So I wanted to see if the wife's AWD Chevy Equinox could pull the boat. It's rated for 3500#, but I'm thinking my setup is about 1k over that. It was just a short trip to the marina, but I was fairly happy with the performance. Definitely not good for long trips, but it'll do in a pinch. Definitely wouldn't have tried this without good trailer brakes. Let's see pics of other questionable tow vehicles pulling wakeboats! <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775157.jpg" alt="Upload">

It doesn't seem like it'd be a bad tow vehicle, but it overheats and just hates towing it. So, not so much questionable but just an underperformer <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775166.jpg" alt="Upload">

This is what I'm going to use. It has a hopped up 2.4L and 18" wheels. I'm a little concerned since it only weighs 3350 Lbs and the boat weighs 6k. <BR>But it should be OK for short trips. <BR> <BR> <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775234.jpg" alt="Upload">

OK, I've gotta ask.....Why? Why would you put yourself, and the other people on the road in danger. Most accidents happen going short distances, and this looks to me like an example why. One more thing, ask yourself this, how do you think that would look in court in front of a judge after you've been in an accident? Wow is all I have to say. <BR> <BR>I use my long wheelbase truck everytime I pull the boat anywhere, for safety sake. Correction, I use a 2210 tractor to pull it out of the garage.

IMO any setup where the boat/trailer weighs MORE than the tow vehicle is not safe. It's all about what happens when you hit the brakes in a panic situation.

Boat and Truck weigh the same. I don't feel safe as is and looking at a denali. <BR> <BR>Mitsu Montero rated for 5klbs pulling a 4500lb package. Upgraded to HD suspension and upgraded rotors/pads. Never any issues and great on the ramps but the 3.5l V6 can't handle big hills or mts. Panic stops were OK. Has auto-stick so I can work the tranny as needed for towing. <BR> <BR>I saw a minivan try to launch a 4klb bayliner and they couldn't get up the ramp. They broomed off the pebbles and had people sit on the hood for traction. Why?

Yeah, you guys are going to get hammered for this for sure. Its just not smart no matter how far you are towing. Please be safe if for no one else...yourselves. I have a buddy who nearly totaled his entire rig because of pulling this same thing. NOT worth it. <BR> <BR>Hopefully the ramps you are putting in at are perfect as well. I know at a few our ours, you'd be begging someone to help you get your boat out of the water!

CMC X Stars <BR>I couldn't agree with you more. I staged that pic in the driveway last summer to show how ridiculous it can get. I doubt the HHR could get out of the driveway. My real tow pig is a 2005 GMC 3500 6L and 373 rear end. <BR> <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775242.jpg" alt="Upload">

I can't believe that HHR isn't completely sitting on the back wheels.

"IMO any setup where the boat/trailer weighs MORE than the tow vehicle is not safe" <BR> <BR>What does an F-350 weigh? 7500-8000lbs? It can tow like 18,000 safely. I do agree that going over the factory recommended limits is a bad idea, but most tow vehicles can handle more than they weigh. I would say most modern wake boats outweigh the standard size SUV when you factor in the trailer weight.

I tower our old boat once with my Cadillic Eldorado... just for kicks, it worked... pulling was fine and stopping was too (trailer had brakes though) <BR> <BR>The car was a beast though, v8 300 ft/lbs and 300 hp <BR> <BR>(Message edited by sidekicknicholas on February 16, 2010)

I see no problem in towing a boat with a smaller rig as long as you know how to tow and are very aware of everything around you. We use to tow a 24 foot cruiser with a short wheel base 2wd astro van. Was it ideal, hell no but it worked. As long as you know that you have to leave a ton of stopping distance, go slow and be thinking ahead of time what every other idiot on the road is going to do you will be fine. I would rather have the road filled with people that do this than a bunch of overcompensating idiots in there huge trucks towing at 80 mph. <BR> <BR>Another thing to consider is how good the brakes are on the trailer. When I was selling Mastercraft's we had sport boat trailers with 4 wheel disc brakes. I towed X45's somewhat often with my 99 Expedition and it did fine. The brakes on the trailer were so good that the trailer would actually slow down my truck when I started slowing down. <BR> <BR>If you are just towing down the street at 35mph than almost anything will work.

