vehicle choice

Eric M · Mar 10, 2014

A lot of factors to consider when looking at tow vehicles. The topic has been debated here and elsewhere to great extent. Do some searching and see what you find. In the end it comes down to a personal decision amongst the tradeoffs...
Several factors to consider:
1 - How heavy is the boat+trailer+gear that will be in the boat when you trailer?
2 - What % of the time you drive the tow vehicle will you be towing your boat+trailer?
3 - Are you willing to sacrifice non towing ride quality for improved towing performance?
4 - What is you budget for both vehicle and fuel?

I towed a J/24 on a tandem axle trailer ~4500# boat and trailer with a Silverado 1500 about 15K miles per year and felt quite comfortable. That is with the larger 5.3L engine option on the Silverado. I had the opportunity to tow the same rig with a friends 2500HD diesel Silverado. It was night and day difference towing, and also not towing. The 2500 pulled the boat like it was hardly there. It also costs nearly 50% more than the 1500. It also rides much rougher than the 1500 when not loaded with a trailer.
Hope this helps.

Brian S · Mar 10, 2014

Almost any V6 SUV should be able to tow a 2200# boat. I had been doing a bit of research, because I think my 1400# boat is pushing close to the limit of my 4 banger Subaru, which lists a max of 2000 or 2400 pounds, depending where you find the spec.

As I recall, most 4 bangers max at 2K, a V6 such as Honda Pilot gets you to 4K, and the Nissan Xterra does 5K because of beefier trans for V6, and real frame as opposed to uni-body. And the Xterra is the cheapest list price of Toyota Venza, Highlander, Ford Escape, Kia Sorento, Jeep Cherokeee, Honda Pilot, or Hyundai Santa Fe.

Right now, I wish I could trade the Forester for a Xterra! Based on my recco, a friend bought an Xterra to tow his 16' Wayfarer. Sure, it's overkill for a little Wayfarer, but far better than the Acura Integra he was using! So far, he loves the Xterra, but maybe not the mileage so much...

fred1diver said:
oops, I did forget to include the boat weight, it only weighs 2200# plus trailer and gear

dlandersson · Mar 10, 2014

It really comes down to your needs and budget. I bought a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee (206k miles) for just a few thousand. Not bad looking for as old as it is. Boat trailer come in around 3k, vehicle is rated for 5k+.

Unplanned, it did double duty this winter very nicely, rides well and is very safe for the little ones.

Milelage not great, but does not normally get used much.

fred1diver said:
oops, I did forget to include the boat weight, it only weighs 2200# plus trailer and gear

Bill Roosa · Mar 10, 2014

HP is not the major factor, towing weight is. If you don't have lots of HP you just go slower and accelerate slower, not much of a problem unless you plan on towing in the mountains a lot.
Towing weight is important because if you overload the suspension or tow heavier than you have traction to stop.....well lets just say that if you can't get it going that is inconvenient, if you can't steer or stop it that is a real problem.
Find out the max vehicle towing weight and don't exceed it.

srust58 · Mar 10, 2014

New or used? Big budget or small?

GMC Safari/ Chevy Astro are great tow vehicles for not a lot of money $2000-$4000. Rated up to 5000lbs.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 11, 2014

Fred;

I have towed small to large boats behind pick ups for over 40 years whether large, small or midsize to include diesel and dooley. There is a lot of good advice that has been presented. Your boat weighs 2200 pounds and probably with trailer and gear, you are at 3000 pounds or better. You need to make sure about the state you are in whether brakes are required.

Often, many do not include this but you need to be aware. Some pickups come only in rear wheel drive. Pulling out will be difficult as the back end of the truck is light ended. YOu will have to add at least 500 to 600 pounds in the back end of the truck to pull out of the water unless you have four wheel drive. Some front end vehicles also cannot pull out either contrary to popular belief that all front end vehicles can pull out. Make sure what the towing capacity of the tow vehicle is for your boat, trailer and gear as well.

If you are pulling a boat with no brakes on the trailer with a fixed keel, then extra caution is urged. Do not speed and if the trailer starts to sway, the tendenacy is to brake which will cause the trailer to sway a lot more probably loosing it. You have to speed up a little to get control and then brake slowly. A heavier back end vehicle in this application is suggested. However add brakes to that trailer. It is very helpful if pulling particularly a deep keel boat.

I have always suggested to carry a broom to sweep away the algae, sand and rocks on the concrete ramp for better traction when pulling out.

dave condon

djplatt · Mar 11, 2014

I towed my 4500lb boat and trailer from Toronto to Florida and back last winter with a standard F150 4.6 litre V8. This combo was rated at 5500 lbs towing capacity. The mountains through Tennessee and Kentucky were a little tedious. If I tried cruise contol the tranny was constantly shifting so I ending up pushing the pedal myself most of the time. You will barely notice a 2200 lb boat on the back with the F150.

cephius (Dave) · Mar 12, 2014

The full frame available on standard pickup trucks does provide towing stability not found in a uni-frame vehicle. There is also a very significant difference in towing capacity between a truck and a small SUV. There is usually a better price too.

