vehicle to tow boat?

[jeff68981]

Have a 20ft center console dual axle trailer. Looking for a vehicle to tow it with. Can I get a V6 SUV or truck or is a V8 needed? Will 2wd be ok?

 

[GA_Boater]

How much does the boat, trailer and gear weigh? It's weight of the towed rig you need to know before picking out a tow vehicle.

Doubtful you need a 4X4 unless your ramps are slimy and even then a 2 wheel drive usually works if you do it right.

 

[roscoe]

are you talking new vehicle? or used?

how old of a vehicle ?

most new small suv's can't tow it

older explorers and S-blazers generally can tow 5500#, even with the v6.

 

[Scott Danforth]

a 20' on a tandem trailer could weigh as low as #3500 or as much as #6000. More if you store gear in the boat.

what are you pulling? and what do you intend to pull it with.

you need a vehicle with more towing capacity than what you are pulling.

average tandem trailer is about #1300. ball-parking a 20' fiberglass boat at #3000 dry and adding #1000 for fuel and gear gets you in range of the upper end of an S-10 Blazer or a trail blazer

 

[jeff68981]

Looking for a used vehicle pic of boat and trailer. Boat dry weight is 1935lbs Motor I believe is 320lbs then of course fuel unsure of trailer weight.just says gvwr 5,000 all axles 4,002. Just want to be sure I by the right vehicle.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Boat and motor #2400
trailer #2000
Fuel and gear #400

Need a tow vehicle with at minimum #5200 towing capacity

 

[jeff68981]

Thanks everyone so a v6 would work as long as it is rated for 5200. Time to start looking

 

[Scott Danforth]

Blazer, trail blazer or any other truck-based SUV. a long wheel base tows better than a short wheel base. the cross-overs generally dont have towing capacity as they are glorified car-based station wagons.

my full size truck with a V8 gets better fuel economy than my S10 Blazer ever would

 

[ahicks]

I think you need to establish some priorities before picking a tow vehicle. I'd go for a V-6 SUV (capable of 5000 lbs) for the amount of towing I do any more, but somebody pulling 100 miles or more every weekend, using steep ramps, possibly through areas with a lot of traffic or hills, might consider my little SUV a little light in the butt.....

With a clean slate in front of you, you have a lot of options. Don't make a selection based strictly on the fact it CAN do the job. Possibly look for one that can do the job WELL! Maybe something with a little reserve?

 

[jeff68981]

I would just be towing from my home to the boat ramp which is about 10 miles from me. No long distance planned.

 

[Horigan]

My 2013 Toyota Highlander (3.5L V6) has a towing capacity of 5000 lbs.

I think you would be fine with 5000 lbs capacity.

 

[ahicks]

<<<I think you would be fine with 5000 lbs capacity>>>

That's pretty much all we're doing, so me too. We use a Honda Pilot. Before that we had a Ridgeline.

 

[jeff68981]

Narrowed it down to two 06 trailblazer 4.2 v6 or 04 sequoia 4.7 v8

 

[M2HB]

I would take your loaded boat and trailer combo to a CAT scale to verify the weight. With that info you can make a proper decision.

 

[Stingrayaxe]

I vouch for The Trailblazer with the V6. Its a torquey little motor and pulls my 5000Lbs boat pretty well. The TB has a 5200# rating. As most everyone has said what's important is how much your load weighs. The internet is a great tool. Your boat weight, motor and trailer should have weights published that you can find without much digging. Add the weight of fuel, water, gear, beer and people in the car. You should be able to estimate your towed weight to a reasonably close number. Now do the same for the vehicles that you are looking at. Every manufacture publishes a towing guide for their vehicles. Stay under their published weight by 10%. (I know I'm not but I'm still under. Had the car first). Try to stay away from unibody vehicles. Even if they are rated for the load they still flex and you can feel it. Full frame for towing is always a better choice. How far you tow makes no difference to how your vehicle will perform and how long it will last doing it. An overloaded trucks brakes can fail a block from your house in an emergency stop with brakes that arn't rated for the load you are pulling. Yes, 4 X4 is a nice to have in certain ramp conditions. Not a deal breaker but if you have the choice go for that option.

