Towing My Boat!

[tate]

I am certainly not going to insult anyone's vehicles, everyone has different requirements and likes.... and I fully understand and agree with Grampa's point that often time the vehicles we use to tow our "toys" is also what we use to commute. I commute into Boston everyday so to me it is most important I get decent fuel mileage with high weight tow ability. I just bought an F150 3.5l V6 Ecoboost which gives me reasonable mileage averaging around 17-18. It is silly overkill on power to tow my boat but plenty to tow my 24' enclosed race car trailer fully loaded. I am really surprise to hear the reported mileages of some of the man truck big engines.

[South FLA]

All of you are too funny, its a truck peeing match. Today's modern "toy trucks" with 6-cylinder engines have more HP and similar torque numbers than late 90's 8 Cylinder trucks and they did just fine back then.

For comparisons sake:

1999 Ford F-250 Superduty

Standard Engine 5.4L 235 hp V8 Horsepower 235 @ 4250 RPM Torque (lb-ft) 335 @ 3000 RPM

Towing Capacity 9800lbs

2012 Nissan Frontier 4x2

4.0-liter DOHC 24-valve V6 engine

261 hp @ 5,600 rpm

281 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm

Towing Capacity 6,300lbs

The "Toy Truck" would suffice to tow a 2012 Ranger Z522 5000Trailer GVWR (lbs.)

Is it ideal to tow cross country or can it compare to modern diesel trucks when it comes to towing, NO!

But you can most likely 2-3 Toy Trucks for the cost of 1 diesel truck and if you are concerned about tranmission life get the extended powertrain warranty to 100K miles.

Nissan and Cummins are working on a 4-cylinder diesel platform that would be IDEAL for towing bass boats cross country while getting 30 MPGS during regular use!

http://news.pickuptr...ssan-titan.html

[SoFlaBassAddict]

My Ford ain't no toy. Although its getting old now, still pulls my boat around without any problems. Far better than any other tow vehicle I've used. I know that it weighs far, far more than any bass boat out there.

2000 F150 7700 towing package

125k+ miles on it now. Still runs like its brand new. Only problem with it is that it's a bit of a gas hog. What can you do though. I'm not going out to buy a new truck any time soon.

That 4 cylinder diesel sure looks intriguing though....

[bwell]

Anything less than a 6L is a toy, haven't you heard?

[Rangerphil]

I would like to thank everyone for their input. Sounds like the Tacoma will work for me.

[bwell]

Glad we could help... There is no need for a full size truck to pull a bass boat, unless you are... I won't go there...

[Stingray23]

This is whats gonna be my tow vehicle!

[bwell]

This is mine, you never know what you'll run into lol.

[J Francho]

I do about 12,000 miles per year towing. I would not do it with anything other than a 1/2 ton pickup. Otherwise, I get better mileage than my old Nissan Maxima. I never said you couldn't do it with a toy truck. But, I've seen guys burn them up over working them. If you only have to go a couple miles to the ramp, or don't fish that much, then tow it with whatever. Years ago, I towed with a V6 Jeep Cherokee. It sucked. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

A little advice to anyone getting a 1/2 ton pickup....if you are considering the extended cab, go for the full crew cab if you have kids. Those suicide doors are a real PITA with a four year old.

[J Francho]

I would much rather have that butt ugly "Camry" that a Chevy... lol you must be pretty proud that Chevy finally came out with a decent truck with a little more power...

My truck is GMC, and I don't even like Chevy, so I could care less. If my brother sold Fords, I'd be driving a Ford. If he sold Dodge, I'd be driving a Ford/Chevy/GMC/Toyota/Nissan, LOL. Just kidding, don't all you Mopar folks get your panties in a bunch. My family has four Rams that are used as plow vehicles for the business.

Here's another tidbit. When I was truck shopping, a crew cab Canyon was all of $3,000 less than the ext. cab Sierra I bought. Just didn't seem worth it to me. The money I saved in gas mileage alone more than covered the extra $40/month.

I guess what I'm saying is if your buying, you really need to analyze your usage, and choose accordingly. Your budget will dictate where you need to compromise.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

A little advice to anyone getting a 1/2 ton pickup....if you are considering the extended cab, go for the full crew cab if you have kids. Those suicide doors are a real PITA with a four year old.

Agreed. If I could change one thing on mine, I'd get rid of the suicide doors. It's an amazing PIA when the release cable for the latches break inside of the door skin.....

