Good truck for pulling my 92 Nautique.

[horkn]

74green, one thing that you need to consider about that friend with the inline 6 ford, is that that motor is bigger in displacement than a lot of v8's out there, It's a 4.9 liter 300 cubic inch tq monster.

Daniel is pulling his boat with I believe the old OHV 160 hp 4.0, and not even the SOHC 4.0 that the ranger at the launch with the MC probably had. The SOHC 4.0 has over 200 hp, and good tq.

I agree, take your time and don't be in such a hurry when towing a boat or anything really. Only bad things happen fast is a good adage.

[GoBig]

horkn-
Perfectly valid points and yes, I was towing a SANTE not a SN. To be honest, I was impressed overall with the 4Runner the summer I used it. I never expected it to do well going up hwy 80 over the passes into Tahoe - it definitely exceeded my expectations. But the OP asked for an opinion on tow vehicles - although the 4Runner exceeded my expectations, I would personally not recommend it for a primary tow vehicle unless you are routinely towing a short distance on relatively flat topography.

Can it do the job? Sure. Are there better options? Absolutely.
(full size V8 vs. mid size V6)

[swc5150]

My Saab 9-7x is essentially an Envoy with different interior and suspension, but has the sweet 300hp 5.3 in it. It's only a mid-sized SUV, but tows awesome with the big engine and auto-leveling suspension. I guess that's my major complaint of many of the V6 suv's out there - most don't have the suspension to handle the tongue weight of a boat.

[74green]

Yea I was more so stating that he used his I-6 F150 and it does fine. He would recommend it as a 6 cylinder tow vehicle. My friend’s I-6 gets the job done also, but at the steep ramp usually the T-case goes into low. So I was more so stating it as an option for red89 with respect to 6 cylinders.
Just to compare what we are talking about...
1994 F150 I-6, 4.9L, 145hp, 264 lb-ft
2002 Suburban 5.3L 285 hp V8, 325 lb-ft
The ranger I saw was a 2000 model at the newest. Biggest engine that yr 4.0L 150hp, 185 lb-ft.
Danielc’s 1996 Ford Aerostar is rated at 155hp and 220 lb-ft
1999 Dodge Durango 5.2L V8 230hp, 300 lb-ft
Red89 msn autos has a lot of information. May be worth checking out when you are looking for something on the market.
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...&model=Durango



Agree fully...

Can it do the job? Sure. Are there better options? Absolutely.
(full size V8 vs. mid size V6)

[gride300]

i say go with a v-8 w/ tow package. i recently saw a pic of guy towing a centurion enzo thats about 24' on a tandem trailer with an audio q7. dumbest thing ever. if you are just going down the street i'd say a cyl. will do it, but v-8 is the way to go. as for feeling the "load" i tend to forget it's there on long drives, but only to the point that it doesn't give me trouble stopping or keeping speed. i always check my mirrors constantly along w/ temps. i have my back up camera set to be able to be used when driving and i use that to check also and make sure things are hooked up.

[horkn]

Gride, fwiw, an audi Q7 has an optional 4.2 liter v8 with 350 hp, 325 tq, auto leveling suspension and a 6600 lb tow rating. Even the base 3.6 v6 has 280 hp and 266 tq.

I wouldn't say that is ridiculous at all.

[chris196]

I think my message may have gotten a little muddied here.
I think many of you are replying about experiences with SAN's and such.
The question was "can a V6 pull a SN?". The answer is a big Yes, but qualified with it depends on other characteristics of the vehicle: wheel base, weight, brakes, etc.
Will a properly equipped larger vehicle with a larger engine do a better job? The answer to that is usually, but again it depends on specific vehicle characteristics.

[gride300]

sorry to get off topic. i just think if you're going to be towing you should go a good bit over the tow capacity when choosing a vehicle. as for the audio/enzo combo-the boat with fuel weighs 5000lbs. add a giant tandem trailer and you're at at least 6000lbs with absolutely no gear. there's no way it feels safe driving that.

[maxpower220]

I don't think a lot of people understand what causes big rigs to jackknife. BTW, it isn't always due to poor driving but more to do with the physics of a trailer that is heavy (more mass) than the tow vehicle. The same thing happens with trucks and boats (or Audis and Centurians).

[causewayskiier]

Towing

I agree bigger is better for towing. I have an '02 Explorer with a 4.6 Liter V8 tow rated to 5000 lbs. but my SN 206 is all it will handle. I understand wanting to get a smaller engine for fuel economy, but for trucks and SUVs there isn't that much difference in fuel mileage for a six cylinder and a V8.

