Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

[gibsonmanky]

I have a general towing question. I am in the market for a cruiser style boat. Don't want anything longer than 25 feet if possible, but definitely want an aft-cabin (something that could sleep 4 inside. I seem to be low on options locally so am afraid I am going to have to travel to get something I like. I plan to keep in a slip 90% of the time. I am just a bit concerned about my tow vehicle.

I have a Ford E-150 (It's a van, not truck). It's a 1/2 ton 4.9L V6

I've used it to pull a Cargo trailer full of musical equipment, and a 6x12 uhaul trailer full of stuff once. Not sure of the weight, but the uhaul trailer was PACKED and very heavy.

I am looking at a boat (ciera 2455) in Florida which is about 12 hours away. about 1400 miles round trip, but I would only be towing it 700 miles on the highway. This would not be the vehicle I use to put boat in and take out of water, but I am wanting to try to get a boat first, and then get a truck later.

If not this boat, I am just wondering what everyone thinks I would be able to tow. I'm pretty sure my hitch is rated for 10,000 lbs.

So if anything, I am just looking for general advise on towing. Ideally, I'll get some sort of V8 engine vehicle by summer, but right now I just want to find the boat, and get it to my yard.

Thanks!!!

 

[kmarine]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

I have a 1979 bayliner victoria sunbridge 28 ft on a tandem ez loader and have towed it with various chevy conversion vans without incident for over 20 years. Please note I recomend checking to see that the trailer brakes are properly fuctioning. Check to see if your van has a transmissin cooler. If not you can add one for about $50 plus labor. This is usiually provided with factory trailer packages, however I do not know if your hitch was installed afterward. I am assuming you have a v8 engine.

 

[kmarine]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Soyy I missed the part about the 4.9 v6 you probably will be underpowered.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175

That boat/trailer combo will easily weigh 5,000#

 

[CC245]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Tow rating is not just engine displacement and hitch/frame load capacity. Brakes are probably the most important component. That is why newer vehicles of a similar type have higher ratings than their older counterparts. What year is your E-150? The older ones had disc front brakes with drums on the rear. If it's from the early 90's, it will pull that boat but my not stop. Especially if the trailer has drum brakes also.

 

[PopsRacer]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

FWIW, I sold a 2004 F-150 with a 4.9L V8 this last summer... Just my experience/opinion, it was towing the little Four Winns Horizon 180 great but it didn't really fare well with anything around 5500-lbs or more.. My current boat is 5800-lbs on the CAT scales and that truck couldn't pull it well at all, it was crawling at high revs with slow speeds alot.. If that boat and trailer weigh much over 6500-lbs you'll be much better off using a 3/4-ton HD...

If you do decide to go ahead and use a 1/2-ton, you may want to consider getting an Equalizer Hitch to reduce the Sway through heavy winds, it works well with Surge brakes. The cheapest I found an Equalizer sell for was on RVWholesalers.com. I'm not trying to come across as an expert or persuade you one way or the other, but that's what I'd do if it were me to make sure it's a safe tow home because that's an awfully long drive to be towing with an improper setup, so I'd try my best to make it right. I would ask a brother to barrow his truck or a buddy to come along and tow it for me if I didn't have a bigger truck available to me.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Welcome to iboats!

The rating on the hitch isn't the limiting factor in this case; I'm sure it's a lot higher than the van's maximum tow rating. I think you'll be pushing, if not exceeding, that limit.

Soyy I missed the part about the 4.9 v6 you probably will be underpowered.

No such animal. It's an I6 or V8 (but the latter is usually erroneously called a 5.0).

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

You would need a trans cooler if automatic, and if the trip is not through hilly terrain, and if you stick to a speed you can comfortably maintain I don`t think you would have a problem. It`s a matter of overcoming the initial resistance and being able to stop .

 

[rthomas]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Ditto the trans cooler, and dont use your overdrive when towing, take it easy and keep your rpm up when laboring up grades even if it means downshifting manualy, auto trannys dont do well with low rpm and heavy load.

 

[gibsonmanky]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Welcome to iboats!

The rating on the hitch isn't the limiting factor in this case; I'm sure it's a lot higher than the van's maximum tow rating. I think you'll be pushing, if not exceeding, that limit.

No such animal. It's an I6 or V8 (but the latter is usually erroneously called a 5.0).

Yeah he's right. It's actually an i6 technically.

 

[gibsonmanky]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Tow rating is not just engine displacement and hitch/frame load capacity. Brakes are probably the most important component. That is why newer vehicles of a similar type have higher ratings than their older counterparts. What year is your E-150? The older ones had disc front brakes with drums on the rear. If it's from the early 90's, it will pull that boat but my not stop. Especially if the trailer has drum brakes also.

It's a 1996

 

[pointandshoot]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Welcome to iboats!

The rating on the hitch isn't the limiting factor in this case; I'm sure it's a lot higher than the van's maximum tow rating. I think you'll be pushing, if not exceeding, that limit.

