What do you tow your Macgregor with?

[tegwilym]

towing

Thanks for the comment Kaizen, I looked up the specs on your toyota and it seems fairly similar for towing as my Ford Ranger. My bumper says 2,000/200, but I found that Uhaul wouldn't rent me a trailer with a bumper hitch last week and need a different hitch mount. I'll upgrade that since I've been a little concerned about the bumper hitch capacity.Now if someone would just sell a Mac 22 around here....Tom

 

[Dennis]

Tow with my

I tow with my T100 big V6! I have even pulled with my 4 cylinder Toyota pickup, both vehicles are four wheel drive! The 4 cylinder though didnt have a high road speed! Both can pull it up the ramps no problem in 4 low! Really you could probably pull a mountain in that gear!

 

[tegwilym]

Tow

I think I've pretty much narrowed my search down to a Macgregor 22 or something very similar in size/weight. My Ranger is a 2WD V6, so I think that would be about the right size for the truck. If I go bigger, I think I better upgrade my truck too, but I'm not that rich to buy that many toys at once.

 

[Dennis]

Ive said before

Why do you think they name boats after women? Because both will cost ya!

 

[tegwilym]

cost

Hehe! That does seem to make sense.

 

[CP-Mike]

Nissan Murano

I tow my 21 with a Nissan Murano. It's got the factory class II hitch and wiring, but no other mods. And I don't think it needs any. It's a 235 HP V6 front wheel drive. The engine isn't THAT big, but my boat and trailer and gear only weigh ~2200 lbs. It's great on the freeway. With the weight distributed correctly (150 lbs tongue weight) the trailer tracks straight as an arrow. I've trailered it about 1500 miles on freeways since I bought it, and gone through some decent grades. The Tehachapi Pass (5-6% for 14 miles), the Cuesta Grade (7% for 2 miles), and the Conejo Grade (101 by Camarillo; 8% for 1.5 miles). Obviously the latter two are the most punishing, but I only had to slow down to 45 mph. Not only did I not want to floor it just for the sake of maintaining 55 mph, but also the big rigs only go about 45 up those sections, and I tend to loosely follow a truck if I can. But when you're just driving on flat highway, it's almost as if you can't tell that you're towing. The CVT transmission adjusts for the extra load flawlessly, other than it running out of headroom sooner.You would think that the front wheel drive would be a problem at the launch ramp, or that I'd need some serious wet traction tires to be able to get the boat out easily. But that's absolutely wrong. My Murano pulls the boat out with ease every time, and never spins the tires, even though the launch ramps I've been to were always wet. It might have trouble if I had a 26 and didn't blow out the ballast tank, but overall it's solid as a tow vehicle, and it's comfortable, roomy, stylish, and fuel-efficient enough to be my primary vehicle too.

 

[tegwilym]

another towing question.

Ok, I'm convinced now that my V6 Ranger will be ok for up to about a Mac 24 from what everyone mentions. I just installed a class II hitch on it tonight so I can save the bumper.Next question - Brakes!I have been reading in my sailboat searching studies, that if you are towing something over about 1,500lbs, trailer brakes are recommended. Comments on that topic?Tom

 

[Dennis]

Brakes

In my state, both the boat weight and trailer weight have to reach 3000 lbs. before brakes are required on your trailer! You had better check with your specific state, but I think it is about the same for most of them! Brakes could help if you have a light truck with which you tow however! Otherwise just be careful when pulling as that weight behind you can push a light duty truck too! When I pulled with my 4 cylinder toyota pickup I always predetermined my stopping distance and slowed cautiously! With my T100 which is heavier and bigger it is alot easier! Just check your local laws,regarding brakes on trailers! I know a guy with a 25 footer who doesnt have brakes on his trailer!

 

[J. Barrett]

Brakes

Tom, My 25 is on a factory trailer with no brakes. No problems towing/stopping with it. Just keep a greater following distance and drive defensively. With your rig I'd be leery of highway towing because of the size of your truck. Keep in mind, brakes add another maintenance issue, especially if you are a salt water sailor. I mentioned that I used to tow with my jeep Wrangler. I also have a mid-size pop-up camper that weighs about the same as the boat/trailer. I had brakes put on that since it was all highway towing and the jeep, even with ABS, struggled with it. Whether you need brakes on the trailer depends on the state laws and your tow rig. Obviously the bigger the tow vehicle the less crucial the trailer brakes. I'd look at them as a bonus if the boat you find comes with a trailer that has them. If not, for the type of towing you plan you should be fine. Brakes could be added later but, like everything else, it takes $$. -John

 

[tegwilym]

Stopping the rig

Ok, good advice again. I don't know how much it weighs, but I've towed a 15 foot Bayliner with 50hp motor (which is probably overweight since I know it has an unknown amount of water under the floor!). Of course I could feel it back there, but stopping wasn't much of a problem. Then again, I'm only towing maybe 1.5 miles from my backyard to the launch.So, if/when I find my 22-24 foot Macgregor, it would only have to make one long trip from the seller's location to my house. I'd like to avoid the freeway, but would probably end up on some freeways between there and here. After that it's just a quick tow from home to the lake, there is a hill, but I can take a slightly longer route to take the flatter way down and up the hill. I don't anticipate using the trailer in salt water, but will launch at the lake, then sail it to the other end of the lake, go through a canal to yet another lake, and finally through the locks to the salt water of Puget Sound. The boat will be well rinsed by the time it's back to the trailer anyway if all goes as planned!My dad has a V6 Minivan that he tows a 18 foot Scamp travel trailer with. I think he says its about 1800lbs, I can't remember if he has brakes on that or not. But a thing like that will always be towed on freeways. Won't float as well as a Macgregor though. Tom