Towing Bass Boat With 1991 Ford Ranger

[thereeldreamer]

Hey all,

I am going to be buying my first bass boat soon and was wondering how my 1991 ford ranger would handle towing a bass boat. I was looking to get a bass tracker but kinda want something with a little more guts. My truck is a 91 4x4 v6 4.0L...

 

 

 

A boat I've been looking at is a 1983 ProCraft 1750v (17.5') with a 150hp Merc on it.... its a darn good deal.

 

Just wondering how my truck would handle it with towing. I know it can tow it but stopping it may be the problem.

 

Thanks

 

 

[BrianinMD]

What is the listed towing capacity of the truck?

 

Probably will handle it but I would personally be worried about hills, and stopping in general. Also, will be a lot of wear and tear on a vehicle with a lot of age on it.

[jhoffman]

I would not put a glass boat behind that. I have a hard enough time towing my 17' tracker with a v6.

[retiredbosn]

Going to depend on vehicle's towing capacity. Also does your truck have a long or short wheel base? Do you have any experience towing a trailer or boat? Alot of factors at play, regardless it will put alot of wear and tear on a truck that old.

[BassnChris]

x2 on everything already said above.

 

I had a 2011 Nissan Frontier and towed my 2001 Procraft 185 pro with it comfortably, but that without any hilly terrain to speak of.  I thought it handled the boat ok.  But recently sold that truck and bought a '12 Titan..............much better feeling towing it.

 

The Frontier had a towing Capacity of something like 6500.

[NBR]

What is the GVW capacity of your truck? If its close to the total weight of the boat rig, the truck and passengers you are ok. First issue is stopping the rig not pulling it. Does the trailer have brakes?

[retiredbosn]

First issue is stopping the rig not pulling it. Does the trailer have brakes?

Exactly, got to thinking the closer the rig you are towing is to the weight of the truck, the harder it is to stop. Additionally it becomes more difficult to control over all, it will feel like the boat is pushing you rather than you towing it. Downhill grades become more treacherous, etc. That being said, the truck may handle the boat fine, however, the experience of the driver is key too.

[BrianinMD]

And it is not being able to handle the boat fine in perfect conditions. You have to give considerations for when the wind picks up, rain or a storm comes up. Seen a few trucks/trailers on their side or in the trees along the side of the road because conditions got the trailer swaying and the truck couldn't take it.

[Ken Browning]

Don't forget that some ramps are fairly steep. I pull my Tracker with my 97 Ranger (4 cylinder) OK but I'm always afraid that some ramps may be to steep to pull the boat out of. I have no problems using just about any ramp with my 6cylinder Vue.

[Sun Fish]

I tow a 17'6 Nitro Glass boat w/ a 115hp on the back with my 1995 Toyota T100 SR5 3.4 liter V6  4x4 134K miles.  Nearly every trip to my home lake is up and down rolling hills in the Poconos.  I have no problems at all, just a little slow uphill in certain spots.  Just drive careful, downshift and pump your brakes going downhill instead of torturing them.

Mind you, I purchased the truck with the sole purpose of towing my boat and nothing else.  I have a car for my everyday commuter vehicle.  However I wouldnt go with a much bigger boat without upgrading my truck.  Just in my opinion I'd say a 18' is about max with a V6 so long as it's also not your everyday vehicle.

[MichBassMan]

Can it be done? yes.  Is it wise or advisable? absolutely not. That boat is too heavy for that truck period. As others have stated; the biggest issue isn't pulling it down the road. The concern is emergency stopping, general handling, and steep wet boat ramps. You may end up with your truck sliding backwards into the lake. Going up steep hills will also be an issue. as far as passing on a two lane hi-way,,,,forget it.

[BassinB]

if that truck has a class III hitch on it, it will do the job. That 4.0 motor isn't too bad.  My buddy has a 18 1/2' skeeter zx150 that he pulled with his ranger for 3 years. Give yourself stopping room and get into it a little on the hills and you'll be fine. If I found a smokin deal on a boat that I wanted I wouldn't pass on it because I had that truck. Plus you have 4wd for the ramps. My advice is pull the trigger on that boat!

[thereeldreamer]

Thanks all for the input. I have really been thinking hard about it... I think if the guy still has it I'll go check it out and possibly buy it then tow it around a bit and see how she handles then really judge whether I want to keep it or not (of course I will) but if its not safe then it'll be gone. He says it's a very light boat for a glass boat... Its a smokin deal and maybe I'll have to sell my truck and get a bigger one if I like it too much. 

 

Thanks again,

-Christian

[james 14]

You'll be fine. Like you I was worried when I bought my glass boat a few months ago. Of course I have a 5.3 v8 but my boat is also 21ft. It's not a problem at all and I don't even use the trailer brakes. The guy I bought it from towed it with a v6 SUV without the brakes. If I had a smaller truck I'd probably want the trailer brakes.

You also have 4wd so that takes away most of your concerns about getting it up the ramp. I have an auto-locking differential on mine and it's come in handy on a couple occasions.