Towing with Rainier or Avalanche

[RedRocketZ28]

We have a 1999 Mariah Z252 with a BBC in it and wanted to get some thoughts on towing it with a couple of different vehicles I have access to. The boat weighs around 4300 lbs. dry, and I'm guessing the trailer to be between 12-1500 lbs.


I currently have a 2004 Buick Rainier AWD with a 5.3L and 3.73 gears in it. My Dad has a 2002 Avalanche 2WD with 3.42 gears. Both vehicles obviously have the same drivetrain but the Avalanche chassis would obviously be better for the job. The Rainier towing capacity is 6500 lbs. with my configuration. The Avalanche towing capacity is 7300 lbs.


To make a long story short (bear with me), we had a 18' Four Winns, bought a condo down at the Lake of the Ozarks, sold Four Winns, bought Mariah without a trailer and intended on keeping it on the lift year around, sold condo to look for new one, had a trailer built for the Mariah to bring back to Iowa for the time being, and here we are.


I used my cousins 2012 Tahoe to bring the Mariah back to Iowa (6 hours away) and it did just fine pulling the boat. Now I am at a dilemma of either pulling the boat with the Rainier, the Avalanche, or selling the Rainier for a bigger truck. I would buy a bigger truck now but we just bought my wife a new vehicle and aren't wanting to make another purchase until next year.


I did hook the boat up to the Rainier to pull it out of the driveway to clean it up and it did so without any issues. My only concern with using the Rainier is that the boat/trailer outweigh it. My Rainier does fine pulling my 01 Camaro on an open trailer though but I am guessing that is probably 1,000 lbs. less than the boat. My concerns with the Avalanche are it has 3.42 gears and is pretty doggy, and the fact it is only 2WD but most of the ramps we would frequent are pretty good and 4WD shouldn't be needed.


So, with that being said, would I be completely dumb to use either one of these vehicles to pull the boat anywhere from 30-100 miles roundtrip depending on what local lake we hit?


I'll throw up a couple of pictures of the Rainier in action, ha.


Hooked up to the Mariah. (Yes, I know the skeg needs repaired, we are on it)



Towing the turbo Z28.



This is obviously my first post so go easy on me!


Thanks all.


-Andy

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[muskyfins]

I wouldn't sweat the fact that the boat weighs more than the truck. My boat weighs more than my truck and it's an F350 diesel. This is normal. The question is if the chassis of the tow vehicle can handle the weight. If it were me, I'd consider the avalanche the starting point for anything more than a couple of miles. Consider you're at 5800 lbs dry, plus fuel, plus gear plus any water soaked into boat parts over the years. So, 6500 lbs is a good figure and at the capacity of the Rainier. I usually figure if I have to use any piece of equipment at it's full rating, you need the next larger piece of equipment. Actually, I try to stay under 80% of capacity. That goes for more than towing, but applies here as well.

 

[Maclin]

As muskyfins mentioned, in your case a LOT depends on how much gear and how many passengers you will be hauling along with it. The Ranier seems to have a decent wheelbase for it. The Avalanche seems to not have the best gearing ratio. I think either would be ok for the short distances with not too much gear and people. I would be worried at the ramp though with the Avalanche, mainly about the differential ratio. I had to pull a 22 foot Cuddy up a steeper-than-normal ramp for a few trips, felt like dragging a whale and would not have wanted to do that with 3.42's, I had 3.92 4wd, just a comment.

Overall, if trading is a viable option then I would look into a fully equipped 1500-2500 non-AWD (usually limits tow capacity) full size SUV or Crew cab type trucks, especially if needing to haul passengers to-from the boating day site all in just one vehicle. I just have a regular cab truck, and we just plan on taking two vehicles unless it is just me and one other. Some disadvantages with that, but one advantage, especially for shorter trips, is when some do not want to stay all day.

 

[briangcc]

I agree that I would start with the Av for towing long distances as it leaves you margin for error should you need the additional capability. You'll be happier with the longer wheelbase as well - less opportunity for the tail wagging the dog effect.


There will be some that argue for the Buick as it's rated for 6500lbs so gosh darn it it will pull 6500lbs. Yes but it leaves you with very little reserve for emergency braking and acceleration. Going on expressways, you could possibly make it. Hit a back country road with steep hills and you'll be cursing the day you decided to tow at capacity.

 

[Maclin]

Wow muskyfins, I didn't really notice the boat to truck ratio in your sig pic until now, huge.

 

[muskyfins]

Wow muskyfins, I didn't really notice the boat to truck ratio in your sig pic until now, huge.

There's a little forced perspective in that pic, but I'm around 10K on the boat/trailer and the truck is 8460 with me and half tank of fuel.

 

[H20Rat]

There will be some that argue for the Buick as it's rated for 6500lbs so gosh darn it it will pull 6500lbs. Yes but it leaves you with very little reserve for emergency braking and acceleration. Going on expressways, you could possibly make it. Hit a back country road with steep hills and you'll be cursing the day you decided to tow at capacity.

That is under the assumption the mfg didn't already build in a safety margin. Given that tow ratings overseas are often higher for identical vehicles, there is probably some buffer there.

 

[Maclin]

Manufacturers also have to factor in warranty coverage.

 

[briangcc]

That is under the assumption the mfg didn't already build in a safety margin. Given that tow ratings overseas are often higher for identical vehicles, there is probably some buffer there.

OK. Real world. I towed my '05 Four Winns (probably 4500lbs between boat and trailer) with my wife's '13 GMC Acadia V6 AWD with Tow Package (rated to 5000lbs). So I was marginally under the max rating. Was a slug going up a back country hill. I started at the bottom at 65mph and I crested the top doing 40mph with my foot basically to the floor. If I had to accelerate to get past something on that hill, I was toast.

So based on my own real world experience, yes I towed at almost capacity and it was scary as all get out. Big difference with same load hooked to my Tundra (10k towing).

 

[jkust]

I'll bite....I tow my boat with a 07 Rainier as well. It is 6000lbs on the trailer. Because you have the 5.3 liter version you also have the bigger brake calipers versus the 4.2 liter inline 6. The rainier and the avalanche you mention have the same body on frame but the Rainier will have a weaker transmission and other drive train components which is why it is limited down to 6500lbs. The Rainiers, et al GMT360's have a torque management system in them that the Avalanche won't in order to not damage the drivetrain which can be undone with a reflash of the PCM. Everybody says this but the Rainier barely registers the 6000lbs it is towing and only when the torque management kicks in is it a pain. Mine happens to be the v8, AWD, 3.73 with G80 locking diffs as well. I've owned two Rainers towing with both of them and also have 9-7x with the 5.3 liter, AWD, G86 (limited vs locking diff) 3.73, etc and again, it tows the 6000lbs with ease, stops well and doesn't have a wag the dog issue at all. I don't think I'd have an issue adding a few hundred lbs to the equation. I've owned Rainiers for many years now and they don't just pull the boat out well, or maneuver at highway speed in emergency situations well, but generally are a decent low dollar tow vehicle though when we bought ours way back when it wasn't low dollar.