Vehicle to pull a boat?

[DA Aquamaster]

Trailer wag is caused by low tongue WEIGHT, not low tongue HEIGHT. A low tongue
height will actually very slightly increase the tongue weight because it tips the CG
forward a touch (I actually ran measurements on this), but it's an almost insignificant
amount, and in the wrong direction to cause wag.

I once followed (and no way was going to pass) a fellow towing a 28ish foot sail boat
down Hiway 1 into Monterey. It was wagging all over the place. In the parking lot
he admitted he was too lazy to take the kicker off the transom and put in the cabin.

Normally I'd agree with with you and that was my first thought as to the problem. Except that did not fly as I know exactly how much weight was on the tongue and I also know the problem went away when I removed the spare tire and raised the hitch. When looking at the trailer in question it was apparent that the low tongue height was doing odd things to the front axle suspension.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

The Jeep--well--transmission overheated and was repaired on warranty. The front and rear differentials were repaired on warranty. The windshield broke in half and was replaced twice on warranty and is currently cracked in the middle again. The brakes were replaced recently--second time in 45,000 miles. The AC quit but it was also fixed on warranty. The car itself has a nosiy ride, road and tire noise which we partially fixed by installing BFG Long Trail tires. Oh, there have been several things like the I'm stupid fluid being slightly burt whenever we tow and requiring fluid replacement. The car has the factory tow package, I'm stupid cooler, hitch etc.

That sucks. One of the things I noted between the gas and diesel Jeeps was the transmission on the 3.7L gas needing a cooler as part of the towing package while the transmission in the diesel Liberty is just heavier duty all the way around.

My experience with Jeeps has been good, a '56 CJ5, '96 Cherokee and '05 Liberty. My experience has been that parts seldom break but when they do they are comparatively expensive.

My Cherokee has 152,000 miles on it and it has had no unscheduled maintence other than a new pinion seal. It has been super reliable. So far the only issue on the Liberty has been a warranty replaced seal on the transfer case. They all tend to ride a bit noisy but the Liberty is a lot better in terms of both ride and road noise than my Cherokee.

On the other hand, I used to own a Ford Explorer and while it rode nice and was roomier, it was one electronic problem after another followed by a $2000 bill for a new transmission after the old one puked it's guts out towing my boat. The ex wife wanted that one in the divorce and I had no complaint about that at all. I'll never buy another Ford.

 

[Nemrod]

I am posting these two pics for Hank. I will allow him to add the explanations he wishes to.

Nice boat and truck!

N

 

[Hank49]

I am posting these two pics for Hank. I will allow him to add the explanations he wishes to.

Nice boat and truck!

N

Yeah thanks Nemrod. So I guy this truck for my wife and she won't let me drive it. So I said, OK, you pull it through the mud back to the ramp and launch it. So in a sweet little Spanish accented English voice....."can you do that part?"
But this is a bad***** truck for hauling a double axel trailer through 1 foot deep mud, slipping and sliding. CBulla would have a blast with it. This is why I'm selling the Toyota Hilux.....it this Dodge gets stuck, I'll have another one to pull it out. And it they both get stuck, we have 4x4 tractors. And you all think I got it made living and diving in Belize....man. I've had that boat floating while pulling it through 3 feet of water on the trailer.

 

[CBulla]

If you drive it, what kind of vehicle do you use? I currently have a 01 jeep wrangler. I'm doubting it will be enough to pull a boat but I don't know.

The tow rating on a Wrangler is 2000# despite the power and gearing actually on the machine. Technically, its geared a little better than a Cherokee and has the same motor, but because it has a shorter wheelbase and is lighter, the Wrangler would be a scarey ride if emergency actions were needed for some reason. I have an '02 Wrangler and believe me, its got power to pull 5k, I did it pulling a Dodge Ram stuck to the frame in the mud. However, I pulled a nearly 2k trailer around town one day and that definitely set into stone that the Jeep is not suited for tractor trailer type work unless the items trailered are 2k or less in weight and you mind your Ps&Qs.

The question now is what boat are you looking at and distances traveled. I used to own a Ford Ranger 4x4 with a 5800# rating and WOW could that thing pull. If it weren't for a growing family, that truck would still be around.

What are your requirements for pulling capacity?

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Daily 4x4

I've started saving money!

 

[mike_s]

I'm holding out for this

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

I suppose th Unimog will pull a dive boat out of the water. I've driven one though, and it wasn't a pleasent ride!

I'm actually looking foreward to seeing the specs on the Iveco though. It has the same drive train as the military medium weight vehicle we've got for our forces abroad (they're all armoured though...) We have high taxes on large cars here, except when it gets big enough (Read commercial) they're tax free. And since my CDL is good for most things with wheels it can come to be an economic choice for my needs. I expect it will pull 7000 lbs or more, which is enough...

 

[veriqster]

I wonder if those import pickups will meet USA emission standards? As a side note, I don't think I've ever seen as many small double cab (4-door or crewcab) pickups as I saw in Bonaire. It seems that is all they rent to divers, and the do work great. Most even come with a tank rack in the back. But all I saw were gasoline, not diesel powered.

You got to be kidding in regards to emissions. Those diesels are WAY cleaner then most of the gas engines currently on the market in US, just look at the TDI Jettas from VW or 325TDS from BMW, those cars have no problem passing emission testing in EU though the standards increased a couple of times since their initial production date. By the way, a mazda 323 diesel was at some point available in Europe, it would burn 4.5l/100km, that equals to 1.3g/60m or 40+ miles a gallon and believe me that car was flying faster then most of us can handle; it had no trouble maintaining a steady 140km/hr; now the fact that it was a manual and you needed to take care of it like put in it proper diesel with proper additives depending on the season is a different story. If US GOV would have any concern whatsoever in regards to the carbon footprint all they have to do is limit the use of automatic gearboxes to cars for physically disabled and such, that adds at least 4-5 mpg to ANY car I know of, but, on the other hand the retards drinking HOT DD coffee and eating PapaGino's pizza while painting their nails or reading the newspaper on the highway would become even more dangerous.
I tow a 1500 pound sailboat + gear + weight of a trailer with a regular inline 4 Tacoma, manual transmission, standard 3 seat cab 2 wheel drive; it does just fine as long as you use 5th gear only when you exceed 70mph (I know, I have a speed obsession) and it still gets GREAT gas mileage compared to a regular american car with nothing in tow.
On the other hand, if I ever get a heavier boat package I would not use the Tacoma except for short non highway runs.
It's not the engine you have to worry about in a tow truck, for that you have the gearbox and a PROPER cooling system on your engine (most of the modern engines will handle 3500-4000 rpm ranges for their entire life with no ill effect and thats in excess of 100mph in 4th gear of a Tacoma), it's the braking power, if you can't stop something you should not even TRY to hook it, forget about towing it on the highway.
If you end up buying a rear wheel drive I would advise to load you gear in the truck, I mean EVERYTHING that you can fit or at least the heaviest of it, get a braking system on the trailer and be careful how close you get to the guy in front of you.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Diesels are great with CO2-emmissions, which is important for our climate. However, they can be high on NOx and particles compared to gas. So in one sentence diesels are great "environmental" choice for countryside driving but gas may be a better choice if you live in a city. Now we are getting diesels with particle filters, so they may be getting even cleaner.

I think with the new Euro 5 emmission standards and with an acceptance of not really needing those huge SUVs for the most, things are getting where they should have been years ago. And some US made cars MAY have a challenge passing those standards


Link: EurActiv.com - Euro 5 emissions standards for cars | EU - European Information on Transport & Services