# Hauling with 4.3 S10



## Boogieman (Apr 13, 2009)

I have a 4.3 S10 that is rated for 3500 pounds towing. So the question is a 18' fiberglass with a 150 to much for the truck. I would think that is maxing out the truck but dont know. The truck does not have towing package but does have four whell disc brakes witch will help,so in put would be great thanks.


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

yep your right too much boat for that truck. I can see tranny trouble coming your way.


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## sam kegg (Jun 23, 2007)

my buddy tows a 20ft to lake erie from akron no problem, he has a 4.3 lil blazer. though i wouldnt recommend any cross country travel with it , it does just fine. i prefer a larger truck myself


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## lonewolf (Mar 4, 2010)

It will pull it . It may not stop it too well. Just make sure your not towing it in over drive. Just take your time


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## neohiobass (Jan 15, 2006)

You Should be fine. I have a baja 185 fish and ski with a johnson 150 on it. I have been towing with a 1999 Ford Explorer sport that has a 4.0 liter and it does fine. I wouldn't take it through the mountains but I live in akron and tow the boat to lake erie and salt fork it its great!! Have Fun.


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## oarfish (May 12, 2004)

I tow my 18' rig (about 2500lbs total) with the old 2002 S10 4 cyl. sometimes.
Fortunately it is only for a short 5 min. tow down to the Rocky River Marina. It can handle it with some effort. I would think that the 6 cyl S10 would have no problem at all.


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## lordofthepunks (Feb 24, 2009)

i dont know what year your truck is but alot of 4.3 liter s10s had the 4L60E transmission which is the same tranny used in the fullsize trucks of that era. the biggest problem you will have is stopping, not only will it be hard on your breaks but your truck is significantly lighter then a normal pick up truck which also makes it harder to stop. ive seen worse though, seen a guy pulling a full bass rig with a jeep cj. it will be tough on everything as far as bearings, suspension, u joints etc. but you can do it.


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

I would get add-a-leaf, rear airbags, and high temp brakes. Then you will be fine......if you have to tow without any upgrades, then leave about 1/4 mile between you and the car in front of you!


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## chris311 (Oct 24, 2010)

i have pulled my 24ft searay with a 03' 4.0 explorer no problem and the tranny has 270k on it and still going


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

i pulled an 18 footer with a 97 jimmy 4.3 for 2 years. stopping is the only real worry i ever had. if your trailer has any sort of breaks on it it will be no problem. my tranny held fine till i traded it in at 165,000 miles. plenty of power in that motor, but like said below. leave some extra room in front of you and slow down a bit earlier for traffic lights and stop signs.


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## Boogieman (Apr 13, 2009)

The truck is an 2001 an it came foctory with the add a leaf. Thanks for the info take all in use.


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## markfish (Nov 22, 2007)

i have 99 ranger 3.0,and pull 17.8 foot fulley loaded 2000 nitro all the time,no problems,one thing you dident say is this a tow bar on it or ball in bumber and does the boat trailer have suerg breaks, and take your time and never tow in over drive, i think you will be fine and dont tail gate on the road and you will get were your going


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

have your complete rig weighed. ,then decide. but as others stated....stopping your package will be the key to safety.


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## Marshall (Apr 11, 2004)

I had a 1999 s-10 with the vortec 4.3 when i bought my 19' ranger. It would pull it fine but as others have mentioned it did not stop well. I actually pulled the boat up the steep ramps really well when i put it in 4 wheel drive. It got me by till i could upgrade to a bigger truck. One thing that i did not like living in columbus, people would pull out in front of you and whip around you at highway speeds. If the light was yellow, you were gonna go through it even with trailer brakes unless you were going slow. My biggest fear was if a deer or a car infront of me dodged in front of me and you had to swerve. Im sure my boat would have whipped the truck around like nothing. I was with a buddy who was pulling a 21" skeeter with a chevy duel wheel truck and the guy infront of us slammed on his brakes and decided to turn at the last minute with no signal. We were at least a 8 car lengths behind this guy. My buddy slammed the brakes and the trailer brakes worked but started the boat to sway back and forth. a long story short his boat ended up spinning the whole truck around , and we ended up doing a 180 in the middle of the road. Luckilly he somehow kept it on the road and we did not hit a thing. The car stopped to watch that he about killed us and took off. The tongue got bent a little and the back fender was cracked and we were able to get home. I wrote all this to let everyone know that if a 21' bassboat can rip a chevy duelly around like that, imagine what it would have done to a s-10 (even with a 18" boat). This was on a back country road with very little traffic. So if you do pull with the s-10, plan on every car infront of you that they are gonna turn at every cross road. Did i mention the fowl odor that sudduenly appeared when we came to a stop coming from our pants!


