Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

You said you had many cars at home. Is this the best one for pulling?

NO WAY!!!!! This is just my General Purpose car. :D

If this car craps out, I'll be in the market for a pickup truck. Their aren't too many of these cars left that are pampered to death like mine. :)

Just thought about something: I live in a gated community, and I'm only allowed 4 cars MAX, and I CAN NOT park a boat unless it's hidden behind a privacy fence. So, this boat is gonna be stored at my friends house. So, I ONLY have 3 other cars. Sorry if I made it sound like I had at least a few dozen. lol.
 
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TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I'm glad you got a model specific hitch it's probably your best bet. I would also suggest against welding. I would make sure the hardware is good. If it comes with bolts nuts and washers I would check them for what grade they are. There will be markings on the bolt head you can do a google search to find out what they mean. Personally I would go with grade 8 hardware. It may be overkill but as I said before I tend to go overboard with things like hitches.

Thanks. Its actually a hitch made by Curt. Unfortunately, Curt doesn't make the wiring kit for that car, but eTrailer does. They should be here by next week or early the week after (4-10 business days).

I'm very familiar with bolts. I do all the work on my cars, and I learned the hard way what those numbers/letters mean. ;)
 

Mikeyboy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Gotcha. I hope that lesson wasn't too painful. :)
 

H20Rat

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

also check the instructions that come with the hitch. There are torque values for the bolts, and in that case, I think they are 50 ft/lb's... That isn't that much, don't go cranking on it with a 3 foot breaker bar. Also, even if it isn't specified, use some blue lock tight on them.
 

fishrdan

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I tow a 1436 Tracker with my 01 V6 Accord and it does fine. I have the boat loaded heavier than you as my rig weighs in at 700# with the trolling motor, batteries, fishing gear.

One thing about towing that rig, it's not the 400# of weight that's going to put a lot of strain on the car, it's the aerodynamic drag. All the seat bulkheads, seats and transom are gong to catch the wind, the faster you go the more drag the boat is going to create. I tow at 65-70 in mountainous area's and the car's mileage drops off pretty good towing, when I put the cover on the boat, I pick up some of that lost mileage. If you are towing flatland, and not going over 55-60, I don't think you're going to have any problems.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

also check the instructions that come with the hitch. There are torque values for the bolts, and in that case, I think they are 50 ft/lb's... That isn't that much, don't go cranking on it with a 3 foot breaker bar. Also, even if it isn't specified, use some blue lock tight on them.

Thanks. In my old age, I have FINALLY begun to *gasp* actually read and follow the instructions! :eek:

But, I have 3 different torque wrenches and 3 different levels of Loctite/thread sealant. :) I had already planned to use the blue, but thanks for the heads up on the torque values. :)
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

I tow a 1436 Tracker with my 01 V6 Accord and it does fine. I have the boat loaded heavier than you as my rig weighs in at 700# with the trolling motor, batteries, fishing gear.

One thing about towing that rig, it's not the 400# of weight that's going to put a lot of strain on the car, it's the aerodynamic drag. All the seat bulkheads, seats and transom are gong to catch the wind, the faster you go the more drag the boat is going to create. I tow at 65-70 in mountainous area's and the car's mileage drops off pretty good towing, when I put the cover on the boat, I pick up some of that lost mileage. If you are towing flatland, and not going over 55-60, I don't think you're going to have any problems.

I am a pretty slow driver, and it doesn't bother me at all to do 40mph on the interstate if things aren't safe (as in, if I'm moving something and I'm loaded down a lot). But, if I can do 60 while towing this thing, I'll be happy.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Just got the boat home, and it's now sitting in storage. I have not gotten a confirmation that my tow hitch has been shipped, so I'm gonna give them a call tomorrow to make sure it's not backordered. If it's backordered, then the Wally World hitch is gonna have to do. One thing I did notice is the trailer is actually 20 ft long, and the boat is wider than I thought. The seller said it was a 1436, but I think it's more of a 1448, which is a pleasant surprise for me.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

The moment of truth is here. The hitch just arrived. :D The wiring kit is also in transit. :D
 

maproy99

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

To the OP. Looks like you will be fine. Happy boating.

To everyone who is saying bolts are stronger then welds. Well they are not. A good weld almost never breaks. The material that the weld is attached to breaks because this is where that material is under the most stress. So, some connections are stronger bolted because the base metal is not strong enough to hold the weld on. Reason why most hitches are bolted on, and yet the rest of the hitch is welded comes down to the fact that welding is very inconvenient compared to bolting when attaching something under a car after market like the hitch. I have a class V hitch rated to 12,000 pounds and it is bolted and welded onto my truck's frame. Every other material connection on the hitch is welded and it is made of about 5 different parts.
 

H20Rat

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

To the OP. Looks like you will be fine. Happy boating.

To everyone who is saying bolts are stronger then welds. Well they are not. A good weld almost never breaks. The material that the weld is attached to breaks because this is where that material is under the most stress. So, some connections are stronger bolted because the base metal is not strong enough to hold the weld on.

