Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

thebrain

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Will my car tow this boat safely class one hitch
Here’s the boat I want, trailer has no builtin brakes.
It’s a Starcraft MR21, hull weight is 900LB, engine 300LB,bunk trailer 500LB
Trailer is a conservative estimate plus 100LB of stuff. Total 1800LBs
So I’m thinking 10% would be 180tongue weight.

On paper I’m just under the maxium tow limit.

1989 starcraft


Here’s my website for the car and it’s modification

Car weight is 3600LBs tow capistiy is 2000LBs w/ 200LB toungh weight.
index*page1*page2*page3*page4*pa

I have welded in sub frame connecters so think of this car as a full frame vehical.

I have 2 automatic transmission fuild coolers, large external fuild fliter and a
extra large trans pan it hold 3 extra quarts of fuild the fliter an cooler hold
an additionale quart. Car engine power is 480 HP at crank 380HP at rear wheels
so I don’t see a power problem.

My first tow will be from Florida flat land to Montgomery, AL (about 400 miles
One way).
(this is where the boat will be rebuilt) not sure of the increase in elevation but it’s not much.

During the restore I will use boat in AL river which is a 10 mile trip to the boat ramp
Flat land.
Ramp is about 30 degrees incline.

I plan to liten the boat during restore maybe fiberglass floor to save a few pounds
However I’m wanting a 140 HP OB so that proballey not a weight savings.

other weight saving plans is a aluimin trailor w/ aluimin wheels, and possiablley a longer trailer to reduce tongue weight.

I have had more than 200LBs of luggage in the trunk and back of car this weight
Lowered the ride by my two inchs.

Maybe w/ these air bags the towing will be easier?
AIR LIFT? - Pontiac Trans Am 1998-2002 Load Support Air Springs



Thanks for any tips on towing Steve
 
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gtochris

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Nice Trans Am. I had a 98 Camaro prior to my GTO.

I feel the rear end sagged too much to consider adding a trailer tongue weight, It can be done- but do you want to tow with it? Also- Anticipate boat ramps, They can be slippery, especially with performance street tires and RWD.
 

oldjeep

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Bigger question is - do the tires you have on a 500hp car have any traction on a boat ramp.

I'd anticipate a lot of people taking pictures of this setup at the ramp.
 

drrpm

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

That sounds like a potential entry in the stupid human tricks category. There's plenty of power but traction may be a problem as well as the fact that towing ability was not a design consideration for a Trans AM.
I had a 1986 IROC Camaro and it could be a handful in slippery conditions. I would never have considered towing with it but I did bring a washing machine home in it :).
 

thebrain

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Nice Trans Am. I had a 98 Camaro prior to my GTO.

I feel the rear end sagged too much to consider adding a trailer tongue weight, It can be done- but do you want to tow with it? Also- Anticipate boat ramps, They can be slippery, especially with performance street tires and RWD.
I only use a couple of ramps to put in the one in FT. Walton has really no incline however the rear wheels are in the water just touching the rims ( this is w/ my current 15 Lowe and a 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin turbo).
the State park ramp in Montgomery, Alabama has a slite incline don't see a traction problem because the concrete is not smoth it got like
1" ribs to channel water.

I'm not inteading on towing the big Starcraft w/ the TA regularly mainly just to pick it up from centrel FL.

The big lite aluimin boats are very rare down South I have been on the lookout for this exact Starcraft for a few years so I want to jump on it while it's available.

I've also been on the lookout for a small RV the 1979 Trans Van this will be the primary tow vehical.
attach image of said picked out RV.
thanks for the kind words

Bigger question is - do the tires you have on a 500hp car have any traction on a boat ramp.

I'd anticipate a lot of people taking pictures of this setup at the ramp.
I got lots of looks w/ the 300ZX towing a 15 Lowe people can't believe how fast the car pulls the lite aluimin boat just when there behind me they can't tell what the tow vehical even is funny.

I have had a trailor hitch for the TA a few years the plan was tow just to obtain as explained above then remove hitch then use the small RV.

Thanks Guys for feedback however I'm curious being so close to the maxium limit.
 

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kahuna123

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

I wouldn't worry about it. Its flat land and you have as good traction as any two wheel drive pickup. You may want to get a cover for the boat though:)
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

well you could but then you could EASILY rent a pickup for the trip and be sure PLUS you have room for tools or whatever extra gear you might want.

