Towing car: is this feasible?

[jcac27]

OK<br />Here's the dilemma. My towing car(jeep grand wagoneer) just went completely and is destined for the junk heep. Our other car is a '97 Subaru Outback. The hitch on the subaru is rated for 3500 lbs. My boat is an 18 ft 1990 Galaxy open bow with a 3.0L mercruiser with an alpha drive. It is on its original trailer. The trailer brake cable has snapped and the master cylinder has since been removed. Our house is about 3 miles from the launch (Lake George, NY). There is a considerable hill to get up our driveway. So my question is this...Is it feasible to use the subaru to transport the boat to the water each weekend this summer? How much strain would this put on the car? How dangerous would this be? Any help, opinions or similar situations would be greatly appreciated!!!<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />James

 

[DJ]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

jcac,<br /><br />The hitch rating has nothing to do with the towing ability of the vehicle.<br /><br />I think the Subaru would be hard pressed to survive. The launch ramp would be the most difficult part of the trip.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

The Outback is rated to tow 2000#. Not sure what your rig weighs, but I bet it's over that. That said, I don't think it would hurt the vehicle to tow the boat a few miles and put it in the water. Just take it real easy. Retrieving at the ramp will put the most strain on the car. May even have a hard time getting back up the ramp at all.

 

[dorelse]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

IMO...you're putting yourself at a lot of risk. The trailer had brakes for a reason, and that's to assist you in stopping. Now you're going to use a much lighter vehicle to stop your trailer. Your lighter vehicle isn't rated to tow this load for a reason. Its brakes aren't large enough to stop this load, increasing your risk for brake failure, or losing control of the trailer. You could also rip the hitch off the car. Trucks are on frames for a reason. <br /><br />If you take a worse case scenario...a kid chases a ball across the roadway while you're towing the boat with this car. You can't stop in time b/c your vehicle's brakes are overloaded. The trailer 'push' causes you to loose control, which it would in a emergency stop. You injure/kill the child, you loose everything you own in the lawsuit that's sure to follow, b/c you ignored the manufactures tow limits on your vehicle, and had non-functional trailer brakes. <br /><br />Buy an old truck that's mechanically sound, and can handle the load more safely. You won't ruin your Subaru, and you'll protect yourself (and others) in the process.<br /><br />I didn't even like the way my 96 Astro towed my 2200# Bayliner...so I went back to a full size pickup. Much better, more weight, higher safety margin.<br /><br />I used to tow it with a 76 Ford F250 SuperCab. It was very solid and cost $1500.00. The 460 V8 towed it like a dream and b/c it had the tow package, it had no problems towing my boat.<br /><br />Just an alternative...

 

[L Christopher]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

My $ .02 I am with doelse. I would,'t attempt going down the hill on your driveway. Your boat with gas and toys could weight as much as 4,000lbs. Buy and old truck to replace the Jeep.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

I tend to agree with the others about being unsafe. Not worth the risk involved and wear/tear on the Vehicle. I still believe it would do the job, but best not to try and find out otherwise.

 

[SCO]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

You can weigh the all up rig at a 18 wheeler or landfill site, and determine where you are tow weight wise. A small car will pull a big boat , but you risk a tail wagging the dog oscillation and rollover as the trailer hitch pushes the end of your car around(too light of tounge load scenario with big weight aft of desired cg location). Without trailer brakes you risk jackknife and drastically increased stopping distance. Best to stay within the limits of what those idiot engineers prescribe.

 

[sloopy]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

also the wieght on the trailer tongue will push push down the back wheels and take wieght off of the front wheels, so you will not be able to stear as well. AND if this is a front wheel drive car it will be interesting!

 

[Valv]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

One picture shows it all, this boat was towed by a car that jacknifed and hit an oncoming vehicle:<br /><br /> http://www.copart.com/data/pix/20021216/09854262_4X.jpg <br /><br />Do yoy still think it will be safe ?

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

And after all that, if you are still looking for a replacemnet vehicle, just e-mail grizzlybear310@peoplepc.com and I can fix you up with one to tow anything you want.<br /><br />I have a truck that I just replaced that still has lots of miles left in it and it's a diesel also.

 

[jcac27]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

Thanks for the replies, I was afraid that would be the responses I would get. Looks like I'll be finding a new truck... <br /><br />Thanks alot,<br /><br />James

 

[magster65]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

I don't think a short tow to the ramp would be a problem. If your boat/trailer package was a bit too heavy, install surge or electric brakes on it. The safest combo's are dangerous with a dummy at the wheel so if you're careful and play it safe, I wouldn't worry about it. The clutch won't survive long but Subaru's aren't like the old Hyundai's, they're a good solid car. <br />A heavy 4x4 is best... but you knew that

 

[fredcrn]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

James,<br />I have a heavy fiberglass 22' day cruiser I towed with a little chevy s10 for a whole season. My driveway wasn't steep, but there was a pretty good hill to climb to get to it. Mind you, the truck was 4x4, but isn't your car four wheel drive? I found that if I took it slow and used common sense, there wasn't any problem at all. I doubt that an 18' bowrider is going to be all that heavy a tongue weight. Just make sure you've got backup the first time, in case you do have trouble pulling out, or with your driveway.<br />My .02<br />Fred<br />PS...also pulled the same boat over 1200 miles, which included through the mountains, with no trailer brakes behind my Jeep Grand Cherokee...no problemo!

