For the guys who think you need a truck.

StarTed

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
694
Years ago in the early '70s I had a '57 VW beetle (36 HP) and a 12' Starcraft boat that I sold to my brother. I delivered it on top of the beetle to him in Montana, over 450 miles away. You should have seen the hippy thumbing a ride at George Washington. He dropped his thumb and made the biggest grin as we passed by.

When I was young we had pickups and trucks but not pickup trucks. That came later for the wanna-be truck owners. Pickups had boxes, trucks had flat beds and were over 1 ton.

A car did everything. Once my dad hauled some sheep to the fair in the family sedan (a '41 Chevy) and their smell is probably there to this day. Talk about one car for everything.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
Years ago in the early '70s I had a '57 VW beetle (36 HP) and a 12' Starcraft boat that I sold to my brother. I delivered it on top of the beetle to him in Montana, over 450 miles away. You should have seen the hippy thumbing a ride at George Washington. He dropped his thumb and made the biggest grin as we passed by.

When I was young we had pickups and trucks but not pickup trucks. That came later for the wanna-be truck owners. Pickups had boxes, trucks had flat beds and were over 1 ton.

A car did everything. Once my dad hauled some sheep to the fair in the family sedan (a '41 Chevy) and their smell is probably there to this day. Talk about one car for everything.

The first post of 2016! LOL
 

JimS123

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
8,268
Years ago in the early '70s I had a '57 VW beetle (36 HP) and a 12' Starcraft boat that I sold to my brother. I delivered it on top of the beetle to him in Montana, over 450 miles away. You should have seen the hippy thumbing a ride at George Washington. He dropped his thumb and made the biggest grin as we passed by.

When I was young we had pickups and trucks but not pickup trucks. That came later for the wanna-be truck owners. Pickups had boxes, trucks had flat beds and were over 1 ton.

A car did everything. Once my dad hauled some sheep to the fair in the family sedan (a '41 Chevy) and their smell is probably there to this day. Talk about one car for everything.
Yeah and we didn't need more than 1 car per family. And we only had a little 14 foot woody with a 10 HP outboard and we were the envy of the street because nobody else had a boat. And Mom stayed home with the kids. We WERE the middle class and you know what else? We were all satisfied with what we had.

The biggest outboard of the day was a 50 HP V4. Dad said we could have one when we got older but we had to go to college and work real hard.
 

funk6294

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Messages
294
When I was a bit younger I would probably push the limits a bit more than I do now. I would have never owned a truck, but after buying one I am not sure I will ever go without one. Is it the only way to tow, no... but it sure is nice.

As to the Can-AM RV dealer, all I can say is hope it doesn't catch up with him. If an owner decides to overload their vehicle that's on them. For a business to advocate it is another (just because you can doesn't mean you should!). The auto industry adopted SAE J2807 to help set an even slate for everyone to play under when determining tow ratings. As much as we may think it's capable, we don't know all of the reasons why it was not rated a certain capacity. I suppose it's not really different than overpowering your boat. Sure you can do it, but at some point the risk reward runs out.
 

WIMUSKY

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
20,059
To me, pickup trucks are for farmers or to use on the construction site. I'm more of a 'Vette or Mercedes kinda guy.

I live in Hecksville( :) ). You'll see more pickups than cars. Don't get me wrong, I love Vettes. But it wouldn't be practical to haul, gravel, black dirt, firewood, a deer, etc. in the back of one.

My dad hauled his boat with a '72 Charger. Granted, it was a 14' with an 18hp. But unless you had a land yacht back then, the suspensions were stiffer than today. And 99% of them had full frames. Today's cars are built for comfort, not towing.
 

Frank Acampora

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
12,004
I have a 1500 Silverado and a Camaro. Wife has a Lincoln. I prefer the truck over the Lincoln and Camaro. Gunna sell the Camaro because at 70 with arthritis and bad knees it is just too difficult to get in and out of the others. So, in addition to towing I use the truck for almost everything else.
 

fishin98

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Messages
521
If you think you need a truck..then by all means get one...I miss my 2003 F150, replaced it with a new Dodge Durango in 2014, now I'm relegated to the wive's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
I grew up in the 50's and 60's remember well those FULL size cars with the BIG AZZ V8's...nothing sounded sweeter!
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Dang I miss that truck Bought it new in 2003, 4.6 V8, drove it 170K.
 
