Need some help/info

[Abenoit]

I was hoping to get some help here from you starcraft experts! I am in the market for a Supersport and wanted to determine if my tow vehicle could handle and 18 footer. I have a 4x4 Jeep Compass with a 2.4L. I believe the tow capacity is around 2,000lbs. Does anybody know the weight of an 18 foot Starcraft SS? I'm sure the 16 footer would be a piece of cake as I tow a 16 foot fiberglass tri-hull right now with no problems at the launch. My thinking is that even an extra two feet in length may be easier to pull with the aluminum hull as opposed to the fiberglass. Thanks for any help!

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Need some help/info

I think you are right on as to capability of your Jeep. I pulled a 19 ft Glass boat with my Jeep about 3800 lbs with no problem except size for breaking. The 18 SS is very light and with the glass boat as comparison to tow ability of your Jeep ,you should have no problem.

 

[bunker108]

Re: Need some help/info

I think that the hull only weighs a little over 900lbs and my engine adds a little over 300lbs. So 1300lbs, then add in a trailer, gear and fuel you are looking at over 2000lbs. I don't think that a 16ft SS will be much different. You are probably overloaded already towing the trihull. I think that you should find another tow vehicle. I tow my 18ft SS with a 2008 Nissan Xterra with factory tow package, 4.0 V6 making 260 HP, auto tranny with a cooler. I have more than enough power to pull it but just enough to get it stopped. If you are partial to Chrysler start looking for a Liberty or a Nitro with the V6, both are rated to tow 5000lbs.

You might be fine with your current set up...but I wouldn't pull it, or want to be in front of or behind you on the road. my $.02

 

[barato2]

Re: Need some help/info

i'll dive in here as my tow vehicle is a 4WDTaco with the 2.7 four/5-speed. it hauls both my 18' holiday and similar hull Starchief just fine and only struggles on some of the ugly upgrades in central NM.

no complaints on the braking, with either the Holiday/Starchief or with our 25' glass Macgregor sailboat (also no trlr brakes), and i brought the latter down the hill from Cloudcroft to alamogordo (about 4500' elev change in 15 miles)....yes, i did allow extra room for braking but never felt like i was going to overheat brakes on the Taco.

in fairness, i'd be surprised if you have to contend with any hills in Michigan like what Bunker108 and i are dealing with in NM.........

what WAS an issue over and above tow weight was wind drag....those big tin hulls shove a lot of wind aside compared to similar weight glass trihull, and behind a small tow vehicle (ie, i suspect this would less of an issue in the draft behind an Excursion, for example), this add significantly to how hard the motor is working.

my 2-peso bottom line: if you like the vehicle, don't sell it just to buy a tow vehicle. depending on your hills, an 18 is definitely doable but a 16 would honestly be better suited to the tow vehicle.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Need some help/info

Your Jeep will be enough to get to local lakes and such so I'd get the 18' rig.

You can always upgrade to a longer, heavier, more HP tow vehicle later for longer trips.

Good luck to ya!

 

[Abenoit]

Re: Need some help/info

Thanks all for chiming in. Honestly, my longest haul to any of the launches I use on a regular basis is only about 35 minutes. The boat I tow now has never been an issue and you really cant tell its there pulling it out of the launch or when applying brakes. I figure the tri-hull fiberglass has to weigh in well above a 16 foot tin boat so Im thinking it can handle the additional two feet of boat and trailer. I figured I would get some that said it could be done and some that said it couldn't, and I'm comfortable with that. As long as everybody who chimed in isn't against it! And honestly, fr any trips up north I have plenty of friends with big trucks! '

 

[TheWrks]

Re: Need some help/info

Vehicles can tow a lot more than they are rated for...
but you run the risk of
burning up your tranny if you don't have additional cooling.
Over heating your engine so no A/C on the Summer

The issue is that if you need to stop in a real hurry your tow vehicle may not have the stopping power now with all the extra weight back there pushing you.
People rely on the trailer brakes way to much and overload.....

Just my 2 cents

 

[bunker108]

Re: Need some help/info

Well a 35 minute drive to the ramp is much different than my two hour tows at high elevation. That being said, just because you can do it, doesn't mean that you should. I am rated to tow 5000lbs and my boat is half that. I also tow a pop-up that weighs about 3500lbs loaded and that is getting to the limits that I feel comfortable pulling behind the Nissan. The pop-up has brakes and I installed a Prodigy brake controller for that application to help with stopping. I am not afraid to tow either. For the record I have pulled 53' vans and reefers in every state but Michigan.

I still think you are over the limits of your vehicle, but if it works for you then go for it.