What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

[CapriRestorer]

I have an 18' boat and I am new to boating. I have a 2000 Chevy S10 Blazer 2WD. Will this be a good vehicle for towing my 18' Bayliner, or should I invest in a 4WD?? What kind of vehicles do you guys have??

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

Read here,
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=7787
And here,
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=230607

 

[jevery]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

What's your S10 rated to tow? - Should be in your owner's manual. What's you best estimate of total weight of your rig including trailer? Which engine and type of transmission do you have? Does your trailer have brakes? Have you tried towing it yet? These pieces of information should give you a pretty clear picture of where you stand. Hey don't ask me anyway. I tow a bigger boat than yours with a minivan.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

That question gets asked alot and there are those that feel you need a diesel to tow a row boat so be prepared for more comments than you probably have time to read. Since you asked though, my feelings are that two wheel drive anything can be an issue on steep, unimproved and slippery ramps as they don't have the traction of four wheel drive. However, good grippy tires helps as does a locking differential. That said, your S10 will tow the 18 footer as the vehicle is rated for somewhere around 4000-4500 pounds. My S10 Crew Cab pickup is rated for 5000. 4000# in your case and 5000# in my case are both at the extreme limits and not what I would consider good tow vehicles for anything other than short trips to the ramp. I'm guessing, but your total load with boat, motor, gas, toys, adult beverages, etc is probably 3500 - 3700 pounds. The Blazer will tow that just fine but the trailer should have brakes at that weight. Rear axle ratio also has a bearing on how well or how poorly a vehicle tows.

 

[CapriRestorer]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

I have towed the boat about 75 miles with the S10 with no problem. I just hear a lot of stories about tow vehicles slipping into the water. My uncles truck recently got pulled under by his 15' Demcraft (although he was using a Ford Ranger). Would something with AWD like a Land Rover Discovery be better, or is the S10 just fine??

(The trailer does not have brakes)

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

Wheel chocks and technique will be a great help to you. I currently use a 99 Jimmy to tow the outfit in my signature. I have 4WD but to date have not needed it. I have recently used 4WD in the snow and it is great but not yet needed it at a ramp. Take it steady and you should be fine. When I lived in England you would see folk towing a 20 footer with a Ford Escort !!!!

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

Agree with all the above too.Wheels chocks would be a must.The type of ramps you use make a huge difference as well.Get on one of those green slime ramps and you may have a problem.A couple bags of play sand just in case you need to put some on the concrete ramps work well.I have had my Chevy Tahoe slide backwards on a slippery ramp,not a good feeling.
Trailer brakes for sure with that rig!

 

[rndn]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

I towed a 3200# Baja with a 4wd S-10 style Jimmy. I never needed to use the 4wd for the 10 years of towing and launching the boat. It was a cement ramp and sometimes a little slick but never had a problem.

 

[MarkMSU]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

Capri:

I have used Caravans for years towing. Never had any problems. I have towed tent campers, boats.

I now use a Grand Caravan with a 3.3 to tow my boat, weighs about 2400, but I have a towing package. I watch it close to make sure I stay at least 10% below the 3,800 lb towing limit. I have towed it up north in Michigan with no problems, just need to take your time, be smart and careful. Would love a bigger vehicle, but it does not make sense family wise, plus gas mileage. In the ramps, no problem. I have seen manly trucks slip and slide, I pull out nice and easy. Just my opinion. I am sure others would not get caught dead in a GCV, but I like them for their utility and comfort while driving. In fact, I have 2 of them, same color in the garage.

 

[jtexas]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

not familiar with wimberly...where you boating, capri? I've never in the state of Texas encountered a ramp where 4WD was necessary. city/state/COE parks, private marinas...

apart from the legal requirement for trailer brakes (3500 lb capacity trailer), have you had to make any sudden stops with your rig? your stopping distance might surprise you.......in traffic, try to keep in mind, you probably need at least 2x farther to stop than the car ahead of you.

 

[Arima90]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

I vote 4WD with good tires and brakes and this is why: Here in the northwest (Bellingham, WA) it rains, and rains and.... Green slime grows on everything, if you leave a car, boat or nearly anything parked for any length of time the north side will begin to turn green. This being said, I wouldn't attempt launching on even the slightest slope without first engaging 4WD. I've tried a couple of times without doing so and had difficulties. Another issue is every boat launch is different, you have salt or freshwater, tide changes, lake height changes, some are concrete, some gravel, and some are a mixture of gravel, sand, concrete, rock and whatever was used to help the last fellow out.

I used to pull my 21' Hardtop Trophy for short and long distances with a strait six cylinder Ford F150 4WD. She didn't like it but that engine lasted a strong 200K miles and was going strong when I traded her in, however, the clutch was about done. I often wonder if front wheel drive is superior to rear wheel drive at boat launches because the front tires are likely on dryer ground.

 

[CapriRestorer]

Re: What Would be a Good Tow Vehicle

To jtexas-I go out on Canyon Lake from time to time with my jetski. I have been on Lake LBJ as well as Lake Travis. The Bayliner Capri in my avatar is my second boat (my first was a project, and so is this one). I have used boats, but I mainly use the jetskis.

To Arima90 - I would think a FWD would be better also. I know they get better traction than a RWD, and you are right about the fact that the tires are probably off of the slippery stuff. My S10 is a RWD, so that is why Im asking the question. I have never launched anything as heavy as a boat, so I have no idea on what it is going to do.