Need help picking tow vehicle

[Kramer44]

The boat pictured is the boat I need to tow. It is a circa 1963 15 foot sea sprite, it is fiberglass. The trailer is probably less than 200lbs, and I can pull the trailer out of my garage with the the boat on it.

As it is the middle of winter here in NY I can't easily weigh it, and I have no idea what the tounge weight is on this boat, I know it is light.

I am looking at buying a new vehicle and am not sure if a 4 cyl small suv will haul it. I'm looking at the honda crv, the ford escape and the toyota rav4 . All of which are easy to find in 4cyl. the Rav4 only came 6cyl in 2006 and beyond. As I'll drive the car year round, and only tow in summer, I want a vehicle with better MPG than the big SUV's.

Any help is appreciated, suggestions on other vehicles to consider also welcome.

Thanks in advance for your help

Kramer

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Don't I see a pickup in the background? Keep the truck for towing. Buy what you need for economy. Economy can be elusive if you ruin the small SUV because it's not up to the task. Remember, it isn't just the boat and trailer that counts toward towed weight. It's the extra stuff you put in the boat, in the vehicle, and the people as well. Even the current year Honda CRV is only rated to tow 1500 pounds. That boat, trailer, gear, engine and gas will put the total at or very that limit. Then there is the brake issue. Just because you can tow it does not mean you can safely stop the load. I think you are at least in V6 territory even with a small SUV. On the other hand, if your trips are very short and primarily to local ramps or marinas, that's one thing. But if you need to travel longer distances and through hilly terrain, I suggest you at least test tow with a neighbors vehicle or at least think through your use and options more thoroughly.

 

[Kramer44]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

the pick up is not mine--

Thanks for the input

Kramer

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

i have a 2005 Mercury Mariner, (4cylinder) same as Ford Escape, the Escape will handle that boat with no problems. install the hitch your self, hiddenhitch.com took me 20 minutes to install. lights were very easy to connect.

i have towed an 18 ft inboard outboard with it @ 3,300 lbs. it was slow getting off but towed it fine.

i have been extremely happy with this vehicle. it i have towed boats bigger than yours to North Carolina, and to the Florida Keys with it.

 

[frankie g]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Buy more than you need...be prepaired for an up grade on the boat, if you buy a bigger boat down the road you'll have the pull for it! jm2cents

 

[4.0l sahara]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

This is just my 2c but you may want to look into a handa pilot. My dad has one and it's rated for like 5500. Can't remember exactly. We pull a boat that is 5000 to 6000lbs dry and it does fine. We have a good hitch and a tranny cooler. It has a 3.5l vtech v6. We drove 7 hours once with the boat packed and full of gas. The car was also packed to the brim and had four people in it. We probally had over 8,000lbs of stuff and it did really well for what it is. We have towed like this for over 100k and the car is still going good. Also the car doesn't get pushed much by the boat and the brakes work really well for such a heavy load. You can feel it back there but it does real well for what it is.
pic of the boat we pull.

 

[hibbert6]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Another option is a minivan. There's a lot of controversy (even here on iBoats) about the wisdom of towing with a front wheel drive vehicle, but many people do it.

The two minivans best suited for towing, according to my research, are the Ford Freestar and Dodge Caravan SXT. They can both be had used for well under $20k with about 25,000 miles on them.

We bought a used Freestar for $18,000. It has a sporty look - not boxy. There are two models; the better one for towing has a 4.1L engine, but we couldn't find one used. But the base model has a 3.9L V6, which is much larger than most mini van engines. It handles like a sports car and milage can be 23 on the freeway (not towing!) We have a small boat (15', 2500lbs), and with the class 3 hitch we had put on, it tows great. If our boat weighed any more, though, I'd want trailer brakes.

Dave

 

[Hashi]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Have you looked into hybrid vehicles?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Did everyone miss the "economy" part of this requirment. And 8000 pounds being towed by a Honda Pilot --- I don't think so.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

the mariner and esape have a towing capacity of 3500 w/ class II hitch. Hybrid does not show towing capacity.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

I think you could tow that setup with anything you mentioned just fine. Pick what you like the best.

Hybrid does not show towing capacity.

No, but they do list the Organic Grocery Capacity


Seriously, you gotta love the irony of using a hybrid vehicle that excels in miles per gallon to tow a vehicle that excels in gallons per hour. It's almost like a zen thing, perfect harmony, a fine balance of...what am I talking about?...

