Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

Hey guys i just got Bayliner Capri and im doing resto right now.My concern is that i got 2002 Acura Tl 3.2 L V6 FWD car.
I was checking a hidenhitch and transmision cooler also for it. I found it on hidenhitch.com and i order them.
My question is could i tow my bayliner about 2 miles to a ramp and back,is it going to be ok to load and unload on 15 degree ramp..
No idea how much my boat and trailor weight, '89 Bayliner Capri 1750 w/85hp Force OB
Single axle Galvanize trailor,also
Year: 2002
Make: Acura
Model: TL
Trim: 3.2 Type S
Engine: 6-Cylinder
3.2L V6 EFI
Trans: 5 speed automatic
Fuel: Gasoline
Engine liters 3.2, Cylinder configuration V-6, Transmission 5 speed automatic, Power moonroof, AM/FM radio, ABS brakes, Engine displacement 3.2 L, Wheel size 17", Wheelbase 2,746mm (108.1"), Towing capacity 454kg (1,000lbs),Air conditioning, Power steering, Power windows, Tilt steering wheel, Drive type front-wheel, Engine liters 3.2, Cylinder configuration V-6, Transmission 5 speed automatic, Power moonroof, AM/FM radio, ABS brakes, Engine displacement 3.2 L, Wheel size 17", Wheelbase 2,746mm (108.1"), Towing capacity 454kg (1,000lbs)
So Can anyone tell me what do u think?? thanks in advance

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

I think you will be trying to tow at least twice the rated capacity of your car. Your 1700 Capri Bowrider (not 175o, BTW) weighs just shy of 1500# dry. Add in the weight of the trailer, gas, safety gear, etc.,and you're over 2000#. Bad idea, IMO.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

Ok here is what i got from bayliner book. Just went and bought it..The 1700 Capri is both versatile and user-friendly: a trailerable boat that doesn?t require its owner to be a weight-lifter or own a monster-size truck. It weighs just 1,040 pounds ? including the engine ? so that it can be towed by even small four-cylinder vehicles, and can be launched and loaded with ease. Its low profile design; five foot, 10 inch beam; and three-foot bridge clearance allow it to fit in most home garages.

so what do u think now..

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

Legalities aside, you aren't going to damage anything in towing slowly for two miles. Whether you can get the rig up a 15 degree ramp i another question.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

dado78 said:

It weighs just 1,040 pounds ? including the engine
...
so what do u think now..

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I'd say you are double your towing capacity, which is 1000# pounds MAX. I'd honestly not tow it with that car, and this is coming from a guy who is a ardent proponent of towing with cars! (I put on thousands of miles with various things behind my subaru wrx)

I'd be willing to bet money that boat is well above 1040 pounds also. That engine/tilt&trim/controls are going to be around 250-300, the battery is roughly 50, and 25 gallons of fuel+oil is ~150 pounds. That is 500 pounds JUST in rigging, and the trailer is going to be 300-500 pounds. That leaves about 40 pounds for the hull... AKA, no way it weighs 1040 pounds ready to go. Actual weight of everything ready to go is going to be 2000# give or a take a couple hundred.

as the post above me mentioned, legalities aside, the slope of the ramp is going to cause serious issues. The bigger problem is that much weight behind a full unibody FWD car. The hitch bolts to essentially thick sheet metal. With a FWD car, there is no reason for a mfg to put any substantial structure in the back, there is no thrust axle to support. Its VERY likely you will bend up the unibody where the hitch mounts, probably the first time you hit the brakes a little too hard.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

Ok i will take boat and trailer and all gear on it with gas in,full cooler and than go and stand on scale. Just to be sure. if is double i will go and look for PU truck than,.Thanks for help. Will post results from scale...

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

I towed a much lighter boat with a similar car. It sucked. The launching and retrieving were the worst part. Spent $3k and on a used Chevy full size and life was good. A 1000lb tow rating really means don't tow or at least just stick with utility trailers with lawnmowers on 'em.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

I get the impression that you are asking for "permission" to overload your car.

You have, in writing, the maximum towing capacity of the car: 1,000#
You have, in writing, the weight of your boat and (unidentified) motor; without trailer, fuel, toys and tackle: 1040#.

You will remember from grade 1 that 1040 is bigger than 1000, never mind fuel and toys.

Towing that rig with that car would be foolishly dangerous and you don't seem like a foolishly dangerous person.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

dado78 said:

... could i tow my bayliner about 2 miles to a ramp and back,is it going to be ok to load and unload on 15 degree ramp...

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In the words of the immortal Harry Callahan, "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya....?"

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

in 1989, a "small 4 cylinder vehicle" was quite different then modern vehicles. Many still had a full frame. This is not a question of whether the 6 cyl yoour car has has the umph to pull it, but rather a question of will the car rip in two.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

The only way I'd think of overloading the car that much is if I was trailering the boat from the cabin to the boat ramp for its annual launching down a rarely used dirt road where 15mph is acceptable. My quick check shows the 1700 weighs 1475lbs dry. I have a 1600 capri with the 85hp force and that one weighs 1040 dry. You could tow the 1600 with a 4 wheeler or a horse drawn carriage.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

jkust said:

have a 1600 capri with the 85hp force and that one weighs 1040 dry. You could tow the 1600 with a 4 wheeler or a horse drawn carriage.

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1040 pounds dry, but a 20 year old bayliner is NEVER 'dry'! If you count the weight going down the road with a full tank of gas (120#) and a battery (50#), as well as the trailer (250-500#), you are going to be 1600 pounds or so.

Re: Towing 17 Ft Bayliner Capri with 85 Force O/B bad or good idea

smokingcrater said:

1040 pounds dry, but a 20 year old bayliner is NEVER 'dry'! If you count the weight going down the road with a full tank of gas (120#) and a battery (50#), as well as the trailer (250-500#), you are going to be 1600 pounds or so.

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Yep I suppose except we bought our 84 new and so is in nearly perfect original condition so my towing experience is with a true 1040 lb boat. The gas tank is only 6 gallons and the trailer is really light, galvanized, no spare or anything. I'd say since it is empty except the battery and 6 gallons maybe 1350 lbs. These Bayliers are old school light hull. We are splitting hairs though and he doesn't have a 1600 anyway. Only under my scenario assuming the rear end wasn't scraping the ground or the tires would I ever consider such an inappropriate tow vehicle.