Tow Vehicle ?

[Chad D]

I have a question, My brother and I just bought an 84 cimmaron. I estimate the fully loaded weight for boat and trailer to be around 2500 lbs max. I dont have a truck at the moment (saving up for that now) and my brothers truck will be hard to get to most of the time. So my next best option is my sisters 95 astro 2wd w/ the 4.3 v6. I will only be towing the boat to the river that is 15 miles from my house and all flat roads. and to mark twain lake in MO which is about 120 miles one way again mostly flat roads (the lake will me once or twice a year mabey). The van does not have a trany cooler on it my ? is how hard will the short trips be on the trany in the van? I would prefer not to have to replace it after pulling my boat to the river.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

Have you weighed the boat? Just asking, cause a lot of folks get a dry weight from NADA or some other source and forget about all the things that can add 1000 pounds or more.

What does the astro owners manual say is the towing capacity? Can you afford to buy your sister a new transmission if it becomes necessary? I for sure wouldn't take it on a 120 mile journey without first adding a trans cooler.

I wouldn't drive it 15 miles unless the trailer has brakes, no matter who's paying for the transmission.

good luck.......

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

agree on the brakes, but a side note, looking at the brake requirements by state, at the top of the forum. kansas,missouri are the only states that don't have a trailer brake law. except for 5th wheel trailers.

 

[lime4x4]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

I use a 1994 awd chevy astro that has a tow capacity of 5000 lbs i beleive the 2wd drive model can tow 500 lbs more so u should be good

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

What is model and length of the boat?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

I put 150,000 miles on a '92 Astro AWD towing about the same load with zero problems. It depends on what rear axle ratio is in the vehicle as to whether or not Overdrive can be used or not. If it has 3.23:1 rear gears, you will NOT be using OD. If it has 3.53:1 or 3.73:1 gears you will be able to use OD unless you travel in hilly country and the tranny begins to hunt up & down. You do not need trailer brakes (if of course the 2500# load is actual and not drastically underestimated). I currently tow a similar load with an S10 Crew Cab with the venerable 4.3 V6. It now has 57,000 miles on it and zero problems as well. You do not need an external tranny cooler.

 

[evilratgirl]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

The 95 2wd Astro is rated at 5500lbs. We just traded our 95 awd in last week. The Astro is a fairly heavy vehicle and should have antilock brakes. It won't have any problem stopping a properly setup trailer.

My only question would be on pulling the boat out of the water, but that is more dependent on the ramp.

We also had a 94 awd Astro that pulled our present boat from Michigan to Minnesota ~750 miles. As well as to and from the lake on weekends at 150 miles each way.

Even at that I would suggest adding a transmission cooler. It's a cheap and easy addition that will greatly help the transmission.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

I put 150,000 miles on a '92 Astro AWD towing about the same load with zero problems. It depends on what rear axle ratio is in the vehicle as to whether or not Overdrive can be used or not. If it has 3.23:1 rear gears, you will NOT be using OD. If it has 3.53:1 or 3.73:1 gears you will be able to use OD unless you travel in hilly country and the tranny begins to hunt up & down. You do not need trailer brakes (if of course the 2500# load is actual and not drastically underestimated). I currently tow a similar load with an S10 Crew Cab with the venerable 4.3 V6. It now has 57,000 miles on it and zero problems as well. You do not need an external tranny cooler.

In view of this experience, I take back everthing I said. 8)

 

[Chad D]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

Im not to worried about getting the boat out of the water the ramps I will use are fairly flat and are concreate. the only reason I ask about not having the trany cooler is because I will be getting My own truck this winter. I'll probably only use the van at most 5 or 6 times this season. by the way the boat modle is a 18-ss here is a pic

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Tow Vehicle ?

You should be able to tow that boat with an Astro van. My brother used to tow a boat with an Astro that was a little larger and had no problems and he towed to Lake Powell during the summer 600 miles each way.