Towing with a V6 Envoy/Trailblazer...??

Hey guys,
Anyone out there towing with the I6 envoy or trailblazer? I'm hoping to pick up the new (to me) boat tomorrow and am going to be looking into a different vehicle shortly. I KNOW that a tahoe or something of that nature would be a much better choice, but I'm just looking for opinions right now. The boat is a 00' Xstar with just a single-axle trailer w/ brakes if that helps. I'm personally not a fan of the "XL" versions but I'm sure they would ride better. Any info would be great! Also any upgrades done to help out would be interesting to hear about as well.
Thanks!

I tow with a Saab 9-7x with the 4.2. (Same thing) My boat is a 21.5' on a double axle. I picked it because I was going to use it far more in the city than towing but it had to be able to haul across the mountains. I liked the ride on the Saab better, and wanted the AWD. I don't think the Envoy XL has a better ride than my shorter 9-7.
Positives are it has a very good turn radius and is narrow so parking is a breeze anywhere. It takes my whole family easily and is rated to tow almost a ton more than I'm pulling. Mine has the 3.74 axle which is important. The gas mileage is better than a Tahoe, but not very much.
The price and mileage for the 5.3 are not much different and it has better low end torque. You could consider that engine too. The I6 is very smooth and has about the same peak power.
Get the limited slip rear end for sure.

We tow with a trailblazer, (pull a 18ft sea ray)
And it pulls fairly well, other than the up hill.
It shifts in and out of OD.

I'm not sure it will pull a x-star though. Unless its only a few miles. I wouldnt do it. You will roast your tranny. It gets 14mpg while towing.

It is the XL version also.

(Message edited by ethan31 on May 09, 2008)

I pull my 22Ve with my 02 Trailblazer LTZ (shorty) with 4.2L, 3.73 limited slip, and 4wd, and it pulls like a champ. Boat and trailer are about 5800lbs so I dont pass by to many gas stations. Just rolled 100K.

Very little squat in the @$$ when loaded, stops great, very stable, good acceleration.

I used to tow my Avalanche (5,500lbs)with an 06 Envoy. The straight six actually had a great power band and plenty of power. I had a different experience from Mike above though. I thought it was basically doing a wheelie while towing and felt like it swayed a bit more than usual. All in all, it towed fine and I used it for about a year with no issues but I don't think I would recommend it for a tow vehicle.

Mine has the air suspension. No squat.

Thanks guys. I was worried about the transmission issue. I figured a tranny cooler would be a must if it didn't already have one. Just picked up the boat yesterday so I'm definitely going to be looking for something soon. Towing with my dad's 06' F150 right now (5.4L) and I'm just not impressed with the low-end performance. I figure if I'm going to get that bad of gas mileage on my day-to-day commutes, I should at least have something that can really tow! I was thinking envoy just from a price and mpg standpoint, although it sounds like mpg won't be much different. Would the air shocks help from a "squating" and ride standpoint?

Ya, air ride is great.
I dont think you will notice much difference on your everyday drive (not towing) but when your towing it will make a huge difference. Since you can flip a switch and stiffen it up.

if your interested in an envoy see if you can find a v-8 (5.3L)model they only come in XL though. my mom has one that my brother and i use to haul a crowd and the boat to the river on the weekends and it does really well. its the same drivetrain as a chevy 1500 but with a car like ride and auto leveling air bags on the back and it doesnt even squat (nothing aftermarket, all stock). plus the mpg isnt bad, she sees about 16-18mpg in the city but with the boat in tow it goes down to about 12-14mpg

You Can get the Buick Version with air Ride , a V-8 and lots of Nice options.

Any time you tow you should not be in OD ,Espacialy with a smaller V-6

The 6 or the 8 work well, Air Bags are also a easy install

I have the Trailblazer short wheel base with the 5.3 V8 (2006). It tows my 98 sunsetter on a single axle trailer very well, and I guess the trailer is about 4000lbs loaded. I don't have any issues with rearend squat, but I make sure my tongue weight is not too heavy. Also, I always tow in 3rd just for piece of mind that I am not burning up the transmission. the trailblazer is has a great combination of daily driving and towing.

I tow with the same vehicle. my boat is a malibu sunsetter and the total package is about 4k with dual axel trailer. The boat tows fine I actually thought it did better than my dad's suburban towing the same boat. the short wheelbase really helps when backing. The engine is awesome but i don't think you get much gas savings by going with the straight six. I would look for a Buick with the air ride and the 5.3 V8. the 2000 x star should only be about 700 lbs more than mine so i think you'll be fine.

I have the I6 and don't use mine to tow because I have other options (Tahoe or a Titan), but I think it would do pretty well on flat ground, I tow up and down hills and curvy roads. So, I prefer the torque of the v8. I think a V8 version would be better, especially with the air ride or helper springs.

I pull an '04 X2 with an '04 Envoy. It actually doesn't do too bad towing. Gas mileage isn't the best though, obviously. I don't tow it that often because the boat stays at the lake but I do have to tow it to the shop and to and from winter storage every year (hour to an hour and a half). I wouldn't suggest it for extremely long travels but if you don't have too far to go, it'll do the job. Oh and mine has the automatic leveling system so it rides fine.

Thanks for the info guys!