"Pete McKinney" wrote in message
om...
Currently, I own a Toyota Sienna and am about
to replace my other vehicle. The Toyota website says the Sienna has a
towing capacity of 3,500 pounds. Is this enough to pull a ski boat?

A very light ski boat, like a 16 foot outboard. I certainly wouldn't
recommend it for a good sized tournament ski boat.

Would there be a towing difference between the two vehicles, or should
they perform about the same?

There are several issues about towing that you need to consider.

When towing down a freeway the drag of the trailer will increase the load on
the car. In most cases a boat is fairly good in this regard as they are
fairly streamlined and low profile. A whole lot better than say a camping
trailer!

Wheelbase is another issue. When the trailer starts to sway, a short wheel
base tow vehicle can get pushed around pretty bad.

Stopping: It is one thing to take a while to get the load going, it is
another thing to take a while to get it stopped. If your tow vehicle is
light then trailer brakes are essential.

Getting the load moving: This is where boats are far worse than any other
type of trailer. Launching the boat is easy, but eventually you need to put
the boat back on the trailer and take it home. The boat ramp can be steep
and the boat can be loaded with people, gear, and possibly a fair amount of
bilge water. The car has to be able to get this load moving up a very steep
hill. Automatics generally do better at this, I have seen underpowered
manual transmissions just burn their clutch up trying to haul a boat out.

In general, the larger the vehicle the better for towing.

Rod