blackmax135 Posted June 3, 2014 Posted June 3, 2014 I have a 4 cylinder chevy colorado. i have a 1500 pound bass boat. I tow all the time its rough on gas and it pulls better than i ever thought it would. I was wondering in everyones opinion am i an idiot for doing this? its a 2009 truck with 80,000 miles. Cant afford another truck anytime soon getting engaged. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted June 3, 2014 Super User Posted June 3, 2014 An idiot for what? Putting wear and tear on the truck or getting engaged? 9 Quote
blackmax135 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Posted June 3, 2014 Both!! lol.No For towing that boat with such a small truck. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted June 3, 2014 Super User Posted June 3, 2014 Though not familiar with your exact vehicle's towing capacity (hope you are) - at 1500 pounds, you're probably not exceeding it. However if that weight does not include your trailer and weight of gear in the boat - you're probably close. Maybe you should get a new truck before a new wife . . Just kidding ~ Congrats A-Jay 1 Quote
blackmax135 Posted June 3, 2014 Author Posted June 3, 2014 I really thought about the new truck. I know a new truck wont nagg at me. lol But yea the capacity is really close. But thanks for the imput man. 1 Quote
Super User slonezp Posted June 3, 2014 Super User Posted June 3, 2014 It has been discussed before. Towing is not only about pulling a load. It's about stopping it as well. I have towed with a V6 pickup and will never go that route again. A 4 banger is a grocery getter. Your 1500lb number. Does that include motor weight? Trailer weight? Fuel weight? Gear? The dry hull weight on my hull is 1600lbs. Add everything I listed and I've more than doubled the dry hull rate. Quote
MichBassMan Posted June 3, 2014 Posted June 3, 2014 Unless your trailer has brakes on it, the biggest issue is safety. The added weight of the boat behind you will tend to push a smaller lighter truck in an emergency braking situation. Quote
tntitans21399 Posted June 3, 2014 Posted June 3, 2014 What is the tow capacity of your truck? I have a 03 Dodge Dakota V6 that is rated for 5,000 lbs towing and I have towed up to 6,000 lbs but that was all it could handle. You could probably put 1,000 lbs in the bed of your truck so towing shouldn't be a issue. You might be rated to tow 3,500lbs probably. Just make sure to give extra time for stopping if it has trouble with the extra weight. A truck is made to haul and tow thats what they are built for. I usually go with the rule of thumb to me for 1500/f150 or lower is if the tire isn't touching the fender you are ok. Quote
NathanW Posted June 3, 2014 Posted June 3, 2014 If your profile picture is the photo of your boat there in no way it is only 1500lbs....Well at least that was my initial thought when seeing it. I could be wrong. Just make sure that fishing regularly is in your vows...and by regularly we dont mean weekends only... 1 Quote
Jdm219 Posted June 4, 2014 Posted June 4, 2014 I can tow up to 3500 pounds in a 2005 Toyota sienna. It's a minivan. So you should be able to tow 1500. Quote
Josh Smith Posted June 4, 2014 Posted June 4, 2014 I have a 4 cylinder chevy colorado. i have a 1500 pound bass boat. I tow all the time its rough on gas and it pulls better than i ever thought it would. I was wondering in everyones opinion am i an idiot for doing this? its a 2009 truck with 80,000 miles. Cant afford another truck anytime soon getting engaged. You should have at least 1900lbs towing capacity on the Colorado. I can check with Dad (former GM truck engineer) if you'd like, or you can take my word for it. My concerns are 1) you might not have enough tongue weight and 2) like others said, you really need trailer brakes for anything over 1,000lbs. It might be worth it to look into sway control, though for a low-profile trailer it's not as big an issue as for something like a travel trailer. Josh P.S. You have an axle ratio of 3.73:1. This is important to know. J.S. Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted June 4, 2014 Super User Posted June 4, 2014 As mentioned, if that's the boat in your picture, tow weight on that boat is probably closer to 2,700 pounds. For short trips, and taking it easy you should have no real problems, other than stopping. Emergency fast stops are will create problems, and if it's a wet road, almost impossible, the boat will push you out of control in a heartbeat. Steep ramps are hard also. Yes it's hard on the vehicle and keep it out of overdrive, or 5th gear if manual, and that will tremendously help save on a very expensive repairs later. Quote
Josh Smith Posted June 4, 2014 Posted June 4, 2014 Blackmax, Really need more info. Is it a manual or automatic? Did it come with a light tow package? I love my Blazer. It's a 2000 with a 4.3SCPI (sequential Vortec). I'm a real fan of the S-Series. The 4.3 is basically a 350cid with two cylinders lobbed off. It gives close to 200hp and, more importantly, a buttload of torque. The bumper hitch that is on it is rated to Class II (350lbs tounge/3500 tow). Recently we moved. I was towing a large flatbed trailer with the Blazer. It towed very nicely, but man, on certain roads it would start porpoising and when the wind hit, I prayed for sway control. The brakes did well unless I tried to stop really fast at speed. Brake fade and glazing were the results. That Blazer is good to around 5000lbs, bu with the right equipment. The same is true for your Colorado. Josh Quote
blackmax135 Posted June 5, 2014 Author Posted June 5, 2014 Luckley i live only 1 minute from my main fishing lake. So i go fishing pretty regular out there I'm not very concerned about that. Maybe once a week or every other week (try to) i go out to the river witch is 30 min away. But the boat weight i was told was 1500 ilbs with motor but the guy that told me that who i bought the boat from didn't deserve to even own a boat because i asked him if the tilt and trim worked and he told me the steering wheel does not move. I know its not an ideal thing to be to towing that big of a boat with my little 4 banger but i couldn't resist it for $3000 everything works perfect just scratches and dings but not bad. Do ya blame me? lol My hitch is a class 5 so im no to worried about that im more worried about the transmission blowing up. Or the motor. Its an automatic, in first gear i can't hardly tell the boats there but once it gets to second it surely shows it. Its a 16'7" boat. Thanks for everyone's input to its a lot of help better than just going at it and not knowing. Maybe when i get married she will let me buy a new truck. lol Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted June 5, 2014 Super User Posted June 5, 2014 I think you have that idea a little backwards, usually when you first get married, along comes a baby and bills and there goes the boat. So, don't be in a hurry to buy a bigger truck to tow it with. Quote
dumfish Posted June 7, 2014 Posted June 7, 2014 I thought the chevy Colorado is a 5 cylinder truck. Quote
blackmax135 Posted June 7, 2014 Author Posted June 7, 2014 They had 2 options at the time and i had a good deal on the 4 cylinder so thats what i got. Quote
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