[horkn]

Yeah, the Q7 weighs 5200 lbs. If the boat is 6000, then yeah, it's not something I would tow that with often.


But for short non freeway stuff, it's fine.
Obviously bigger is better, and a full size SUV or PU would be ideal. Fwiw, a 2500 GMC weighs only about 6000lbs, so it's not like the bot weighs much less than the tow vehicle in comparison with that q7.


As far as 6 versus 8 cylinders, on some models, the v8 gets Better mpg than the 6. For example, the 06- current explorer v8 gets better mpg and has close to 100 hp more than the 6, and has a lot more tq.

Having driven a 08 4.0 v6 explorer from Wisconsin to cali and oregon and back with a 4x8 flatbed atv trailer with my motorcycle on it, I wouldn't want a 4.0 explorer in that configuration for a tow truck. The old 8 ( 02-05) was very good, and the 292 hp 06+ with the 6 speed auto would even be better.

[cain0725]

tow vehicle

i have a 2009 3/4 ton duramax diesel with the allison transmission. It gets 15-18 while towing on the interstate, and cant even tell its back there. I tow other stuff also but i love pulling the 210 sante, braking, backing, and 4 wheel drive all help. I would buy at least a full size vehicle with a strong v-6 or v-8 if you travel much to different lakes. The weight only helps the boat not push you when your slowing or stopping.

[DanielC]

I thought my Aerostar with the 4.0 L engine had 200 HP, but I could be mistaken. It does have the pushrod engine, no room for overhead cams.

It is easy to get lost with horsepower, and torque ratings. Just as important, is at what RPM are these ratings measured. A higher HP sometimes is not necessarily the best thing. Horsepower is measures at a high RPM, it is a product of multiplying the engines torque by the RPM. Torque, on the other hand is basically determined by how much air the engine can inhale, and that determines how much fuel can be burnt. Every engine has a speed that it is most efficient at inhaling the most air, this is determined by the camshaft, the length of the intake and exhaust passages, and many other factors. To increase the horsepower of an engine without increasing the displacement, or forcing air into it, you shift the torque peak to a higher RPM. This robs torque from the lower RPM, you cannot get something for nothing. This is fine, if you have many different gears to choose from.

On the other hand, if you set up an engine not to have the maximum horsepower you can get out of that displacement, you have more torque available at a lower RPM, and the engine actually works better for towing.

You will notice I mentioned the rear axle ratio for my Aerostar. 3.73 is fairly low, especially with 14 inch wheels. If you are looking for a tow vehicle, do not ignore the axle ratio. You have to pay attention to this, because a low axle ratio does reduce the fuel economy, and many trucks are made with higher axle ratios to get a better fuel economy rating. This kills your towing performance

Many trucks also have trailer towing packages. These may include lower axle ratios, higher capacity cooling systems, better brakes, built in fused harnesses for trailer lights, thing like that.

So, to answer your question, in my opinion, you do not need a big V-8 to pull a Ski Nautique. You can get by just fine with a V-6 vehicle, but you need to be a littler more educated on the vehicle options available on the tow vehicle. If you are buying new, the dealer will be happy to help you make a choice. if buying used, you will have to do a lot more research on the vehicle.
On a used vehicle, you can get a lot of information off stickers on the door post, but you might have to again return to a dealer to be able to interpret the codes into real world information. Example, my Aerostar axle code is (I think) B4 that means it has a limited slip 3.73 rear axle.
You can also get some information from the VIN on a used vehicle, but that also requires research.

[horkn]

Daniel, I looked up what the specs were for the 96 aerostar, and the 4.0 OHV made 155 hp. No 4.0 SOHC available, as that was the 4.0 v6 that made 200+ hp.

Yes, a good healthy dose of tq down low is a lot more important than all out hp. That is why the inline 300 CI 6 in the older f150 was a good tow vehicle.

That 3.73 axle ratio is a huge reason why your van works as well as it does for towing. The axle ratio is a very important thing for towing. Look at most towing packages for vehicles, and you will see that the tow package has a higher numerical gear ratio than the regular non tow package vehicle.

Cain, that unwavering mpg that a diesel gets is a huge thing. If you tow enough miles that it makes sense to spend the 5 grand or so more that the diesel option runs, then it will make sense.

If you only tow the boat 10 miles from the storage place to the launch only twice a year, then a pricey diesel just doesn't make sense, unless you use the truck for other towing. Heck, for that 20 miles a year, I would get a vehicle that is rated only for the weight of the boat.