Brett, I can relate, when I used to tow a Mastercraft X7 with my 4Runner the single axle trailer could slow down my 4Runner.

You guys get in any kind of insurance claim involving a situation where you are towing more than your rig is rated for &amp; your insurance company can leave you out in the cold in a heartbeat. Your basically driving uninsured. <BR> <BR>That said, like others have already made clear, it's not unusual for the tow rig to weigh less than the trailer. There are other things than weight that come into factoring the tow capacity, ie; type &amp; size of the brakes, frame type, hitch type, etc. <BR> <BR>I have a buddy who has towed a 12k SeaRay with a Chevy 2500 to the Grand Tetons from Washington several times. It's all within manufacturer's spec &amp; does a great job.

Wow. I didn't intend this thread to evolve into a legal argument or anything. I just thought it would be useful to others to see what is possible. I am not advocating doing anything stupid. Am I wrong for pulling 4500# with a rig rated for 3500#? Yes. Am I going to be left high and dry by the insurance company if I have a mishap? No. (USAA rocks!) <BR> <BR>I think Brett hit the nail on the head about precautions you should take if you're in a less than ideal towing situation. And if you're in the crowd that has so much power that you don't even know the boat is back there, I think that's great! Just don't exceed sane limits and blow my doors off when you go by.

Wow. Regardless of the legalities, there are capacity ratings for a reason. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=24262" target="_blank">http://www.glamisdunes.com/invision/index.php?showtopic=24262</a> <BR> <BR>Good luck. Let us know when your on the road.

It is unsafe, and if you know it's unsafe, and you're putting someone else's safety at risk because you are doing something that you know to be unsafe, then you should get everything that's coming to you from the insurance company, the law, and everyone else. I have always owned tow vehicles that were more than capable of pulling my boat. My F-150 wasn't great, either was my Expedition, so I got rid of both of them. My F-250's and my F-350 were all great, and the ESV does an incredible job. Besides, my daughter is normally in the truck, and I would never ever risk her safety.

<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775359.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>Oddly enough, my boat does not exceed the tow capacity limit of my dad's Chrysler minivan, but after towing with it I think it should, lol.

Most people on here crack me up thinking they have to have 2500's or 250's to pull boats. What do you think people did back in the old days where trucks were as big as probably a ranger and didn't have pulling capacities? They did just fine. My dad when I was little pulled our i/o with a ford ranger v6 back in the late 80's until he started getting f-150's. I've seen people that have nice big tow vehicles drive like morons because they think their invincible. You can pull a boat with pretty much anything, the thing you need to worry about is stopping. If you can stop safely you will be fine. If you have a mid size truck, you're fine, you just have to be safe. Sorry for the long rant, just everyone asks about if something can pull and everyone suggest rediculously huge vehicles that you don't need.

Ultimately, it's the driver's responsibility and conscience. I agree, you probably don't need a one ton truck to tow your boat, but better that than a station wagon. Besides, do you think a lawyer won't gobble that up in court. Insufficient sized or rated vehicle towing a boat get's into an accident, and next thing you know, lawsuit. Not worth it IMO. <BR>The surge brakes that are on most of our trailers leave a lot to be desired. If you had a smaller vehicle and electric brakes, different story. <BR>I tow with a full size SUV, and it does the job really well. You know, before I bought my first boat, I bought a pickup truck to tow it. It just makes sense that I needed something to tow my boat home from the dealer with.

we pull our ebbtide with either f150 v6 or ranger...have had absolutely no problems whatsoever...

my buddy has a 40ton dump, it can tow just over 12 ton. thats a skid loader and an hoe. The dump weights just about 11 lbs. the entire weight of the tower needs to be less than the load does not make any sense. if that was the case there would not be a single semi on the road today. It's about distribution of weight and brake and chase levels. although i was laughing at the hhr with the SAN. thats stupid<IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

Yeah my neighbor thought his mini van was cool to tow his 21' I/O too because he knew how to tow, until some idiot swerved in front of him and slammed his brakes. He couldn't stop in time because the boat literally pushed him into the car that had stopped. The trailer had fully functioning brakes but the vans brakes could not overcome the inertia of the boats mass because they wern't made for that kind of duty. Btw his insurance company wouldn't cover it and dropped him as well.

