will my car pull this boat????

[flare926]

I have a 16 foot aluminum boat with a 70 hp motor... i was thinking about putting a hitch on my 2004 pontiac grand prix... will that car pull the boat???? and recomendations... i was thinking of getting a class 2 hitch on it???

 

[OutboardNewbie313]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Well you may wanna check out this thread from off this forum..
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=253631

I've got a 2005 Grand Prix and a 16 foot aluminum Lowe 1620v with a 25 hp evinrude and I had the same question. I've got mixed reviews but the smart thing to do would be to not attempt it, from what I've gathered. I've been told the trans will fry because it's not geared to tow, the car don't have enough stopping power, the unibody design is not made for towing, etc. etc. It's enough to make me not wanna do it!!!

I'm gonna keep my eye on your thread to see what people are telling you.....I'm wondering if your replies will be different than mine.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Pretty much the same question as the other thread with the same vehicle.
I have a 2005 Grand Prix. We lovethe vehicle as a family car, but will never tow with it. Rated for 1,000 lb max is warning enough that it is not really built as a trailer hauler !!!

 

[dave11]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

I have a 16 ft aluminum boat with a 60HP four stroke motor. With a 3/4 full tank of gas the boat, motor, trailer, and stuff in the boat weighs about 2400#. That is too heavy for most cars. Weigh your boat with all the stuff you usually leave on it. You can buy a truck to tow it with now - cheap.

 

[shorts&chanclas]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

In the early 90s i pulled a couple of jetskis with a 3.1 V6 Corsica all the way through college. Was probably closer to 1500lbs. I did have to replace the torque converter after 7 years of using it. Who knows if towing impacted that.

being on a steep ramp with a front drive vehicle was not something I liked. found the best thing was to turn the wheels or go in at an angle and then hook the trailer in straight. How about you just look for a good used compact truck?

 

[199675hpforce]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

No maybe pickup a jeep, you could try and pull it but would need to update the shocks and springs and go stiff.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

No maybe pickup a jeep, you could try and pull it but would need to update the shocks and springs and go stiff.

Just a simple "No" from me.

 

[just_crsn]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

I have been towing my boat for 2 years now. It has 300,000 km on it. It weights approx. 1000lbs with boat and motor, fuel,battery, fishing or duck hunting gear. I do need to launch at good concrete ramp. But has worked great for me so far.

 

[paul88]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Aside from the mentioned problems, there is a legal way to tell. In your manual there should be a guide on how much weight your vehicle is allowed to have on a trailer. In some states, you can get pulled over and your vehicle checked. If you are over the limit, you can be forced to leave the trailer, face citation, and have to find a tow.

This is not the GVWR, the 1000lb reading you'll get off the door sticker, and it is NOT the rating you read on your hitch! My 4x4 explorer is rated to 1000lbs of passengers, and about 4000lbs of trailer with 500lbs of tongue weight, though the hitch installed is rated to much more than that.

The significant differences in the trailer weight rating usually stems from the brake system. It is VERY EASY to lose breaks going downhill with a trailer, and that is what becomes dangerous. If you decide to tow close to your limit, try down shifting instead of light braking on your slopes.

Getting it going is generally not a problem in an automatic because of the torque converter, provided traction is not a problem, but at the same time it does heat the tranny fluid pretty fast. Tow packages usually include larger coolers. If you're towing a lot, consider a fluid flush twice as often as normal (15k instead of 30k typical) because the fluid degrades faster at higher temps.