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Blind Date

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
462
I tried puling my boat and snowmobile trailer with a car for a year or two. Then I said enough of this BS & bought a 4WD truck. Never looked back. My crew cab Sierra HD is about the most versatile thing ever made. 4 tons of SeaRay cruiser hooked to the back, a washer & dryer in the box, 2 adults and 3 kids in car seats in the cab. What other vehicle made can do that as easily as my Sierra? I prefer a car anytime I'm not towing but otherwise it's 4WD truck or nothing. If you prefer a car for towing, go for it!
 

StarTed

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
694
Don't get me wrong. I have and use a pickup now. I was 24 years old before I bought my first pickup, a '47 Chev with 9' long bed. I got a title but there wasn't a single identifying plate or number on it. The title said 3/4 ton but the axles and brakes were 1 ton. I bought it in LA so who knows what the history was. I sold a '56 TR-2 when I bought it.

Now I own and drive a Silverado 2500 HD 4X4 double cab with Duramax and Alison. My previous Duramax was a 2003 6 speed stick shift (very rare). I use it to pull trailers. A home built flat bed that I didn't build but can carry a logging skidder. A 12' long dump trailer that they've overloaded and gone over the scales with pickup at over 26,000#. A home built trailer that I have modified several times and is now my camping trailer. And a boat trailer. I've had many other trailers in the past.

My current pickup is the best tow rig I've owned mainly due to the air springs I added that really stabilize it when loaded.

Granted, the pickup can be a beast to turn around and parking lots are not easy. It takes a little planning to make driving it easier. It's great on the road. I'll take a short wheel base jeep or similar in the back country to get around and turn around at the end of a dead end skid road. They're just not as good getting there.

Now that I've owned a pickup many years I can definitely say that for a single vehicle I'll take it.
 

smokeonthewater

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 3, 2009
Messages
9,838
I'll put my money where my mouth is.... If ANYONE wants to come hook a 3000 lb front wheel drive econobox to my 10,000 lb boat and drag it down a closed course with 60 mph curves and a sudden stop, all I ask is that they put down a $20,000 damage deposit.... In the event of a successful tow I'll refund the 20k and add 5k to it... LOL!!!!!!!!

Yes of course it's a joke since it would be against the rules to really make this offer...
 

Captain Ollie West

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 1, 2014
Messages
156
My daily driver/tow vehicle is a F350 Crew-Cab Dually 4 wheel drive 7.3 Powerstroke 6-speed.

I like big trucks and I cannot lie ...
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
50,375
I'll put my money where my mouth is.... If ANYONE wants to come hook a 3000 lb front wheel drive econobox to my 10,000 lb boat and drag it down a closed course with 60 mph curves and a sudden stop, all I ask is that they put down a $20,000 damage deposit.... In the event of a successful tow I'll refund the 20k and add 5k to it... LOL!!!!!!!!

Yes of course it's a joke since it would be against the rules to really make this offer...

Make at least 2 miles of the course bad expansion joints (just like I43 between Sheboygan and Milwaukee).
 

fishin98

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Messages
521
Make at least 2 miles of the course bad expansion joints (just like I43 between Sheboygan and Milwaukee).

HA!...I remember a time when WI has fairly smooth roads. This past summer when I came north from FL to WI to go walleye fishin, the minute I crossed the Ohio river, the highways became a obstacle course of pot holes and uneven pavement.....GOOD GRIEF!
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
50,375
You should see the 20 miles coming out of the twin cities back to Wisconsin
 

WIMUSKY

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
20,059
Yep, roads don't last long up here in the frozen north......
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
Messages
49,038
I'll put my money where my mouth is.... If ANYONE wants to come hook a 3000 lb front wheel drive econobox to my 10,000 lb boat and drag it down a closed course with 60 mph curves and a sudden stop, all I ask is that they put down a $20,000 damage deposit.... In the event of a successful tow I'll refund the 20k and add 5k to it... LOL!!!!!!!!

Yes of course it's a joke since it would be against the rules to really make this offer...

Since you really can't make this offer :rolleyes: LOL, might as well add a pull up a ramp. Wet or dry. no difference. :D

I hear Ya...I grew up in the GREAT WHITE north of WI and the UP......For the last 25 years I've lived down here in FL with all the OLD PEOPLE and their FOLKS!:lol:


Do mean you the other old people? ;) :laugh:
 

WIMUSKY

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 26, 2009
Messages
20,059
I hear Ya...I grew up in the GREAT WHITE north of WI and the UP......For the last 25 years I've lived down here in FL with all the OLD PEOPLE and their FOLKS!:lol:


I'd still love to go down there in the winter and back up here in the spring. Best of both worlds.......;)
 
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