The Sequoia you are looking at has a 6000 -6200# rating depending on options. It might be the better choice depending on what you figure out what your towed weight will be.

 

[mtsaz]

My crown victoria with 4.6L police interceptor pulls mine just fine- BUT----I wouldn't want to go more than 100 miles round trip. Its a lot of work- the boat weighs as much as the car and its a workout. I use a 2016 chevy 4x4 with towing package and it tows it without you even realizing you are towing something.

My point----which I think others have made- is that just because something is CAPABLE of towing that particular weight, doesn't mean that it is the best option. I would always opt for more than so that I don't get to the lake exhausted. good luck.

 

[tonyjh63]

Does that trailer in the pic really weigh 2000 lbs??

 

[Sprig]

Let’s start at the beginning. First you need to decide what type of vehicle you want. Do you want an SUV? Mid size or Full size? 4 wheel drive? Do you want a truck? Mid size, full size, 4x4? Do you want a double cab? How many people are going to ride in it? Will it have room for you, family , friends and gear? Are you going to use the vehicle for more than just towing? How far will you be towing? Towing in extreme conditions like in hot weather in mountains or deserts?
After you make those decisions then you start looking at tow capacity and GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). When it comes to towing more capacity is always better than less. I would always look for tow capacity that exceeds what I plan to tow. There are many reasons for this that I won’t go into now.
You want to take a close look at GVWR. That is the total weight of the vehicle, passengers, all gear, and tongue weight of the trailer. You do not want to exceed GVWR as it affects vehicle control, braking, suspension, drive train, tires and more. It is dangerous to exceed GVWR.
It doesn’t really matter if you get a V6 or a V8 as long as you don’t exceed tow capacity or GVWR.
You really need to get your boat and trailer weighed with full tank of gas and gear so you know for sure what you are dealing with. Then make the above decisions and find your tow vehicle.

I tow my boat with my Toyota Tacoma double cab 4x4 with tow package rated for 6500lbs tow capacity. My boat and trailer and gear are around 3500 lbs maybe a little more. With boat, trailer, 3 passengers and gear I hardly know I’m towing. Toyota Tacomas are probably the most dependable truck on the road and are known to go for hundreds of thousands of miles. Not saying that’s what you should get, just saying if you want a truck that could be a great option.

 

[AlabamaNewbie]

I tow my boat with my Toyota Tacoma double cab 4x4 with tow package rated for 6500lbs tow capacity. My boat and trailer and gear are around 3500 lbs maybe a little more. With boat, trailer, 3 passengers and gear I hardly know I’m towing. Toyota Tacomas are probably the most dependable truck on the road and are known to go for hundreds of thousands of miles. Not saying that’s what you should get, just saying if you want a truck that could be a great option.

QFT.

I have a Tundra 5.7 SR5 with a capacity of #10,500. Without pulling anything, it rides as good as any vehicle I've ever driven. It's a nice, spacious, comfy ride. We will take it on trips before the take the wife's SUV just because of how comfy it is. Put a trailer behind it, and it doesn't even notice. Sure I wish it got better MPG, but I can take 6 people with plenty of legroom, a bed full of stuff, pull a pontoon, and nothing about the way it drives or the gas it uses changes.

I only wish I could afford to trade it in on a 2018 Tundra in Flat Dark Earth. Those are super sharp rides.

 

[HeavensFence87]

Just so you know I had a mercedes ml320 I drove to try to save on fuel when I wasnt flowing as it was my daily driver. It was all wheel and had a 5k towing capacity my boat with trailer was 4500 and it was a struggle uphill and stopping was worse. Jist be mindful that just because a vehicle can tow it doesn't mean it should. Some ramps where I live are pretty steep so 4 wheel drive is pretty important.