Towing

[GrizzzlyMH]

Hey guys,

Unfortunately, I do not have a Tige boat, YET! I talked to some really nice, informative, and interesting guys at a local boat show. They said besides the boats being amazing, the owners of the boats were even more amazing.

We bought our boat last year, a 2005 Seadoo Challenger 180. It is a 3 cylinder 4 tec engine with 220 HP. It has an inboard motor. reason we bought it? It only had 23 hours on it when we got it!

We need to get something to tow it. We went to a dealer and they were pushing "Yeah a 4 cylinder SUV will pull it no problem." Only problems are, they are car dealers and almost every 4 cylinder SUV has a rating of 1500 or less. Our boat weighs 2075. They were pushing a 4 banger because that was in our price range. This will be my wifes DD so she wants an SUV and not a truck.

Should we tell the dealer to piss off with the 4 bangers? We told them we were in no hurry to get a vehicle. We may just spend a few thousand and get a truck with a few more miles on it and not worry about it being either of our DDs.

Any input it appreciate.

Thanks,

Grizzzly.

[chpthril]

First off, I would not tow anything more that a utility trailer with some bails of pine needles in those small SUV cross over types as they have a uni-frame. A real truck or SUV needs to have a true frame for towing. This will likely knock out some of the 6 cylinder SUV/cross overs.

Next, if you are looking at a future Tige or other wake/tow boat, you are getting in the 5K range for boat an trailer, even for a small 20 footer.

I know the diesel guys will snicker, but I have nothing to compensate for, but I have a 2002 Chevy trailblazer that I tow with since new. About 275K miles on it and the 4.2L inline 6 tows like a mule. Actually tows better than the 5.3L found in many pickups. Now, im not saying to go buy a TB, but its about as small as you would want. Ultimately, the load and average distance you will tow, will factor in.

[007]

You'll get a lot of differing opinions on this topic. No matter the tow rating standard, manufacturer, etc., its good to have some cushion in your tow rating. Your vehicle will handle the load better if the motor, transmission and brakes are rated higher. I went from a Yamaha AR230 to a Tige Z3. Roughly the same dimensions, the Tige is 2000lbs. more. Jet boats are light, that is part of their efficiency. My Tige trailers well on the boatmate it came on, but you know its back there and my 5.3 Avalanche downshifts a lot in hilly terrain.

A lot of people max their budget buying the boat and then try to justify not spending on a quality tow vehicle to haul it around. Kuddos for planning ahead. I'd pick the Tige you want, figure out real world weight loaded (including fuel, toys, etc.) and then buy a tow vehicle that can handle at least a little more than that. You might decide you want a nice used vehicle rather than a new one if the whole family is onboard with the dream of owning a Tige in the coming year or two.

[GrizzzlyMH]

Thank you for the quick responses. My wife is going to Nurse practitioners school, so I am hoping in a few years we will be able to upgrade, which was another of my concerns for getting a small suv. I hate buying vehicles.

You guys have pretty much confirmed my assumptions. My step dad hauls a lot, but he pushes his limits with his rigs, but pretty much told me the same thing.

I like having a little wiggle room for anything. If things work out, I may be able to get a HVAC companies older truck for under $1k. They had their own mechanic maintaining these. V8 - Mid 2000 Ford or GMC. I am crossing my fingers this will pan out.

Thanks again!

[sandm]

depends on where you live and how much towing you do:

don't think of it as will my vehicle be able to tow the load, but also think will same vehicle be able to STOP with that load. that's just as big a factor as the tow rating.
chp is right in the flatlander areas with a trailblazer towing a true towboat, but out west, that TB would have been dead 260k miles ago. if you tow over any elevations, a v8 or diesel is a must. if you tow flat and not very far, many of the body-on-frame v6 suv's will fit the bill.

good luck.

[JohnnieMo]

My 5.3L Avalanche was at its max towing a Z1 on flat ground. Add the mountains and a supercharger was needed.

Now it is perfectly matched. Buy an older truck if you have to. Even a 20 year old heavy duty truck will still have the stopping power and suspension you need, even if it is hurting for horsepower.

Another thought is people. If you have a Tigé you generally can carry a lot of people. You'll want a 4 seater or better to bring those people to the lake.

Good on you for planning ahead. I clearly didn't.[emoji14]

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[sandm]

interested in the avy being maxed out. my old lake in Idaho was up and down a 6% grade and my '00 ford f150 with the triton v8 did just fine towing my 22ve back and forth. 55 all the way up and back.

[GrizzzlyMH]

It is pretty flat here. Its about a 40 mile one way trip, 90% high way. I am in Kansas. only a couple big hills here! I did have an 06 F150 lariat with the 5.4 and towed a 10,500+/- RV to the lake I go to. it honestly didn't do bad. I don't think I broke 60 MPH though. I also towed a 06 Dodge Ram 1500 on a car trailer about 200 with that, and that had hills, and it was snowing. I had 2 others in the car with me. That make me nervous! probably wont ever do that again.

