Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

[tourpro]

As my ex ended up with my Ford Explorer Sport Trac :shock: and my '04 Mazda 6 V6 won't ...

Im wondering if a Hyundai Tuscon V6 will effectively tow an '89 Nautique?

Does a tandem axel trailer make any difference towing these boats?

[Justin1933]

RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

I pull my 211 with a Honda Ridgeline with no issues...It is not perfect, but it gets me from point A to Point B, and it stops great...

[wakecrashin]

RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

Anything with a V6 i wouldnt recommend. A tandem axle makes towing alot easier. FYI I have towed my malibu VLX and now my 210 SANTE w/ a 03 Land Rovery Discovery V8. With the 210 and trailer it is about at its weight limit of my LR (5500lbs).

[tourpro]

Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

Anything with a V6 i wouldnt recommend. A tandem axle makes towing alot easier. FYI I have towed my malibu VLX and now my 210 SANTE w/ a 03 Land Rovery Discovery V8. With the 210 and trailer it is about at its weight limit of my LR (5500lbs).

Isn't an '89 SN a lot lighter than the two boats your towing?

[sanddragon2004]

RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

you guys are nutz towing witht hese puny excuses for an suv, no offense, 5500lbs with a v6? r u kidding?

if some jack *** cuts you off in a honda civic can you stop in time? just cuz it will pull it doesnt mean it will stop it!

I would highly not recommend towing with a v6.

ok sorry dont ranting. haha.

[jdkenyon]

RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

My dad's 88 with a 454 loaded up with gear on the single axle trailer tips the scales about 4,700 pounds. He has towed it exactly ONE time behind his Explorer with the 4.0 v6. It was hurting for power and really felt like the boat was pushing things around. It stopped fine but everything else about it didn't seem safe. We now both have full size 3/4 ton pickups with diesels and never feel or worry about towing our boats anymore.

[Flux]

A couple things:

What you need to tow with greatly depends on the distances you tow, at what speed, the highways you have to tow, the grades you have to negotiate.

Tandem is always better, blowouts with a single axle can be a gnarly situation.

I live in Cali, and have to negotiate steep grades, lot's of highways, and about 100 miles each way for a good lake. Several times a year it can be 500+ round trip.

F250 Diesel, tandem axle for my 210, always maintain the grease in the hubs and pressure in the tires. Always have a spare tire and a proper jack.

I could go on and on about safety etc, but it's really up to you. All I can suggest is that the bigger the vehicle, the safer. It's really up to you to determine how safe you feel towing.

[wakecrashin]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

you guys are nutz towing witht hese puny excuses for an suv, no offense, 5500lbs with a v6? r u kidding?

if some jack *** cuts you off in a honda civic can you stop in time? just cuz it will pull it doesnt mean it will stop it!

I would highly not recommend towing with a v6.

ok sorry dont ranting. haha.

Trust me, my Discovery will stop a 5500lbs of boat pretty dam quick especially with my new DBA Drilled/ Slotted rotors with kevlar pads. You would be very surprised. Just because the Hydaui commercial says it compares itself to a Rover, be real. These things built like a brick crap house and have never had a problem. 4.6 liter isnt the best for strongest towing, but never had a problem. Only downside to towing with a Discovery is the Short Wheelbase, you feel more of the trailer.

[SuperAir]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

I tow with a Infinity QX56 rated for 9000lbs(wifes SUV) I have a BMW X5 4.4 Rated for 6000lbs. I keep my boat in a storage facility less than a mile or two from the lake. I wouldn't have a problem towing with either to the local lake. If I intend to get the new 236 on the highway I would not even think of using my BMW, while it has the power and the brakes the short wheel base for a 23ft" boat would make me feel very uneasy on the highway?

[tourpro]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

So you guys mostly tow with diesels and 4 wheel drive?

I've seen quite a few people here at tournaments pulling their rides with the Chevy Astro vans as well. Are those things any good?

I know Im a pain in the a$$ but I'm just trying to figure out the most cost effective way to get the enjoyment Im after.

[wakecrashin]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

Just get a Chevy 4x4 extended cab pickup, relatively cheap and very well built truck. If you want a diesel go with an older ford F250. Having 4Wheel drive/ All whell drive is real nice on slippery ramps or when its raining.

[MHayes]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

I tow with a 2005 Ford F150 Supercrew, 5.4L. Can't even tell that the boat is behind me!

[Rick]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Tow / Haul your Nautique with what?

I currently tow my 2000SN dual axle (4000lbs as per the truck scale) with a 2005 Tahoe. Before that I used a 2003 Chevy Uplander. It had a V6 and as long as you didn't push it it towed fine. I went San Diego to Tahoe 3 times and as long as I let it find its own speed (35MPH) up the Grapevine and up Donner Summit it towed just fine. WWW.trailerboats.com has a towing guide that gives the capacity of all vehicles. I would check it out.

[pez]

tow rigs

I tow my 196 with an '06 3/4 ton Dodge Ram. We opted for the Cummins turbo diesel and are very happy with it. The tow rating for the options we chose is a little over 13,000 pounds so it handles the boat easily. I hear people say that they "can't even tell its there" all the time - with this thing you REALLY can't tell its there. It currently has around 7000 miles on it and averages 18 mpg in mixed city/highway driving. It only gets about 16ish towing the boat at highway speeds. We used to tow with a '96 3/4 ton Chevy Silverado with the Vortec 350 engine. It did very well except going over mountain passes, but I could certainly tell when I was towing even though it was a very low mileage truck and had the 4:10 rear end. The fuel economy was not nearly as good as the diesel though. The new truck has been especially nice lately since diesel has been a little cheaper than gas here in Washington State. Although it isn't necessary to get you and your boat to the lake, it is a great luxury not to have to worry about having enough power IF you need it. I think we got a smokin' deal on this truck, but there are plenty of other more affordable options out there.

[Mikeski]

RE: tow rigs

The 196 is pretty light compared to most of our wakeboard boats, I would guess 3000-3500 on the trailer. I towed my the old 2001 with my Jeep Cherokee 4.0L straight six. It was a single axle trailer with no brakes. It was fine up hills but a bit sketchy on downgrades.

Since getting my 2005 211 (4500lbs on trailer) I have towed it with my old V6 Chevy Silverado 2wd, my 5.3L Tahoe , and my newer 5.3L Chevy Silverado 4wd. That's in order from worst to best. Although the 2wd V6 Silverado towed well enough for most situations, just not very fast over steep grades.

Anybody that says you need a 4wd at a launch ramp does not know how to load a boat. Most guys these days sink the trailer too deep and don't use the boat to help get things rolling. Keep the tow vehicle tires out of the water and you will be fine on most ramps. I only had an issue once with the 2wd silverado on a mossy ramp at low tide when I was pulling the boat out by myself. I just had to move 300lbs of ballast from the boat to the back of the truck and went slow. If that didn't work I would have asked somebody to drive my truck out while I pushed with the boat.

The 4wd Z71 Silverado is the most comfortable tow vehicle I have, the Tahoe does well too.

When it comes to tow vehicles there is a big difference between what you really need and the overkill heavy duty diesels.