venture17-tow vehicle?

[littledevil]

hi everybody. i am a new proud owner of 73 venture17. i was thinking to tow it to water with my wifes v6 hyundai tuscan but she is not so cool with that. i also have a honda delsol which i am not sure if it can handle that towing. boat is pretty small and light that i can push the trailer around my backyard. trailer has no brakes. delsol is not rated to tow anything but has the same frame like civic which is rated class 1 hitch.(about 1000 lb?) so this circumstances makes me search for a new vehicle.
can i tow the 17 with 4 cyl? i don't really want to buy a 6 cyl suv because i usually ride my motorcycle to work etc. so onlytime i would use the suv is to tow the boat and when its snow of course. insurance is pretty expensive for 6 cyl. suv's comparing to 4 cyl. don't have much to spend. what is the frugal options i have/ what do you use to tow 17?
- a well used 6cyl suv?
-subaru outback type 4cyl but AWD?
-4 CYL pick up truck? any suggestion is wellcome. thanks[/img]

[Ivan Awfulitch]

I towed my Mac 17 with a Reliant wagon with a 2.2L 4 and a 2 door Shadow with a 2.5L 4. Both were automatic and you hardly noticed the boat was there even running air conditioning. Steep hills were a bit taxing, but both cars snapped the boat out of the water easily. Really not necessary to have a v6 as long as the vehicle is rated for the weight.

[littledevil]

I towed my Mac 17 with a Reliant wagon with a 2.2L 4 and a 2 door Shadow with a 2.5L 4. Both were automatic and you hardly noticed the boat was there even running air conditioning. Steep hills were a bit taxing, but both cars snapped the boat out of the water easily. Really not necessary to have a v6 as long as the vehicle is rated for the weight.

thanks. how about ddistance? it should also be important right? lets say i would like to tow it to 2 hours distance. 4 cyl still would be ok? automatic or stickshift? which one last longer for towing or easier to pull the boat out of water?

[Frank C]

... can i tow the 17 with 4 cyl? i don't really want to buy a 6 cyl suv because i usually ride my motorcycle to work etc. so onlytime i would use the suv is to tow the boat and when its snow of course.

insurance is pretty expensive for 6 cyl. suv's comparing to 4 cyl. don't have much to spend. what is the frugal options i have/ what do you use to tow 17?

- a well used 6cyl suv?
- subaru outback type 4cyl but AWD?
- 4 CYL pick up truck?
any suggestion is wellcome. thanks[/img]

There are not too many members here with Venture 17 experience, so it might be tough to get a really educated answer. However, I believe your boat is about 900 lbs, plus maybe 500 for trailer ... so it seems any vehicle rated for towing 1,500 lbs. (700 kg) should be okay. Towing a distance of 2 hours shouldn't be a problem if the cooling system is in good shape. Towing for long distances is a greater issue if you must go over many hills in rolling countryside.

If you're planning to choose an older, high-mileage vehicle, a stickshift transmission might be less risky than an automatic. Of the three you listed, the Subaru is probably the last choice. Just from prior reading on this website, I recall that towing can cause problems for Subaru drivelines .... just from hearsay, as I have no experience with them.

[Ivan Awfulitch]

thanks. how about ddistance? it should also be important right? lets say i would like to tow it to 2 hours distance. 4 cyl still would be ok? automatic or stickshift? which one last longer for towing or easier to pull the boat out of water?

A typical tow for me was in the 2-3 hour range with about 70-80% of it highway. The only place that gave any problems were long very steep hills and I was able to avoid them (steep meaning 5% or greater and there are a few of these around the Akron-Cleveland area). The only thing I did was to install a transmission cooler on both cars as the coolers that Chrysler put in them was a bit on the small side (I'd have put one on even if I didn't tow). Both cars were automatic, and both were rated to tow 2000 lb. The boat, motor, and trailer, and gear weighed in at about 1,200 lb so anything with a 1500 lb. rating should be OK. I can't say if a manual would be any better, but I never had any driveline problems with either tow car (air conditioning was another story, but hey, it was a Chrysler product). Very easy to pull the boat out of the water, but remember these are both front wheel drive cars.

[littledevil]

thanks. i am looking around. i am convinced that towing with a little del sol is not going to be good. i am leaning more to SUV. i ve seen some pathfinders but some people says they are prone to frame rust which wouldn't be good for toving. isuzu rodeo seems to be a good option too.

[Bawgy]

Buy an old ford 150 for 600 dollars and use it . Easy to fix very reliable and inexpensive

[littledevil]

i am very close to end up buying a suzuki sidekicker. 1.6L 4 cyl. 4x4 manual stickshift. i have searched the web and it seems do able but there is still great chance that you may end up at youtube. my rig probable would be less than 1300 lb. what do you think?

[littledevil]

i am very close to end up buying a suzuki sidekicker. 1.6L 4 cyl. 4x4 manual stickshift. i have searched the web and it seems do able but there is still great chance that you may end up at youtube. my rig probable would be less than 1300 lb. what do you think?

i ended up buying 94 isuzu amigo. manual 4x4 . 2,6 lt engine. i think it would do the job.