Front wheel drive towing and launching

[Jack Daniels]

I have a front wheel drive SUV with a max towing capacity of 3500 lbs. I own a bayliner that ways 1500 lbs and i am concerned with towing and launching. Im sure the towing part will just take time to get used to but i am so nervous when i launch the boat. So the question is, has anyone had any trouble launching with a front wheel drive vehicle, i hear all the time about people slipping in the water with 4x4 so i am just a little concerned. So far i have not had a problem (knock on wood) but i am always concerned exspecially when pulling hte boat out of the water. Any advice or just some reassurance would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[1730V]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

Well, you say your rig weighs 1500 #. Have you weighed it? Or, is that what the book says? If the book says that add at least 1000# for: engine, trailer, fuel, gear.

More FWD's have gone in the drink than 4WD's. Backing down a ramp unloads the front wheels, that's where you need the traction.

As long as you are really under the towed load weight limit and you keep your front wheels dry, you'll probably be OK.

 

[Jack Daniels]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

yes i weigh all my trailers before i tow on any long trip to be sure im well within my limits. The 1500 is fully loaded with equipment in the SUV and boat. I am very careful to keep the front wheel on concrete and have been fortunate that where we launch isnt very steep. Thanks for the help

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

I have heard the same thing all the time. Never launch a boat with a front wheel drive.

Well I have towed a 2000lb boat,motor, and trailer with a 1999 Cavalier Z24 for 2 years with out any problems. Occasionally the tires would slip a little but never enough to stop the boat from going forward. I would NOT recommend towing a boat of this size with a cavalier though. I recently had to stop towing with this car because the hidden hitch attached to the bumper and uni-body began to separate from the rest of the uni-body. It could have been very scary.

The vehicle I see have the most problems at the ramp are 2 wheel drive pick-ups with large boats. They back in get their tires wet, have no weigh over the rear tires and spin like hell. I have seen them pile guys in the back of the truck just to pull the boat out.

If your trailer is set up right with the proper tongue weight there should be little weight on the trailer hitch and it will take little weight away from your front wheels.

I know my next towing vehicle is going to be a front wheel drive SUV and I am not concerned at all after seeing what my cavalier could do.

 

[1730V]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

"I recently had to stop towing with this car because the hidden hitch attached to the bumper and uni-body began to separate from the rest of the uni-body. It could have been very scary."

Oh man, you must be living right.

I think you'll be fine as long as you know what your rig is and you do.

I saw a Jeep Wrangler today pulling a 20+' Mastercraft. Talk about a wreck looking for place to happen. :-0

 

[Jack Daniels]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

Sounds good to me, thanks for the info guys, I will still be careful but i wont have to worry as much. I suppose you hear more of the horror stories than you do when stuff goes right. Thanks again

 

[jimmbo]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

10 yrs ago I was towing a 15ft boat and trailer weighing about 1700 with a FWD Cadillac. While power was never an issue, in fact there usually a problem regarding wheelspin on the ramp due to the front end lifting when weight was put on the hitch. Being that this car was of the unibody design I also was worried about damaging the body from the stresses incured whilst towing. The hitch was a Class 2 type and bolted to the body. While the hitch was made of substancial pieces of steel, the area of the car it was bolted to did not appears as strong. In fact it didn't look much thicker than 2 or 3 soup can lids. I traded it off for a late model rear wheel drive Buick with a trailer towing option. It was/is a much better tow vehicle.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

Outfit as in my signature. Total weight between 1,700 lb and 1,900lb depending on what is loaded in there. FWD Windstar never had any issues on the ramp at all. The durability of the transmission is another matter though !!!!!

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

"I recently had to stop towing with this car because the hidden hitch attached to the bumper and uni-body began to separate from the rest of the uni-body. It could have been very scary."

Oh man, you must be living right.

Yeah I am still alive.

I bought the boat and never had a proper tow vehicle so used what I towed my old 14 footer with which weighed less than 1000lbs. I only noticed this because at the end of the season I tried to get the receiver out of the hidden hitch. It was stuck in there. I began to pull and wiggle it and noticed my bumper was moving up and down. I looked under the car and noticed that everywhere the hitch was bolted it was separating from the uni-body frame. It looked very close to letting go. All the joints and welds were broke and split at least half way. The worst part is the safety chains were attached to the hidden hitch so they would have done nothing. I guess this is why Chevrolet recommends not to tow with it.

After seeing this I swore I would never do this again. I could have killed somebody and I am sure my insurance company would not have helped me out towing this unsafe load.

I now have a 1999 Explorer Sport to tow with. What a difference it makes. It feels so much safer and is so much more enjoyable. I think the weight of the truck makes a big difference when towing the boat.

 

[rheyboer]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

I've towed a 18' I/O with a rwd F150 and a fwd '93 buick Park Avenue. On the ramp, the Buick is way better! Steep or not. I give it gas like there is an egg under the accelerator. No slippage. I love it when the clown next to me has a hummer to pull his jet flea! Next year it'l be a Merc Mountaineer w/ AWD. Still have the Buick and will keep it as long as possible. Best of the 10 vehics I've owned.

 

[Lucrestyle]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

Hey Seeker, I tow my 16.7 foot Larson with a 120hp Rude weights probally 2000lbs's loaded with gear and fuel. I have seen some **** ramps with this car and always made it.. sometimes i needed a lil push but never got stuck... the lil pontiacs are good cars .... 1st.....2nd....3rd.....

