An 18' bowrider w/ trailer, fuel and everything is going to weigh in at
about 3500 lbs (could be 4000 if you have a tandum axle trailer and larger
fuel tank).
Having said that, you want a vehicle rated for 5000 lbs towing or more to be
able to maintain speed on the interstate w/ any kind of a hill.
Having said that, most 6 cyliner vehicles are rated at 4500 or so (maybe
5000). The V8 will always be a better choice.

I just purchased a new Trail Blazer Extended version w/ the inline 6 and it
is rated for 4900 lbs but won't get the job done if trying to run 70 on the
interstate w/ a boat this size. Struggles a little bit w/ my father-in-laws
16' aluminum bass boat that probable weights 2500 (definetly under 3000)
trailer and all. Would hate to think I had to tow 4000 lbs w/ it for any
kind of real distance.

--
Tony
my boats and autos - http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com


"Jesse Dinkin" wrote in message
...
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 03:07:52 GMT, "Jesse Dinkin"
wrote:

I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........


Seems to be the week for towing questions. )

Get the maximum towing capacity for your vehicle from the owner's
manual, or from your dealer. Match that up with the weight of your
boat/trailer combo.

A larger, more powerful towing vehicle, provides a psychological
comfort zone, and some horsepower where the rubber meets the road, but
it is not "necessary" if your vehicle is rated for the tow weight.

As I said in an earlier post, I tow an 18' Starcraft, a camper, and a
20' Pontoon boat with a 4.0L Aerostar, and have never had a problem.

Check your spec's.
noah

Courtesy of Lee Yeaton,
See the boats of rec.boats
www.TheBayGuide.com/rec.boats

I have an 18 foot Skeeter that I prefer to pull behinf my F-250 w/ 460 CID
engine. It runs like a bat out of hell. Hardly notices the boat is back
there. Unfortunately the airconditioning doesn't work in that truck so I
occassionaly pull the boat with my S-10 with a 4.3L EFI V-6. It pulls it at
55mph ok, but any faster and it is really struggling.





"Jesse Dinkin" wrote in message
...
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

I was concerned when I traded our Ford Explorer for a Suburu Outback.
They're both sixes but the Outback is smaller. I have a 17 foot I/O
bowrider. No problem. She hauls ands manoeuvres with no problem.
ds

"Jesse Dinkin" wrote in message
...
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

"Jesse Dinkin" wrote in message
...
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

You americans.. lol. You think you need a monster truck with a 5litre engine
to pull a 18ft 3000/3500 lb rig!
My 2.5L diesel Mitsubishi L200 has no problems with my 1400kg twin axle rig.
This vehicle is capable of pulling 7 tons allegedly. If I don't get a run-up
to hills, I don't have to worry about being able to tow at maximum legal
speeds. Only trouble is, it appears to drink the juice at twice the rate
while it is towing!
I knew what boat I was buying before I got the vehicle, which helped me
decide - even though the boat manufacturer says that it is perfectly towable
by the average family car - ********! For sure, there are too many "soft"
4x4s here which couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding, but I still see
them sinking in the sand trying to pull a 14ft fletcher off the beach.

Stick to the known and trusted 4x4s and avoid the "soft" ones (which only
hit offroad when they get stuck on the grass dropping the kids off at
school)

Jim,

Good explanation!

I was told that Front Wheel drive SUV is not good for towing a boat. The
problem is at the boat ramp when trying to pull the boat out of water. The
front wheel does not have whole allot of traction.

Is this true?

