Nautique 210 Tow Vehicle

[bandit628]

What all do you tow with?

(2012 SANTE I need to weigh it, but boat, trailer, and gear in it I'm guessing 5500 lbs. 3800 dry boat plus 1000 of trailer plus some lead and wiggle room)

I tow mine with my 15 Silverado half ton 5.3. It does fine. If I were in hills all the time I would probably want the 6.2, but flat ground it gets the job done.

In the next year or two my wife will be getting a new vehicle. She wants a mid size SUV. From looking, it looks like the Jeep Grand Cherokee is the best pick as far as tow capacity. The v6 model is rated for 6200lbs, the v8 7200.

I know I would be close to capacity pulling the boat but could it handle it? I'm talking 30 minute flat trips mostly, maybe a few 2 hour trips. A longer trip I would use my truck. ...but I'm thinking about getting a camper so my truck would be towing it.

[semi]

Its not always about the tow rating. In fact i would suggest you only go to about 70% of what tow rating is. Its about control and stopping power. I would not even consider towing a 210 with a jeep unless its a short drive to a easy decline ramp. But thats just me. I always make sure i have plenty of tow rating usually 40-50% more rated for what i tow.

[Nautiquehunter]

I don't like short wheel base tow vehicles not for tow capacity but for the braking and swerve maneuvers you may encounter on the road. If the 5500 plus boat gets away from you it will probably take the Jeep with it. I have a 08 210 pretty much the same weight tandem axle . I tow with a 05 GMC Savana 3500 6L 373 rear gear no problems towing.

[bandit628]

I don't like short wheel base tow vehicles not for tow capacity but for the braking and swerve maneuvers you may encounter on the road. If the 5500 plus boat gets away from you it will probably take the Jeep with it. I have a 08 210 pretty much the same weight tandem axle . I tow with a 05 GMC Savana 3500 6L 373 rear gear no problems towing.

Yea. I see that point.

My truck will definitely still be my main tow vehicle. This would be used maybe 4 or 5 times a season for 30 mile trip.

[XBIGPUN66]

We use a Durango R/T and a Grand Cherokee Summit (Hemi) to tow our 14 210. They both work very well. The air ride makes a good difference.

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[jondavis08]

I use to tow my 2014 210 with a V8 Grand Cherokee and it did just fine. However, I now have a F-150 and it’s a noticeable upgrade for towing


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[lucky7t]

Range Rover last year (no issues )

Escalade this year (no problems )

We have 210 as well


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[Warrior48188]

I tow my 210 with a 2018 Nissan Pathfinder. Rated for 6000lbs. Would not recommend it!

[swatguy]

If you’re looking Grand Cherokee , make the jump to the Durango. Will tow and drive way better , you give up a little Jeep luxury , but you gain towability , space, ride and safety. The new Durango’s are rated ahead of the Jeep anyways

[Beach-TJ]

My 04 SAN210TE weighs in around 3,500 and the single axle ramlin trailer is almost 1,500 lbs. I'm thinking the newer hull and tandem axle trailer is going to be a bit heavier.

[SoCal G-Man]

What all do you tow with?

(2012 SANTE I need to weigh it, but boat, trailer, and gear in it I'm guessing 5500 lbs. 3800 dry boat plus 1000 of trailer plus some lead and wiggle room)

I tow mine with my 15 Silverado half ton 5.3. It does fine. If I were in hills all the time I would probably want the 6.2, but flat ground it gets the job done.

In the next year or two my wife will be getting a new vehicle. She wants a mid size SUV. From looking, it looks like the Jeep Grand Cherokee is the best pick as far as tow capacity. The v6 model is rated for 6200lbs, the v8 7200.

I know I would be close to capacity pulling the boat but could it handle it? I'm talking 30 minute flat trips mostly, maybe a few 2 hour trips. A longer trip I would use my truck. ...but I'm thinking about getting a camper so my truck would be towing it.

Before you consider any new tow vehicle, load your boat as you would for a weekend trip, take it to your local scale, unhook it and weigh it. Then you will be working with actual facts instead guessing. Most people have no clue what their actual loaded weight is; I didn't. I took my dealer's word for it on every boat I have owned, until last year.

Also, most people fail to look at GCWR, and they look at it from the tow rating and power perspectives. Mid-size trucks and SUVs can "pull" it, but when you load your tow vehicle with people and gear, and you can go over your GCWR easily. When you get into a sticky situation and need the vehicle brakes and suspension to perform, you will truly understand why you should buy a tow vehicle that has more capacity than you need.