 

[Salmonseeker]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

Hey Seeker, I tow my 16.7 foot Larson with a 120hp Rude weights probally 2000lbs's loaded with gear and fuel. I have seen some **** ramps with this car and always made it.. sometimes i needed a lil push but never got stuck... the lil pontiacs are good cars .... 1st.....2nd....3rd.....

What model Pontiac is it you Tow with? Your boat has to be heavier than mine.

 

[mikey.himself]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

The problem is when you're on a boat ramp on that angle with the trailer pushing on the rear it lessens the weight on the front tires, and when they break free you must regain traction very quickly or your Front wheel drive is going for a bath......especially with that slime on the ramp - Have you ever slipped on your *** walking down to hook the winch on the front of your boat??/ its like ice!

 

[greg_upnorth]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

fwiw... i launch with both a windstar (front wd) and a ranger (rwd).
The ranger has a higher tow capacity, more robust tranny, but i have had 2 incidences with it where i wish i had the windstar instead... not from sliding back,, just trying to pull out once the boat was loaded. most of the ramps i have used, the slime stays towards the waterline of the ramp. once with the ranger i ended up doing the "stuck in the snow" trick where i actually had to put it in reverse and then slam it into gear to go forward. mind you that that boat wieghed only 100 pounds, the trailer about the same, so not much weight on the tongue to give the rear tires more traction.
thats one reason i avoid putting my rear tires in the water, even if it means i gotta put some muscle into pushing the boat offa the trailer (helps that it's a roller trailer). well this weekend i got a bit more daring and sure enough , rear tires spun as i was pulling out. I was able to get out, but for a while thought i was gonna lose momentum.
I have yet to have a problem with the windstar, although i am awfully close to the towing limit and would rather not burn out the tranny on it...

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

fwiw... i launch with both a windstar (front wd) and a ranger (rwd).
The ranger has a higher tow capacity, more robust tranny, but i have had 2 incidences with it where i wish i had the windstar instead... not from sliding back,, just trying to pull out once the boat was loaded. most of the ramps i have used, the slime stays towards the waterline of the ramp. once with the ranger i ended up doing the "stuck in the snow" trick where i actually had to put it in reverse and then slam it into gear to go forward. mind you that that boat wieghed only 100 pounds, the trailer about the same, so not much weight on the tongue to give the rear tires more traction.
thats one reason i avoid putting my rear tires in the water, even if it means i gotta put some muscle into pushing the boat offa the trailer (helps that it's a roller trailer). well this weekend i got a bit more daring and sure enough , rear tires spun as i was pulling out. I was able to get out, but for a while thought i was gonna lose momentum.
I have yet to have a problem with the windstar, although i am awfully close to the towing limit and would rather not burn out the tranny on it...

Careful with the Windstar. You may have read my experiences.

 

[TECH159]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

If you have an automatic, hold the brake with your left foot, and give gas with the right. Get a slight pull against the brakes before you let off, so the rig doesn't roll back.
If you have a standard shift, hold the vehicle with the parking brake, get a slight pull against the brake, and then release the brake, and the rig shouldn't roll back.
If you lose traction, start spinning, and THEN start heading backwards, hit the brakes. You'll stop. If you can't get the rig moving up the ramp, get someone to pull you out. It would have to be extreme circumstances for a rig to slip into the water with the brakes applied.

Oh, yeah, I'm new, and I'll have many questions soon.

 

[greg_upnorth]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

If you lose traction, start spinning, and THEN start heading backwards, hit the brakes. You'll stop. If you can't get the rig moving up the ramp, get someone to pull you out. It would have to be extreme circumstances for a rig to slip into the water with the brakes applied.

one trick i did learn from reading these forums is using a wheel chock with a bit of rope attached to it....so even if i slip, should be no way i go into the drink...

Careful with the Windstar. You may have read my experiences.

actually i have read various bad things about the windstar tranny, dont remember if i read yours or not, but yeah, is why i use it sparingly.

-Greg

 

[Mark42]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

My boss has the same 2007 Minivan (Toyota Sienna) as I do, but without the All Wheel Drive (AWD). He has problems pulling up a 17" shallow bass (alluminum) boat with 40hp outboard up the launch ramp. Dont get a front wheel drive machine, make sure you have a 4 wd or AWD machine.

Regards,

Mark

 

[hibbert6]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

You MUST see this. (Borrowed from the "Stupid Boating Tricks" forum.) Scroll down a few pictures to see what we mean:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3272151

I'm going to be VERY careful with my Ford Freestar on the ramp from now on!

Dave

 

[wire2]

Re: Front wheel drive towing and launching

My boat is a '19 Glastron B/R with 5.7 V8, on a 5.5 metre gavanized Easy-Loader. About 3000 lbs+. My previous tow vehicle was an Intrepid, current one is a 300M, (both FWD).

The ramp is medium steep, was gravel. I would sometimes slip the front wheels a bit but gently applied enough power to creep ahead. If I got out of the car at all, I set the park brake hard, trans in park. Get back in, start, in drive, bit of gas, then release park brake.

Ramp is now concrete, no slip at all.
Except for the guys with larger boats and an empty pickup