Towing boat with car

[ezmobee]

Re: Towing boat with car

I towed this boat with a 2000 Buick Regal with a 3.8. it towed it fine. Gotta take your time when stopping though. Your car probably only has a 1000 pound towing capacity so I hesitate to recommend it just based on that. Also, I ended up upgrading to a truck, not because the car couldn't tow it, but because of having to back the car in much further than I was comfortable with in order to launch and retrieve. After one particularly difficult day at the ramp, I said nuts to this and got a truck.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Towing boat with car

Yes, like everyone has said, you will eventually want 1 ton diesel etc... but for now, people in Europe tow with cars all the time!! I would definitely watch out for stopping. Does the trailer have brakes?

 

[Andy3]

Re: Towing boat with car

Trailer has no brakes, so I'm going to allow plenty of room for stopping. I did pull it home to Mississippi from Alabama, and the car handled just pulling down the road just fine. I'm sure launching will go easy enough, but was a little concerned about the retrieval.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Towing boat with car

Not that I'm getting OLD but back when I was young that was all you ever saw were cars pulling boats and campers. Not many people had pick-ups. As long as you take it easy and drive like you have a boat behind you it should be fine. It is when we get a little crazy towing things go wrong.

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Towing boat with car

I have found that when backing down a wet ramp with a smallish car or truck (as compared to the boat) and an auto trans It helps a lot to have the trans in neutral when you go to apply the brakes! Tends to slide backwards alot less.

 

[Ryanlewis2010]

Re: Towing boat with car

So please tell me that no one would recommend me towing my 19ft tri hull behind my lil 98 saturn SL2 w/manual trans. any one think it would be possible?

 

[joewithaboat]

Re: Towing boat with car

So please tell me that no one would recommend me towing my 19ft tri hull behind my lil 98 saturn SL2 w/manual trans. any one think it would be possible?

possible ... sure :facepalm:

recomended ..... NOT

 

[Andy3]

Re: Towing boat with car

Everything with the launch and retrieval went great. The car had no problems, although I did have to put the exhaust in the water to get far enough in that the boat would float enough for me to push it off the trailer. Retrieval was easier, since I could use the winch. Car pulled the boat out with little effort.

 

[weareallnuts]

Re: Towing boat with car

Make a checklist and ask your daughter to read it to you. I'm serious. My wife does on every outing we take and we've been boating since 1987. Is the plug in? Lights disconnected (if they're down low and not designed for submersion; hot bulbs pop). Straps removed, safety chain at bow in removed. Bow and stern lines ready. Motor tilted up. Is the plug in??

After you back down, put wheel chocks behind your car's rear wheels.

Do NOT put your car in the water. Better to push your boat off the trailer than to drive it off if you have to put the trailer so deep that the rear of your car is in the water.

One other thing that my dad taught me...run the boat at home before you even hook up the trailer to the car. Better to find out you have a problem in the driveway than on the ramp. If it doesn't run smooth at home, it won't at the ramp. Shift the gears, run the rpm up no more than 1000 above idle. Verify water is circulating through the engine and exiting through the telltale. If it isn't, it's not going to work on the ramp.

Finally, have a spare tire (mounted on the trailer and secured with a lock), a jack that will lift your trailer safely, a tire iron that fits the lugs on your trailer wheels, and a tool box with extra plug, spark plugs, light bulbs for the trailer, tools for your motor, extra lug nuts, etc.

Happy boating! Weareallnuts for boating!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing boat with car

Verify water is circulating through the engine and exiting through the telltale. If it isn't, it's not going to work on the ramp.

Although the rest of your list is great, this one could use a little revision. If you have a hose hooked to it, you will generally ALWAYS have water coming through the telltale. 30+psi of hose pressure will overcome even the worst waterpump. Circulation on the hose doesn't have any bearing on actual water pump operation.