I use my 02 v6 Highlander to tow my 21ft Centurion with no issues. But I do drive smart, and am always paying attention to other drivers, that may be texting or talking etc... <BR> <BR>Be smart, bottom line.

My V6 Silverado hated towing my 5,000lb boat/trailer. Even more so when the bed was full... <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775393.jpg" alt="Upload">

Mikeski- I know you are real busy with the lil ones right now, so I can take care of unloading your truck if you want to stop by <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>

That's hard tanked ballast. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" border=0>

a ballast tank is about where Corona belongs <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/biggrin.gif" border=0>

yeah leave it in there. dont take it on the boat

"It has a hopped up 2.4L" <BR> <BR>Lol.

<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775766.jpg" alt=" my tow rig"> <BR> <BR>My 1962 landrover is pretty imperfect as a tow vehicle. It struggles to do 20mph when towing but it only has to go 1/2 a mile to the beach!

Here's our setup, not really imperfect actually the opposite. I post this to prove that you can tow just fine without a V8. <BR>Our tow rig has a 4.2 inline six that rivals the torque of most small V8's but it likes to drink like one too. <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775777.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by ldr on February 20, 2010)

My brother pulled a 16 ft Starcraft with a diesel VW Rabbit Total power of the Rabbit was 66 Hp.

Matthew, but how much does that Malibu weigh? Maybe around 3500? My '98 4Runner Limited V6 could pull around the same weight really really well, and is rated for 5k. But, if you but 5k of weight behind it she doesn't like it.

Ran into a thread on Pirate4x4.com titled "<a href="http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=376271" target="_blank">Big, dumb loads.... post your pics</a>". Reminded me of this thread. <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/775980.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>Wonder what a guy needs a bobcat &amp; a fishin boat to catch!? <BR> <BR>(Message edited by bill_airjunky on February 21, 2010)

I know it's a tiny pic, but that's a Camry towing a 22ft V drive Toyota Epic. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/776143.jpg" alt="Upload">

<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/776204.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR>It gets the job done

Brett, Towing a 24 footer with a 2wd Astro van ? that is just nucking futs!!! You must have large kahonies!! LOL I'll be sure to stear clear if I see you on the road!

Bill on the weekends when the normal ramps are full of wallys he can make his own ramp LOL. <BR> <BR>Or its to get to the house boat. <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/776260.jpg" alt="Upload">

Cody, <BR> <BR>I totally agree, my rig is rated for up to 5400 lbs. and the biggest boats that i would ever put behind it would be 02 style vlx, PS205v, <BR>sanger v210 and original SAN. I guess i just posted this because it seems that there are always the people that immediately throw out the "buy a diesel" When for most people their small tow vehicles will do just fine.

Just ridiculous. This guy passed me doing at least 80. No working lights on the trailer either. <BR> <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/776418.jpg" alt="Upload">

Bill K - I love that site - My favorite 4x4 shot <BR> <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/776421.jpg" alt="Upload">

HEhe, yea, good thing he's got his bumpers out. Gawd knows what he'll bounce off of draggin the boat thru the RV park with a Zuki.

I have a customer that tows his 2003 super air 210 and single axle trailer with a 2002 ford taraus. He tows it from southern to northern Wisconsin all summer long and has never had a problem. I always tell him he's crazy.

Jay that defender is sick! We have one in the UK at our house. We are now looking for a single or double cab just like yours but diesel. Those are so rare man dont let go of it.

common sense can get a person a long ways, unfortunately that (common sense) gets thrown out the window to often. <BR> <BR>Bryan that guy with the boat/van must have wanted to make a soccer dad rig.

Dan - I thought the rod holders on the side was a nice touch (just have to climb on the roof to get to them)

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