Does anyone pull their catalina with a six cylender long distances. I have a jeep with a 4.0 six. It has about 110,000 miles on it. My wife and I are moving from SL to Las Vegas and we would like to makes trips to california. I was thinking about getting an older chevy blazer or bronco. Any suggestions? Geoff Atkinson
- Status
A Real Boat Puller
Geoff, I also have a C22 and I did tow it with a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. It did have the V8 engine however. I only towed it once before I was lucky enough to trade the Jeep for a truck (1987 Ford F250 3/4 ton 4WD). The Jeep did tow the boat, but it was just plain uncomfortable. Seemed to push the Jeep around a little and felt like it outweighed the Jeep. The truck is great. Not only is it a dream to tow with it also gives you room to store the boom and sail, and also my home-made mast stepping rig so I can step the mast myself. You really don't need 4 wheel drive but it is a piece of mind if you get on a slippery ramp. Just as a footnote: the guy I traded cars with wrecked the Jeep while towing his new 28' powerboat. I think he was going too fast, with too much hitch weight and jack-knifed. He really did a number on the trailer!!! Total Loss!! Good Luck, and Drive Safe!
Geoff, I also have a C22 and I did tow it with a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. It did have the V8 engine however. I only towed it once before I was lucky enough to trade the Jeep for a truck (1987 Ford F250 3/4 ton 4WD). The Jeep did tow the boat, but it was just plain uncomfortable. Seemed to push the Jeep around a little and felt like it outweighed the Jeep. The truck is great. Not only is it a dream to tow with it also gives you room to store the boom and sail, and also my home-made mast stepping rig so I can step the mast myself. You really don't need 4 wheel drive but it is a piece of mind if you get on a slippery ramp. Just as a footnote: the guy I traded cars with wrecked the Jeep while towing his new 28' powerboat. I think he was going too fast, with too much hitch weight and jack-knifed. He really did a number on the trailer!!! Total Loss!! Good Luck, and Drive Safe!
Tow Vehicles
Jeff, we tow our Catalina 22 with a 4WD Expedition. Bought it set up with the tow package. We have to drive minimum of 100 miles just to find water - works great. You'd be completely happy with either the Bronco or Blazer.
Jeff, we tow our Catalina 22 with a 4WD Expedition. Bought it set up with the tow package. We have to drive minimum of 100 miles just to find water - works great. You'd be completely happy with either the Bronco or Blazer.
Mini Van
I use a Long Wheelbase Pontiac Transport Minivan to pull my 22. It has adequate power and enough brakes if driven conservatively. I must drive in 3rd gear to make sure the overdrive does not engage. The length and weight of the van allow a relatively smooth ride while towing. I have the tow package and load leveling. This setup is adequate for short distance towing but I would recommend a truck with much better brakes, a lower gear ratio in the final drive and a V8 for extended travel. I would also recommend a dual axle trailer to reduce the load on the trailer tires.
I use a Long Wheelbase Pontiac Transport Minivan to pull my 22. It has adequate power and enough brakes if driven conservatively. I must drive in 3rd gear to make sure the overdrive does not engage. The length and weight of the van allow a relatively smooth ride while towing. I have the tow package and load leveling. This setup is adequate for short distance towing but I would recommend a truck with much better brakes, a lower gear ratio in the final drive and a V8 for extended travel. I would also recommend a dual axle trailer to reduce the load on the trailer tires.
Towing , Truck or not !!!!
