Towing vehicles

smidge112

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 20, 2015
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48
Wondering what everyone here uses as a tow vehicle and what are you pulling. I plan on using my 2005 Subaru wrx to pull my 14' aluminum valco. It doesn't weigh much and the wrx is rated to tow up to 2,000 lbs. I have taken the boat on a 4 hour drive round trip with no outboard and I did just fine going up two grades. My only concern is pulling out the boat at ramps. A lot of ramps around here tend to be pretty steep. ( southern California). But then again I am used to big Hills and high elevation mountain passes at 8k ft. My car does no problem loaded full of people and snkwboard/skiing gear going up Hills and over passes. Anyone else pull a small boat with a similar vehicle? Getting a dedicated tow vehicle just is not in the budget right now.
 

GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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May 24, 2011
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Almost everything;
bikeboat.PNG

semiboat.PNG


As long as the boat and trailer are under the 2000 lb. rating, no sweat. A WRX wouldn't be my first choice for towing, but with the power and AWD, ramps should be no problemo.
 
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garbageguy

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May 8, 2012
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We use a full-size pickup with a turbo-diesel to pull our 25 ft express cruiser. but that's much different from your situation.

I do not have experience towing with a ltlle car, but we have a 14ft aluminum boat with a 20 hp 4-stroke that we can move around by hand on the trailer. We have even used a lawn tractor to launch/retrive from the beach at the lake.
 

Volphin

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Jun 5, 2011
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Isn't the WRX all wheel drive? You will have no issues whatsoever. :D
 

sheyski

Cadet
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Mar 21, 2015
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As long as your car can pull it, the only other concern is the short wheel base of your car. Maybe with a 14' boat that won't be a concern, but there is nothing fun about hauling any kind of trailer and it gets to swinging back there!
 

sportrider

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jun 4, 2014
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129
I pull my 19.5 foot Maxum bow rider with my 99 Jeep Cherokee. it's a little slow on steep grades but does the job. between the locker and 4wd no boat ramp yet has been an issue. I've never had to use 4wd.
 

thumpar

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Jun 21, 2007
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You should be fine with AWD. I don't know that I would do it though. The boat might throw the car around. Make sure the brakes are good.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
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No Title

Pictured is a 14' Alum. boat. This has been the 2nd funnest and 2nd best handling rig yet. Even more so than the F350 Dually I have used.
​You will have NO problem.

Go to 6 min. 56 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jzoxKU8FI8 I refused to drive over 55mph. Not my favorite for towing, but it worked. I tried every trick in the book. Once steel gets over a certain length, it feels more like a wet noodle. Your short trailer will make it stiff and more stable.

I used to tow my Motor-Cross bikes with a Datson SRL311/Roadster. 1990lbs and she did pretty good. Sports cars actually make GREAT tow vehicles as long as you don't exceed the weight range they are good at.

Experience has taught me that EVERYTHING that makes sports cars handle better also make trailers and their tow vehicle more stable. A WRX is a great platform for light loads as yours. Would you take the shocks off your WRX? Then why do we not use them enough on our trailers. The leaf spring was invented around 1805. And it handles like it. When I have a trailer that handles badly, I am very quick to add a Panhard control rod. Always helps. Tread width to rim width ratios are very important. Push the rim width to the maximum width the tire manufacturer will allow. Exceed it and the flex part of the tire will move off the thin sidewalls and to the thicker part of the tire causing it to overheat. The trailer for my current 14' Alum. boat has nothing to help and yet it tracks dead on under all conditions. Sometimes even the crude 1805 design works. With no one around, I jerked the wheel some. Rock solid steady. She will not fishtail.

The most fun was using a highly modified Grand Marquis to tow a NACRA beach cat on a modified trailer. I could do 6 wheel drifting with it. Insane! You can't do that with a truck or SUV.

Be cautious with the C.G. of your boat. Most can't stay upright and keep up with what your WRX can do. I put the axle on top of the spring on all my trailers and drop the rollers as low as they go. You don't need to tow with 4-6" clearance and your boat with 2'.

Away from all other traffic and obstacles, do some braking and maneuvering test SLOWLY at first to get a feel for how YOUR car and trailer work together.

Don't worry. A WRX will be great with such a light load.
 

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Chad Flaugher

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jan 2, 2015
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392
It's not about how fast you can climb a hill while towing. Its about how safely you can stop during an emergency situation. If it feels safe during a hard stop, you're good to go.
 

mdunn

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
186
134_3488.JPG Here's my rig.
haven't weighed the trailer with boat but guessing about 22 to 2400.
V6 4x4 2001 Tacoma.

Rarely go more then 10 miles to my ramp although it could. .

17.2 Smoker Craft
115 Yammy 4 stroke and 8 HP troller
 
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smokeonthewater

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Dec 3, 2009
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My BMW ragtop has no problems with my 10' jet boat or two jetskis...

Although if I get those fat kumhos on moss it gets a bit tense... Your war should help tremendously with that though...

My advice on the ramp... Assuming manual trans... Just get it on... Don't try to pussyfoot it and feather the clutch all the way up.... It'll handle an aggressive launch way better than a long slip.
 

airshot

Rear Admiral
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Jul 22, 2008
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2000 chevblazer with 4.3 V-6 tows a 22' Islander with no problem (4500 lb) tow capacity and have 4x4 capability for slippery ramps
 

thumpar

Admiral
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Jun 21, 2007
Messages
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Yukon with 5.3l and 247,000 miles on it. It seats 8 comfortably and tows the 4500lbs boat just fine. Rear A/C and heat is a plus.
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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His next to last sentence was asking if someone towed with something similar to what he has.
 

thumpar

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Jun 21, 2007
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I did read the whole post but he started out wondering what other people towed with. 2 different ideas in the same post.
 
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