"Slambram" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 May 2004 15:49:16 GMT, "V Crenshaw"
wrote:

My husband and I have a 21 foot Searay. We have it in a slip at a marina
now.
Together it and the trailer weighs 3000 lbs.

We are going to buy a new vehicle and we are trying to decide what kind
would
most closely meet our criteria of
1) hauling misc things like building materials, tools, an occasional
sofa or washing machine
2) Holding 4 or more people
3) towing the boat
4) As fuel efficent as possible

Truck would be great for everything except the people and fuel. We were
thinking about
a minivan, but don't know how good it would be at towing the boat and
more
specifically
launching the boat. I say minivan because he likes them better than
SUV's.

Any advice would be appreciated.

V Crenshaw


You do NOT want anything with front wheel drive if you plan on
launching and retrieving your boat at a ramp. This rules out most
minivans. The only ones I remember being RWD were the old Aerostars
and Safaris. Especially on steeper ramps, all of the weight will be
shifted away from your front wheels and you'll get no traction. I
usually only see FWD vehicles launching jet-skis and small fishing
boats. As a matter of fact, a few years ago a FWD minivan ended up at
the bottom of the lake at the ramp I go to because he lost traction...

He might check out the Crown Victoria. Rear wheel drive, and there's an
upgrade suspension available that's VERY nice - eliminates the "grandpa"
ride and makes the car almost the same as a police car. Comes with
self-leveling rear shocks. He'll get 25-28 mpg on the highway while NOT
towing. The major caveat is that at least as of two years ago, there was an
issue with the gas tank being more susceptible to igniting in high speed
rear-end collisions. A temporary fix was devised at the time while Ford
looked for a more elegant modification.