[bayouXpress]

not to be picky but chevy does not have a 5.1. You may be thinking about the 5.3

i towed my 18ft express with 4 cyclinder toyota 4 runner, a chevy 5.3l and now i pull it with a chevy 6l.

Luckily I live on flat land but lots of large bridges and that poor 4runner would struggle going up the bridge. in the 5.3 it was totally different in 2 aspects the power and the weight of the truck. It was well enough to pull that boat. However when I pulled my cousin's 201xl stratos I could feel the boat back there and it affected how much throttle I had to put in it.

Now with the 6L I can't tell his boat is back there. I think a v6 is fine for towing a big boat around town especially on flat land, but if your pulling 100+ miles round trip in hills and mountains you might be putting to much strain on it.

[robdob]

i've towed a 20 ft bass boat with a 200 hanging on the back with a 1995 jeep cherokee with a 4.0 for over 8 years. the jeep has the original 5 speed tranny and the original clutch and the vehicle has 179,000 miles. some people dont need a huge truck to feel manly. as my wife likes to say " men who have huge trucks to tow small things must be making up for lacking in other departmens" granted a full size pickup with have better braking and faster acceleration but we're not all sitting there with 35 grand in the bank for a truck

[robdob]

I do about 12,000 miles per year towing. I would not do it with anything other than a 1/2 ton pickup. Otherwise, I get better mileage than my old Nissan Maxima. I never said you couldn't do it with a toy truck. But, I've seen guys burn them up over working them. If you only have to go a couple miles to the ramp, or don't fish that much, then tow it with whatever. Years ago, I towed with a V6 Jeep Cherokee. It sucked. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

A little advice to anyone getting a 1/2 ton pickup....if you are considering the extended cab, go for the full crew cab if you have kids. Those suicide doors are a real PITA with a four year old.

the jeep cherokee is actually a great tow vehicle considering its size.. get a cheap tranny cooler and your in business i've went all over the northeast with an old beat to he** 95 cherokee and she is still going strong.. i can go 70 on the highway with a 20ft boat on the back. just keep high end brake pads on it for stopping power

[Way2slow]

How heavy the load, how fast you tow it, what kind of terrain, and what kind of weather conditions will determine what your tow vehicle should be, and how long it will last.

I know with todays fuel cost, fuel economy has to be a huge consideration. Between what the boat is burning and it's costing you to get it to and from the lake, fishing trips are getting very, very expensive.

As for a Diesel truck, of almost any kind that's big enough to tow anything bigger than a canoe getting 29mpg, even without a load, I feel that one huge B** S****!

Look at what the Pro's who tow boats for a living use. You won't see many mid size or light duty full size trucks backing up to the ramp. Even with the FLW and small league guys that don't get those big sponserships, and have to pay their own way don't use those kinds of vehicles because they won't last and are too dangerous with a heavy, full size bass boat behind them.

[NBR]

First thing what is the total weight of the rig you will pull including tackle, second what is the GVW of the intended tow vehicule third don't forget weight of passengers. If first and third add up to more than second you are at best marginal.

[J Francho]

http://www.edgeproducts.com/?utm_source=Bassresource&utm_medium=Logo&utm_campaign=Bassresource_EAS

Try these guys out for better mileage.

[Wild Bill [NY]]

AS important, or MORE IMPORTANT as will it pull is.... 'WILL IT STOP THE d**n TRAILER IN WET WEATHER".

After you have been pushed through intersections on wet pavement by a small/medium sized truck that will not safely stop the trailer, you will learn.

[bassnmike78]

i have a 03 escape 4x4 that says it can tow up to 3500 lbs . what is a good sized boat or i should say whats the biggest boat i can tow with it ?

[Fishing Rhino]

i have a 03 escape 4x4 that says it can tow up to 3500 lbs . what is a good sized boat or i should say whats the biggest boat i can tow with it ?

Think aluminum.

[grampa1114]

Think small aluminum.

[bassnmike78]

ya i was thinking a tracker 170 or 190

[J Francho]

Don't limit yourself to just Tracker, there are others.....G3 or Xpress > Tracker Just watch that GVW, and keep it in limits. I was towing a fairly big boat with my Jeep, but it was a tiller, with no consoles, and just a finished floor and seats. I had my eye (still do really) on a G3 Gator Tough 1756 CC. Been sitting at the dealer beckoning, LOL. Nice boat, under 1700 lbs.

[bassnmike78]

cant find pricing on the g3's . any idea what the 1860's go for ?

[J Francho]

The 1756 w/ 50 hp was under 12K. You'll probably have to call a dealer.