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

I used to have a 63 17 ft that with trailer weighed about 1400 pounds. I towed it with a 4 door Suzuki Sidekick that was rated for 1500 pounds, and it towed it fine. That being said, the sidekick had an actual frame with a proper reciever hitch. I had to use 4 wheel drive to get it up the ramp, using low range. It was hard on the rig after awhile, and the clutch started to go. I no longer have the boat or the sidekick, I now have a Ford F150 with 5.8 liter engine, automatic, and all that. Now I can tow whatever I want. Your Subaru has no frame, it is a unibody. I think the boat you want to tow may weigh too much, but you shoulc load it up with fuel and gear and weigh it. Take it to the scale and unhook it and pull the rig off the scale, thats the only way you'll know the tru weight of the towed load. Good luck.....

 

[jcac27]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

Question:<br />Why would they make a hitch rated for 3500# when the car it is designed for can only carry 2000#?<br /><br />I am considering buying a 1980 cadillac deville from a friend. This thing is a boat in itself and has a V8. I dont have the instruction manual, so I dont know the towing capacity. This vehicle has got to be better than the subaru, no?<br /><br />Thanks again for all the great info.<br /><br />James

 

[dorelse]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

Again, the hitch rating has nothing to do with the car. You could install a class III hitch on it if you wanted, and it'd be rated to tow 5000#...but that's the hitch's rating not the car.<br /><br />Hitch's are rated by their Class, I, II, III, etc. The higher the class the stronger the hitch...but it has nothing to do with the car's rating. There are universal hitches that will fit almost every vehicle made, which are sold in all classes. They just put on a very strong hitch on your car. <br /><br />That 1980 Cadillac should be a nice tow vehicle...I'm pretty sure that its on a frame, so you'd have a secure hitch mounting point. The V8 would have plenty of juice to pull your boat, and you'd have a much heavier tow vehicle. I'd say you found a winner.

 

[SCO]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

2nd on the cadillac. The only thing I'd be leary about is the long low trunk aft of the rear wheels. Check with a cadillac dealer for that to see what it is rated to tow. Uhaul might be able to tell you also and install a proper hitch. Cant beat something like an 86 f 150 pu. The Cadillac is also going to be an auto trans. Might need a trans fulid cooler attachment, don't know, but I would check it out. Also look into auto overdrive. You want to be able to keep it out of overdrive , again I don't know how an 80 cadillac is configured, but I would check that out too.

 

[jcac27]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

Thanks for the responses. How could I find out what this baby is rated for? I just looked in the glove compartment for the owners manual and sometime over the past 23 years it disappeared.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />James

 

[dorelse]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

Best bet might be a Cadillac dealer? I don't know for sure...it might be listed somewhere in a Chilton's repair manuals...but for your towing needs, its plenty, I'd guess 5000#.<br /><br />As long as you're not towing it great distances, as you've said, 3 miles, you're fine. If you wanted to go further, at highway speeds, you'd probably want to add a trans cooler.<br /><br />Only thing would be how steep your launch is? Will rear wheel drive be problematic, how slick is the ramp? If its not, you should be all set.

 

[Raghauler]

Re: Towing car: is this feasible?

dorelse is right... hitch capacity is capacity of the hitch, not the tow vehicle...<br /> <br />To determine tow capacity of ANY vehicle: Look on the vehicle capacity plate, usually on the door jamb of the drivers side door (other manufacturers have them elsewhere). Look for the gross vehicle weight rating, GVWR... this is the maximum combined weight rating of the towing vehicle itself, occupants, luggage, trailer, boat, gas, beer... EVERYTHING that the vehicle can carry. This should never be exceeded. The other numbers you need to stay within are the gross axle weight rating, GAWR, for each axle. GAWR is the maximum load that each axle is rated for. The sum total of the GAWR times each axle will almost always exceed the GVWR. This allows the loads to be unevenly distributed throughout the vehicle: the more load you place on one axle, the less you can place on the other if you approach the GVWR. The rear axle has to support the trailer tongue weight, so you need to figure that in when checking against the rear GAWR.<br /><br />Everything I have said so far are the maximum ratings, not the actual loads. The trick to all of this is how to determine what the actual loads are... as suggested elsewhere, go to a landfill, truck weigh station or a local business that has a vehicular scale. Knowing what your car weighs empty helps a lot... some internet sites are helpful for specific makes and models, you may want to start there.<br /><br />If all this sounds complex, it really isn't. But it is the only real way to know where you stand with your (proposed) tow vehicle. Let me know if I missed anything. Hope it helps.