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

bjcsc, why does you link go to the forum menu? Organic Grocery Capacity

 

[ocb_dave_ocb]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

I am a fan of the Honda Pilot as well, I myself have a Ridgeline with the same tranny/motor and it pulls my 17' Switzer with ease. The wife is going to buy an element or a Pilot after the Ridge is payed off..

You will save alot of money installing your own hitch.. Honda Hitch was going to be > $500 installed, I got my wiring harness and hidden hitch from etrailer.com for $208 to my door installed by me in < 30 minutes.. Good luck either way..

 

[ocb_dave_ocb]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

Did everyone miss the "economy" part of this requirment. And 8000 pounds being towed by a Honda Pilot --- I don't think so.

Why not? I have watched another Rigdeline pull 9k pounds before.. Safe? No. Can it be done yes.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

I would add an Odyssey to the minivan list. My odyssey has the same engine and tranny depending upon year as the Pilot, and same engine as the ridgeline. It tows great. It's overkill for you though.

You might want to check out the new Saturn Vue Hybrid -- its hybrid light and could tow that easily. Its got the same 1500 tow capacity of their standard 4 cylinder.

If your worried about it being domestic, step up to the 3.5 -- again its the same engine as the pilot, ridgeline, odyssey, with an upgraded tranny over the old odyssey.

I will add, though, that my mother picked up a Santa Fe with the tow package -- that little SUV is sweet!

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

bjcsc, why does you link go to the forum menu? Organic Grocery Capacity

It was just a joke...guess it bombed

 

[John_S]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

From '08 Trailer Boats Mag: http://www.trailerboats.com/images/elements/1323397_2008 tow ratings.pdf

HONDA
Odyssey 3.5L V6 3500
Pilot 3.5L V6 4500 (b,z)
Ridgeline 3.5L V6 5000

(b) Tow rating for boat trailers only;
other ratings apply to travel trailers
(z) Towing package required
*Tow ratings can still vary by several
hundred pounds depending on trim
level, tire sizing, etc. Always check
with dealer or consult owner?s
manual to determine tow rating of
the specific vehicle you are considering.

When I was looking in '05, I thought the rating were around 3500 for the Pilot, and was primarily driven by the fact it was uni-body, vs ladder frame of most of the other suvs in it class. Shaara, I'd be extremely careful out there!

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

I have heard again and again about towing with a frame versus unibody -- having bolted my hitch on myself, I will tell you I have no doubt about the strength of where the hitch bolts onto the 2003 Ody unibody. If there is any data about advantages of towing from a frame versus unibody, versus opinion, I would love to see it.

In terms of the differing towing capacities, I have to wonder if they somewhat limit the minivan's and Pilot's to cause a reason for people to buy the Ridgeline.

Judge for yourself:

Trailer Life discussion:
http://www.trailerlife.com/cforum/i...ng/1/page/1.cfm

Honda Odyssey
Towing Capacity - 3500
Displacement (cc) - 3471
Horsepower @ rpm - 244 @ 5750
Torque @ rpm - 240 @ 5000
Curb Weight - 4384
Wheelbase - 118.1
Length - 201.0
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) - 5952
Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) - 8410


Honda Ridgeline
Towing Capacity - 5000
Displacement (cc) - 3471
Horsepower @ rpm - 247 @ 5750
Torque @ rpm - 245 @ 4500
Curb Weight - 4500
Wheelbase - 122.0
Length - 206.8
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) - 6050
Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) - 10085

(my comments -- 3 > HP & 5 > torgue , whow! I'm impressed )


Honda Odyssey
Ratios:
1st gear 2.697
2nd gear 1.606
3rd gear 1.071
4th gear 0.766
5th gear 0.538
Final Drive Ratio (Front Differential) 4.312

Brake Diameter mm
Front 296
Rear 313

Honda Ridgeline
Ratios:
1st gear 2.693
2nd gear 1.566
3rd gear 1.023
4th gear 0.729
5th gear 0.531
Final Drive Ratio (Front Differential) 4.533
Transfer Case 0.537
Rear Differential Ratio 3.384

Brake Diameter mm
Front 320
Rear 333

( my comments -- I concede on the bigger brakes -- solution, get a trailer with brakes)

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

ok guys this was a question asked, which of the ones he mentioned. not a debate about the Odessey, or Ridgeline. gotten of the subject.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Need help picking tow vehicle

OK -- I will obey.

My purpose was to counter information about tow abilities, not to debate the odyssey versus ridgeline. I know when I was evaluating tow vehicles I was given so much opinion and misinformation it was not even funny -- even from our local Honda mechanics.

No more on the subject from me.