A few years back I was working 1000 miles from home for 6 months and took a semi to a town 140 miles from home and had to stay there for the weekend... I rented a crewcab dakota for not much over $100 and went home for a couple days... Why bother with the car when a pickup is SOOOO easy
 

JimS123

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

My son's '95 Trans Am was a champ towcar and could handle any ramp in our area. He also took it on vacations cross-state. His trailer at the time was in the 1200 # category.

I've towed with RWD cars for 45 years, with rigs weighing up to about 3000 #. Never had any issue in that regard.
 
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oldjeep

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

well you could but then you could EASILY rent a pickup for the trip and be sure PLUS you have room for tools or whatever extra gear you might want.

Out of curiosity, where do you easily rent a pickup that you are allowed to tow with?
 

thebrain

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Out of curiosity, where do you easily rent a pickup that you are allowed to tow with?
I believe U haul has pickups for $19. a day however I would have to pay for milage that's what will be expensive.
also interest in you rental that has a real hitch not a ball though the bumper deal.
 

oldjeep

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

I believe U haul has pickups for $19. a day however I would have to pay for milage that's what will be expensive.
also interest in you rental that has a real hitch not a ball though the bumper deal.

They must have changed their policies. Used to be that you were not allowed to tow any non uhaul equipment with their trucks.
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

I don't remember it was whatever rental company was near my hotel....

I didn't ask if I could tow and I wouldn't... I'd make sure it was insured (probably just add to my own policy to be safe) and just do it

for a boat you would consider towing with a transmarobird, the ball through the bumper is MORE than good enough and quick plug in trailer harnesses are readily available for pretty much any newer truck... 10 seconds to plug in and 10 more to remove
 
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H20Rat

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

That is a change from U-haul's policy. They used to explicitly forbid ANY towing other than their own trailers behind their own vehicles, and it would be an instant violation of their policies.
 

bonz_d

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Many years ago I used to pull a 14' row boat with a 9.5hp all over the state of Wisconsin behind a Chevy Chevette. Never had a problem with that!
 

MH Hawker

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

A FYI a class one is up to 2000 so after gas and other gear is loaded you may want to consider a class two.
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

I ran the numbers a uhaul pickup for 2 days with a round trip of 800 miles is $285
 

roscoe

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

Your rig is going to be over 2100# if there is gas and batterie(s) on board.

Your trailer will be heavier than 500#.

Glassing the floor will likely not save a single pound, and will likely add 50+# to the weight.

An aluminum trailer is about the same weight as steel, because there is so much more aluminum involved.
 

reelfishin

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

A 21' Starcraft hull like that will weigh in at about 1000 lbs, the motor is about 275 lbs, and the trailer about 525 lbs.
While that may put you within your rated trailer ability, I'd have serious concerns about stopping in a hurry if needed.
Traction applies both to moving forward as well as tracking a straight line and stopping. The shear bulk of that rig will no doubt come into play. Also remember that if you remove the motor for the trip, the tongue weight will increase far more than the weight of the motor due to leverage.

If the trip were maybe 50 miles and one time only, then I'd maybe say go for it but a 400+ mile trip and then launching that thing on a ramp is probably a bit more than pushing your luck.

I owned a 19' version of that hull and towed it with a full size van, and it did fine, I had the occasion a few times to have used my Ford Ranger, and the truck was far outmatched by the boat on the ramp. It towed OK on the road but I got no traction on the ramp. It did the job but I certainly would never have made a habit of it.

I would say in the very least, towing that with any car will take a great deal of finesse and skill to remain safe. Those cars are not known for their handling or traction in adverse conditions.
 

kahuna123

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Re: Will my car tow this 1800LB boat safely class one hitch

So just to understand. You towed a "rig" similar to his with a vehicle that was about the same weight, half the hp with front wheel disk and rear wheel shoes. Smaller tires, much less transmission cooling. About the same weight on rear tires. Oh yea I forgot at the ramp he has positive lock differential. You most likely did not.

A great deal of finesse and skill. Come on. I pulled a 16 Glastron for YEARS with a Datsun 280Z. My Dad has pulled a 16 ft whaler for over a decade with a 4 banger toyota pickup. We pulled a 18ft with a 6 cylinder camaro for many years.

But what do we know. We live in Florida and only boat 12 months a year
 
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