We recently purchased a Macgregor S26. The entire rig weighs about 2900 pounds with the motor. We own a Chrysler Town and Country LXI with a 3.8L V6 with traction control and a 4-speed automatic 41TE/41AE transmission. We plan to tow the rig from St. Louis to the Chicago area approximately 275 miles (flat terrain). The car is equipped with a class 2 hitch. What are your thought about towing with this vehicle. We will be close to the max recomended total car plus trailer weight of 6000 lbs listed in the owners manual. We have no transmission cooler or heavy duty springs or shocks. Thank you, Jerry
Is this an acceptable tow vehicle
- Thread starter Jerry21707
- Start date
- Status
depends....
how many miles on the vehicle? have you towed a lot of boats before? can you stand driving no faster than 60mph the whole way? and slowly pull the trailer out of the water, to let the water run out before tryin to go up the ramp. imho youre pushing your luck. do a test drive on the hwy and make sure you have enough tounge weight so the trailer doesnt walk away and jack knife!
how many miles on the vehicle? have you towed a lot of boats before? can you stand driving no faster than 60mph the whole way? and slowly pull the trailer out of the water, to let the water run out before tryin to go up the ramp. imho youre pushing your luck. do a test drive on the hwy and make sure you have enough tounge weight so the trailer doesnt walk away and jack knife!
Toyota Sienna
I towed mine once about 8 hours with my TOY. It's got the tow package with a tranny cooler. I'd recommend one of those. Make sure you have 200-250 lbs tounge weight or it will be squirrley as hell.
I towed mine once about 8 hours with my TOY. It's got the tow package with a tranny cooler. I'd recommend one of those. Make sure you have 200-250 lbs tounge weight or it will be squirrley as hell.
Ford windstar 3.8l
I towed a 26S 550 miles with no problems at all. The only modification to the car is a transmission cooler for about 160$. I have a class 2 hitch. You should also minimize the use to use the overdirve. Cheers Ben
I towed a 26S 550 miles with no problems at all. The only modification to the car is a transmission cooler for about 160$. I have a class 2 hitch. You should also minimize the use to use the overdirve. Cheers Ben
trans cooler
local mech should be able to put one on for less than $100 including parts, or you can do it yourself. read the owner book as to what gear to use while towing, my GMC book says not to use overdrive when towing over a certain weight on the highway. just remember, the faster you cruise, the more space it takes to stop, and check wheel bearings for excessive heat at least every gas stop, carry a small grease gun and give them a hit. make sure everything including the boat is well tied down.
local mech should be able to put one on for less than $100 including parts, or you can do it yourself. read the owner book as to what gear to use while towing, my GMC book says not to use overdrive when towing over a certain weight on the highway. just remember, the faster you cruise, the more space it takes to stop, and check wheel bearings for excessive heat at least every gas stop, carry a small grease gun and give them a hit. make sure everything including the boat is well tied down.
I won't say...
don't do it but most FWD cars and vans make lousy tow vehicles. I think the tow capacity is about 3500lbs on your vehicle so you may squeek by. I think the tranny cooler would be a good idea too. Your van will be working hard during the trip. Add a/c to the load and we're talking a lot of engine/tranny heat.
don't do it but most FWD cars and vans make lousy tow vehicles. I think the tow capacity is about 3500lbs on your vehicle so you may squeek by. I think the tranny cooler would be a good idea too. Your van will be working hard during the trip. Add a/c to the load and we're talking a lot of engine/tranny heat.
Think it's ok
Everyone of these guys is right on with good advice. You can adjust the tongue weight a little by how you load the boat. Loading in front of the axle will increase tongue weight and so forth. Lack of tongue weight will cause it to fish back and forth on the highway, do go slow you won't regret it. Obtain one of the air mattress blowers the guys have been talking about and blow out your ballast tank before you take out. It will lighten your load and make it easier to get the boat up tigh against the bow stop. I think you'll be ok, just take it easy and be safe. For the front wheel drive thing your wheels may spin on take out, pending the ramp pitch as all your weight will go towards the rear. That's another reason to blow the water ballast tank ahead of pull out. Have fun steve
Everyone of these guys is right on with good advice. You can adjust the tongue weight a little by how you load the boat. Loading in front of the axle will increase tongue weight and so forth. Lack of tongue weight will cause it to fish back and forth on the highway, do go slow you won't regret it. Obtain one of the air mattress blowers the guys have been talking about and blow out your ballast tank before you take out. It will lighten your load and make it easier to get the boat up tigh against the bow stop. I think you'll be ok, just take it easy and be safe. For the front wheel drive thing your wheels may spin on take out, pending the ramp pitch as all your weight will go towards the rear. That's another reason to blow the water ballast tank ahead of pull out. Have fun steve
precautions based on experience...
All above is good advice. You can do it, but, definetly get an aftermarket tranny cooler before going. Chrysler/Dodge trannies are notorious for early failure. Drive 60 mph, no more. If your vehicle has a overdrive, lock it out while towing. IF the air temps reach near 100 degrees drive even slower and stop every hour for 20 minutes cool off time. Inflate vehicle rear tires and trailer tires to maximum inflation pressure molded on sidewalls. Make sure your spare is in good condition. Have fun.
