I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in news:fab14a43-6d55-44ce-afa4-
:

I used to tow a 1600 lb boat with a Plymouth Acclaim, front wheel drive
sedan, and had no problems. I only used good concrete ramps with moderate
slopes and dry conditions. If the ramps were wet with a bit of mud then
even the rear wheel drive pickups were having a lot of wheel spin
especially if the boat was heavier or the driver just floored it. Good
driving on decent ramps should work fine. I also carried a tow rope just in
case but never needed it. Note - there probably is no where to attach a tow
rope on a Vue that won't cause suspension or ody damage. Check that out
ahead of time and determine where you could safely attach a tow rope before
you are stuck on a ramp. In an emergency you could block the trailer
wheels, unhitch from the Vue and have a friendly helper hitch up his
vehicle and pull it up for you. Even untrailer the boat, switch the trailer
to the helper's vehicle in the parking lot and then have them back down and
load up your boat and pull it to the lot. Lots of possibilities to solve
problems that may happen so go and enjoy.

The traction control could give you some trouble - most of those systems
reduce engine power if a wheel slips and that could get you in trouble if a
ramp is slippery and you need a small bit of wheel spin to get up. Driving
uphill pulling a load requires more engine power, not less, and having a
computer cut power on the ramp will be a hassle. Be prepared for this
problem and be ready to brake hard if necessary. Best thing is to turn the
traction control off before pulling the boat out of the water - it won't
help in slippery ramp conditions and it could hinder something fierce.

On Apr 1, 12:36*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

On Apr 1, 9:52*am, Reno wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in news:fab14a43-6d55-44ce-afa4-
:

I also carried a tow rope just in
case but never needed it. Note - there probably is no where to attach a tow
rope on a Vue that won't cause suspension or ody damage.

I guess I was just going to wrap it around the frame that runs across
in front of the engine. I think if I got stuck it wouldn't take much
additional force to pull me out. The Vue would still provide 90% of
the force, it would probably just need an little extra umph to get
rolling (at least that's the logic I'm using).

The traction control could give you some trouble - most of those systems
reduce engine power if a wheel slips and that could get you in trouble if a
ramp is slippery and you need a small bit of wheel spin to get up.

Ah, I'll dig out the manual and find out which of the 3 "drive modes"
I should use. That's a good point that the traction control may be
bad.

-Robert

On Apr 1, 9:53*am, Gene Kearns
wrote:
On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 09:36:23 -0700 (PDT), Robert M. Gary penned the
following well considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:

How big is the boat....?

I'm having trouble figuing that out. I have all the original paperwork
for the boat/trailer combo (2003). As best as I can figure the combo
weights something around 2700 lbs dry. The capacity of the VUE with a
class II hitch is 3500lbs (I believe all class II's are limited to
3,500lbs). I have a class III installed but the manufactor doesn't
list a tow capacity for class III so I'm just working on the same
3,500 lbs. The main benefit of the class III is that its easier to
find accessories for it (although class II's seem to be becoming more
common with SUVs).

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote
hopefully it won't be an issue

I never had ramp trouble with my Taurus wagon.

Please post a follow up to let us know how you did.
I used to tow my 19' bowrider with I/O (about 2500 pounds) with a 1998 Olds
Silhouette without a problem. I'm sure that I was at max weight for the
minivan, if not over.

wrote in message
...
On Apr 1, 12:36 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

On Apr 1, 2:37*pm, "D-unit" wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in ...

I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. *I keep a boat (21' Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. *Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). *It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. *I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. *I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.

Check the ramp when it's wet and see if it's slippery. Some ramps are
pretty good even when wet, some slippery as hell!

On Apr 1, 1:47*pm, wrote:
On Apr 1, 2:37*pm, "D-unit" wrote:

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in ...

I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. *I keep a boat (21' Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. *Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). *It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. *I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. *I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.

Check the ramp when it's wet and see if it's slippery. Some ramps are
pretty good even when wet, some slippery as hell!

One time up at the mouth of the CT River (Baldwin Bridge ramp) the
tide had brought in a very thick layer of slippery sea vegatation, it
was literally like ice, and two inches thick up the ramp and out yards
into the water. My Jeep Wrangler had pretty aggressive tires and I
almost slid back into the water a couple of times with a very light,
wooden skiff and trailer, probably less than 1000 pounds. Got water in
over the door openings, I would have been on the news if I had been
driving a front wheel drive, near it's towing capacity. Now, I am not
telling the guy not to do it, but he will need to use his head, even
if someday it might mean waiting some to load up, or being ready to
say, "not this ramp, not today, where else can we put in?". Of course
if he can afford it, a good winch on the front bumper might be a
lifesaver too.

Scotty

On Apr 1, 2:37*pm, "D-unit" wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in ...

I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

I may have a similar issue to deal with this year. *I keep a boat (21' Carolina skiff)
in a neighborhood with a boat ramp. *Travel from my place to the ramp
is 3 blocks. I'd like to *attempt* to load and unload the boat with my
Honda Accord. (try not to laugh). *It would keep me from driving
a gas guzzler to/from said beach place (approx. 160 miles) *and*
keep me from having to leave a pickup truck down there solely for
that purpose which is what I did last year. *I don't think loading the
boat into the water would be a problem. *I like to shuttle back/forth
to the beach house in the Honda for obvious reasons.

The ramp is not very steep and there's very little tongue weight by
the trailer.. Ramp wetness would probably be an issue.

Falling tide = wet ramp
Rising tide = dry ramp. (most of the time when I would use it)

db~still trying to decide if this is a good idea.

See my above post... Wind = wet ramp, lot's of traffic does too.
Washed up vegitation, mud, and anything else you can think of makes
for what you are calling "wet ramp", too...