehicle. Towing all the time is hard on a vehicle, and being close to max is not a pleasant experience.

Like someone said, stopping is important. With a larger tow vehicle, you do get larger and more capable brakes. The trailer should be able to stop itself, given an appropirate brake controller, but having larger braking capacity on the tow vehicle never hurts.

Your comment about full time and NE brings up another question. By NE, do you mean northeast, or Nebraska? I am sure you are aware of the heating requirements in either area, but a TT light enough for a Trailblazer would not be heavily insulated or belly enclosed with heated holding tanks. You really need to do some serious research before jumping into full timing. (This forum is an excellent resource)

fritz wrote:

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Bill - We would be part time. not real far,  NE area, no mountain climbing.  Could go for a lighter trailer. But i will look around for another vehicle.  Any thoughts on a tow vehicle that would match the trailer.  Ford f-150, 250 etc.  Thanks for the information from everyone,want to be safe than sorry . 

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All this is personal preference, but if it were me it would be a Chevy 2500 (or Ford 250) for any towing.  That said, the 5,000 lb trailers really don’t need that much truck, but as was commented, it is almost hard to have much truck.  For a small trailer you really don’t need a Diesel. 

Look, back when cars were “real cars" we towed 10,000lb Airstreams with Buicks.  But that was when cars had 454CID engines in them.  Now, IMO, and I emphasize in my opinion, pickup trucks (or Chevy Suburbans) are the only real tow vehicles.  For me, if I didn’t want a pickup or the wife didn’t want one due to a lot of reasons, I would go with a Chevy 2500 Suburban properly equipped engine wise.  It has the same basic towing capabilities as the 2500 pickup (basic I said, not the same) as pertains to smaller trailers.  They would do double service as a daily driver and as a weekend camper.  I have driven a Suburban – have one now - and RV’ed in the past with one - for the last 30+ years.  They have given excellent RV service and also a fine ride. As a family we used them for RV towing beginning in about 1975 and they have never failed me or my family. That’s my 2 cents since you asked.

 

Bill