 

[not enuf toys]

Re: Towing boat with car

shouldnt be too bad, how far are ya going? watch engin tempature and easy on the stops

do you already have a hitch? i have seen several people at the ramps before with a uhal truck. renting the truck for the day may be safer and cheaper

 

[not enuf toys]

Re: Towing boat with car

sorry just saw that things went good

my wife always says i need to listen before i talk....

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing boat with car

do you already have a hitch? i have seen several people at the ramps before with a uhal truck. renting the truck for the day may be safer and cheaper

of course, check the rental agreement first. towing is often explicity prohibited, no insurance if you try it.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: Towing boat with car

Happy to hear it went well.. I get plenty of funny looks towing with my car, and the comments I hear are hilarious. Have fun.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Towing boat with car

Yes, like everyone has said, you will eventually want 1 ton diesel etc... but for now, people in Europe tow with cars all the time!! I would definitely watch out for stopping. Does the trailer have brakes?

Don't know that I would set Europeans as my standard. One of my favorite clips linked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW1ACzfUXjo

 

[giericd]

Re: Towing boat with car

Yesterday I saw a little honda civic pulling a 19' Bass Tracker 190TX I asked the guy if he ever has trouble at the ramp and he said the little 4cyl honda pulls it out with no problems and he gets about 25mph hwy while towing. but then again my Toyota 4 runner had a hard time stopping with my little Key West 15' Explorer CC. I think a lot of it has to do with if the boat is positioned properly on the trailler, the key west was pretty far forward on the trailler and you would bust a gut trying to lift it from the front, a lot of tongue weight! My Dodge nitro can stop on a dime with my 19' CC and it is balanced on the trailler where i can lift the front with one hand (actually 2 fingers but it hurts like hE!!) cant believe that the Nitro is that much better than the 4 runner, i think the weight positioning made the difference.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing boat with car

19' CC and it is balanced on the trailler where i can lift the front with one hand (actually 2 fingers but it hurts like hE!!) cant believe that the Nitro is that much better than the 4 runner, i think the weight positioning made the difference.

wow! You are one gust of wind away from being upside down in the ditch! That light of tongue weight is dangerous...

 

[zopperman]

Re: Towing boat with car

wow! You are one gust of wind away from being upside down in the ditch! That light of tongue weight is dangerous...

bahaha :facepalm:
Maybe it wasn't the 4runner... but the weight distribution on the trailer..

 

[giericd]

Re: Towing boat with car

I know that it is a very light tongue weight, but the way it is set up it tows like a dream, no bounce, no sway, not sinking the rear end which is easier on suspension, doesn't lift the rear end, and luckey for me in south florida 10mph winds is a windy day almost not worth going out on the boat, it helps that all our roads N-S E-W no curves and no hills. I wouldn't set up a trailer like this, it was like this when i got it and it tows very nice. There are the formulas to show what the tongue weight should be or is recomended and that works, but some times the unconventional works as well. sorta like it is recomended that a vehicle be at least "x" amount of pounds to safely tow and stop a boat like a truck and 19'CC, but there can be other elements that can change the equasion; a honda safely stopping with a 19' boat is not likely, a honda stopping a 19' boat if the trailer has good working brakes is a different story all together

 

[zopperman]

Re: Towing boat with car

I know that it is a very light tongue weight, but the way it is set up it tows like a dream, no bounce, no sway, not sinking the rear end which is easier on suspension, doesn't lift the rear end, and luckey for me in south florida 10mph winds is a windy day almost not worth going out on the boat, it helps that all our roads N-S E-W no curves and no hills. I wouldn't set up a trailer like this, it was like this when i got it and it tows very nice. There are the formulas to show what the tongue weight should be or is recomended and that works, but some times the unconventional works as well. sorta like it is recomended that a vehicle be at least "x" amount of pounds to safely tow and stop a boat like a truck and 19'CC, but there can be other elements that can change the equasion; a honda safely stopping with a 19' boat is not likely, a honda stopping a 19' boat if the trailer has good working brakes is a different story all together

Thinking like that will hurt someone. Most trailer companies recommend about 10 % on the tongue