We are conidering buying a pop up camper and it is a little much for our Odyssey minivan. I found a local 1998 Blazer LS 4wd. It appears to have a ball mount on the bumber rather than a standard Class 3 hitch. Few Questions:

1) Is a ball mount on the bumper designed to pull a lot of weight. The campber is 2230lbs dry and loaded will be around 3100 or so.

2) If it has a ball mount does it have a tranny cooler. Not sure if this was part of a factory package

3) Is the Blazer a good tow vehicle? It only has a 108" wheel base which is pretty narrow IMO.

4) Anything else you can share about towing woudl be helpful. Thanks

 

You don't want to tow that much weight on the bumper. You will want a class III receiver for 3000lbs +.

There is a factory tranny cooler built into the radiator but you will want to install an aftermarket external cooler. The blazer can tow 3000lbs and more but you will definitely know it is back there.

Does the trailer have electric brakes? Normally, that 3000bls mark requires electric brakes and you will need to install a brake controller.

Honesty, if you are looking for a vehicle specificly for towing your trailer you'd be better off getting something that is full sized (Tahoe/Suburban/etc) with the V8.

 

My pop up will have electric brakes. If it has a factory tranny cooler why do you need an aftermarket cooler. If it has the hitch ball on the bumper does it come with a external tranny cooler or is the cooler you mention included if you get the ball on the bumper or do all Blazers get this.

The '98 I looked at has 221k miles but was in realy good shape. Couple concerns the Check Engine light comes and goes. Code says EGR but it runs like a top and mechanic said not a problem if you don't mind the light. The ABS light has been on for 50k but brakes work fine. Funny, the air bag light came on today while test driving it. Never happened before. Another Blazer owner said his comes on to. Are they issues I should be concerned about. AGain, it runs and pulls very strong. Are there issues I should know about a Blazer. I am only going to use this to tow. Very little driving during the year. Not long distances. Few hundred miles 1 way at most. tks

 

abs will not work if the light is on will not effect normal braking unless u loose traction in which case the abs (antilock brakes) will not work would not be good for towing a upgrade to the tranny cooler would be good because it was not desinged as a tow vehicle especially at 220k get a full size c1500 cheap and more effective

 

Any previous own could have put the ball on the bumper. I forget the rating for the bumper offhand but it is below of what you are planning to tow.

I'm not sure if Blazers that came with the tow package came with an external cooler or not. You can pick one up for about $50 and they are pretty easy to install yourself.

I would be very leary of buying a vehicle with 221K on it that has a lit up dash, particularly when the mechanic says it's not a problem. Look around the site and there are a few threads that have the most common problems with the Blazers.

I still recommend getting a fullsize being as you are only looking for a tow vehicle.