Boat+Trailer Combo

[zopperman]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

Towing is 99% driver, 1% vehicle. The trend on this board is that you have lots of people that are relatively inexperienced with towing, and try to compensate for that lack of experience with vehicle. If you look outside the US, people safely tow all kinds of things with much smaller cars. The difference is that the requirements to even get a license are vastly higher than in the US, which doesn't have much in the way of requirements beyond a heartbeat. (and even then, with a doctors note that is not an issue...)

Is this true with an automatic where the driver has much less control? I know, when towing, I do my best to keep my RPMs down and allow for more stopping time, but what else can I do with my automatic tranny?

 

[Fed]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

You're going down the wrong track swapping trailers, grease the rollers & roll it off.
If you stick with the swap be very careful not to smack the concrete with the boat when tilting on a shallow ramp.

 

[1980Coronado]

So you are saying that a 1/2 ton truck from say around mid 1970's is safer? I'd be willing to bet the OP's car with that trailer behind could out stop a '70's 1/2 ton with 4 drum brakes and no abs...

And as far as transmission problems, I bought my car (subaru WRX) at 20k miles. I immediately put a hitch on to tow my 2000 pound boat, 1500 pound snowmobiles, and all kinds of other things. People immediately said the transmission isn't going to last a year. That was 6 years ago, and i'm over 140k miles. Still have the same clutch even. Not bad for a heavily modified car that puts out around 350hp at the crank. The disclaimer is that I grew up towing, I literally was driving a farm truck with stuff behind before I could reach the gas pedal.

Towing is 99% driver, 1% vehicle. The trend on this board is that you have lots of people that are relatively inexperienced with towing, and try to compensate for that lack of experience with vehicle. Nothing wrong with that, just an observation. If you look outside the US, people safely tow all kinds of things with much smaller cars. The difference is that the requirements to even get a license are vastly higher than in the US, which doesn't have much in the way of requirements beyond a heartbeat.

With this logic, since the driver is so well trained we could just tow it with a Motorcycle....it would pull it.

He's also pulling another car around with it....much heavier. As I suspected the car has no tranny cooler, and no leveling as recommended by the manufacturer. So my point is that the car as it sits right now is not setup for towing....except it has a hitch.....

My dad has a 10,000 lb boat, should I pull it with my Envoy Denali rated at 6,600 lbs? If what you say is true about ratings elsewhere it shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm a good driver.

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[Titanium48]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

So...because people couldn't afford a second vehicle in the 50's....and they didn't think twice about it....that makes it safe today? That's the argument? We used to pull a 2000 lb (900 kg) boat and trailer every weekend in the summer, with a 1977 Ford LTD II...with a bumper hitch. The car had a 351 cid (5.7L) V8 engine....transmission went out at 60,000 miles. Just because the vehicle can tow the weight doesn't mean it is: 0ne, safe and two, good for the vehicle.

Wasn't that about average transmission life for a 1970s Ford? Wasn't that the era that lead to people calling Fords "Found On Road Dead", and the "Quality is Job 1" ads of the 1980s that everyone laughed at? They seem to have gotten their act together now, but they sure put out some POSes in decades past. My dad had a 1977 Ford Granada that never towed a thing but went through 3 transmissions in under 100,000 km.

I'm not suggesting a need to go out and buy a 1/2 ton pick up with a diesel....I'm suggesting you get a more suitable tow vehicle. My brother in-law has a Z28 that has close to 800 hp...runs 10.9's in the 1/4 mile.....now that car aint no slouch, but I wouldn't tow with it, just as I wouldn't tow with that Commodore. I'm suggesting he get a vehicle that will allow him to back the boat in without putting his exhaust in the water. If that car was suited to towing, he wouldn't be having the problems he's having. You're also asking for transmission problems later on pulling that drag car around......that's just my opinion, it's worth as much as you paid for it.

Getting a ballmount with more rise to level the trailer will help keep the car out of the water. If that's not good enough, here's how I kept my car out of the water when launching: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=280759
I wouldn't worry about the 10 inch tires either. Just make sure the bearings are in good condition and you will be fine. People have put many, many highway km on 8 inch tires without them self-destructing.

 

[Sabbath]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

With this logic, since the driver is so well trained we could just tow it with a Motorcycle....it would pull it.

He's also pulling another car around with it....much heavier. As I suspected the car has no tranny cooler, and no leveling as recommended by the manufacturer. So my point is that the car as it sits right now is not setup for towing....except it has a hitch.....

My dad has a 10,000 lb boat, should I pull it with my Envoy Denali rated at 6,600 lbs? If what you say is true about ratings elsewhere it shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm a good driver.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9650 using Tapatalk

I fail to see where you're going with this self levelling. HD Springs are sufficient to keep the vehicle height relativly unchanged by the added weight.

The towbar is a factory fit option, rated at 2100kg's, the trailer + boat is going to be at approx 1000kg, so i have 1100kg to play with until im past the maximum capacity of the towbar.

Likewise when i tow the car, 1200 kg car and 900kg car. It's right on the edge of the capacity for the towbar. But the car manages fine. I tow upwards of 100km everytime i travel, and am currently at 200,xxxkm's on the first gearbox so i dont think the car is struggling much.


Got the trailers switched over today. Much better to have the boat im going to use on the trailer i wanted.

 

[1980Coronado]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

I fail to see where you're going with this self levelling. HD Springs are sufficient to keep the vehicle height relativly unchanged by the added weight.

The towbar is a factory fit option, rated at 2100kg's, the trailer + boat is going to be at approx 1000kg, so i have 1100kg to play with until im past the maximum capacity of the towbar.

Likewise when i tow the car, 1200 kg car and 900kg car. It's right on the edge of the capacity for the towbar. But the car manages fine. I tow upwards of 100km everytime i travel, and am currently at 200,xxxkm's on the first gearbox so i dont think the car is struggling much.


Got the trailers switched over today. Much better to have the boat im going to use on the trailer i wanted.

It's all in what you're accustom to. You don't see people pulling 4600 lbs with a sport sedan here in the US. The weight of the boats wasn't really a concern I had, it was the drag car. The leveling was just something I saw was recommended by the manufacturer for pulling the maximum 2100 kg. I would imagine that when towing the car, your engine temp is a little higher w/o the tranny cooler. That would indicate to me that you are decreasing the life expectancy of the drive train. This is speculation on my part, I personally wouldn't ever try to pull 4,600 lbs with a sport sedan.....the ratings are much different here as others have pointed out. To get a 2100 kg/4600lb tow rating here you'd be driving a Chevy Trail Blazer, GMC Acadia, type vehicle. Towing 2100 kg with a car here would likely void any warranty. Many people pull PWC's and small fishing boats with cars, but they're so small it isn't a problem.

Have fun with the boat this weekend......just put mine away for the Winter

 

[Sabbath]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

Have fun with the boat this weekend......just put mine away for the Winter

Thanks mate!

Had a ball! Few small niggly issues, like you have to quickly push the accelerator forward to get it to move off otherwise it stalls, and getting it back to N or to Reverse it cuts out. So im thinking the idle mixtures need tinkering with. Only October so plenty of water time left

 

[Oshkosh1]

Re: Boat+Trailer Combo

If you saw what I've pulled with my 93 Dakota(318, 2wd) you'd fall over!

One load that turned heads last winter was a four place steel sled trailer w/4 Arctic Cat ZR600's on it. Add to that I was loaded to the gills with gear, food, and people! WAAAAY over capacity, however ran like a champ up to the northwoods and back. Oh...on Goodyear Viva2's from Wally World. I swear, anything that I can hitch up that truck will pull without much of a fight!