will an '08 town and country pull....

[twinsjunkie]

a 24' deck boat weighing 3700 lbs? Will it be able to pull it out of the water?

 

[redone4x4]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

the boat is already rated 100lbs over the TC. dont try it. after you load up the family, gear, coolers, food, drinks, etc you will be waaaay over...that means stopping and handling are dangerous now. only exception i can think of would be on private property, like a mile to the launch or something. sounds to me like the tow vehicle all around is out of the question. did you already buy this boat?

 

[ne7800]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I wouldn't

 

[Titanium48]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

It's a better choice than the Taurus you mentioned in the other thread. If you have trailer brakes, the 4.0L 24V V6 in the T&C, and use a weight distributing hitch it will probably work. Make sure you learn how to set up the WDH so it doesn't impair the functioning of the surge brakes. How firm is that weight? Any chance you could strip the boat down and get a picture on a scale reading less than 3600? May be useful if you have warranty issues.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

a 24' deck boat weighing 3700 lbs? Will it be able to pull it out of the water?

Probably, if the ramp is concrete, completely dry, no loose gravel, no hole at the end that you have to drop the trailer tires over, and not steep at all. Of course, even I wouldn't try it. Cause I have a 99 Pontiac Montana, and would have never thought of using it to tow my 3300lb (BOAT ONLY) 21' Chaparral. Fact is, your 24' deckboat, on the trailer weighs close to 5000lbs, maybe 6000lbs. That's a lot to ask of a Chrysler transaxle!

 

[jkust]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I would bet it yanks it out with ease assuming a dry ramp. I easily pull
3500ish pounds out with an old minivan same as the Montana TilliamWe mentions above. It is rated at 3500 lbs so I am overweight considering the load inside the van. No kidding, I can't believe how little torque it actually takes to pull a boat out when you see these big torque numbers on suv's. The steepness of the ramp has no bearing even on the tiny 3.4 liter v6 (only 210lbs tourque). Only takes a light touch of the pedal to get up the steepest, dry ramp. With that said I wouldn't feel as comfortable pulling your rig as I would with a truck based suv. I am ignoring the potential damage issue since I would bet your van could pull a lot more just not safetly. I hope to have a true tow vehicle come this boating season. Having 4 wheel drive is really the key at the ramp in my experience. I would be screwed if the tires ever went over the edge of the concrete. If you are shopping for a vehicle and are vetting a minivan via this thread, skip the van and go SUV. I can't wait to see how much better a true tow vehicle with high hp and tourque numbers performs since I have never driven one.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

a 24' deck boat weighing 3700 lbs? Will it be able to pull it out of the water?

Another "Can I pull my boat with a Chrysler minivan" thread. It's just wrong. There are simply too many things that can make a good day turn super ugly.

A 3700 pound 24 foot deck boat? Good grief. Never mind how it works getting the boat out of the water. Imagine trying to drive a Town & Country with something that big behind it. Imagine trying to stop with something that big behind it.

And imagine trying to make a warranty claim with Chrysler when the transmission goes out. "You towed what?!!"

Sorry, I'm usually more diplomatic in my responses on this board, but this particular thread has me really concerned.

 

[JH3]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

With a weight distribution hitch here's one http://www.etrailer.com/c-WD.htm set up for surge breaks it's possible. You need to consider how far and often you'll be towing. You may want a transmission cooler and will put much more ware on your car.

Quick stops will be difficult if not impossible and up hill towing may be hard on the car.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

Another "Can I pull my boat with a Chrysler minivan" thread. It's just wrong. There are simply too many things that can make a good day turn super ugly.

A 3700 pound 24 foot deck boat? Good grief. Never mind how it works getting the boat out of the water. Imagine trying to drive a Town & Country with something that big behind it. Imagine trying to stop with something that big behind it.

And imagine trying to make a warranty claim with Chrysler when the transmission goes out. "You towed what?!!"

Sorry, I'm usually more diplomatic in my responses on this board, but this particular thread has me really concerned.

very well put. i was tryin not to be harsh about it, but you're right, i just didnt wanna come right out n say it bein new here and all lol. it would be more like the boat pushing the van around, than the van pulling the boat...

 

[beermunk]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

Absolutely not would I tow that big of a boat with a minivan any further than a mile any faster than 25mph. Not only are you endangering yourself, but the rest of us that drive on those roads with you.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I wouldn't even consider trying it. Your power and torque in that vehicle is at the wrong end, and boat is far more than that vehicle can control.

 

[Ram58]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

Too much weight for too little vehicle. Would be very dangerous out on the road.

 

[jkust]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I will clarify my comments. Your van will pull it... likely not well. If you asked should you pull it, I would toubt the saftey and legal aspects. You should not pull it but should either consider a smaller boat or larger tow vehicle. I can only assume you don't plan to tow very fast or far if your vehicle for that particular boat is a mini van. Go test drive some tow vehicles and bring your boat and find out for yourself.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

Some more clarification: I took the 3700 lb weight at face value when I suggested it was possible to tow it with the T&C. If, as some have suggested, that 3700 lb is the dry hull weight and the total rig is 5000+ lbs, then I'm also in the "get a smaller boat or a bigger tow vehicle" camp.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

The OP hasnt logged in since he posted this...im curious to see what the additional info is, if hes buying a boat, already bought it, towing for a friend, etc...what are the intentions?

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

Yeah, it looks like he posted two other times, once asking if he could use his '08 T&C and the other if he could use a Ford Taurus. Got pretty much the same replies as here.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

He's just looking for a yes man to say, "sure go ahead, it'll be fine." JKust supplied him with the answer he wanted, so I doubt he'll post on this thread again.
I can't tell from his original post if he means that he just wants to pull it out of the water and then park the boat/trailer in the marina lot, or if he means he's going to tow the thing down the road. I answered based on pulling it out of the water. As far as towing it anywhere on a public street, ABSOLUTELY NOT! All the weight distribution in the world isn't gonna make that van be able to handle that boat/trailer combo.

 

[C-worthy]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I always think about these situations when towing:

What if a child chased a ball out into the street in front of my vehicle/trailer?

What if the hood flew open on the car just ahead in the next lane (yes, I really saw this happen once on a very high interstate highway bridge).

What if a front tire blew on my tow vehicle?


Could anyone slow this vehicle/trailer down really fast and maintain control? No way, no how.

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

here is what we need to respond with.


Yes, just buy a set of 2500 HD decals on ebay and stick them on your van. Then you can double the towing load. Oh, and run a couple strips of duct tape around the hitch for good measure.


LOL I have a chrysler minivan, pulled a 2000lb boat once, felt it was too much.

 

[magillacuddy]

Re: will an '08 town and country pull....

I tow my 18' bowrider with a T&C and it sucks! When the ramp has any moisture I slide around, it handles horribly (and not to mention I look like a complete tool in a minivan at the ramp). My wife drives the van (we have 3 young kids) and she loves it for her purposes, and I have car that has about 100k miles, but its paid for and I commute in it, so I really do not want to buy a vehicle right now (I'd rather keep my car, upgrade the boat and keep it at a marina).
But I can't imagine towing a boat that large with the same vehicle I tow an 18'-er with.