All above is good advice. You can do it, but, definetly get an aftermarket tranny cooler before going. Chrysler/Dodge trannies are notorious for early failure. Drive 60 mph, no more. If your vehicle has a overdrive, lock it out while towing. IF the air temps reach near 100 degrees drive even slower and stop every hour for 20 minutes cool off time. Inflate vehicle rear tires and trailer tires to maximum inflation pressure molded on sidewalls. Make sure your spare is in good condition. Have fun.
air shocks? to reduce sway
Night sailor was eluding to a sway problem I think when he talks about topping your tires up with air. You might find the rear end of your van is sprung a little soft. That is why I suggest you go slow with plenty of tongue weight. You could beef up with air shocks to prevent some of that sway on the road but just be careful because when the boat starts swinging the van will go in the opposite direction and can get out of control. That's why we're all suggesting stay at 55 or 60 mph and you should be ok. Again, tonge weight will help this problem as the Mac trailers have a short wheelbase . Take care Steve
Night sailor was eluding to a sway problem I think when he talks about topping your tires up with air. You might find the rear end of your van is sprung a little soft. That is why I suggest you go slow with plenty of tongue weight. You could beef up with air shocks to prevent some of that sway on the road but just be careful because when the boat starts swinging the van will go in the opposite direction and can get out of control. That's why we're all suggesting stay at 55 or 60 mph and you should be ok. Again, tonge weight will help this problem as the Mac trailers have a short wheelbase . Take care Steve
final reason to go slow......
in so fla, I see jack knifed trailers frequently.... this is often due to low tongue weight. once the trl starts swaying the tendency it to hit the brakes.. (wrong!) try to slowly lift off the gas, and try to turn in the direction of the boat... or, try to keep the boat behid you). (this normally requires changing lanes, like right now.) the bad news is, most often when the trailer jack knifes, the tow vehicle rolls! dont let this happen to you, go slow, be safe, have fun.
in so fla, I see jack knifed trailers frequently.... this is often due to low tongue weight. once the trl starts swaying the tendency it to hit the brakes.. (wrong!) try to slowly lift off the gas, and try to turn in the direction of the boat... or, try to keep the boat behid you). (this normally requires changing lanes, like right now.) the bad news is, most often when the trailer jack knifes, the tow vehicle rolls! dont let this happen to you, go slow, be safe, have fun.
Load equalizing hitch ?
mrbill, have you ever seen an anti-sway bar used on our Mac's ? I'm not towing mine anymore but did have some experiences that made me slow down. I noticed part of my problem was loading the boat with "stuff" and you know where it went-behind the axle and that reduced tongue weight and caused my sway problems. I have a load equalizing hitch for my new 10,000 lb load and this helps a great deal but you know already my tongue weight is high here. Has anyone gone nuts and towed their Mac with a load equalizing hitch? I think it would be a best scenario, although pricey. Opinions? Steve
mrbill, have you ever seen an anti-sway bar used on our Mac's ? I'm not towing mine anymore but did have some experiences that made me slow down. I noticed part of my problem was loading the boat with "stuff" and you know where it went-behind the axle and that reduced tongue weight and caused my sway problems. I have a load equalizing hitch for my new 10,000 lb load and this helps a great deal but you know already my tongue weight is high here. Has anyone gone nuts and towed their Mac with a load equalizing hitch? I think it would be a best scenario, although pricey. Opinions? Steve
load dist hitch / anti sway (sway away)
I know jc whitney sells them. (cheap) I also know a few non boater using them. But have not seen them on boats. from what I understand, the load dist hitch's are great,as they are spreading the load over both axles of the car. the sway kits are also good, but must be disconnected prior to backing down. I think these are normally used when the tounge weight is too high, like 600lbs. and you dont have a dually. (I see them at the race tracks a lot, with enclosed trls, and generators/tool boxes in the nose of trl) fwiw, I towed a car trl w/ a 6cyl explorer for 5 yrs, it was unsafe, as I couldnt panic stop. but, I didnt want to upgrade, so I just left earler, and went slower. braked in a straight line, never had a problem would I recommend it, no... but I got away with it... just like this guy with the mini van... he can get away with it, IF IF IF, he goes slow. the trans cooler is a good idea. I also changed my trans fluid 2x a year. (B&M sells a trans drain kit, that requires you to drill your transmission pan, but it makes changing the trans oil a snap... (I only changed my trans filter every other time)
I know jc whitney sells them. (cheap) I also know a few non boater using them. But have not seen them on boats. from what I understand, the load dist hitch's are great,as they are spreading the load over both axles of the car. the sway kits are also good, but must be disconnected prior to backing down. I think these are normally used when the tounge weight is too high, like 600lbs. and you dont have a dually. (I see them at the race tracks a lot, with enclosed trls, and generators/tool boxes in the nose of trl) fwiw, I towed a car trl w/ a 6cyl explorer for 5 yrs, it was unsafe, as I couldnt panic stop. but, I didnt want to upgrade, so I just left earler, and went slower. braked in a straight line, never had a problem would I recommend it, no... but I got away with it... just like this guy with the mini van... he can get away with it, IF IF IF, he goes slow. the trans cooler is a good idea. I also changed my trans fluid 2x a year. (B&M sells a trans drain kit, that requires you to drill your transmission pan, but it makes changing the trans oil a snap... (I only changed my trans filter every other time)
- Status