Just from google, your vehicle looks like it has a max of 1000lbs, but you should look in the manual.

edit:

http://www.nadaguides.com/default.a...3&d=4083&y=2004&c=16&vt=used&s=103052&z=37321
Horsepower: 200 @ 5200 RPM
Max Towing Capacity: 1000
Size: 3.8L/231
Torque: 225 @ 4000 RPM
Type: Gas V6

edit2:
If you don't know how much your equip weighs and are looking for an estimate without going to a weigh station, you can go to NADA again and look up your motor and boat weight, and guess on trailer. Add in some for the battery and other goodies.
http://www.nadaguides.com/SectionHome.aspx?l=1&w=24&p=0&f=5601

 

[sea wolf]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

In my opinion, forget it. There's another vehicle that Pontiac makes that's an even bigger piece of junk than the Grand Prix, & that's the Grand Am. You're lucky it even starts, let alone tow with it.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

In my opinion, forget it. There's another vehicle that Pontiac makes that's an even bigger piece of junk than the Grand Prix, & that's the Grand Am. You're lucky it even starts, let alone tow with it.

Junk for what purpose ????
Towing, yes.
As a Family / runabout 4 seater I completely disagree.
We currently drive a 05 Grand Prix. Great car, no issues to date
Son currently runs a 97 Grand Am, 277,000 km on the V6 engine. Still running great with regular oil changes.

Neither of these were designed for towing which is why we use a GMC Jimmy for the job.

 

[john from md]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

I pull a 16 foot Bayliner Capri with 85HP Force engine and lots of gas and fishing gear with a Toyota Camry. It tows great with a Class two hitch and has no problem pulling up ramps.

Regards,

John

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

I pull a 16 foot Bayliner Capri with 85HP Force engine and lots of gas and fishing gear with a Toyota Camry. It tows great with a Class two hitch and has no problem pulling up ramps.

Regards,

John

....What the heck happens in a panic stop?.....CRASH!!!

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

So, I've got an 18' Starcraft that weighs in (on the local courtesy scale) at 900 kg (just shy of 2,000 pounds) fully loaded.

Think I can pull it with my GMC 2500HD Duramax/Allison?



Really. Some of these tow vehicles you guys are describing scare the #@&@*#( outta me. No friggin way you can panic stop with you setup.

 

[cprince]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

....What the heck happens in a panic stop?.....CRASH!!!

Are you saying that it would crash due to the increased weight pushing the car in a stop, or that the whole rig come around and say hi to his hood?

If this is the problem (Stopping), and lets assume that the motor and tranny can take it, would a trailer breaking system solve this problem? are trailer breaking systems reasonable to use on a passenger car? (Not that I am thinking about doing it... just curious is all!)

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Are you saying that it would crash due to the increased weight pushing the car in a stop, or that the whole rig come around and say hi to his hood?

Both. Stopping distances will be (dramatically) increased and there is a bigger chance of the trailer doing something weird. The car's brakes are not made to stop the extra weight.

If this is the problem (Stopping), and lets assume that the motor and tranny can take it, would a trailer breaking system solve this problem? are trailer breaking systems reasonable to use on a passenger car? (Not that I am thinking about doing it... just curious is all!)

It's more than just the motor and tranny. Can the frame (if there is one in a FWD car) take the strain. Is the rear suspension set up for the extra weight. Yes, you may be able to add brakes (assuming full sized hubs on the trailer) but that would likely mean bigger axles to support the brakes. I've never seen brakes in the smaller sized wheels. Usually 15". The picture of the Sunfire above looks like 12" wheels to me and I doubt you would find brakes for them.

There is nothing better than having a tow vehicle properly sized for what you tow. I've seen the remains of a ~35' boat with a flipped Durango in front of it where the guys were lucky not to have their heads taken off. My wife is tired of me ranting about some of the tow vehicles I see on the road. You want to take your own life into your hands by doing this, fine. Just don't drive on a road where there are others you can kill when the boat decides to pass you.

 

[fsds123]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Wow, I just love all the misinformation. Has anyone ever compared braking distances of cars and trucks? All trucks have much longer braking distances than cars. And the bigger the truck (f250, f350 etc) the longer the braking distance.
18 wheelers take an incredibly long distance to stop...how come nobody says anything about the dangers of them driving on the road with others? How about the other 99% of the time the tow vehicle is not used to tow...aren't you endangering everyone by driving a big, heavy, bad handling, slow to stop vehicle?

