As you might have seen I am looking at small boats in the 15-16' range. Should I be concerned about towing one of these with a Saab 9-3. The towing capacity is 3500lbs.
Towing With A Car
- Thread starter bbqdude
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Also, towing along a road is one thing. Pulling the boat and trailer out of the water on a sloped, maybe slippery ramp, is another. Check with the the car manufacturer or dealer, or a mechanic if you know one.
Are you going to be towing in flat or mountain country? Don't loose faith, most unibody vehicles today have a towing rating of 3,500 lbs. Not because of engine power but because of chassis integrity. I doubt most 15' or 16' boats will approach that limit so you should be OK. Pulling trailer and boat out of the water will add a load to the towing weight but the secret is to pull out slowly thus minimizing the added resistance. Traction is a different story specially with front wheel drive vehicles which transfer weight to the rear on inclines. An automatic transmission is more efficient in handling torque than a manual/clutch setup. Towing in mountain country does mostly put a damper on your speed and gas mileage.
I will just be towing in the Madison, WI are which is mostly flat. My car is front wheel drive automatic and it does have traction control. My Saab 9-3 is factory rated at 210hp.
If you decide on the precison 15 the boat is 390lbs. the trailer should be around 270lbs. my 2hp honda kicker is a little over 27lbs (its a long shaft) I talked to someone at Honda marine one day - they couldnt even tell me how much more. I wouldnt use anything heavier. The other stuff you will carry unless your headed out camping for a weekend or something is pretty negligable. Coming in around 700lbs - I could probably tow my boat and gear with a motorcycle if I could find a way to stop it. 
jimmyb
jimmyb
Find your car's GCWR. Subtract the weight of the car when loaded and ready to tow from the GCWR. Your answer is the ACTUAL tow capacity.
Unless Pacific Snailcraft is building Flicka 16's with tons of lead
, then no, you won't have a problem. If you are talking about a centerboard or dagger board type of boat without ballast - don't even worry about the weight at all, you won't be anywhere near even 1500 lbs. Below 1500 lbs you don't even need to worry about trailer brakes. Just have good hitch equipment, a maintained trailer and go.OC
When I'm towing my Hunter 15, my 1.6 litre diesel Peugeot 207 doesn't even know it's there. Most 15ish foot daysailors, including trailer have a towing weight of about 350 kg (550lbs). Your Saab has more HP than my Peugeot so I don't think that you would have a problem. Your Saab owners manual should quote a max towing weight for both braked and unbraked trailers. That should give you a good idea of what your Saab will be comfortable with.
Like JimmyB, my small chrysler comes in at around 625lbs. While I use an old Chev Venture(nicknamed Mis-Adventure)V6, it only has front wheel drive and the last time I tried to haul my Mac21 out on gravel I almost didnt make it. The little chrysler was a piece of cake even on wet mud/gravel the next week.
Hauling her home for the season's end yesterday I adjusted my mirror to try to see if I had a crucial piece of wood needed for the 'big boat' in my parts crate and then adjusted back to normal - I actually jumped when I saw someone so close to my bumper(that's right, it was the boat! ) I just hadn't noticed i was towing!
Hauling her home for the season's end yesterday I adjusted my mirror to try to see if I had a crucial piece of wood needed for the 'big boat' in my parts crate and then adjusted back to normal - I actually jumped when I saw someone so close to my bumper(that's right, it was the boat!
) I just hadn't noticed i was towing!I have mast-up dry storage for my Catalina 22 (probably 3500# loaded) and use a 2000 V6 Camry (rated at 3500#) to launch. Folsom is a major reservoir for Sacramento with a very large level change throughout the season, making for looooong launch ramps. The Camry rips the Catalina out of the water like a bulldog on a coat sleeve.
I would like to see how you make out . I will be doing the same, We just bought a 14' Javlin I will be towing with my 1999 SAAB 95 or my wife's 2006 93 Areo. both have hitches. I have a utility trailer I use to haul stuff to the dump and cart firewood around and my 95 tows fine. I too am concerned with the ramp here in Rhode Island some of the state axis ramps are very steep and some are not. Good Luck
If you are talking about a set up like in the photo I attached, then your SAAB's will hardly know it's there.
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