Anyone have experience pulling a 16’ Alumacraft with a Ford Escape

[Bob Sorensen]

I have a FWD 2010 Ford Escape with a V6. I’m looking at a 1994 16’ Alumacraft Classic Deluxe with a 1996 60 hp Evinrude. According to the specs I can find the boat and motor should weigh under 1000 lbs. I believe the Escape has a 1500 towing capacity. Anyone had any experience pulling a boat this size with a similar sized vehicle?
Thanks in advance,
Bob

 

[ahicks]

Yes. I have an alum. 17' Polar Craft with a Honda 50 and trailer I'm guessing weigh about 14-1500 lbs. all up. Our '10 4cyl. Honda CRV with a 1500 lb capacity pulls it with authority, and will launch/retrieve with no struggle. That's not to say I would endorse pulling the boat all over the country with this car. Just that it's 4cyl engine can pull it 10 miles to the ramp, then launch or retrieve it without a struggle.

 

[Bob Sorensen]

Thanks! It’s interesting you mentioned that you pull your boat with a CR-V. That’s what my wife has.

 

[bigdee]

I wouldn't even give it a second thought....I would hitch her up and go. It is driving skill and awareness of the load behind you that requires the most thought.

 

[MTboatguy]

Make sure you engage the most important tool in your arsenal, that is your brain, then go boating and don't worry about it.

 

[Tassie 1]

Son had an earlier model (2006 ) Escape with AWD,
similiar size boat etc

his one had gearbox issues, had to replace the tranny after it stuffed up,

l'd do some research and see if that was a known problem with them,

also have to clarify that this is a Australian version,
3 lt V6, 3 speed l think

 

[SkaterRace]

You can town 3500lbs with a v6 escape of that era (I had an 08 with V6), you will be perfectly fine to tow it. Will feel heavy on hills but that is it. I had a 16ft fiberglass with an 85 on the back of her. Towed about as good as I could have asked even though I had almost no low end with my engine (something was wrong but could not figure it out at the ford dealer).

As Tassie mentioned the escapes have tranny problems downing and towing plus stupid driving (was 18...) killed my tranny which is why I got a 2013 Explorer for the new boat

 

[beerman2]

One cadet to another. Being a mechanic for over 30 years I would not recommend towing with this vehicle. These vehicles where designed to be a grocery getter for the wife not a truck for the husband. The transaxles in these type of vehicles are very weak and will not hold up to any type of punishment. If you have to use this vehicle to tow your boat, don't tow with it in overdrive and when you get to a hill shift it down manually, don't wait for it to shift on it's own. Last but not least don't tow for long distance's, 40 to 50 miles max before letting the transaxle cool down, unless your on flat road then no more then 100 miles. One other thing you could do if you must tow with this vehicle is to have an external transaxle oil cooler installed. The Honda CRV would be a much better choice for a tow vehicle, but keep in mind this is not a truck. Still do not tow in overdrive and shift down on the hills manually. When you shift down manually be sure you are at a speed where you will not over-rev the engine. And still no long distance towing before letting the transaxle cool down. Neither one of these vehicle's are good tow vehicle's, but if you baby them when towing they will do fine for a short time.

 

[tonyjh63]

I used to tow my boat with a 2002 Mazda Tribune V6 FWD (same thing as an Escape) with no problem. Boat and trailer weigh about 3200 lbs.

 

[H20Rat]

One cadet to another. Being a mechanic for over 30 years I would not recommend towing with this vehicle. These vehicles where designed to be a grocery getter for the wife not a truck for the husband.

I'm not one for all the political correctness crap, but geez... Your comment is maybe 50 years too late.

Anyway, it is a 1000 pound tinny. The OP is fine. Nothing is going to magically blow up. It is no worse than a couple fat friends and a cooler in the back of the vehicle.

Out of all the vehicles I've towed with, including friends vehicles, the vehicle with the worst performance is anything that is branded 'Dodge'. If you want to tow and enjoy replacing transmissions/transaxles, dodge is exactly what you need! Beyond that, if you don't do stupid things, vehicles from most other mfg's tend to handle it well. Towing is 90% operator, 10% vehicle.

 

[82rude]

I tow a 16foot starcraft with 60 etec.all over and on some fairly sketchy roads with my 3.5 2013 edge awd.Dont even notice the boat.

 

[beerman2]

This forum is just like all others, to many like h2orat that just want to argue instead of leaving helping comments. One good thing about the internet is you don't have to listen to their BS.

 

[bigdee]

This forum is just like all others, to many like h2orat that just want to argue instead of leaving helping comments. One good thing about the internet is you don't have to listen to their BS.

This forum is also about sharing opinions. Anyone with a testy attitude doesn't belong here.

 

[matt167]

The old Escape body style was a very decent vehicle. My old boss/ friend/ car dealer sold lots of used ones. They were/ are cheap, reliable and easy to fix. That was his bread and butter. Rated for 1,500 lbs and I would have no problem towing with one. Keep it out of overdrive with a load behind it. The lockup torque converters did have a tendency to stick.. Bossman sold a couple motors out of ones he had with the issue.

 

[kenmyfam]

Bang an additional tranny cooler on it and don't thrash it when towing. Heat kills transmissions more than anything else. Check the weight limit for your vehicle though to make certain.