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## Boogieman (Apr 13, 2009)

Yes the truck has a reese hitch would not think to do so other wise an yes the trailer would have brakes but like mentioned I think weighting the rig would be the best thing to do start off then decied. But all in all thanks for all your input I do think alumnuim would be a better choise in this case.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I've pulled my grandfather's sea nymph great lakes special with my gmc for a couple of years. It a 19' deep v with room for 6 and was by no means light. Pulled it just fine, but as was said, stopping it could get a bit hairy if you don't leave yourself some room....

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## downtime8763 (Jun 22, 2008)

I had a 4.3 in my 1991 Astro van well as 1996 S10 blazer, and they pull my 18 ft Sea Ray v6ob great. Breaking was an issue. My 2001 Taho q3 f/s weighing in at 2950 lbs was an issue for me so the first thing I did was to put breaks on it at that time Ohio law was 3000 lb break law,now it's 1500. I pull it with my Chev 2500 hd and am glad I have breaks as I've had a few panic stops. Heck I pull it behind my Jaco fifth wheel (almost 65ft)and have no issue all the way to Lake Darbonne,La.In the late 80's UPS started putting the 4.3 in the trucks we ran and we put on over 300,00 miles on some of them. Great motor,just trailer breaks is the weak link.


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

holy 2 year old thread batman.......


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## whjr15 (Jun 16, 2005)

Like others have already stated, it's not the going that will be iffy; it's the stopping! 

I just got a new truck, but for the last 2 years I pulled my aluminum 18' Crestliner 140 I/O with my 2wd 3.0 Ranger. Sure I would've liked more power, but it was the braking that was a bigger concern. Just one slightly-abrupt stop will have you changing brakes & rotors when you get home! 

Be EASY on the brake pedal by coasting down to speed when you know you're going to have to stop ahead. For the unforeseen, always give yourself PLENTY of distance to the car in front of you... If someone changes into your lane ahead of you, just take your foot off the gas to regain a safe distance. Kinda like driving as if there were 6" of snow on the road!

Just use common sense, don't be in a hurry and you'll be fine.

EDIT: Just noticed you said the boat was fiberglass. In that case, I'd take it to get it weighed first! Between the boat, trailer, gear, gas, motor, etc you might just be over the limit!

EDIT II: HA! I didn't realize people were replying to a 2 year old thread!! Oops! Hope you figured this situation out by now!! lol


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## Legend killer (Apr 20, 2011)

Don't put it in over drive. Leave in 3rd gear if auto.


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## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

I was actually going to post this exact same question but on a ranger 3.0l ext cab 4x4 pulling a 18½' ranger r81. But as everyone has said take your time and easy on the brakes....itd be only about a 30-40 minute drive tops up too the lake so it shouldnt be too bad. Will definitely upgrade the truck sooner than later....just dont want another payment when my truck is fine lol.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

I think the question asking for advice was a smart move. But, the answers contain a common denominator.........hard to stop. All the stories except one never described what it was like to experience a difficult situation with a marginal tow vehicle. This reminds me of the often asked question regarding fishing Erie in a fourteen foot boat and all the answers of how it can be done safely as long as you pick your days. How and the hell do you pick your traffic conditions???? At least you have a weather report to judge by for Erie but you also know how accurate the reports can be.
I thought my 2001 Ranger was adequate for my 15.5' Sylvan until it passed me up sideways in a panic stop situation going downhill on my way to Piedmont, and yes, the trailer had brakes. As far as 14 footers on Erie go, I have watched three of them go down on a calm day when they were swamped.
Take in all the advice extended to you and then consider who, besides yourself will be endangered when towing too much with too little.


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## tadluvadd (Feb 19, 2012)

Tranny would be fine as most are the same in S10s as in full size trucks. if anything it would work the tranny less because overall weight would be reduced.difference is most full size have a tranny cooler stock.like most people are saying,stopping distance or stopping quickly if you have to is the problem.another is wearing out brakes and rotors.it doesent matter what kind you buy,the size of the surfaces stopping you arent made for that kind of weight.if you seen rotors and pads off a full size,next to a mini truck you will know what im talking about.


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