14' boat will my car tow it

[acke61]

hey i recently bought a 14' bayliner capri. Title says it weighs 975 lbs

I've towed it to the ramp with my sisters ford taurus without any problem.

I'm wondering if my VW golf will be able to tow it, i found a couple class I hitches that are rated for 2000 lbs. i have a 2003 golf 5 speed with a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder.

just looking for input i know you guys will probably say i'm crazy to even think about it..

Jeremy

 

[JB]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

Howdy acke.

Welcome to iboats.

Not crazy, just naive.

On the trailer, with engine, fuel, battery, toys, etc. you boat probably weighs in the vicinity of 1800-2000lb.

Your VW can probably TOW it for a while without breaking, but I really doubt that your VW can STOP it or CONTROL it safely. I also doubt that the VW can retrieve it without damaging the clutch and eventually ruining the car.

If you check with VW I would expect them to tell you that towing is not recommended or that it can safely tow under 1,000lb. Maybe I am wrong, but please check.

 

[acke61]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

its not as bad as the guy with the lebaron convertable i would think...

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

It's not as naive as it looks. Ask VW-the max tow weight for a '96 Golf is around 1800lbs as far as I remember and the '03 model is bigger.

 

[rndn]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

How far are you towing it and over what type of terrain?

 

[acke61]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

well i'm in central ny and right now keep the boat at my parents which is about 2 miles to the launch. Also my gf has a camp on Hinckley Reservior so over the summer we may bring it up there as well. if i tow it to and from her mothers house or my apt its probably about 20 miles, some of it uphill. but chances are if we do bring it up there i'll just drive it once and leave it at the camp so it'd be 1/2 mile to and from the launch, its a really steep launch up there thats the only thing i'm nervous about, water levels are real high in spring and go real low in fall so its a really long launch the more time into the season.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

I think the manual trans and steep ramps will kill the clutch at the least.If the boat and trailer doesn't pull the whole thing into the lake.Traction will be a big issue.Just my opinion but no way i would do it.

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

This is meant for humor only:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L9XZwDYwGdY

 

[180shabah]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

I agree with the 2000lb weight estimate and I think that you would be fine for short distances with that kind of weight, but the launching ramp is not something that you want to try. You have a fair amount of torque with that 2.0, a very low gear ratio, and front wheel drive; combine that with a steep ramp, and extra ton of weight and less contact pressure on the front end due to the tongue weight of the trailer and you have a recipe for lots of wheel spin and minimal forward progress.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

You might want to try backing down that ramp without a trailer to see how it feels. I have a Ford Ranger with a 4 cyl. stick, it has trouble with even a small aluminum boat on some ramps but has no problem hauling my 19 footer around on the road. I had traction problems on one ramp, so I went back to see why the next day, backed down the ramp with no trailer and it spun just the same.
I found that loading my boat a bit tongue heavy and adding some weight to the bed helps. I have more trouble on paved ramps than I do on dirt for some reason. I guess the concrete ramp gets slimy. The same boat that I have trouble with towing with my Ranger, I used to tow with a small car with no problems. I also have a one ton van, its far worse on slick ramps than any of my other vehicles, I wouldn't attempt to launch a canoe with that truck.

One thing to consider is that when the trailer is headed down the ramp, it's weight effect on the car will be increased and the center of gravity of the car and trailer will also change. A trailer can get rear heavy or tongue light when on a steep ramp, this taking weight off the the rear of the tow vehicle, this may help a front wheel drive vehicle to an extent. If the trailer is heavier than the car, or even close and the ramp is slick and steep, there's a good chance that the boat will just drag the car backwards once on the ramp.
Is there another ramp on the same body of water that may be better?

Check this out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DosWV-RuFDQ&feature=related

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

This is meant for humor only:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L9XZwDYwGdY

That looked more like prophesy to me.

A GOLF?!? Are you SERIOUS?!? NO!
You need a little more mass in front of it than a Golf has to offer I'm afraid. The Taurus can probably handle it without taking too much damage, but even the taurus will be worn out in half the mileage you'd otherwise get out of it if it wern't towing. But like I said, it's probably ok with the taurus. You should get yourself a big 93-95 caprice classic.

That's my $0.02 anyway.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

Or a Crown Vic with tow package.
That's the ride.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

be sure that you practice, the clutch and emergency brake technique on a hill, before the ramp. i'd rather back down a hill, than the ramp. rev the motor a little, let out on the clutch till it starts to grab, and then simultaneously, let the clutch out, and release the emergency brake slowly.

 

[John_S]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

You are probably close to overloading that Taurus, too. I use to tow with one, and think its capacity was 2200lbs. It towed our 14' alum boat fine, but it weighs much less. It would have some traction problems on certain ramps.

A Golf? Not me. Keep some wheel chocks ready.

PS: I bet the Hinckley ramp was completly out of the water last year. Lots of boats were stranded or sitting on the ground during the draught.


Update: Capacity is lower than I mentioned above.

From 1998 Manual:
3L Vulcan
w/300 passager and cargo = 1250lbs if you add more cargo, subtract from towing capacity

3L Duratec
w/300 passager and cargo = 1750lbs if you add more cargo, subtract from towing capacity

Use what your manual says, and do the calculations.

 

[acke61]

Re: 14' boat will my car tow it

speaking of water levels last summer at hinckley...these pics were taken in september....

and this one taken early summer...

same exact location in sept....