Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Hello Everyone,

It's obvious I am new here. I have been reading the forums for a week now. Here is my story:

I have a 1992 Honda Prelude S (2.3L, 16v DOHC engine) that I use for all of my fishing. I will be purchasing a 2007 Lowe 1436 this week, and I plan to attach a hitch that was designed for this car. I have the weights of the boat, trailer, and motor, and the hitch is designed to carry 2000lbs max. The total weight I will be carrying is 400lbs (actually, 390, but I'm rounding up to be safe). The trailer weighs 135 empty, the boat weighs 185 empty, and the motor weighs 75 (Mercury 9.9).

My question is, once the hitch is installed, do any of you think it will be ok? I was able to EASILY lift the trailer (with boat) at the hitch. That kind of tells me the tongue weight should be pretty low.

Am I crazy? I would hate to sell the car, because it's been a great car the last all these years. I have too many other vehicles at home, so if it came down to it, this one would have to go before any of the others. That's the main reason I bought a Jon Boat.

 

[JSGOLD]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

The thing is this....you need to see what your CAR is rated for....The hitch won't make any difference because if the car can't handle it the 2000 lbs rating won't help you. That being said I looked online trying to find your car's capacity and could not for sure....I saw a site where a guy was towing his jet ski and another was towing a small boat with his, and one of them mentioned these cars had a 1000 lbs capacity. But the only way to be sure is your car's manual. You are probably fine but best to be sure.....I used to tow a camper that was a small 900-1000 lbs with a Chevy Corsica years ago, and it did "far to good". Your setup is pretty light so again I suspect you are fine, but I would also bet it is rated at no more than 1000 lbs towing. Take a look and see what it says. Maybe someone else more knowledgeable will chime in here.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Welcome to iBoats
Not a lot of people jumping in on your question because I suspect they would like to see you try and search for your answer using the forum's search feature. These types of questions have been asked and answered many times in the threads.

Here is one that popped up when I searched for weight on trailer ball:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=435498&highlight=weight+trailer+ball

Read up on this stuff first. Post a pic of the boat hooked on the trailer when you get it. Proper tongue weight is in the range of 8-10% of the weight of your boat, trailer and motor.

Sometimes you have to move your rig up closer to the car on the trailers bunks. To get 10% I had to move my winch post closer to the car.
Can't really see if the boat will be sitting proper on the trailer until you post a pic. Sometimes one needs to change the axle onto a different hole in the trailer (I had to do that on mine). Chances are you can just shift the boat up or back to get proper hitch ball weight. Just place a board on a bathroom scale note the weight of the board and place the hitch end on the board.

I've been towing my 15 foot aluminum with a 2001 Saab 9-5 for the past 5 years with no issues.

You just have to realize that towing is not the issue. Its stopping! So leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you. The stopping distance is a lot greater when you have 500 to 1000 lbs behind you.

Make sure your trailer is set up correctly with a lock on the hitch lever and safety chains

 

[rallyart]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

400# is really nothing and you could tow it with a Smart car or Fiat 500. The hitch is the only overkill in the package but if it bolts on to your chassis that's fine. Just don't take your four football player friends with you when you go.
Enjoy it. I would do it in a minute.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

400# is really nothing and you could tow it with a Smart car or Fiat 500. The hitch is the only overkill in the package but if it bolts on to your chassis that's fine. Just don't take your four football player friends with you when you go.
Enjoy it. I would do it in a minute.

A++ I love common sense. No different then putting a couple of people (or one chubby) in the car. Hook her up and go fishing! Being a uni-body you will hear any play that might be in your drawbar. I put shims on my drawbar (Cherokee) and I don't even know the trailer (utility) is behind me.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Thanks everyone. Honestly, just that quickly I have a very good answer to this and I have been searching everywhere BUT this forum! lol I didn't bother to use the search on this forum, but rather, when I did my google searches, most of the good answers pointed to this forum. So, indirectly, I actually DID search this forum. But, I digress...

The Saab post pretty much describes what I will be attempting. Hopefully, I will have some pictures tomorrow of the car, but here is the boat in question:

Also, someone here mentioned the tongue weight percentage, and honestly, that post was the FIRST time I've been able to make sense of the tongue weight thing, so THANKS for that.

I haven't towed anything with this car. Just packed a lot of fishing gear and strapped a 10ft fishing kayak to the roof for the last couple of years.

