Towing

[jfuller]

Can I tow A c dory 25 with a Ford 150? It is a rental truck, so actually I am not concerned about the truck. Its my boat, so I am wondering if we can cover several 100 miles safely.

[thataway]

You should be OK in the flat Florida lands. Be sure that the hitch is compatible with 8,000 lbs (Class IV--Class III is marginal)

Be sure that the surge brakes work--the truck should have a 5 pin (4 plus ground) connector, so that the solenoid lock out on the reverse works. If not there are ways to lock it out--some trailers have a pin behind the coupler/surge activator, I have used "Chain Vise Grips" around the tongue.

[JamesTXSD]

This question comes up regularly. There are folks here who tow a CD-25 with a half ton truck. There is no doubt the truck will move the boat. But, will it stop the boat? Will it control the boat if you get into a "tail wagging the dog" situation? If it is a one-time thing and you are from Florida (on your profile), I might be inclined to carefully (read: slowly and avoiding other traffic) give it a try. For any of you lawyer types, this is NOT meant that I recommend this for anyone else.

That said, I would not make it a regular practice to tow a CD-25 with a half ton truck. Just my thoughts about it.

Check your manufacturer's recommended tow rating. Our CD-25 on the trailer weighed 8,700 pounds with about 15 gallons of fuel.

Be careful,
Jim B.

[AstoriaDave]

Weak system is likely the transmission. If it blows in use, that might come back on you. I had the ill fortune to discover that a 2005 Dodge Dakota I bought did not have an adequate transmission for the tow rating given by the manufacturer, even though the Dakota was equipped with a Tow Package. Actually, with a right sized tranny cooler, the transmission might have been OK.

I wonder how vehicle manufacturers decide on ratings. Towing a CD 25 at speed, especially on mountainous terrain is a much different situation than running it down to a ramp a few miles away two or three times a week. You might check the tow rating for an F 250 against the F 150 and see how they compare.

[thataway]

The tow capacity of the truck depends on the engine--if it has the 3 .7L 4-Valve V6, basic truck, with the 3.55 rear end, the capacity is only 5500 lbs.
If you go to the 3.75 rear end with the same engine, then 6,000 lbs is the limit--and you are again too light a drive train.

Any of the 3.5L GTDI V6 will have a tow capacity of over 8,000 lbs, as will any of the 5.0L 4-Valve V8. (no matter what rear end.

Since this is a rental truck, you will have to check out the engine before you rent. The danger is if there is an accident, or damage to the truck, you might be held liable for the repairs if you exceeded the capacity. Also some hitch require weight equalization as you get over a certain load. I found that my 25 did much better with a weight equalizing hitch, even though I was right at the edge of capacity without.

[Chris]

Be sure your rental agreement allows you to tow something you did not rent from them...many don't.

[Merdraco]

This being my first post, here's hoping it comes through OK. I purchased my 19 (new name - Merdraco), in central Maine this summer. Rented a UHaul 8 cyl F 150 to tow it home to central NY. The dual axel trailer did not have brakes. Towed very easily, no problems. Then, we figured rental trucks were too expensive for the tow from NY to our winter home in southern FL, so we lost our minds and decided to tow with our Lexus RX 350 - 2013 6 cyl that did not come with tow package. After much research and considerable worry, off to the trailer hitch guys I went. They installed a hitch and electrical plug for $300 and opined that it would be no problem to tow the 3000# package (trailer, boat, motor) - since it would be all down hill anyway. Yikes. They also suggested that if I was worried to add a transmission cooler. Got that done at a well respected transmission shop for $250. Still no brakes on trailer. We took three days for the trip of about 1400 miles. The boat towed fine - never exceeded 65, but you sure could tell it was there, compared to the truck. All went well other than a blowout on I-75, which if only I had brought the larger jack would have saved another $300. Our transmission is a 6 speed which we drove in 4th all the way and got about 11.5 mpg vs normal 24-25. There was very little gear hunting except for a bit in the PA mountains. The moral is to tow a dual axel, replace your tires every 5 years - according to FHP and the Goodyear guy with the real jack, don't forget your credit cards, and go down hill all the way.
Dave

[ghone]

My F150 Lariat is rated 8400lbs. Has towing package ie oil cooler and trans cooler. It will tow the 22 anywhere. The 25 is a much bigger boat. I'd not feel too comfortable with it as it is over the rating in many cruise equipped 25 weights. I'd rent a bigger truck just to be on the safe side.

[potter water]

The whole argument on "what can I tow with what?" Comes down to just a few simple principles.

A. Experience level of towing and maneuvering during emergencies such as debris in the highway, emergency braking, hill climbing and descending, steady side winds with gust to 25 and higher mph, and blow outs on the towed and towing vehicles.

B. Willingness to dramatically lower the life span of your automatic transmission and brakes when using marginal towing vehicles.

C. Remember, he lawyers come out of the wood works if you cause an accident because of your abilities I stated in A. If you damage or injure someone, you will be taken to the cleaners if you are towing with a marginal or underrated vehicle when that accident occurs.

D. To a large extent, I believe that the flatland argument isn't a good one when justifying towing with inadequate vehicles. You still have to get that mass moving and stopping and dealing with passing 18 wheelers, and other wind effects. You still have to deal with blow outs and bearing failures. You still have to deal with heat in the transmission and so on and so on.

Simply stated, you need, in my personal opinion a tow vehicle that is over rated by about 25% of the actual load you are dragging along behind. A 3000 lb total towed package should be pulled by a vehicle rated for 4 to 5 thousand lbs. to cover A through D of my little list.

But, I know, you want to get on the water, and can't always spend more money on a tow vehicle. So, just use common sense as best you can and be careful out there.

[williwaw]

After following all the advice above, when you rent the truck spent the extra $20 and get all the insurance you can from the rental agency. This is one transaction you don't want to over optimize

[lloyds]

You may get away with it for a very long time but that one time when you are going downhill, around a corner, and have to make a panic stop, game over.