Towing with an I5 Colorado

As the title says, is anyone using the Chevy Colorado with the 5 cylinder as a tow vehicle? I was thinking of replacing my old Astro van, and now my son wrote it off, so thinking has turned to shopping. There are several crew cab,I5 Colorados/Canyons on Craigslist.On paper, it has about the same HP/torque as my Astro.

I tow my Swift, and a hardtop camper with my 4 cyl/5 spd without any problems.

Zomby, is the Swift on a trailer ,dolly,or flat towed? For my use I want to tow my current trailer, a typical 18 foot car hauler. It probably weighs 1500 lb. unloaded.

Usually flat with a tow bar. I have a similar trailer, but have only used it a few times behind the Canyon. It pulled it OK. The power wasn't a problem for me, but it probably would be for most people. I imagine with the I5 it would be fine.

Oh! I read your first reply quickly and missed that you're using a 4 cylinder. I saw a 4 cyl.,crew cab, 4x4, automatic for only $5500. It's fairly local and only has 30,000 miles on it. Might be worth a look, if not for me,maybe for my son to drive.

Many of the early 3.5 5 cyl engines had head trouble. Poke the web a bit before buying. I think the later 3.7 and the 4cly are ok though. I think a 4x4 crew might be too much for the 4 if you want to tow very much. 2wd standard cab sounds better.

I'll check on line for those engine issues,for sure. Don't need any ongoing headaches.The old Astro has been a pretty good vehicle and I'd like to get something just as dependable.

My cousin has a Colorado with the 4(I think, it's a base model so I'm guessing that's what it has) and so far it's seemed to handle his abuse fairly well.

Don't know about towing, but it's been able to handle being overloaded with tools, furnaces, ac units and scrap metal. Seems to get stuck easily, but his is RWD so it sits fairly low.

You think you'd be better off buying an older Ranger/Dakota/S10 or has the used market moved along enough that there's really no price difference?

i don't think i'd be pulling an 18 foot car hauler with an S series truck- i don't know how much beefier the Colorado chassis is, but i know it's bigger than the S series was. what are the factory towing ratings of a Colorado with different drivelines and engines?

novaderrik wrote: i don't think i'd be pulling an 18 foot car hauler with an S series truck-

Yeah, missed the 18 footer thing.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Many of the early 3.5 5 cyl engines had head trouble.

It was valve seats, and it was the 4, and 5 cyl. Not sure about the 6. I don't think it was that many, but the dealers didn't hesitate to cover it under warranty.

Maximum towing capacity for a Colorado is 4500 lb. My 2wd Astro was rated for 5000, and an AWD one is listed as 4500, so I'm thinking a 6 cylinder, crew cab Colorado/Canyon might do OK. I'd like to be able to seat 4 people, so I've been ignoring Rangers. I have seen a few Dakotas listed that are crew cabs,too, and you can find them with a V8..

My dad did some towing with his I5 3.5L H3. Mostly a 4'x8' trailer going up north with some building/camping stuff. It seemed to do alright. I know that the H3 and Colorado/Canyon share a plateform but I don't know how close...

diesel jeep liberty is rated at 5000. Good mileage even while towing.