I will give it a shot with the hitch and trailer. If worse comes to worse, I'll just have to find a small pickup truck and put this car in storage. It's been too good of a car for me to get rid of.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

400# is really nothing and you could tow it with a Smart car or Fiat 500. The hitch is the only overkill in the package but if it bolts on to your chassis that's fine. Just don't take your four football player friends with you when you go.
Enjoy it. I would do it in a minute.

Walmart sells a hitch that could bolt on to my chassis, but when I looked at the box in the store, it said it was made for SUV's, Light trucks, etc. and gave a list of vehicles for easy installation. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Reese-Towpower-Class-III-Multi-Fit-Hitch/1957059?findingMethod=rr

Is this something I should try?

 

[Mikeyboy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Ok I, normally the one one here telling people they don't have enough vehicle to safely tow thier boat and giving all the legal consequences of thier actions so it pleases me greatly to tell you unless your car is falling apart you should have no problems towing that boat. I would be careful to get your tongue wieght set correctly to smoth out the ride and limit stress on your car but other than that load up and go fishing. As far as the Wally world hitch if it will bolt to your specific car than that's ok. It is a good brand but I would shy away from universal fit. Hitches are one of the things I don't skimp on. Better to do it right the first time than to regret saving money later. Just my two cents worth.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Ok I, normally the one one here telling people they don't have enough vehicle to safely tow thier boat and giving all the legal consequences of thier actions so it pleases me greatly to tell you unless your car is falling apart you should have no problems towing that boat. I would be careful to get your tongue wieght set correctly to smoth out the ride and limit stress on your car but other than that load up and go fishing. As far as the Wally world hitch if it will bolt to your specific car than that's ok. It is a good brand but I would shy away from universal fit. Hitches are one of the things I don't skimp on. Better to do it right the first time than to regret saving money later. Just my two cents worth.

I fully agree with not skimping on the hitch, which is why I also want it welded to the chassis. After 20 years in the military, and having safety crammed down my throat, I tend to be a LOT more cautious before I do things.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Dont know if cost is an issue but we just had just Uhaul do a 3rd hitch for us. I have two saabs and wanted to use the other saab as a back up in case my car is in the shop on a boating weekend. My Daughter also had hers put on her Subaru at Uhaul a few years ago too.
I still have the receipt on my table:
They usually need two weeks to order one for a cars model.
Hitch = $169
Hitch Ball = $8.95
Drawbar = $18.00
Labor = $90 included them doing the wiring
(you could buy the remote power converter ($20 bucks, I had to replace one a few years back) and do the wiring yourself to save a few bucks, its about $90 for them doing the wiring with the converter). The wires just click on the wires off your tail lights.
$5.00 lifetime hitch warranty
Total was $313 takes them about 1.5 hrs while I waited.

I figured Uhaul is convenient (1000 locations across U.S.) and the time I saved from doing it myself was well worth it plus I can pull into any Uhaul whereever I might be on a boating vacation and have them fix any issues I might have in the future. Our favorite lake to boat on is the 132 mile long Lake Champlain that is 1/2 in NY and 1/2 in VT. The trip is 3 hours each way for us.

I don't have a lift and drilling holes while the car is jacked up onto jack stands, on my back with the frame being right next to the gas tank is not my cup of tea

But many SUV's now come with predrilled holes for the hitch. But I doubt that your car has the holes already.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Dont know if cost is an issue but we just had just Uhaul do a 3rd hitch for us. I have two saabs and wanted to use the other saab as a back up in case my car is in the shop on a boating weekend. My Daughter also had hers put on her Subaru at Uhaul a few years ago too.
I still have the receipt on my table:
They usually need two weeks to order one for a cars model.
Hitch = $169
Hitch Ball = $8.95
Drawbar = $18.00
Labor = $90 included them doing the wiring
(you could buy the remote converter and do the wiring yourself to save a few bucks, its about $90 for them doing the wiring with the converter). The wires just click on the wires off your tail lights.
$5.00 lifetime hitch warranty
Total was $313 takes them about 1.5 hrs while I waited.

