What can i use to tow my boat?

[rtpassini]

i bought a 1975 Crestliner Muskie 550 recently. Dry weight is 825. So that, plus motor, and trailer, equipment etc.

Just some rough ideas of what vehicles can tow this.

this is my first boat, thats why im not sure what is acceptable.

 

[JB]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

Just about anything with a tow rating of 2,000lb or more.

 

[rtpassini]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

is rwd necessary? or is it just easier?
my mom has a buick rendevzous. that has a tow rating of 3500 lbs i think. hopefully that will do the trick if my g/f's parents arent using theirs.

also, i know automatics are better. but as far as cylinders, im assuming 6 or more is better?

 

[DJ]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

is rwd necessary? or is it just easier?
my mom has a buick rendevzous. that has a tow rating of 3500 lbs i think. hopefully that will do the trick if my g/f's parents arent using theirs.

also, i know automatics are better. but as far as cylinders, im assuming 6 or more is better?

That will do fine.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

6 or myre cyl are better because you'll get better throttle response and low end torque. Having said that, I've towed several 2000-2800# rigs with a few different 4 cyl cars (two of which were front wheel drive.) Your rig isn't all that demanding so the car you have should work fine as long as your not towing in mountainous areas @ high speeds. Just try to keep your overdrive off and your RPM's in mid range.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

I have towed many miles with a Mercury Mariner 2.3 4 banger. same car as the Ford Escape. i hilly or mountains 6 cylinder is recommended. over drive off.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

... Dry weight is 825. So that, plus motor, and trailer, equipment etc...

I tow my 14' MFG Niagara with a Saturn LS which is front wheel drive. Boat is 595 dry (maybe 495??), so with trailer, gear, motor, and fuel, I am probably 1300 pounds +. I could handle a little more, but I don't think I would want to with that car- braking is acceptable with what I have, but I wouldn't want to push it.

I would try to get the boat to a scale somewhere, and weigh it as you would tow normally, with all your gear. Then check the tow rating of your proposed vehicles and run with it. The current one you mentioned should be fine with your boat. I have not weighed mine because my first test-tow was so successful that I was unconcerned.

 

[Incorrigible]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

If you're looking to purchase a tow vehicle, or if you're trying to determine if the vehicle you have (mom has, friend has, etc) READ THE MANUAL.

Many people believe they need more vehicle than they seriously do. Don't get me wrong, more won't hurt you, but may not be necessary.

On the other hand: DO NOT PUSH YOUR LUCK in towing. You need a vehicle that CAN handle what you have behind it. I've seen the results too many times and have heard too many horror stories of people trying to pull more than they can, and ending up in big trouble.

You have more to consider than towing capacity remember. Getting it rolling and pulling it down the road is only half. You also have to be able to stop it....

All the information you need is in the owners manual of the vehicle, and there is a good amount of information available on weight, what the abbreviations really mean (in your car owners manual) and how to determine if you are capable of towing any certain trailer to be found on the internet.

 

[rtpassini]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

thanks for all the help guys! im not a noob when it comes to cars, motors, etc. so i know there is more to it then just towing capacity. when i put a bigger motor in one of my cars, i upgraded the brakes and suspension with it.

for trailer hitches, do you have yours welded on? or bolt on? any particular brands or anything?

 

[GlasV162]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

Most hitches today are the bolt-on, receiver type that are custom-made to fit your make / model car. The hitch itself will be permanently mounted (usually bolted) directly to your car's frame and will have a receiver where you insert the drawbar when you need to tow. I've had good luck at U-Haul, but I'm sure there are other dealers out there.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

for trailer hitches, do you have yours welded on? or bolt on? any particular brands or anything?

Talking about the trailer, if your replacing the hitch you can get away with bolting it on, I bolted mine on with heavy or high grade bolts and locking nuts with flat washers. It was suggested that I put a tub or some kind of pipe in between in the square tubing to reduce the chance on crushing it but I didn't bother with it on mine.

The original hitch was welded on and was a pain to get off. When thinking of maybe having to replace this new one later on down the road I figured it would also be much easier to just bolt the hitch on.

If your talking about the tow package then it also can be bolted on.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

Check out www.etrailer.com. They seem to have a hitch for about any car, truck, or SUV. I personally have bought and installed 3 hitches from them for my Subaru and my parents Vue and Malibu. All bolted on very easy with minimal (if any) drilling. The wiring is straight forward and is easy to tie into the tail lights.

As far as a tow vehicle, there's a couple rules to follow.
1. Make sure you know what the cars tow rating is with or without trailer brakes. My Subaru Legacy is rated at 1000lbs w/o trailer brakes and 2000lbs w/ trailer brakes.
2. Don't forget to figure out the weight of your package with gas, and gear. this is a key factor. My boat is a 16' Lund and with all my gear weighs in at about 900lbs. My Subaru (2.5L, 4cyl) pulls it with great ease.

 

[timdan94]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

I have an 08 legacy with the 2.5l and it is rated at 1000lbs without trailer brakes and 2700lbs with trailer brakes. I tow about 1900 lbs without trailer brakes with it without problems. it stops good and gets about 17-21 mpg towing.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: What can i use to tow my boat?

Most anyplace can install a hitch. Most anyplace can and will screw up wiring for the lighting. I have allowed two places (U-Haul and one independent shop) to wire the lighting. Both screwed it up. I have wired several myself and no screw-ups (although I did have a wiring converter short out after several years and it kept blowing fuses). If they have a plug-in converter, it should be difficult to screw that up. Otherwise watch out for them. It is not hard to wire one right, if you know what you are doing.

Good Luck,
TerryMSU