Towing a 2016 G23 with an Infiniti QX56/QX80, tow rating at 8,500 lbs, am I good?

[sarasetp]

I have been reading the posts about towing but could not find anything definitive about these specs.

I have an Infiniti QX56/QX80, tow rating at 8,500 lbs. The 2016 G23 weighs 5,900 lbs, my Boatmate triple axle trailer, from Boatmate's website, shows it weighs 1,800lbs, gas at 6lbs a gallon with half a tank would be 195lbs. That total equals 7,895lbs. Let's say I have another 300 in gear like boards, stereo, inner tubes, vests, etc., I should be good with 8,195lbs towing, right?

[nyryan2001]

a lightly loaded G23 weighs 7500-8000lbs including the trailer.

No, you are way overloaded. You're at a ~4-5000lb limit without a WDH.

Maybe for very short trips... but I wouldn't rely on it for long and often tows.

[Neverenough]

Yeah what ^^^^ he said. Short trip but trying to stop it in a bad situation could be a ride. We have a 230 that's about 1500lbs less???? Which we tow with a 4x4 diesel Excursion and and I wouldn't want to haul it behind a 1/2 ton anything. Could it be down sure but if you had someone pull out in front of you or had to dodge a car I'm afraid a g would run over a QX. Super nice ride though.

[NautiqueJeff]

Gotta agree, you're likely overloaded.

I pull my G23 with a 4x4 diesel Excursion like Neverenough, and I wouldn't want to pull it with anything smaller or lighter. In fact, before I started ordering electric brakes on my trailers, I even felt a little bit unsure about stopping with the Excursion, even though it is rated for up to 12,000 pounds with a WDH. Electric brakes should be a requirement for all G-series trailers in my opinion.

[sarasetp]

NautiqueJeff what wdh do you have for your swing tongue boat mate trailer? Can u take a pic and post?

[shag]

IMO, you never want to be at or near the max tow rating.. In an emergency stop/maneuver, the forces from that weight can well exceed any ratings..... Again, just my .02

[Wayward]

IMO, you never want to be at or near the max tow rating.. In an emergency stop/maneuver, the forces from that weight can well exceed any ratings..... Again, just my .02

That, and the important thing to note in this situation, is that a max tow rating of 8500 does not mean it's rated to tow 8500lbs with any trailer/hitch combo. For a "conventional tow", I am willing to bet that Infiniti is only rated to tow 5000ish pounds. It is only ok to tow 8500 with a WDH, and proper electric brakes.

[NautiqueJeff]

NautiqueJeff what wdh do you have for your swing tongue boat mate trailer? Can u take a pic and post?

I don't have it set up yet on the new trailer, but I have an Equal-I-Zer hitch with a pole tongue adapter. Honestly, the electric brakes are, in my opinion, more important than the hitch. And my trailers are Ram-Lin, not BoatMate.

[ViSoR]

Yeah what ^^^^ he said. Short trip but trying to stop it in a bad situation could be a ride. We have a 230 that's about 1500lbs less???? Which we tow with a 4x4 diesel Excursion and and I wouldn't want to haul it behind a 1/2 ton anything. Could it be down sure but if you had someone pull out in front of you or had to dodge a car I'm afraid a g would run over a QX. Super nice ride though.

I tow my '08 230 with a '14 Tundra and it's great! Zero issues.

But to the OP, yeah that's pushing it. These boats need a real truck.

[chief351]

Need to know GCWR limits as well. Should be in manual or on door jam sticker

[sarasetp]

GCWR for 2013 Infiniti QX56 is 14,300.

[cedarcreek216]

I'll get clobbered for this I'm sure, but I'd tow that setup any day. We pull our 210, I know, smaller boat, with the Nissan equivalent of the Q and it has not problems pulling or stopping and have no doubt there's enough left on both ends for extra thousand pounds or so. I have never felt vulnerable or unsafe at Texas highway speeds with a full boat and a loaded down cabin in the truck. If stopping is the concern, spend a couple hundred bucks and put a legit electronic braking system on it.


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[chief351]

No doubt the vehicle can handle the boat/trailer however if you were involved in an accident your insurance may have issues if you were over GCWR

[cedarcreek216]

Just about everyone towing with big rigs is over capacity at the most important point, the hitch. The standard 2" ball and receiver hitch combo is no where near the rating needed to tow a G, hence Jeff's recommendation for the weight distributing hitch.

To your point though, this is not as obvious as the GCWR is to an insurance company analyzing a claim.

The reality is, in an emergency situation that's a lot of weight for any tow vehicle to handle. Best practice is safe towing habits.


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[nyryan2001]

I'm wondering if the OP knows what a WDH is, and understands he's at 4-5k lbs without one.