Thinh

"Jim Brinson" wrote in message
.. .
Most auto dealers will have a towing guide which will list the maximum
towing capacities of the vehicles they sell. These maximum towing
capacities are very much affected (downward) as you increase the payload
of the towing vehicle.
In other words, a truck rated to tow a maximum load of 5,000 lbs may not
be able to do that if, for example, you carry four passengers instead of
two and/or throw an additional 1,000 lbs of gear in the back.
When you feel that you might be approaching the towing limit of a
vehicle it is a good idea to go through a process known as "job rating"
to be sure you will not be exceeding the vehicle's limits.
In this process you add up everything that the vehicle will be expected
to carry (including your trailer's tongue wt.) plus everything you
expect to tow. The grand total should not exceed what is called the
"Gross combination vehicle weight rating".
If you are looking at new vehicles it would then be a matter of
selecting the one that meets the above requirements plus any other
criteria you might have. (2wd, 4wd,AWD,FWD, passenger car, SUV, Pickup,
etc.)
If, on the other hand, you must make do with what you have, then your
only choice is to tailor your usage to fit the vehicle.
One other and perhaps obvious thing: The person who only hauls his boat
around the corner to the launch need not be as concerned about the job
rating as the person who needs to trailer his boat over a hundred miles
of steep terrain.

Good luck and good boating,
Jim



Jesse Dinkin wrote:
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do
I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

wrote ...
I was told that Front Wheel drive SUV is not good for towing a boat. The
problem is at the boat ramp when trying to pull the boat out of water.
The
front wheel does not have whole allot of traction.

Is this true?

Well, if it was a real SUV, it would have 4WD, so you could put it in 4WD to
pull the boat and trailer out of the water... If it doesn't have 4WD, you
don't have an SUV, you have a mini-van (some are more mini than others)...

It is also unlikely that any real SUV that has 4WD will have front wheel
drive as the default when in 2WD mode...

Ok, so assuming you are talking about one of those mini-vans that the soccer
moms and quiche eaters like to think are SUVs, the difference between
pulling a boat and trailer up a ramp with FWD vs RWD is going to depend upon
the steepness of the ramp... A shallow ramp will probably not make much
difference... Another thing to consider is that the RWD vehicle will have
its drive wheels in the water where it might be somewhat slippery from algae
or mud... In this case, the front wheels might have better traction... Some
people with trucks find that they do not have enough weight in the rear of
their vehicle to prevent spinning tires sometimes when they are trying to
pull a boat up a slippery ramp...

18' Campion with a 115hp outboard towed by a Nissan 2L pickup 4wd (in 2wd
99.9999% of the time) on the freeway at 65mph to 70mph in 5th gear on the
flat, and 50 on a steep grade in 4th. As long as I keep my revs up around
3k I have no problems. Gone as far as 150 miles round trip without a hiccup
or spare tire. I have been able to keep up with traffic and have even
overtaken some of the slower folk on the freeway! The pickup is geared well
for towing and even without a load it does not accelerate quickly.

I had reservations about the towing capacity and so did my friends but that
was soon dispelled once I hooked on the trailer and took her for a spin. I
also have a Range Rover that has a 7k lb towing capacity but it also has an
incredible thirst for gas. I love my pickup and I don't need a V8. Ask to
borrow somebody's smaller car and take it for a spin then make up your mind.
I have a well balanced trailer without too much load on the tongue (about
75lb). Anybody need a used RR?

Y

"Jesse Dinkin" wrote in message
...
I curious what people use to tow their boats and whether they are
satisfied
with the way it goes....what size boat vs what size vehicle?????.....do I
need an 8 cylinder like a friend said??????....I have a 18ft bowrider
which
I presently keep at a marina but my wife thinks she may want to explore
other water options..........

I have towed a 19ft sailboat from Colorado to Iowa (about 700 miles) and
from Iowa to Michigan and back (about 1000 miles) with a 96 Ford
Taurus. The boat with trailer is 1200lbs according the manufacturer.
But that's probably with the standard galvanized trailer. I have an
aluminum.

I did overheat the transmission fluid on my first trip but after
installation of a auxiliary transmission cooler and most importantly
more sensible driving habits nothing went wrong. At that time I was
paying attention only to the engine oil temperature. Big mistake.
Luckily nothing bad happened to the transmission.

If you are interested I have the installation of the auxiliary
transmission cooler documented with plenty of pictures.
http://www.niesens.com/hobbies/saili...ission-cooler/

I agree that the breaking ability of the car should also be considered
when towing but I do believe that some people put to much importance on
the vehicle and not enough on the driver.

Best wishes and happy towing,
Claus