Towing a Boat with a Sedan

[FanousOnTheLoose]

Hey guys I'm new here.

So my dad just got a boat and he wants to tow it to the beach soon. He is thinking of attaching the boat to his 1999 Mercedes Benz S-500(sedan) or to my 1994 Toyota Previa (van). The boat weighs about 4000 lbs.

will attaching the boat to either of these cars be a good setup? or will they both struggle?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

what kind of boat?
what kind of trailer?

not sure of the towing rating of the Benz - dont think it was rated, or it has a small (under 2000#) rating, however your Previa has only a 3500# towing capacity.

lets assume that you boat is 4000# which would put it in the 26' range. now the trailer under neath it would be 1200-1400#. add fuel, gear, etc. and your in the 6500# - 7000# range.

neither of the two vehicles listed will pull that. you need a truck.

 

[Ike-110722]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

Absolutely DO NOT TOW with the Mercedes. I made that mistake. A new transmission cost me 3500 and that was in 1998 and it was a very light utility trailer. MDZ sedans are not rated for towing. period. I just bought a 2005 trailblazer to tow my 18 foot Sea Ray. Altogether, the boat and trailers weighs about 3000 lb and the Trailblazer is rated for 3500 lbs. You need something tow rated higher than that. There are a lot of trucks and SUVs rated at 5600 lbs. check out Towing Capacity Chart http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/towing-capacity/vehicle/towing-capacity-chart.htm

 

[FanousOnTheLoose]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

ok so my dad made a mistake with the weight. It weighs 3500 not 4500, does that make a difference?

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

The boat weighs about 4000 lbs.

ok so my dad made a mistake with the weight. It weighs 3500 not 4500, does that make a difference?

Your car and van are not equipped to safely pull your unidentified rig! Buy a proper tow vehicle, and take heed to the intelligent advice given here.

 

[bgc]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

DONT Tow with the Benz!
I had one of these 500S (W140 Chassis) the rear suspension is expensive to replace.

 

[sbbamafan]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

ok so my dad made a mistake with the weight. It weighs 3500 not 4500, does that make a difference?

Like the difference in a 130# woman and a 230# woman...YES

 

[briangcc]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

My suggestion is to take the rig (boat AND trailer) to a public scale to find out the true weight. Have a buddy with a pickup pull it for you. The reason I'm saying this is that you're saying the boat is 3500 and you've forgotten that it rests on a trailer and it does weigh something. Could easily be 500-1000+lbs depending on the trailer.

In any event that puts you well over your towing capacity for the van. I wouldn't even consider towing with a car these days as at best they're meant to tow a jet ski or very small utility trailer ONLY. The tranny in the cars are not meant for towing like they were 20-30 years ago.

As advised above, time to upgrade to a good SUV or Pickup to pull the boat.

 

[sethjon]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

Hey guys I'm new here.

So my dad just got a boat and he wants to tow it to the beach soon. He is thinking of attaching the boat to his 1999 Mercedes Benz S-500(sedan) or to my 1994 Toyota Previa (van). The boat weighs about 4000 lbs.

will attaching the boat to either of these cars be a good setup? or will they both struggle?

Probably not agood idea. IMO, you always to have a trans. cooler on the towing vehicle. You also need to know moreaccurately the weight. Whatsize boat? Most 19-20 footers will weigh about 3200 for boat and trailer.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

>Altogether, the boat and trailers weighs about 3000 lb and the Trailblazer is rated for 3500 lbs.

Peter, are you sure about that rating? Up until recently, I owned a 2004 LS Trailblazer with the I6 and the tow rating was something more like 6300 lbs. I don't recall if that spec required a WD hitch either but I routinely towed 3500 lbs with it.

 

[FanousOnTheLoose]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

I appreciate the advice guys.

The boat is a 2003 bay liner 195 limited and is a 19 footer and I don't know what make the trailer is but I'm looking.

All in all I see the solution is just to buy a truck yeah?

 

[SilverSS07]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

Truck, SUV, full size van, etc. Check the tow ratings on any vehicle you may be interested in before you buy. Any 1/2 ton pickup or larger would be fine; even some of the smaller trucks. I think my 95 Blazer was rated for 5500 with the V6.

