Towing in Drive - Limited to 45mph?
 

I was towing my trailer this weekend and ran into some issues. When the trailer was empty the truck drove normal, you couldn't tell a difference. With a full load (2500lbs) I was not able to go over 45 without going into pretty high RPM's.

I read not to tow in overdrive because it's constantly searching for gears when towing, so is it not possible to tow on the highway and go 55-60 with blazers, or is something wrong?

It almost felt like the transmission was trying to slow itself down at anything over 45. I also got about 8mpg towing, which seems really low, and I babied the throttle the entire time I was towing. I only have to make 10-15 mile round trips for work with my load so it's not a huge deal not to use the freeway but it would be nice.

welcome to towing with a blazer,its heavy already with a v6. Now you got 2500lb on the back using 3 gears. A higher rpm (3-4k) is normal around 45-50. At least it was in my buddies 97. If this is going to be a constant every day routine id look into some low gearing to help with the pull,tranny cooler,and run some synthetic gear oils etc. It'll help big time.

I tow a 1.5 ton pop-up, I keep it in 3rd and added a tranny cooler for peace of mind. I usually can't go much faster then 55 up hill, but I can usually cruise around 65-70 without any issues in 3rd on the highway. Yes the rpm's are sitting between 2500 and 3k on the highway and gas mileage sucks, but I get there.

I towed a pair of 1100cc 3-seater jetskis, around 3000# with my 2 door and a long weekend's worth of gear. Drove 70mph in drive at 3K rpm and still managed 15mpg. Mine as 3.42 rear end and stock tire size. Not bad on a 600 mile round trip.

I am going to add a tranny cooler just for peace of mind and give it a tune up this weekend to see if I can get a little better MPG out of it.

I am running larger all-terrain tires, not sure if that makes a difference or not though. I felt like it was bogging down a bit but then again it is a V6 and I can't treat it like my 350 in my 78 chevy truck. Thanks for the advice guys I appreciate it.

I hate running at 3k RPM's but it sounds like that's normal.I forgot to mention, I am only towing 2 days a week and it's short trips maybe 10-15 miles each way, I will just get used to it.

i've towed with my 94, the point of not using overdrive is so it doesn't keep switching gears alot under load and burn out the clutches. Everything has a warning label saying that. Just be smart about it, its not a v8 so dont treat it like one. Also momentum is key, dont slow down at the bottom of a hill just to floor it all the way back up it