Nothing is absolute... Bolts can be stronger than welds, and welds can be stronger than bolts. If you have a very solid frame to work with, a GOOD weld can be stronger. If you are attaching something to a unibody, which may or may not be a lightweight alloy of metals, a bolt will absolutely be stronger. It just happens that the OP happens to have a unibody with possibly a lightweight alloy...

Also, how much heating does tightening a bolt generate? Pretty much zero. The heat from welding changes the metal's structure, it can make it weaker, stronger, or more brittle. Again, if you are welding to a nice solid frame, not a big deal, but in the case of a unibody... In any case, you are changing the factory design specs without realizing it, which could compromise the hitch and the safety of the vehicle.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

To the OP. Looks like you will be fine. Happy boating.

Thanks. And thanks to everyone else here. This has been a pleasurable experience so far. :)

Reading the instructions now, and luckily I only need to drill two holes. The other holes are already drilled. The previous owner (of the car) probably had a hitch installed. I hope so, which means I can do this job myself. :)

The hitch is rated for 200lbs tongue weight, and 2000lbs trailer weight. Looks like a pretty simple deal, honestly. Six bolts. :eek: Things like this make me like this old car more and more. :D
 

Mikeyboy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Sounds like you should be good to go. No reason to get rid of the car if it's up to the job. Have fun old guy.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Sounds like you should be good to go. No reason to get rid of the car if it's up to the job. Have fun old guy.

Thanks! Just got the hitch installed an hour ago by a local truck supply company that just HAPPENS to sell and install the same hitch that I bought. NOw, that was a blessing!! Hooked the trailer up to the car, and drove it around the storage lot (since it's not registered yet and I still have yet to receive the wiring harness). All I can say is: ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! Except for the noise and ratting after hitting a few bumps (the trailer is on a patch of grass that has an incline and lots of holes and bumps), hardly noticed it was back there. Practiced some stopping/braking, just to see what I'm dealing with. Just a bit of rattling, but nothing dramatic. I also made sure to watch my tachometer, making sure the engine wasn't struggling. That was pretty good, as well. I was able to move the boat/trailer around BY HAND very easily, without even breaking a sweat, and it's sunny and 80 degrees right now. I was also concerned about how much lower the car was gonna be, but luckily, it wasn't too bad. I've always complained about how stiff those shocks were back there, but NOW I'm glad I put up with them all these years! lol :)

Overall, I'm very very very pleased! I'll have the boat on the water as soon as I get it registered, get the boating license, and the wiring harness (in that order). Probably Tuesday at the earliest. Just happy the mystery is finally solved!

Pics with trailer:

CIMG0039.jpg


CIMG0038.jpg


CIMG0037.jpg



Thanks again everyone!! :)
 
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TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

My trailer wiring harness arrived while I was testing the trailer hitch. Kinda vague how I'm supposed to do this :confused: Not sure if I'm supposed to connect wires to my fuse box (i.e. for left turn signal, right turn signal, etc), but the instructions are telling me to refer to instructions that don't exist. :facepalm:

I am NOT splicing in to ANY wires on my car. That was not something I have ever wanted to do, and I will NOT do! The instructions are vague, so there is no telling what they REALLY expect me to do.

So, this is the biggest problem so far. :(

When I ordered the kit, it stated that this kit is SPECIFIC to my car!!
 

NYBo

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Contact the manufacturer for the wiring instructions. There is usually a tee connector or two that are inserted between connectors in the car's wiring harness. Does your lighting kit have this?

Remember that your towing capacity is the car's capacity or the hitch's capacity, whichever is lower.

Those low profile tires probably have a lot lower weight capacity than the OE tires.
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

Contact the manufacturer for the wiring instructions. There is usually a tee connector or two that are inserted between connectors in the car's wiring harness. Does your lighting kit have this?

Remember that your towing capacity is the car's capacity or the hitch's capacity, whichever is lower.

Those low profile tires probably have a lot lower weight capacity than the OE tires.

My wiring kit has a converter (small black box) with wires that are supposed to connect to "left turn signal", "right turn signal", etc. and the other end has the standard trailer connection.

Those tires were a big concern for me until now. I paid big money for each of those tires, and that reinforced sidewall has paid dividends for years now. After loading the boat/trailer on those tires with 32psi, I was happy to see that they performed very well under load. I checked the specs on them two weeks ago, and they are not supposed to take more than 1,000lbs. I have them inflated at 32psi, and they can handle 50psi (max) with a 1,000lb load. :) But, I still have a set of wheels on standby that I can mount some standard tires on if need be. :)

By the way, the instructions for the wiring harness were included, but VERY VAGUE. :(
 

NYBo

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

No tee connectors at the car end of the kit, eh? Not really specific to your car, then. One may not be available at all, and you're going to have to splice into the car's wiring.:facepalm:
 

TheOriginalOldGuy

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Re: Towing 14ft Lowe Jon Boat With Compact Car

No tee connectors at the car end of the kit, eh? Not really specific to your car, then. One may not be available at all, and you're going to have to splice into the car's wiring.:facepalm:

dangit...:facepalm:

They sold me this kit as specific to my old car. Man, this has been the ONLY drawback so far in this endeavor :(
 
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