Towing a C-22

B

boone6129

New member
Hi C-Brats:
Thanks to all who responded to my inquirery about C-Dory pricing and boat condition. The info was greatly appreciated.
Now, we are several steps closer to acquiring a Cruiser 22.
My area of "confusement" for today concerns towing. The Cruiser 22 that we are considering is a 1997 model that has a Honda 50 hp four stoke and a Honda 15hp four stroke. She is set up in a normal way, (ie: some electronics, and not much of anything else). She is sitting on an Easy Loader tandum trailer that has surge brakes.
What would your best guess as to total weight of boat, motor & trailer?
We currently have a 2005 Mazda Tribute that has the V-6 engine, ( 3 liter), and a trailer package. I have seen pictures of C-Dorys being pulled by small SUVs but I need some professional C-Dory opinions about towing requirements for a Cruiser 22 set up as described above.
I certainly will appreciate any info you can send my way.
Hopeful C-Dory owner:
Jim S.
 
Jim,

I have a 2006 22 Cruiser (1900) on a Magic Tilt two axle trailer (600) with a Honda 90 (400) on the transom. With the usual gear and full fuel and water (700), it weighs in between 3500 and 4000. We tow it with a Ford F 150 (9000 towing capacity) and hardly know it is back there.

If you have a tow vehicle that weighs less than the loaded trailer, stopping can be a real adventure.

Good luck with the boat and trailer.
 
We towed our CD 22 on a Tandem trailer fairly similarly equipt with a 30 foot RV or our Honda Pilot (The Pilot is rated for 3500 lbs trailer or 4500 lbs boat.) I figured that the difference between the trailer and boat was the wind profile and that our C Dory was about 4,000 lbs. The Mazda tribute is rated to pull 3500 lbs. You would be over the limit. Could the Mazda do it? Yes. Would it be pushing the vehicle--probably. For some reason the current (2006/07/08) is rated @ 1500 lbs.

There is also always the "insurance" issue, if you were to have an accident. I would think that for flatland towing short distances, you might get away with it (I occasionally use my Pilot to push the Tom Cat 255 or another boat which was 11,000 lbs around in the driveway)...

There are lots of similar SUV's which are rated for 4500 lbs on up which will tow the C D 22 with ease.
 
My 2005 C22 with full tanks and gear on a Pacific tandem trailer with surge brakes is right at 4500 lbs. You might also be happy to know that the "rule of thumb" for tongue weight on a boat is between 6 and 10%, unlike other trailers that run best with 10-15% tongue weight. My tongue weight is lightest with full fuel tanks, not surprisingly.

P.S. that tongue weight info has appeared, was cussed and discussed in Trailer Boat Magazine more than once or twice in the last 4-5 years and the professionals agree. Boat trailers are an exception and ride well with the lower tongue weight.


Don

Oh, small story: Neighbor with new Cadillac Escalade brought a new ski boat home and tucked it in his driveway. Unfortunately the tongue stuck well into the sidewalk so a day or two later he tried to push it back about a foot with the Escalade. Now he has a nasty square dent well into the middle of that very expensive front bumper. Moral of the story? Surge brakes work. Either get a solenoid relief valve for backing (or pushing back) or make sure the brakes are disabled when backing up hill....
 
Bob mentioned the "insurance issue". I would be even more concerned with the liability issue. If you are towing a trailer that is over the stated weight limit for your tow vehicle, and you are involved in an accident, no matter who caused the accident, much of the fault will be legally your fault. If you have a tow vehicle with a lot of excess tow rating, and preferably more weight than the trailer you are pulling, towing problems become pretty much of a non-issue. As Jim said about towing his CD with his F150, he hardly knows it is back there.
 
Be careful about making the tongue weight too light. On my trip to Powell, my boat and trailer would bounce like a demented pogo stick whenever there was a stretch of bumps, like expansion joints. I was advised to move my wheels back on the trailer to put more weight on the hitch. I've done that but have not taken the boat out of the water and driven anywhere with it yet.

Warren
 
Jim

My 22 Cruiser and trailer weigh 4200# loaded for cruising. 4300# with max fuel and water.

I tow with several vehicles...the 32 ft. motorhome is best because of the heavy weight and long wheelbase, the 02 F-150 does fine with it's small V-8, supercrew long wheelbase, and 5000# rating. The 91 Cherokee does the job, but is marginal. It has a 5000# rating, a 4 L I-6 w/automatic, 4WD, tow package, air shocks, and a humungus trans cooler...but.....it weighs only 3600# (less than the boat and trailer) and has a short 102" wheelbase.

The rule of thumb for a tow vehicle is the bigger the better, and for the tow...the smaller the better.

Your Mazda with a 3500# rating is not a good tow vehicle for a 22, you will need to find something a little bigger with at least a 5000# rating.

You might also think about a little about a 50 hp motor on a 22. Have the seller load in some gear and 4 people and take it for a sea trial and see if you can get up on a plane. I think it will come up short. I have a 70 hp Suzuki on Fun Patrol and I consider that about the minimum. You will probably be much happier with a 90 of some sort.

Have fun kicking tires!

Roy
 
In general: A longer wheel base vehicle is always a better tow vehicle for a few reasons. One is a mucher better ride with less tendance to pogo up and down at freeway speeds. But more important is the leverage a longer wheel base has over the towed trailer. When you do a panic stop a longer wheel base vehicle will have a much better chance of maintaining control and preventing a jackknife than a short wheelbased vehicle. If you do get a bit sideways a longer wheelbase has a much better chance of regaining control than a short wheelbase. A short wheelbase will swap ends much faster.

Most tractor trailers that run in town are short wheelbase for easier manuvering. The tractors that run the highways are generally much longer wheelbase for the same reasons. Too much tow vehicle never killed anyone. Not enough tow vehicle kills people ever single day.
 
Do you think a standard 126" pickup truck (8' bed or extended cab w/6.5' bed) is long enough, by your standards? Or would you prefer a 131" WB truck? (not positive about the WB lengths.)

Warren
 
My primary tow vehicle is a Ford Excursion with a diesel. It was chosen for its weight, and relatively long wheel base, as well as comfort driving, and being able to carry gear locked up inside of the SUV. It is OK for the Tom Cat--but I would really be happier with a F 450 or 550. The excursion works fine for the C Dory 25. With the RV, we notice no difference in mileage, probably because we normally tow a 4500 lb Pilot, but also because the boat is in the wind shadow of the RV. With the Excursion the mileage is about 2/3 of the vehicle without boat. When I towed the trailer along up to New Jersey, there seemed to be little difference in mileage than our normal highway mileage.

I don't like long overhangs in light tow vehicles--this tends to lead to more sway. The RV, has only moderate overhang, but since the RV weight is substantially more than the C Dory, it doesn't seem to make much difference.
 
We tow our 22 Cruiser with a Ford Ranger equipped with a 4.0L engine. I am comfortable with this minimal tow rig though my truck driving experience may be of some help. Anything smaller would be troublesome. When choosing a tow rig be aware that transmission choice can affect tow ratings on otherwise identical vehicles.
I second what Fun Patrol said about sea trialing a prospective boat.
Good luck!

edit; Our Ranger has the 4.10 rearend ratio option. On a smaller tow rig deep gears will help the drivetrain, esp. the transmission, live longer.

PS (sheesh!) 14 mpg towing, 20 mpg empty.
 
Back
Top