A 1000 lbs behind a 3500 lb car is no big deal. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that a car towing a trailer/boat weighing less than 1/3 of the tow vehicle is going to have longer stopping distances than a 6000lb truck towing a 6000 lb or more boat. Physics is still physics is it not?

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Wow, I just love all the misinformation. Has anyone ever compared braking distances of cars and trucks? All trucks have much longer braking distances than cars. And the bigger the truck (f250, f350 etc) the longer the braking distance.
18 wheelers take an incredibly long distance to stop...how come nobody says anything about the dangers of them driving on the road with others? How about the other 99% of the time the tow vehicle is not used to tow...aren't you endangering everyone by driving a big, heavy, bad handling, slow to stop vehicle?

A 1000 lbs behind a 3500 lb car is no big deal. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that a car towing a trailer/boat weighing less than 1/3 of the tow vehicle is going to have longer stopping distances than a 6000lb truck towing a 6000 lb or more boat. Physics is still physics is it not?

Hook a thousand pound boat to a F250 and the same load on a car and see who stops better in a panic type stop! No dang question the truck will handle the stop much better and in a shorter stopping distance.
I have driven every type of truck on the road with weights over 120K pounds and hauled all kinds of heavy loads.
No way in he** a car will do the job of a truck!
Its reasoning like your post that gets people killed every day!

 

[Tredeb]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Wow, I just love all the misinformation. Has anyone ever compared braking distances of cars and trucks? All trucks have much longer braking distances than cars. And the bigger the truck (f250, f350 etc) the longer the braking distance.
18 wheelers take an incredibly long distance to stop...how come nobody says anything about the dangers of them driving on the road with others? How about the other 99% of the time the tow vehicle is not used to tow...aren't you endangering everyone by driving a big, heavy, bad handling, slow to stop vehicle?

A 1000 lbs behind a 3500 lb car is no big deal. There is no way anyone is going to convince me that a car towing a trailer/boat weighing less than 1/3 of the tow vehicle is going to have longer stopping distances than a 6000lb truck towing a 6000 lb or more boat. Physics is still physics is it not?

Actually, large trucks can stop fairly quickly when they have to. Bigger brakes and bigger tires/ground surface area account for a lot. The problem is not so much the stopping distance, but the capabilities of the brakes.

The driveline and brakes in a truck are over designed in order to accomodate the extra load of trailers and cargo. This becomes very apparent at the bottom of hills when the brakes are hot from riding them all the way down. Some cars (performance/sports) have larger brakes and probably would not have an issue, but standard cars don't.

Also, there is a big difference in the mindset of someone who is used to towing large loads and the mindset of someone who has never driven a large vehicle let alone towed a load.

Not to be rude, but if you are not sure if a vehicle would your boat, it is probably not the best choice to start towing with a subpar tow unit.

If you can get to a place that is not busy, go try towing and see how the car/trailer respond.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: will my car pull this boat????

Actually, large trucks can stop fairly quickly when they have to. Bigger brakes and bigger tires/ground surface area account for a lot. The problem is not so much the stopping distance, but the capabilities of the brakes.

The driveline and brakes in a truck are over designed in order to accomodate the extra load of trailers and cargo. This becomes very apparent at the bottom of hills when the brakes are hot from riding them all the way down. Some cars (performance/sports) have larger brakes and probably would not have an issue, but standard cars don't.

Also, there is a big difference in the mindset of someone who is used to towing large loads and the mindset of someone who has never driven a large vehicle let alone towed a load.

Not to be rude, but if you are not sure if a vehicle would your boat, it is probably not the best choice to start towing with a subpar tow unit.

If you can get to a place that is not busy, go try towing and see how the car/trailer respond.

EXACTLY! How do people think big trucks can stop on a dime when the idiot in the car changes lanes in front of the truck then slams on the brakes?
I have stopped 80,000 pounds just as fast as the dum bass in the car that cut me off.
Pulling a 2 or 3k boat with a small car would be like pulling a 40k load with a F250...Yea,it would pull it but who is going to get hurt or killed in the process?
Sorry,Had to rant...