No such animal. It's an I6 or V8 (but the latter is usually erroneously called a 5.0).

he prob means he has a 4.2 v6...if its a late 90's early 2000 i think they came with 4.2 v6, 4.6 v8, or 5.4 v8 (not sure if the 5.4 was an option on a half ton tho).

 

[gibsonmanky]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Ahhhh I've never been more stressed about something!! I can't believe I don't know anyone that has a tow-worthy vehicle that would want to road trip with me. The only person I know that has one is my dad. He's got a beast of a Chevy Avalanche. I just don't want him to know about the boat until after I have it. He'll try to talk me out of getting it, or make me feel inferior to his ways by wanting to spend money. Anyone know of places that will rent out a tow-worthy vehicle with a towing package? Any rental car companies I know forbid towing, and a lot of them actually block the back so you can't put a ball or hitch on.

 

[gibsonmanky]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Alright well here is a question then. I am just looking at trucks. Thinking about trading my van in or selling it and going ahead and getting a SUV of some sort. I've been wanting one for awhile now. I grew up in the south, had SUV's when I was younger, then traded in for a more gas-friendly vehicle for when I lived in NYC. Now I'm in the south again and miss having a TRUCK. This Jetta isn't very manly. Hahaha. So my question is, will any V8 engine vehicle be a tow-worthy vehicle for the type of boat I am looking to get??? I know there are different types of V8's. But really, once I get a boat transported here to KY, my towing will be minimal. I will be leaving it in the slip most of the time.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

So my question is, will any V8 engine vehicle be a tow-worthy vehicle for the type of boat I am looking to get??? I know there are different types of V8's.

absolutely not! There are v8 cars, as well as v8 trucks/suv's without a true frame of any sort. For your future towing, any mid 90's or newer suv/truck with a v8 and actual frame would be sufficient.

as far as renting, if you only tow a short distance a couple times a year, you can rent a 1/2 or sometimes 3/4 ton truck from Uhaul. They actually DO allow towing!

 

[gibsonmanky]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

absolutely not! There are v8 cars, as well as v8 trucks/suv's without a true frame of any sort. For your future towing, any mid 90's or newer suv/truck with a v8 and actual frame would be sufficient.

as far as renting, if you only tow a short distance a couple times a year, you can rent a 1/2 or sometimes 3/4 ton truck from Uhaul. They actually DO allow towing!

Gotcha. Well I wouldn't consider a v8 car obviously, I guess I'm asking would any Explorer, Tahoe, Jeep Cherokee, Expedition, F-150, Chevy 1500, Durango, Ram, (you get the point) that is a v8 be a sufficient tow vehicle.

I know there are different types of V8's. What do you mean exactly by "actual frame"?

 

[rthomas]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

The tahoe, expedition and the pickups you mention all have full frames, cherokee and grand cherokee are unibodies not sure about the explorer or the durango. We have a '95 grand cherokee with the v8, sure it has the power to tow BUT the suspension and the brakes are not up to the task, better: we also have a '98 tahoe, that is a good match for my boat (5500lbs) Best: we also have '97 f250 diesel, its overkill for the boat but it pulls the best and for long trips where fuel economy matters its far better on fuel than the tahoe (14mpg vs. 8-9mpg) one other nice thing about towing with a 3/4 or 1ton is the brakes are much bigger than a half ton and will easily compinsate for poorly performing trailer brakes.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Not to talk you out of your plan, but if it's mostly for a one time long haul, have you considered having it shipped? It would likely be cheaper than the hit you will take trading vehicles. 12 hour trip may be $500 or less - plus you skip the hassle, gas, food, etc. Just another thought. Might be worth getting a couple of quotes from shippers and add that to your decision.

 

[Robbabob]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Not to talk you out of your plan, but if it's mostly for a one time long haul, have you considered having it shipped? It would likely be cheaper than the hit you will take trading vehicles. 12 hour trip may be $500 or less - plus you skip the hassle, gas, food, etc. Just another thought. Might be worth getting a couple of quotes from shippers and add that to your decision.

+1

Once you have the boat at your slip, your dad will surely help with your necessary tow 10% of the time

 

[PopsRacer]

Re: Towing questions.. Bayliner Ciera 2455

Can you get more (or does anyone else know) of the actual specs about the boat?? I'm assuming it's 24' long and 8' wide Cuddy with a 5.0L or 5.7L on a double axle trailer?? Mine is a 21' weighing at 5800-lbs, I wouldn't be surprised if that one is over 6,000-lbs.

Jon's idea sounds worth looking into... For a 700 mile drive, you're gonna want something that's geared and made to tow, not just any V8 will tow it.. Like I posted above, the F-150 I had wouldn't tow it that far, I forgot to add that its 4.9L was a V8 and it did have an additional Trans Cooler. The Rear Diff wasn't geared for towing though, so it was a dog with this boat. You might also be able to rent a tow worthy truck from a car rental place.

You might also check with some local dealerships to see if they have anything on their Used Lots they might be willing to rent out to you, I did that a couple times back when I had just a car and rental companies didn't rent out trucks.