Re: Looking for tow vehicle
If the tow capacity is indeed well above the actual boat/trailer weight, just use it as a tow vehicle. If you are concerned about the transmission, adjust your driving style to preserve it. The biggest cause of wear in it is shifting on an open throttle. The transmission is designed to soften the shifts and to do so it must allow some slip during the shift. If it shifts with the throttle open, that slip will generate lots of wear and heat. If you manually downshift it on a nearly-closed throttle (set the throttle to maintain speed during the shift), there will be very little wear and heat during the shift. Once the transmission is fully in gear, you can then open the throttle as needed. Upshifts should be done the same way except there's no need to manually upshift, it will obviously happen automatically when you lift the throttle. Once it is in the next gear, you can get back on the gas (but not so much that it will downshift). If you know you'll need a lower gear to climb a hill, downshift on the flat before the hill starts so you don't lose momentum. Never be afraid to rev the snot out of the engine, it's really not harmful of you stay below the red line (think about how your boat engine is used...).