Hello There, After going thru some of the current discussions I found yours and thought I would put in my .02 (cents). I grew up in Michigan and learned to sail on the Great Lakes and inland lakes like Mullet and Burt in Northern Michigan and also Mackinac Island. Knowing that Michigan is in fact a relatively flat state except for some of the farther regions to the North and a few in the south like Irish Hills, and also being the owner of a trailerable new Mark ll swing keel Cat 22'I feel the if all you are towing is 5 miles taking it slowly and using the trailer tongue extention where you are in Michigan you should have no problem. Now that doesn't mean you can race the guy in the right hand lane at the entrance of I-75 for the lane, but careful and safe trailering, you should be ok. My concern would be the tongue weight on the vehicle. You might want to add some extra overload springs on the rear of your vehicle. The trailer should be equipped with it's own surge or electric brakes. If it is surge remember to move the lever on the trailer tongue to " backup" before backing. If you were where I am now in Central California, where I trailer my boat into the Sierra Nevada to Huntington Lake which sits at the 7,000' level then you might want to consider a pickup. My choice was 1999 GMC 3/4 long bed with the 6.0 engine trailer towing and all the goodies, but remember the choice of 4 wheel drive is more male ego then sense. Even here I would not have a 4 wheel drive as I never plan on ever taking my boat boonie crashing or anywhere a 4 wheel drive would be. Even the ocean has plenty of reasonable ramps and I see cars here all day long launching 22-30' boats both sail and power. Now I know there are some out there who would say " They will do most anything in California " and maybe so, but I haven't seen a car overheated nor in the drink yet trying to pull a 22' Catalina out on it's trailer !!!! If you happen to buy a truck then great if not, well 5 miles isn't that much and I know the launch ramps and conditions there. I would feel safe provided trailer brakes, tongue weight(safe hitch) and overloads allow you to tow the boat with the car in an almost level configuration. It's not the horsepower, but gearing of the vehicle and road conditions and remebering you need twice the braking distance !!!!!!! By adding the overloads you take the weight from the rear and distribute it forward which will give your front wheel drive plenty of traction. Thanks for listening, hope to see you there, Happy Sailing
Dave LaPere
Hello There, After going thru some of the current discussions I found yours and thought I would put in my .02 (cents). I grew up in Michigan and learned to sail on the Great Lakes and inland lakes like Mullet and Burt in Northern Michigan and also Mackinac Island. Knowing that Michigan is in fact a relatively flat state except for some of the farther regions to the North and a few in the south like Irish Hills, and also being the owner of a trailerable new Mark ll swing keel Cat 22'I feel the if all you are towing is 5 miles taking it slowly and using the trailer tongue extention where you are in Michigan you should have no problem. Now that doesn't mean you can race the guy in the right hand lane at the entrance of I-75 for the lane, but careful and safe trailering, you should be ok. My concern would be the tongue weight on the vehicle. You might want to add some extra overload springs on the rear of your vehicle. The trailer should be equipped with it's own surge or electric brakes. If it is surge remember to move the lever on the trailer tongue to " backup" before backing. If you were where I am now in Central California, where I trailer my boat into the Sierra Nevada to Huntington Lake which sits at the 7,000' level then you might want to consider a pickup. My choice was 1999 GMC 3/4 long bed with the 6.0 engine trailer towing and all the goodies, but remember the choice of 4 wheel drive is more male ego then sense. Even here I would not have a 4 wheel drive as I never plan on ever taking my boat boonie crashing or anywhere a 4 wheel drive would be. Even the ocean has plenty of reasonable ramps and I see cars here all day long launching 22-30' boats both sail and power. Now I know there are some out there who would say " They will do most anything in California " and maybe so, but I haven't seen a car overheated nor in the drink yet trying to pull a 22' Catalina out on it's trailer !!!! If you happen to buy a truck then great if not, well 5 miles isn't that much and I know the launch ramps and conditions there. I would feel safe provided trailer brakes, tongue weight(safe hitch) and overloads allow you to tow the boat with the car in an almost level configuration. It's not the horsepower, but gearing of the vehicle and road conditions and remebering you need twice the braking distance !!!!!!! By adding the overloads you take the weight from the rear and distribute it forward which will give your front wheel drive plenty of traction. Thanks for listening, hope to see you there, Happy Sailing
Dave LaPere- Status