Considering a different tow vehicle, thoughts?

smassey22180

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
210
I tow with a Lexus awd rx400h. If you have any interest in something like that ask and I can assist. I get 25 mpg in town and on the highway and can still tow 3500 lbs.
 

KDMatt

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
33
Haha, I think a Lexus Hybrid is going to be a bit out of budget for me, but maybe some day!! My grandparents used to tow this rig with their RX300, and it did pretty admirably.

@ 444 - I know I'm being a bit of an idealist, but topping 20 mpg on the highway is not unreasonable. I get that in the 90's a midsize SUV's were body on frame, struggled to make 200 horsepower, and offered up 18 mpg highway, but those days are long, long gone. Dunno, maybe I'll eat my words next season, we'll see. If I'm wrong I'm wrong. Doesn't mean I can't and shouldn't try. I'm a car guy, and I've been immersed in the automotive world for something like 10 years.

Here's a question for you guys, by the book, both the inboard/sterndrive version and the outboard version of the boat are listed with the same weight. Does that mean anything? NADA lists them both with a weight of 2100 lbs, with and without the engine.
 

mattb100

Cadet
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
21
Go for the Pilot, she has a 13 EX 4wd and it works fine, 22mpg daily and has enough to pull our 19' BR.
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
There are several choices that will work.

I go along with the Chevy Trialblazer, I had three of them and our company probably went through 30 of them. Most of the guys got them with tow packages and the inline 6, it worked fine, the V8 would be better, but harder to find. The drive train was rock solid, none of them had any issues, the problem area was electrical. The first years had bad taillight assemblies that failed, the newer ones had fuel gauge problems and a few other things, but they were all covered under warranty and recalls.

They don't get 25MPH, closer to 19 on the highway and 13 when towing a good sized boat with all wheel drive. Very quiet and comfortable.

They go for little money because that style of vehicle went out style and it was discontinued. Consumer reports hated them, not sure why exactly, I've gone through so many company vehicles it would make your head spin, all had tow packages, these were my favorites.
 
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cdnNick

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
132
My wife and I are going through the same thing, we are planning to buy our first boat in the spring (18' bowrider) and need to ditch the minivan to something that can tow and still be good for hauling the family around. This would be my daily driver and the car we take on all of our long road trips.

Here is my shortlist:
1) 2012 and earlier Nissan Pathfinder these models were body on frame and before the CVT transmission. Hard to find in my area though.
2) Any Traverse or Acadia that fits our budget, these seem to be roomier then the Pathfinder but can still tow.
3) I'd love a Toyota Highlander but that's outside our budget.

I've also considered the Nissan Xterra but we want something with a 3rd row if possible.

Of course just to throw a monkey wrench into all our plans we might be moving to join my wife's family business which means I'd need a truck and we would be moving from smaller lakes and rivers to the Great Lakes region which is has me thinking a 19' bowrider would be a better choice.
 

Chad Flaugher

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
Messages
392
Keep the Mini Van, buy a cheap truck. Check craigslist for 3/4 or 1 ton trucks, you might be surprised! Just as long as you have a place to park it, you'd be surprised how many times it would come in handy!
 

Volphin

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
1,405
Or you could go with something a little older... 03 Durango with 4.7L or 5.9L V8. Small investment, true truck frame, 4 wheel disc brakes, tow rated well above your load. MPG is ok, but not super. Comes in AWD with 3:55 or 3.92 ratio.
 

cdnNick

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
132
We have talked about a cheap truck or older larger SUV, but we already have 3 cars adding a 4th and a boat is a bit much. I wanted to park the boat in our driveway. Plus we both are starting to hate the minivan and it's starting to have issues, so replacing it would be a nice bonus.
 

keith2k455

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
558
Some other options are Mitsubishi Endeavor, Montero Sport, Montero. We had an Endeavor before the Murano and the mits was far superior. You can get them pretty cheap, ours was 8 yrs old with 75k and we got 6k trade on it.
 

joetheis

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 21, 2014
Messages
308
There are MANY things out there that CAN tow your boat!
The problem you will have (especially with your jeep) is STOPPING.
The boat will push a short wheel based SUV all over, bump, electric brakes if it gets "cranky" you gonna go for a ride!
I had a old guy tell me once "never send in a pony to do a horses job. If you can buy a elephant"!
That's how I look at it.
Long wide wheel base, plenty of H.P. and HEAVY duty.
A SUV can haul it outta the water a block er so, but if you ever took new SUV trans apart you can see the clutch drums look like H.C. cans! The motors don't make H.P. until up in the rpm range. A toy hauler gotta start making it down low in the rpm range.
(I use my '99 Subbie outback 2.5 auto to pull my #1700 boat outta the water, 1 block to my camper, but I wouldn't use it to go on the "real" road!
Any thing you choose, it it's a auto trans, add a cooler, (my '93 Dodge Dakota has the towing package with a trans cooler and I added a second to keep it cool-er still).
Oil cooler if it's hot climate isn't a bad idea as well.
Joe
Just my 2 cents!
Always remember any advice I give should be taken with a can of beer er 2!
 

KDMatt

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
33
No Title

Hey guys, I hope it's not bad form to necro my own thread to add an update/conclusion:

After considering all of the things that got posted here, and after doing some more research, we decided to move forward on a Saturn Vue.

I was able to find the official manufacturer specs on the boat's weight, and decided we'd do fine with the 3500lb limit.

We ended up with an '05 Vue, with the V6 and AWD, so it's effectively a Honda Pilot in GM skin. As per the suggestions in this thread, I added a trans cooler along with a basic electric trailer brake setup. I also replaced the Vue's struts and sway-bar links just so that the worn-out suspension would be nice and stiff again, preventing weight of the trailer from bouncing/knocking the thing around too much. I also replaced the trans fluid with some of Honda's newer DW-1 spec stuff. We were fortunate to find a Vue with a factory tow package, so the hitch and the wiring were already taken care of.

We just got done with a 2.5 hour (each way) towing roadtrip with the Vue and the boat, and it has been a tremendous improvement over the JGC. The Vue, in this trim, makes plenty of power to get up to speed quickly, and with the trailer brakes, coming to a stop is no longer a white-knuckle affair. I would hesitate to say something like "I don't even notice the trailer is back there" but I certainly found myself thinking about it a lot less, and actually relaxing. The only place it got a little hairy was when the interstate narrowed in a construction zone -- at which point my eyes were glued to my side mirrors, making sure the trailer wheels weren't outside the lines.

The only negative thing I can comment on where the Vue is concerned is that the AWD system in it is junk as far as I can tell. I was pulling the boat out of a very, very steep launch (the absolute steepest I've ever seen) ... and I was a bit of a dingus when I backed the trailer in, and let the wheels go too far back (so the trailer wheels were below/behind the concrete pavers) so the Vue had a hell of a time getting the whole rig out... and of course, despite the "AWD" badge on the back, I was still spinning just one wheel. With a bit of tenacity, I managed to get the thing out, but it was still a tumultuous affair all the same. It's the one place I would have loved having the JGC's locking diffs. Next time, new tires!

Best part? On the trip up (each way was about 140 miles) -- it was a hot, sunny 85 degree day, and we still only burned through half a tank of gas with the boat behind us. We won't be towing long distances like this particularly often (once or twice a year at the most) so I consider it a satisfactory test. :)

Saturn Vue gets a solid 7/10 I'd say. Not perfect, but not bad.

Thanks again.
 

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TCATTC

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
100
My philosophy when it comes to towing is that you can never have too much truck
 
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