The only drawback for a pickup truck is the lower rear axial weight. This comes into play when pulling a large boat out on a slippery ramp. 4 wheel drive helps. I dought it will be an issue for a 2200 lb load.

MrBill_FLL · Mar 13, 2014

all things equal, a longer wheelbase is much more comfortable ride...

Brian M H23 · Mar 13, 2014

This really depends how far, and fast you want to go. You can learn to live with anything at 35 mph around town or at the ramp, more or less. But you're going to want a truck with a longer wheelbase and capacity for a lot of tongue weight if you plan on hitting freeway speeds. My 3700 lb rig w/ Hunter 23 used to be scary on the highway @ 200 lb tongue weight, had the axle adjusted backwards to get me 400 and it was so, so much better. Pulled with a 94 F150

Calif. Ted · Mar 14, 2014

A limited slip rear axle can be very helpful on those slimey corrugated ramps.

dscribner · Mar 15, 2014

Our Lancer 25 outfit on the trailer weighs in at about 5500 pounds. We tow with a 2001 Ford F150 5.4 ltr engine. Tongue weight it about 150 lbs. It tows like a dream, even on the highway at 60 mph. I know, I know, the TW should be around 500. But I can't argue with the sucess of this setup. I've considered shifting the boat 6 inches forward to see what happens.

Don

soldier1964 · Mar 16, 2014

with a load out of 5000#, I used a F-250. even though my admirals MDX was able to do the job. since we are planning on a trip to lake havasu in the near future,her MDX would not seen up to the task. upgraded to a F-450 crew cab dually. abit overkill but I like it. tows my boat like its not even there. for your set up, there are plenty of vehicles that would do a real nice job for you.

$tingy Sailor · Mar 23, 2014

My boat is also around 2200# and fully loaded with trailer weighs around 3200# on the truck scale. I've been pleased with how my '98 Toyota Tacoma Xtra cab 4x4 w/V6 & manual trans handles the load. It will pull it at 60 on flat ground and at least 45 on any highway hill here in the Pacific NW. With the load balanced right, there's no tail wagging. Toyota trucks are legendary for reliability and that's been my experience after two of them.

The 4WD is almost a necessity to get up steep or gravelly ramps and the low range is easy on the clutch. The high clearance helps keep the doors out of the water when launching. Of course, the trailer tongue extension also helps a lot. The only thing I added for this combination was brakes on the trailer. Here in WA they're required for loads over 3000# or 40% of the tow vehicle weight. With the truck and canopy right at 4000#, that makes the load around 80%. I wouldn't be comfortable with the combo on slick roads, but it stops in a reasonable distance on dry pavement.

Sail Florida · Mar 25, 2014

We use a '07 Honda Odyssey with a Honda towing package to pull my Oday 222. Boat, trailer and gear are 3200 lbs. I replaced the struts & rear shocks, changed the transmission fluid and had a fuel injection system service. The van pulls the boat right out of the water on any ramp, tows like a dream, and stops responsively.

Someyawhoo · Mar 26, 2014

Pulled an oday222 with a 96 jeep grand Cherokee up mountain roads. No issue with the v8. Now tow it with a 06 Durango Hemi. Even better. Reverses up a steep driveway ( steep than any ramp) in rain no issue. Trailer has electric brakes which I recommend.

You ca forget it's back there at times eve with the jeep. Sorry for typos mobile version of the thread does allow me to edit easily.

Ashley · Apr 11, 2014

Brian S said:
Almost any V6 SUV should be able to tow a 2200# boat. I had been doing a bit of research, because I think my 1400# boat is pushing close to the limit of my 4 banger Subaru, which lists a max of 2000 or 2400 pounds, depending where you find the spec.

As I recall, most 4 bangers max at 2K, a V6 such as Honda Pilot gets you to 4K, and the Nissan Xterra does 5K because of beefier trans for V6, and real frame as opposed to uni-body. And the Xterra is the cheapest list price of Toyota Venza, Highlander, Ford Escape, Kia Sorento, Jeep Cherokeee, Honda Pilot, or Hyundai Santa Fe.

Right now, I wish I could trade the Forester for a Xterra! Based on my recco, a friend bought an Xterra to tow his 16' Wayfarer. Sure, it's overkill for a little Wayfarer, but far better than the Acura Integra he was using! So far, he loves the Xterra, but maybe not the mileage so much...

I love my xterra. I use it to pull my H260 in and out of the water and short trips. It does a great job.