LSV owners...your thoughts?

I'm wondering what all the LSV owners are using to tow their boats?
Would you recommend towing using a 2005 4Runner V8? The lake is about 40 miles from my house. We usually go out 1-2 times a week. Fairly flat terrain. I'm wondering if this will be too much boat for mid size SUV to haul.

Well it's got a 7K max towing capacity. Your boat+trailer(assuming tandem)+gear+fuel= just under 6K. It should be fine, not sure if your truck has a tranny cooler or not but it would be a good investment if you didn't. I would definitely want dual disk brakes on the trailer also.

i have an 08 lsv i tow with an 06 dodge mega cab(gas) we towed close to 3000 miles. colorado mtn passes were tough, flats are fine. i am no help on the suv, good luck on the boat.

These guys answered and some were spot on...if you have the money for an LSV take a bit of money out of the mattress and get a heavier duty truck.

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18851&pid=289448&st=0&#entry28 9448

I'll eat a little crow from a previous post regarding the now bigger 4 runner (I thought the poster was going to tow a 23 footer with the older 4 runners, mybad). I have read many forum posts regarding towing with this vehicle without issue - they were in the 5k lb travel trailer range, though, but since you are rated to 7k lb, your 21 footer should be fine.

I would watch your GCVW. From what I've seen it is 9195 lbs. Your curb weight (empty) is 4000 lbs, so really, these numbers don't seem to add up for me... Someone else have different numbers? Do the Toyota specs ever add up?

You won't like it with the frequency that you are going. I have an 07 4Runner with the V8 and a 2007 LSV and never tow with it. You will get about 7MPG and it takes about 4 minutes to get up to 60MPH. If you have the A/C on forget about it.

My other vehicle is an Excursion with a 7.3PSD. Much better.

Jason H,
Thanks for your reply. I live in AZ so A/C is on almost all the time in the summer. I didn't even think about that.

Are we talking about an Malibu LSV or a Moomba LSV?
You will not be happy towing either with a 4Runner, but you will be better off towing the Moomba LSV with it than the Malibu. The Malibu LSV is a bigger boat.
Sure it will tow both of them, but you will never go back once you tow it with a pickup or full sized SUV.

Diggs,
Sorry for not being more clear. It's the Malibu LSV 23' Wakesetter sitting on tandem trailer with disc brakes on both axles.
Thanks.

i tow our malibu lsv with a 08 ford f150. i couldnt imagine towing it with anything smaller. i dont think that anything that has less than a V8 would be a good experience.

mcbean7,

I live in PHX too. So I can assume the lakes you will be going to and freeways you may be on.

Roosevelt - forget about it. You will run out of gas.
Saguaro - taking the the 87 out would be tough.
Canyon - probably ok since the road is slow and there are lots of turns
Bartlett - its a small grade up, but you wouldn't imagine the strain it puts on the vehicle.
Pleasant - this is the only palce I have towed with my 4Runner because its a 20 mile drive and I was doing a shore launch for an AWA event and needed the 4x4.

Jason,
I'm out of Chandler and the lake of choice is Saguaro just because it's the closest. We have been talking about trying Bartlett this summer. Still looking for a boat to replace our direct drive. Right now I'm deciding between a 23' LSV or 21' VLX. I am concerned about the weight issue of the LSV and my tow vehicle though. I downgraded to a midsized SUV from a full sized truck because I didn't like parking/daily commute with a full sized truck. I'm beginning to regret that move.

I would get a VLX if you don't have a big(8 or more) crew.

I tow a 247 with a 05 Tahoe Z71

any midsize suv and truck will pull it, just try to get a v8 for more get up and go

I pulled a 232 supreme with a V6 Ford Explorer. The thing pulled fine, it also had the tow package on it.

I tow a LSV with a 06 F150 supercrew and I don't think I would tow it with a 4 runner. It's not the power, I can deal with that, but the boats sure throws my truck around times

My boat is just as heavy as an LSV and I tow with a 2008 Sierra 1/2 ton crew cab. Any less wouldn't do it.

Just because your truck has a towing capacity of 7K#, doesn't mean you can load it up to that. You'll get about 3mpg (I'm being sarcastic but it'll be close). If I were you I'd sell that and get a full-size of some sort.

I've towed with several different trucks and the best one was a 2006 Chevy 2500HD with teh LBZ Duramax. It was a little overkill, but it was very efficient.

The most important part you should remember is suspension and inclines. The Toyota's rear tires will probably hit the fenderwells because it'll sag like crazy if you don't get helper bags, and going up and down hills is a killer too. Brakes? I'm betting that 4-Runner won't stop it very well either.

Just my $.02, but I'd sell for something bigger.

You should be fine as long as you are not in a big hurry. The key is having good trailer brakes which you do have.

I used to tow my Nautique loaded up with weekend camping gear ~5,500lbs +/- with my Silverado 4.3L v6. It did surprisingly well on the flats running stock diameter tires and 4.11 rear end gears. Going up steep hills were painful but it worked for the summer until I upgraded to my 5.3L truck.

The idea of driving a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel as a daily driver is much less attractive to me than loosing a bit of acceleration during the 5% of the time I am towing my boat.

Guys often make these decisions based on ego versus logic.