Tow Vehicle List

[Doug W]

My tow beast is a 1996 Chevy Z71. It has more power than I ever need for towing, 4x4 for those algae covered ramps with a full ballast and tows the boat well. I have to use cruise control to keep my speed from creeping up.

Only negative issue is my fuel economy gets bad when towing. 11mpg is a good trip.



A couple days ago, I turned my receiver hitch over so that the trailer is now more level than it was in this picture last week.

Doug
http://starsloop.blogspot.com

[Craig LaForce]

2006 GMC Sierra 4WD pickup has hi and lo range, plus the towing switch on the shifter. V8 engine.
Gets around 18 mpg no matter what it is doing. The boat is kind of irrelevant. Replaced the bounce-a-matic shocks that came with the vehicle.

[J.Teixeira]

Mitsubishi L200 Strakar 2.8 TD
Tow weight 2.1 t



Fuel 10lt / 100 Km / 90 km/h

Jose

[NiceAft]

I have not read through all of the posts on this thread, but what I have learned from the years of reading these sort of postings is that there is no rule. Bertram pulls his with a hundred year old Buick LaSaber. A certain fellow with a burly mustache has a vehilcle which is rated at 3500 Lbs. towing. I really don't know how much it matters.

I am in the market for a new vehicle to replace my 2002 GMC Envoy, but I can't find anything that is it's equal. I need more than just towing ability, I want creature comforts. I spend a lot more hours driving without Nice Aft tailgating me than I do with her there. I just have not found any potential towing vehicle which has arroused me

Ray

[Y.B.Normal]

I use an 07 Merc. Mountaineer V-8, AWD, class 3 hitch, 5,000 lb. towing capacity.
So far I've only towed it 200 miles round trip and on shorter trips.
10 mpg, up to 65 mph towing, 15-20 mpg regular trips.
I secured the fuel tanks to the bow to move the C.G. forward and it towed quite well.
Not sure how it'll work in mountains, can't find any in Wisconsin.
Accelerates and pulls fine. Great creature comforts!

[fishheadbarandgrill]

1994 Ford Ranger XLT
V-6

Wolrks well on short distances. Probably undersized for extended hauls even though I used the Ranger to tow the boat 5 hours from purchase location to home port.

Looking now for a Honda Ridgeline as a replacement.

Bob

[Scott]

1972 Ford F-250 Camper Special
EFI 302 and Electr Ign
c-6 O/D Trans
And in a possible first for the board....Same boat, opposite sides of the Globe!!

In Missouri USA



In Australia

[Divecoz]

I was using ........
1998 Ford Explorer Sport ( Sport Model is the short wheel base) IMHO it sucked on the Highway with its short wheel base
4.0L. H.O. V-6
4sp OD Auto
I Now Use.....
2055
Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4
4.7 V-8.... skimpy 235 H.P.
4 Sp. OD Auto
Factory Tow Package 7800lbs as I recall.
Ford had MORE than enough ponies for the job but on the highway the tail wagged the dog so to speak
The Bigger Longer ( and again Made in The USA ) Dodge pulls it like a dream 70 or more MPH no hill is to high or too hard .
As with All Dodge Trucks .....Mileage is lowest of the big three, but towing 60=70 mph between IL and Port Charlotte Florida I averaged about.. 11 miles to the gallon.

[DaveB]

Did you tow with the Tandem Axel with the Explorer or single Axel?
Waiting to see how the new Ford 3.7 litter with 6100 tow on the F150 turns out.
Dave

I was using ........
1998 Ford Explorer Sport ( Sport Model is the short wheel base) IMHO it sucked on the Highway with its short wheel base
4.0L. H.O. V-6
4sp OD Auto
I Now Use.....
2055
Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4
4.7 V-8.... skimpy 235 H.P.
4 Sp. OD Auto
Factory Tow Package 7800lbs as I recall.
Ford had MORE than enough ponies for the job but on the highway the tail wagged the dog so to speak
The Bigger Longer ( and again Made in The USA ) Dodge pulls it like a dream 70 or more MPH no hill is to high or too hard .
As with All Dodge Trucks .....Mileage is lowest of the big three, but towing 60=70 mph between IL and Port Charlotte Florida I averaged about.. 11 miles to the gallon.

[Boblee]

Scott
Plenty of boats move from one side of the planet to the other but are probably not towed by the same owner, when were you out/up here.

[Divecoz]

DaveB: I have a single axle trailer. I like it for maneuvering/ backing up especially. I considered adding the Axel and keeping my Explorer... But in the end as others have said ( Pokerrick most recently) it lacked storage capability when compared to a Full Size Pickup . I am glad I made the switch. That said even before I retired, I only averaged about 7000 miles a year on my vehicle.. While others have concern for MPG, I really dont have that concern. I liked my Explorer so much it took me two years to make the switch. I sold my 9 year old , Pristine , 1998 Explorer Sport with less than 60,000 miles on it. It got 14 MPG on the Highway towing my boat.

[seahouse]

Hey Dave!

Waiting to see how the new Ford 3.7 litter with 6100 tow on the F150 turns out.

Me too! And the 3.5 litre V6 as well, which has more hp and torque than the V8 (and measured at lower rpms, and lower altitude ) and has a higher towing capacity, and better MPG too. I've been watching this engine in the previous year's Flex and Lincoln MKT. Big strides in the technology lately - something the automakers themselves were telling us (or the government at least) just a few years ago couldn't be done. (As we all point our fingers at them and say "see, I told you so" ). Actually, some of this technology already existed in Europe.

This engine is the "Swiss army knife" of engines (power to tow when you need it, good mpg when you don't), which I think would be most appropriate to use to tow the "Swiss army knife" of sailboats.

Regards- Brian.

[The Mutt]

Scott
Plenty of boats move from one side of the planet to the other but are probably not towed by the same owner, when were you out/up here.

That's right Boblee, now towed by Aussie, driving a Pommie made vehicle that has a Japanese motor .... it never came to me before how multi-cultural our society really is.

'Buenas tardes' and 'Buona sera' to all
Glenn

[Scott]

when were you out/up here.

I never was. What was my boat is now the Mutts.

[Catigale]

proving the point that a Mac is a blue water boat of course...