[Snickertime]

I have a 2018 210, and is listed at 4200 dry. She is sitting on one of the last made Ramlin trailers. Took to the CAT scales, topped it off with gas and had 200lbs of shot just in front of the tires. No toys, people, coolers, or tools in the boat. She weighted in at 6550, i was surprised the gas, trailer and 200 pulled another ton plus. Was towing with a 2017 Grand Cherokee (rated 6100), now i have a Tundra (10200) for a safe ride anywhere. WEIGH YOUR STUFF! I weighed twice, once with truck and boat, second with just truck. Do subtraction. Cost 15$ ($10 plus reweigh @ $5 on CAT scales)

[SoCal G-Man]

I have a 2018 210, and is listed at 4200 dry. She is sitting on one of the last made Ramlin trailers. Took to the CAT scales, topped it off with gas and had 200lbs of shot just in front of the tires. No toys, people, coolers, or tools in the boat. She weighted in at 6550, i was surprised the gas, trailer and 200 pulled another ton plus. Was towing with a 2017 Grand Cherokee (rated 6100), now i have a Tundra (10200) for a safe ride anywhere. WEIGH YOUR STUFF! I weighed twice, once with truck and boat, second with just truck. Do subtraction. Cost 15$ ($10 plus reweigh @ $5 on CAT scales)

Most people make assumptions or listen to their dealer and have no clue. Thanks for sharing!

[Snickertime]

Wanted to add to this conversation... First off, I'm not a expert in towing. I do think i put enough effort into this topic be safe. Please correct me if I'm wrong on anything!

I went back and looked at my CAT receipts and was a little off on my number above. Here is what I'm running and how I understand I'm within limits.

CAT scales have different weigh plates, three in most cases. This allows you to weigh by axle: the steer, drive and trailer as they label on the receipt.

Check out section Truck & Boat of the following website.
https://catscale.com/how-to-weigh/

If you weigh twice you can obtain the following information:
1. How much everything weighs (weigh #1)
2. How much the tow truck weighs (weigh #2)
4. How much the trailer weighs
5. How much weight is on the hitch
6. How much additional weigh can I add for people, cooler, toys, tools, ect...
7. The posture of the truck when loaded

Weigh #1
Steer - 3220
Drive - 3420
Trailer - 5860
Gross - 12500

Weigh #2
Steer - 3380
Drive - 2860
Trailer - 0
Gross - 6240

The Tundra has the following numbers on the driver side door jam sticker:
GVWR - 6900
GAWR - Front 3900 and rear 4100

So going over the numbers for each topic:
1. How much everything weighs (weigh #1)
3220, i'm under the 3900
3420, i'm under the 4100
5860, i'm under the 10,300
2. How much the tow truck weighs (weigh #2)
3380, i'm under the 3900
2860, i'm under the 4100
4. How much the trailer weighs - I maybe doing it wrong, but I add the hitch weight into the calculation.
5860 + (3420-2860) = 5860 + 440 = 6300. Under 10300
5. How much weight is on the hitch
(3420-2860) = 440
6. How much additional weigh can I add for people, cooler, toys, tools, ect... I think this is where people go over if not in the tow capacity area.
When loaded, I have the ability to add the following weight per axle.
3900 - 3220 = 680 lbs on steer axle
4100 - 3420 = 680 lbs on drive axle
10300 - 5860 = 4440 on trailer
I am thinking about added a tuck bed cab, like the leer 100xq. It weighs about 200 which will be on the back axle, so putting me down to 480. This is dropping the drive axel number down which would also account for PEOPLE, COOLERs, Toys, Tools, shot bags, ect. If i wanted to tow with more stuff, it seems I can just put it in the trailer, as it has the biggest number. Ya, then you have to look at the trailer values to see if you are overloading the trailer frame/axles. I don't have the trailer with me so not 100% sure on how much it can hold. I will check it out when I have the boat back from hibernating.
7. The posture of the truck and trailer when loaded. When trailer is on the tow truck, the trailer should be level. Aka, put a level on the trailer frame. Tongue too high and you are risking the prop; To low and you are risking the hitch. The steer axle decreased in weight when the trailer was applied by (3380-3220) 160 lbs. Not a big deal IMO but does show the truck does start to point up in the front a bit.

Ya, 12,500 lbs is a bit of weight for a non-CDL driver. I wanted to play it safe and do the numbers.

Lastly, it was only 11.50 for first, and $2 for reweigh. So, easy money spent for knowledge and safety of you and who are traveling in the other lane.

[Blamey]

People like to buy bigger more expensive vehicles and one way to justify that is saftey. Now don't get me wrong safety is very very important but there is a lot more that goes into safety then the vehicle you drive. The number of people I know up in the north east that need an SUV or AWD vehicle for winter saftey but don't bother to put winter tires on their cars is a particular sore point for me.

So your wife wants a Jeep and you may want to tow with it a few times a year. This can be fine if you focus on being safe. Drive at or below the speed limit. Make sure the Jeep isn't loaded when towing. Make sure the brakes on the trailer are working properly (how many boat do you think have working brakes, they never work on an of the trailer I buy). Maybe upgrade to a brake controller. Drive a familiar route. Avoid bad weather. Buy her a suburban.