I know many vehicles can tow huge loads. The chevy half ton can tow an impressive load but has the same guts as my blazer. In theory, without changing the engine &/or frame can you make a 1998 S series Blazer tow a military m35? It's for a personal project. I'm good with tranny, axle, and suspension mods if necessary.

 

Are you referring to towing an M35 army truck?? Their empty weight is over 12,000 lbs! You might be able to get it move with a Blazer but I can't imagine you being able to go very fast, go up much of an incline, or even stop very well/safely. If you want to move the M35 across a parking lot, go for it. Otherwise, I think you are going to ruin your engine and/or transmission.

I tow 2,200 lbs of boat and gear with mine and I feel like I'm pushing the limits of easy towing with a Blazer.

 

You want to pull a deuce and a half with a blazer? Um no. You need an M939 wrecker ...

 

Any idea of a vehicle that could do it without having to have a CDL? Say I had a 4000lb trailer. Averaging around 17000lbs somewhere?

 

Any trailer over 10k lbs.(with a few exceptions) requires a Class A CDL, so you're not going to be able to tow it without one.

 

1994 S10 Blazer - Good for a max tow load of 6'000 lbs.

Got mine certified on that base. Been towing trailers of: 2'500 lbs empty mass. Just fine
Same trailer now loaded to a total of 5'200 lbs. Blazer is at it's limit. No worries because mine has the trailer package with trans cooler and such but it was at it's limit engine/transmission wise. To go up a hill I had to shift down to 2nd and run it at 3'500 rpm. Barely reached 55 mph.

You can use the reduction gearbox which improves towing. Now torque is no issue. It will easily pull that 5'200 lbs trailer. Just can't go anything over 60 mph now and that is at redline. (reduction gearbox called this for that reason.) Was fine to manoeuvre the trailer down the steep ramp to where I had to offload and back up that ramp with ease. Not the thing to be done on the road.

I would as Christine said trust it always up to 2'500 lbs, but you definitively need to know what you are doing over that with the small Blazers.

To tow what you aim at you will need something like a 3500 full size truck.