Re: Tow 19' Boat w/Toyota? Your Tow Vehicle?
I need to add my experiences to this discussion. I don't know the weight of Bob's rig as that is an important factor obviously. <br />When we purchases our 17' Sylvan with 90 hp Honda, I was contemplating having to buy a larger vehicle specifically for towing the boat. I hated that idea as I am simply not a fan of trucks or SUVs a part from their utility applications. Even living in the country on a hobby farm where I have to take my own garbage to the dump and where you might think a pick-up is a necessity, I get by on mid-size import and use a trailer. I really don't believe there are significant differences in a car that size to an S-10 or Ranger. Hp is not that much better, you sacrifice ride and comfort as well as cabin space and fuel mileage is in a different ball park. Im also not sold on these vehicles being any more rugged in the long term either.<br />So, for the first year, we kept our boat in a slip, if and when I had to move it I borrowed a friends pick-up. At that time I had a sports car and would never consider a trailer hitch for it. When it came time to replace it - for the purposes of towing the boat - I hadn't decided yet on a truck or car. The specs on the boat were 950# from the mfg and 350 and some change for the motor. With equipment and fuel I was guesstimating around 1500# I would be hauling. Although it exceeded what the mfg's recommendation on towing on any import car, I knew it was do-able from experience ( I had towed trailers for moving in my college days and eventually my first boat - a 14' with 18 OMC - without problem with an even smaller import car). So I ended up buying a Honda Accord. We got the more powerful engine, ABS and manual transmission.<br />Well, I was wrong about the weight of the boat - by a long shot! At the end of the first season (around the time we got the car but before we had towed with it), I took it over the scales at the local landfill. EVERYTHING was out of the boat, including the seats. It was only the boat and motor, no fuel. It registered 2300 lbs! Add at least 400 lbs. for equipment and another couple hundred for fuel and daily supplies and we're approaching 3000 - the weight of the car.<br />Nevertheless, I tried towing it. There was absolutely no problem. It got going just fine, handled even better. Although I get a lot of 'looks' on the hwy as people passing from behind only see the boat an no tow vehicle -
. Fuel mileage dropped from 36 to 29 mpg (CDN gallons), but thats still better than a pick-up even without towing a trailer. I do have to pick my ramps carefully as the steep ones will give me problems if I they are gravel, but I do have the advantage of FWD. I have on more than one occasion pulled boats of similar size to my own from the water when the owner could not do it with his full size pick-up because of RWD - but thats an entirely different debate. To be fair, I have had to have a pick-up pull me from the water twice as well.<br />The car has not showed any sign of complaint either. Yes, on some steep hills, I have to go right down to 2nd gear but I am still passing the 18-wheelers. On really hot days if I have the A/C on, I will see the heat gauge creep up. I travel the speed limit on hyws as any faster requires a noticeable amount of extra peddle pressure. The car has 270,000 kms (170,000 miles) and is only on it's third set of brakes from the mfg. - just recently too. The clutch is only just beginning to show signs of wear. I change the oil every 5000 kms instead of 7500 as recommended as well I change the timing belt at shorter intervals. <br />So pulling the boat is fine, what about stopping? Well, I certainly do need more distance and believe me, I give myself a wide birth always when towing. But it's not as bad as you would expect towing something that weighs as much as the car. As soon as I learned of the boat's weight, I was to make it a priority to get trailer brakes. I knew I had crossed the line from being capable of towing, to towing responsibly. However, somehow time got away from me that first season and I never did it. It didn't seem like such a priority as the car seemed to be fine for the job. <br />Then we had an 'incident' while on our way home one holiday weekend. To make a long story short, a tire AND rim came loose of a trailer traveling the opposite way on the highway and was heading right for us. Our combined speed was no less than 100 mph conservatively and there was less than 200 feet of distance separating us when it happened. Having much experience with motorcycles and advanced driver training in my youth, my reflex was to avoid the oncoming projectile (which was now in the middle of our lane). This emergency maneuver may be a mistake when towing, especially at high speeds and considering the weight of the tow vehicle. But as I said, it was reflex as there was NO time to think. The rim/tire combo hit the driver side headlight and bounced over the car, coming down and caroming off the boats port rub rail. It then took out the side view mirror of the van following us to closely before traveling into a corn field. My passenger side tire was already on the loose gravel shoulder adjacent to at least a six foot ditch at the time of impact. The boat was still following the hitch from the center of the lane in what was sure to be a violent fish-tail as I became aware of my mistake. The brakes were fully applied with ABS kicking in by the time the boat caught up with the car, both wheels on the shoulder. The entire time from point at which I saw the tire leave the trailer to the point where we were fully stopped was certainly no more than 6 7 seconds. <br />The arse hole on the tandem trailer didnt even stop.<br />The car suffered $5800 worth of damage , including ABS and A/C (although the ABS worked for the accident) in addition to the cosmetic damage. The boat was not damaged significantly other than a black mark on the rub rail. The lateral force from my swerving to avoid the tire was enough to put a sideways elbow in the transom saver as well as almost flatten the Y that the skeg rests in. The four mounting bolts for the outboard were also bent and the outboard skewed indicating the inertia involved.<br />We were fine though. I was actually furious and my wife was having a near breakdown, but we were unscathed. <br />Every time I recall the event I realize more and more just how close we really came to a visit from the grim reaper. I am still amazed that I didnt lose control of the car as well. It must have a lot to do with the balance of the boat as you can easily lift it with two fingers from anywhere along the draw-arm. I never had a fishtail problem with it necessitating having to put more weight to the bow go figure. As it turns out, swerving is probably what saved us. When the tire/rim came off the trailer, it hit the pavement and bounced. It was on an upward path when it struck us (this should give you an idea of how close we were). Had I hit the brakes, no doubt I would have slowed enough to allow the tire/rim to miss the hood of the car and go right through the center of the windshield. Dont forget, the tire hit the drivers side but in the middle of our lane; we were already partly on the shoulder. Guess we were just lucky that day.<br />I have since put inertia brakes on the trailer.<br />Take what you want from this post regarding two vehicles. I won't argue that my car simply wasn't designed for towing, espescilly heavy loads. The extra demand I place on the car and the premature wear to it is my choice. So far, I am convinced the car is capable and it has answered my demands without complaint for 3 years now. On the other hand, there is a the responsibilty of being safe to your passenegers and other drivers. This is why I added the brakes. And I do drive much differently when towing. There are many boat trailer combonations out there where the boat weight far exceeds the tow vehicle's. So basically, I do not have any problems using a mid-size car to pull moderatley heavy boat. <br />Hope you enjoyed the story.