I will eventually take it to the Ozark area which I think is about 400 miles round trip. As for now, I plan on not getting any 4 banger. I will hopefully end up getting that half ton pick up with one of the v8's and not worry about it much!

[alwayssummer]

I have been researching this same topic over the last month or so myself. Living in Colorado, I have come to the determination that a diesel will be my next truck. It won't be my DD but we do tow a lot. Lots of hills(mostly going east so not mountains, but still enough). First truck was a 2004 f-150 with the 5.4. It was rated to pull 9900. Maybe 9900 lbs of helium. Needless to say it blew up coming home from the lake one weekend and now I have a ram 2500 heavy duty with the 5.7 hemi. It pulls the boat waaaayyy better than the ford did but still, it's working hard when it does. It is a much rougher ride for us in the truck as well. While the dodge is doin its job I don't think I want to say " I wish I had a bigger engine" ever again. So for me diesel is the way to go. However this fits my circumstances and I know not everyone thinks it's the way to go. Just my

[chpthril]

depends on where you live and how much towing you do:

don't think of it as will my vehicle be able to tow the load, but also think will same vehicle be able to STOP with that load. that's just as big a factor as the tow rating.
chp is right in the flatlander areas with a trailblazer towing a true towboat, but out west, that TB would have been dead 260k miles ago. if you tow over any elevations, a v8 or diesel is a must. if you tow flat and not very far, many of the body-on-frame v6 suv's will fit the bill.

good luck.

Lol, I guess both you and i dont own true wakeboats And neither does anyone with a boat smaller than a 22Ve. Last I checked, it was about HP, torque and of course the rear end gear helps, and not really about the number of cylinders.

Heres a tidbit of info, my POS trailblazer that should have died with 15K miles on it, has the same 4L60E transmission as those big bad half ton v8 rigs.

Off the top of mu head, I cant think of any rear wheel drive V6 SUVs that are body on frame, can you? Toyo 4-runner maybe? Most anything coming to mind is hardly an SUV but really a smaller cross over thats FWD and uni-body

[Bryan]

I pull mine with a Yukon Denali with the 6.0 and have no troubles in the Ozark hills.. Find yourself a Ford Excursion with a diesel in it... You'll be able to pull just about any boat you'll ever buy and be able to haul a ton of people when you decide to roll east towards Table Rock Lake... Early to mid 2000's models can be found under 10k now

[all2matt]

I have a 11dodge Durango rt 5.7hemi. Used it pull our old tige Z1 and now our Nautique G23, get a weight distribution hitch and u should be able to pull most all the tiges available.

[JohnnieMo]

interested in the avy being maxed out. my old lake in Idaho was up and down a 6% grade and my '00 ford f150 with the triton v8 did just fine towing my 22ve back and forth. 55 all the way up and back.

What most people don't realize is the Avalanche is much heavier than your standard issue pickup. Mine is about 6200lbs before any people or gear. Combined with the 4 speed it can struggle. That 5.3L is also a higher revving engine so it needs RPM to make any power.

I can't speak for the Ford.

As for the trailblazer, I agree with chpthrl. Those things can make some serious torque and it is sturdy. I wouldn't hesitate to tow with it on flat terrain.

Another challenge here is elevation. Kicking Horse pass gets up to 5300 feet. So you get less air, very hot weather, and 7 to 10% grades. As it stands I still run in second gear with the supercharger. Granted it's got lots of go left. I can pass if I have to. That is loaded down with 14000lbs of truck, boat and gear.

These types of threads will also turn into partisan "I could tow that with my bike" back and forths so take that for what it is.

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[Thegerman618]

I'll chime in for Ford, I have a 2013 F150 EcoBoost and with the turbo(s) heavy duty towing package, I have climbed some hills 6%+ and never had an issue. Ford did it right IMO with the 6 speed Trans, and EcoBoost it drives and makes power just like diesel would. Dodge has something with their Eco diesel, but that 8 speed trans and motor being so new may want to give that truck a few years to see how it pans out. Agreed with the the above though, if you are 90% highway flat, you didn't need some long haul towing monster. I was always told to never tow within 10% of max of GVWR, not sure if that is a rule still being followed, but with 7000lbs of boat, trailer, gear, fuel, people I have never worried about the truck making it.

[dj2]

I loved my 2011 Ecoboost F150 and it flat towed/minor grades like a champ. I had issues with where I tow in particular, long grades greater than 6%, and a couple that have to be taken at slow speed (2-10 mph). The turbos built up more heat than the cooling system could get rid of at those low speeds. I also had to pull a buddy's 10K lb 1970's bumper pull camper a few times up and down I17 in Arizona and decided I needed to get back into a diesel.

I bought the F150 when I had a 97 pre2000 and it towed that thing everywhere and anywhere, traded that boat for the RZ4... Different story.

Think ahead, buy what's right for you and buy once.