 

[Sunsetrider]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

My Dakota is rated for 7,000 lbs.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

I have a 2006 trailblazer and the tow capacity is between 4800-5200 depending on gear ratio

 

[jkust]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

>Altogether, the boat and trailers weighs about 3000 lb and the Trailblazer is rated for 3500 lbs.

Peter, are you sure about that rating? Up until recently, I owned a 2004 LS Trailblazer with the I6 and the tow rating was something more like 6300 lbs. I don't recall if that spec required a WD hitch either but I routinely towed 3500 lbs with it.

The Trailblazer is a full on truck body suv with a v8 up to 6.0 liters and a 4:10 rear end ratio and all the other towing stuff you'd expect. Tow rating is up to about 6700lbs depending on what source you're looking at and the build of the truck.

I appreciate the advice guys.

The boat is a 2003 bay liner 195 limited and is a 19 footer and I don't know what make the trailer is but I'm looking.

All in all I see the solution is just to buy a truck yeah?

The 2003 Bayliner 195 weighs 2091 lbs plus trailer and gear. Betting you are under 3500lbs fully loaded on the trailer.

I have a 2006 trailblazer and the tow capacity is between 4800-5200 depending on gear ratio

Again the tow capacity of the Trailblazer is much higher depending on the build. The Trailblazer would tow as much as a truck but has a weaker tranny amongst other differences given it can have a 5.3liter or a 6.0liter engine in it. Even the base engine inline 6 cylinder 4.2 liter is robust. The Trailblazer and its nicer cousins (Envoy, Rainier, 9-7x, and Ascender) are about the best bang for the buck you can get in a tow vehicle. If you think your truck can only tow 3500lbs, here is a pleasant suprise.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

well we went through the "what boat" but how about the "what sedan?" get a big old honking chrysler or buick from the mid 70's and tow away! That's what we did growing up. no trucks, no 4wd, just gotta have fake wood panels if it's a stawag.

(Note: not only were the engines and trannies better, the car was built on a real frame, like a truck is now).

Also, there's towing and there's towing. Up and down a normal ramp, could be about anything; four miles down the flat road from the house to the ramp, same thing. But not an hour each way in Arizona in the summer or through the Donner Pass. Twice a year, or twice a weekend, also makes a difference.

But we won't tell your wife this if you are looking for an excuse to get a truck!

 

[Maclin]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

There is also the GCWR or Gross Combination Weight Rating to consider, this is the Gross weight for both vehicles together that should not be exceeded. A vehicle may weigh 4000 "dry" and tow 4000 but if the GCWR is 8500 then that only leaves 500 pounds for passengers, fuel and cargo between the two vehicles.

My truck is rated for 7400 pounds towing, but with the GCWR taken into consideartion then as soon as I get into it that drops it to 7200 and that is only if it has less than 10 gallons of fuel... :facepalm:

 

[jetboater]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

Previas have a 3500 lb tow rating so if your boat and trailer weigh under that, you could tow with it.

Make sure your brakes are in good shape and its a good idea to change your transmission fluid if its not been changed in a while.

I had a Previa, it can tow that weight but it won't be very fast doing it--- just take your time.

 

[jkust]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

A little off topic, but that Previa is a death trap crash test wise. I wouldn't drive one much less tow with one.

 

[brewern]

Re: Towing a Boat with a Sedan

My suggestion is to take the rig (boat AND trailer) to a public scale to find out the true weight. Have a buddy with a pickup pull it for you. The reason I'm saying this is that you're saying the boat is 3500 and you've forgotten that it rests on a trailer and it does weigh something. Could easily be 500-1000+lbs depending on the trailer.
...
As advised above, time to upgrade to a good SUV or Pickup to pull the boat.

I completely agree with briangcc. Just because the paperwork says a boat weighs a certain amount at the time of manufacturing, they may weigh a lot more later in life due to the foam retaining water. Bayliners are notorius for retaining water. Check out some of the glasser restoration threads on this site (I recommend friscoboater's Sea Ray restoration.) The amount and weight of waterlogged foam is amazing.

Also, I purchased a 17' runabout this year and had a '94 Ford Ranger with a V6 thinking that would be ok. It wasn't. After about an hour the transmission started leaking fluid because it got so hot the seal couldn't handle it. After some research I learned about transmissions coolers and tow packages. I sold that truck and now have a 2000 Dodge Durango with a tow package.
Research towing capacities, what a tow package is, and the true weight of the boat and trailer.