I figured Uhaul is convenient and the time I save from doing it myself was well worth it plus I can pull into any Uhaul whereever I might be on a boating vacation and I could pull into a uhaul and have them fix any issues I might have in the future. Our favorite lake to boat on is the 132 mile long Lake Champlain that is 1/2 in NY and 1/2 in VT. The trip is 3 hours each way for us.
It's


You could do the wiring yourself and save

WOW! THANKS!! I may just do that. 300 bucks is within reason.

By the way, I know Lake Champlain very well. Was stationed in Plattsburgh, NY in the Late 80's-early 90's. Never fished the lake, but drove around the northern end a lot on my way to Burlington. Also took the ferry to Burlington A LOT! Man, what a beautiful lake!!

I am planning a trip to Toronto within the next 5 years, when I plan to at least have a Bayliner. Used to frequent Toronto, Montreal, and the Thousand Islands area a lot back in the day. *sigh* But, I am making one long trip up there again within the next few years.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I fully agree with not skimping on the hitch, which is why I also want it welded to the chassis. After 20 years in the military, and having safety crammed down my throat, I tend to be a LOT more cautious before I do things.

Thanks for the reply.

bad idea... You don't have a chassis, or even a rear subframe. (in a fwd vehicle) It is unibody construction, so at best its slightly thicker sheet metal. Welding anything to this area and you risk burning through (or lighting your car on fire!) You could also end up weakening an area around the weld where it will eventually fail.

Trucks with class IV hitches for 10,000 pounds aren't welded, they just use bolts. There is no reason to think you need welds on this...


As far as the universal hitch, absolutely will not work. Those are poor choices even for the intended vehicle. Spend a little extra coin and find a custom made hitch specifically for your exact model. I like curt mfg/dalan hitches for passenger auto's, I've installed them on quite a few different cars.


http://www.curtmfg.com/HitchLookup/...&year=1992&make=Honda&model=Prelude&style=All

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Here are pics of the the suspect vehicle:

If everything works out, I want to make sure I post this in as many forums on the net as I can, because I read a lot of forums where people are trying to tow a 16ft Stratos (for example) with a 1.6L~1.8L 4cyl Honda Civic. I just want to be able to help someone out one day if this actually pans out.

Thanks again, everyone, for your help and replies. I learned a lot pretty quick.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

bad idea... You don't have a chassis, or even a rear subframe. (in a fwd vehicle) It is unibody construction, so at best its slightly thicker sheet metal. Welding anything to this area and you risk burning through (or lighting your car on fire!) You could also end up weakening an area around the weld where it will eventually fail.

Trucks with class IV hitches for 10,000 pounds aren't welded, they just use bolts. There is no reason to think you need welds on this...


As far as the universal hitch, absolutely will not work. Those are poor choices even for the intended vehicle. Spend a little extra coin and find a custom made hitch specifically for your exact model. I like curt mfg/dalan hitches for passenger auto's, I've installed them on quite a few different cars.


http://www.curtmfg.com/HitchLookup/...&year=1992&make=Honda&model=Prelude&style=All

Thanks. I would have never guessed those massive hitches were bolted. Man, I learn something new everyday...

 

[lncoop]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Thanks. I would have never guessed those massive hitches were bolted. Man, I learn something new everyday...

Bolts are strong my friend (at least the right kind of bolts). It might be worth calling a couple of places that aren't affiliated with U-haul. Nothing against U-haul, I love 'em, but I've found that for things like hitch installation the local guys are generally cheaper. Just a thought. Welcome aboard.

 

[bigdee]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Thanks. I would have never guessed those massive hitches were bolted. Man, I learn something new everyday...

Proper bolts are better then welds because the specs are absolute...welds are not.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I think you will be fine and I'm not an advocate of FWD cars towing trailers.
But you have a very light boat/trailer. The only thing that may hurt you is slipping the clutch and the fact that the Honda planetary in the auto is weak.

 

[TheOriginalOldGuy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Ok, ordered the hitch and wiring kit made specifically for this car. Just gonna play the waiting game now.

 

[jbetzelb]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

You said you had many cars at home. Is this the best one for pulling?

 

[Mikeyboy]

Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I'm glad you got a model specific hitch it's probably your best bet. I would also suggest against welding. I would make sure the hardware is good. If it comes with bolts nuts and washers I would check them for what grade they are. There will be markings on the bolt head you can do a google search to find out what they mean. Personally I would go with grade 8 hardware. It may be overkill but as I said before I tend to go overboard with things like hitches.