Don't Shoot! S-10 Question..Important

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pastortom1

pastortom1

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Guys.......

I have a chance to buy a 92 S-10 with a fairly new 350 crate and rebuilt tranny in perfect body and running condition (even custom paint and A/R's) for under 3 grand....

I NEED a truck quick for a local tow vehicle.......(hauling my 16X7 enclosed trailer around town and short local runs).......

DO ANY of you guys have ANY info you can give me on how to beef up the rear suspension properly for handling and tongue weight???........Tongue is only about 350#, BUT I want it stable too and NO SQUAT when I hook it up.

I KNOW I know it ain't a Mopar question.......Have mercy......This is important........:notworth::notworth::notworth:
 
No one with an S-10 that can add some info ? Any tips on the trucks rear suspension will help..........I know NOTHING about the little beasts......
 
How much weight are you planning on hauling? Is it a tandem axle trailer with brakes? My concern would be that the wheelbase on the truck is short and may not handle well, you could potentially have some handling problems.
 
It's being used for electronic gear.......No heavy hauling at all. I would guess that my max would average 1000 pounds over dry weight.

The 350 will have plenty of power, but I'm wondering about stability and tongue weight....... I've used 'Gabriel' air's many times to counter the tongue weight, but is there maybe a rear sway bar set-up for the S-10 that some of you guys might know about?

If not, I'll have to go with a stabilizer for the trailer.
 
Dont bite my head off but here goes. I have a 96 s10 single cab and there is no way I would pull more than a 10 ft utility trailer and a riding lawnmower on it. I attempted to pull a small case trencher on a case trailer and it kept getting the snakes going down the road. the rear ends of these trucks are too light. Yours sounds like a great toy but not much of a tow vehicle.
 
I wouldn't use it as a tow vehichle, I've had a few s-10s and they are just to unstable to be effective haulers, now the one your looking at has the power but if its a reg cab short bed which I'm guessing it would suck towing due to the poor stability of the rear. I had a 93 ext cab sonoma and becasue of how narrow and unstable the truck was it was a nightmare towing even a small boat.
 
daredevil said:
Dont bite my head off but here goes. I have a 96 s10 single cab and there is no way I would pull more than a 10 ft utility trailer and a riding lawnmower on it. I attempted to pull a small case trencher on a case trailer and it kept getting the snakes going down the road. the rear ends of these trucks are too light. Yours sounds like a great toy but not much of a tow vehicle.
Click to expand...

That's what I was getting at. With a trailer that large it's gonna wobble some.
 
A stabilizer bar will do nothing to help with load carrying BUT go to the junkyard and find a S-10 Blazer that has a rear bar, snag it with all the parts and bolt it on to your pick-up.
Truck will corner a lot flatter and it will take most of the understeer out of the truck.

As for load carrying capacity...go here......

http://shop.airliftcompany.cust.shopatron.com/dyn_search_vehicle?k=0

Airlift Ride Control adjustable air bag kit. Kit # 59529 for a 2wd.

I use a set on my Dakota R/T when towing my Dart (and a few other cars) and it is the best thing since sliced bread.

You can adjust the air pressure to level the truck out. If you only tow occassionally, you could forgo the on-board compressor and just carry an air tank with you and pump it up just like air shocks.

Real easy install..

The Dakota R/T has a reduced tow capacity because of the lowered suspension. 200# tonque weight and 2000# trailer weight as oppossed to a 318 Dakota that has a 6400# capacity.
How fast do you want to tow??

This is with about 800#s of tongue weight.

NewPortRicheycamry.jpg
 
The roads I'd be traveling would allow 50 to 55 max speed around here....mostly 45 locally.

I'm wondering if those airbags would stiffen it up and lessen any possible snaking or wobbling without having to go with a cabled stabilizer system on the trailer.........

What's your experience with that Dakota?.........and isn't that roughly the same wheelbase as the S-10, or is it a little wider?
 
Get one of these:

View attachment 31390_completehitch H2O MARK.jpg

Helps distribute the tongue weight across the entire pull vehicle and stabilize the load. Also helps with cross winds, when you're passing and getting passed by larger vehicles, etc.

The old man used to pull a 35' tag-along camper with a Jeep Commando. Talk about an ant pulling an elephant. That's why he invested in the torsion bar hitch set up.
 
Load distribution setup on the trailer itself, but its expensive.
Air bag or a Timbren (if available) work great for temporary suspension beefing, while not affecting the day to day behaviors.
A rear sway bar would help all the way across the board.
 
That picture is the type of stabilizer I was talking about, but I haven't seen that exact one...... The ones I've seen use cables with a variable pulley system of some sort......but that's the idea.

With those on there, the only snaking allowed would be due to weak rear suspension or skimpy tires I would think.............
 
You guys are talking about going down the road but the biggest problem is being forgotten that will be stopping, an enclosed trailer with a 1000 pounds is still going to be pretty hard to stop with a little S10. My son has one and we only use it towing a small mower around my best suggestion would be to get a full size truck to pull something that size you should be able to find a nice older truck for that price pretty easy. Just my 2cents.

P.S. I have been pushed thru intersections by trailers and trust me it aint fun.
 
skypower said:
You guys are talking about going down the road but the biggest problem is being forgotten that will be stopping, an enclosed trailer with a 1000 pounds is still going to be pretty hard to stop with a little S10. My son has one and we only use it towing a small mower around my best suggestion would be to get a full size truck to pull something that size you should be able to find a nice older truck for that price pretty easy. Just my 2cents.

P.S. I have been pushed thru intersections by trailers and trust me it aint fun.
Click to expand...

Bingo. The stock brakes on a '92 S10 don't even stop the truck by itself that well.
 
The trailer has brakes too so I can balance it properly like my fifth wheels.....BUT, what's with the S-10 brakes? Can they be beefed up with better discs and pads, or are they just too small to begin with?
 
Don't quote me but around 2000 they started putting rear discs on the S10 and S15. I scoffed one at a wrecker (even got sure grip) and swapped into my S15 Jimmy to help stop when pulling the boat and trailer. Think I paid like 400 for the whole rear end. Had to reprogram the ABS also.
 
There are plenty of upgrades for the S-10. The basic system has been around since 78 with the intro of the GM G body. It's the basically the same brakes that were on a 82 El Camino we used to do a lot of hauling with. I don't see why you shouldn't be able to use the little truck for your trailer.
 
Braking (or lack of it) is always an issue. I'm glad to see your trailer has brakes on it.
That is why my trailer has 4 wheel drum brakes on it.
I was going to upgrade with 4 wheel surge disc but I don't tow as much as I used to and the price on that system in 2000 was really high.

Good luck on your project.
 
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