sold the tow vehicle...

so my dad sold our Tahoe, and our Range Rover.

now all we have to tow the boat is my mom's 2004 Lexus GX 470. it has a 6000 pound towing capacity.

will this tow our 1998 MasterCraft 205?

we have to tow around 120 miles just to get to the lake, and there are some decent hills.

"120 miles just to get to the lake" Holy $h|t !!!

store the boat next to the lake. problem solved.

"store the boat next to the lake. problem solved."

2nd it

Where's your big ass bus? I'm kidding, pls don't answer that...

Toyota makes Lexus. Should be a solid vehicle, however I know nothing about that model. Tranny should be solid too.

Well that has a 4.7L V8 right? And isn't it a larger SUV? It should be just fine. Maybe make sure there is a tranny cooler but that is about it.

you will be fine. boat weighs 2700 lbs plus trailer 2000 for tandem trailer and then gas and gear.

when i had my 05 sequoia, same engine, i towed my 05 supra ssv 22 and 07 x2 fine.

240 miles round trip just to ride??

Time to move closer to the lake.

ok so i live in hell (new mexico) and the closest lake is 120 miles.

i don't want to store the boat at the lake because it will fall into disrepair. (the storage down there sucks)

the lexus has a 4.7 liter V8 so i think it will tow ok. And we are thinking about selling the bus. its to expensive to operate for now, we might buy one when the economy picks up again.

i wish there was a lake in my backyard.

will be no prob... i had a 05 sequoia and it did just fine.

Come on, guys... go easy on him. I grew up in Santa Barbara. Try getting to a lake in under 120 miles from that place.

Glad to be in paradise now...

I would think that a full size Lexus SUV would tow any normal tow-boat without any issues.

that should do the trick, pretty well actually. Reliable motor too. I can not IMAGINE driving that far. That's some dedication. It's 5 minutes from the lake no matter where you are in East TN.

The rating on any vechile may require towing options such as trans cooler, HD radiator, upgrade suspension ext. Check to see what equipment your Lexus has. I put a trans temp gauge on all my tow vehicles.Ever since I burned up my trans in 1999 towing in 90 degree heat on the expressway. I never saw it coming untill it was too late.

My Aunt and uncle use to have one of those, towed fine for their boat (bigger than a 205)...

and again, man o' man, it would be nuts having to drive 2+ hrs to get to water... I'm spoiled I guess, I can throw a football to the lake, and I'm have an awful arm

the lexus has adjustable air suspension, "2nd start" which is too help pull the boat out of the lake if the tires are slipping. its 4 wheel drive, and has a 6000 pound towing capacity.

i think it will work. thanks guys.



i looked it up, one lake i ride at is 150 miles away, and the other one is just around 100.

My buddy tows his X-star with the same vehicle in toyota trim. No problems that were not owner abuse. I hate riding with him because he is such a leadfoot and is so hard on his vehicle but his toyota has held together for the most part.

I have a '06 GX470, it tows my MC Maristar without any issues. We tow it several hundred miles in the summer without any issues. The air suspension is great. Be careful with the swing out door to not allow it to swing into any parts of the trailer.
Doug

good point Doug, i could see my mom smashing the bow of the boat with the door. hahahahahaha

I've got a couple scratches from accidentally letting it open too far...it's really the only thing I dislike about this vehicle...when I tow the boat, it makes me wish I had bought the Denali that my wife had said was too big.

Should be more than adequate. Just check the manual, they probably recommend towing in 3rd or 4th, not Overdrive.

Watch your RPMS to make sure its not hunting between gears, that will really heat up teh trans.

my dad is super careful, he always down shifts when the RPMS get above 3500 or so.


it should be fine, i need to get a hitch installed on it though.

okay that could make a difference! if it did not come from either the factory or the dealer with a installed hitch more than likely it does not have the tow package, which includes tranny cooler.

Umm yea.. i'd put a tranny temp gauge on it to start with.

it has the light adapter and everything, the dealer said it had the tow package, just the hitch wasn't installed.

Jack,

I live in NM as well.....where do you live and what lake are you using? I store mine at the butte, currently in Mr. G's boat storage.....it is really nice, completely covered and locked, concrete floor, lighted, even has electric so I can plug the charger in after each weekend. You may want to look into it.....

Also a heck of a lot nicer to be able to drive 80-90 to the lake and back, makes it go by so much quicker.......

Derek, we go to the butte and abiquiu.


do you have a boat? we should go ride sometime.


and the storage is too expensive right now, my garage is free. maybe in the future, but for now the boat has to stay at home.

i live in albuquerque.

Hey Jack,

Yeah I have an 06 AR 230, not the best wakeboard boat but a good all around boat for what we like to do.

I live in Albuquerque as well and always looking for more people that want to go.

Derek i would absolutely love to ride with you sometime.

i'm sure your boat's wake is much better than mine.

i've always wanted to board behind a nautique, let me know sometime, i'm always down, and i have lots of gas money hahaha.

Jack, i think the AR 230 is a yamaha boat
..still probably has the wakeboard package though

ohh, i thought he meant "air 230" hahahaha


i'd still like to ride behind it sometime, i imagine that its decent.

should be fine

I'll let you know next time we head to the butte, leaving town on Monday for a couple of weeks out on the Sacramento Delta with family.

And yeah it is a Yamaha AR230.....not the best but still throws an ok wake, not huge but still usable. Trying to get it dialed in for wakesurfing as well.

derek, let me know, i have lots of Fly High sacs that we could use also, for wakeboarding, and wakesurfing.