Towing

[jenga]

I recently bought an 18 ft. ranger bass boat. I have a truck but it is really old and is not the most trust worthy.  I was wondering can I pull the boat with a Ford Tauras.  

Thanks,

Jenga

[tntitans21399]

A 18ft boat, it would be good to use the ford tauras or any kind of car.  That's why when you go to a boat ramp you don't see trailers hooked up to cars.  They just aren't built for that.

I would guess your tauras towing rating is below the boat and trailers weight.  Realistically, you could tow it, stopping won't be easy, and your motor and transmission wont last long towing the boat.

Your best bet is to get a old truck/suv to tow the boat.

[DMB Fan]

I'll meet you at the boat ramp.

[Hot Rod]

I feel your pain Jenga.  I couldn't afford a boat and a new truck either.  So I had to tow my new 18.5' Strat with an old beat up 4 cyl Nissan with over 150K miles for the first year.  I crossed my fingers and said a prayer everytime I started out for the lake with that rig.

The only thing that gave me some feeling of well being was the fact that my boat's insurance policy included road side assistance at no extra cost.  So I figured when my truck broke down at least I'd be able to get my boat to safety.  Thank goodness I never needed it though.

If I were you I'd stick with your truck.  That Tarus won't have the rear end to tow that much and with front wheel drive getting up the ramp could be an issue.

Good luck.

[HPBB]

I would stay with the old truck or try to buy a cheep one to tow with. I would stay away from towing with the Taurus. first I am sure the baot is way over any tow rateing the car has, if it has one. then even if you do tow with it, you will kill the car. back in the late 80's /  early 90's My dad had a Olds delta 88, front wheel drive 1988 year with a 3.8L V6. It had a tow limit of 2000. the V6 had alot of power. but the car just didn't have the guts. well we towed a 14 foot V hull, total weight under 1000 and it killed the car. the suspention had many propblem and It would break ball joins alot. ended up burn the trans to, even though we only towed in 3rd. for what we paid to fix and keep the olds running we could have bought a nice used truck and never had any problems. that car only lasted 5 years 60,000 miles. the boat killed it. and it was a lot smaller boat than your ranger.

[fishmastersunv]

Whoa.. No way..The trannies in that car are weak to begin with.. Heat is the enemy. Under normal driving they really should have an external tranny cooler...

But the forward Clutch servo is aluminum and trying to pull a boat will crack that and you will need new servo/ if you catch it in time, otherwise it will slip and you won't even know it and burn up the tranny..

No way, wayy to much boat.. 3.8 or 3.0 doesn't matter, save some money for the cylinder heads you'll crack, those 3.8's are garbage, but more than likely if yours is still running it has the redesigned heads...

[Grey Wolf]

Whoa.. No way..The trannies in that car are weak to begin with.. Heat is the enemy. Under normal driving they really should have an external tranny cooler...

But the forward Clutch servo is aluminum and trying to pull a boat will crack that and you will need new servo/ if you catch it in time, otherwise it will slip and you won't even know it and burn up the tranny..

No way, wayy to much boat.. 3.8 or 3.0 doesn't matter, save some money for the cylinder heads you'll crack, those 3.8's are garbage, but more than likely if yours is still running it has the redesigned heads...

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Popeye]

Welcome to the BR Forums fishmastersunv!!!

Thread question: I totally agree - DO NOT tow that beautiful new Ranger with a Tauras!!  You'd probably be better off towing the Tauras with the Ranger, IMO:o) Try to get a used truck that is still within your price range or possibly have a fishing buddy/friend tow it for you. It shouldn't be too hard to find a few if you don't already have one or two, especially with a boat like that to fish on:o)