Why doesn't anyone tow with a car?

**venom280** · 07-17-2006, 05:24 PM

LIKE M-B SAID, THOSE LIL CARS AINT GONNA HOLD UP TO THAT KIND OF WORK! YOU GUYS THAT GO TWICE A YEAR TO THE WATER SHOULD DO JUST FINE

BUT I AINT GONNA EVEN BUY A CAR, MUCH LESS PULL ANYTHING WITH IT, A CAR WILL WUSS OUT IN THE REAL WORLD

I OWN 3 TRUCKS, ALL 4X4,ALL CHEVROLET,2 GAS BURNERS AND 1 DURAMAX, ALL POWERHOUSES

I GOT PULL

AINT IT GREAT IN THE USA!!!

**David** · 07-19-2006, 06:33 PM

Do you tow every weekend or do you keep your boat on a lake? For those of us with the luxury of lakefront boat storage, towing with a car is easier. I don't tow much. I could rent a truck to tow for the amount I need to tow my Ally - twice a year.

**NicePackage** · 07-19-2006, 06:51 PM

David, was that a question for me? I have a slip for my boat and it stays in the water most of the time. Sometimes I take it to other lakes or bring it home (60 miles) to do work on it or boat locally. Where I live I have no reason to ever exceed 55mph while towing (50mph speed limit). Whatever boat I have next though likely won't ever stay in the water, but I'd just park it next to my slip on the trailer which means launching it every weekend, which is only 12 times a year.

**sho305** · 07-21-2006, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by NicePackage

David, was that a question for me? I have a slip for my boat and it stays in the water most of the time. Sometimes I take it to other lakes or bring it home (60 miles) to do work on it or boat locally. Where I live I have no reason to ever exceed 55mph while towing (50mph speed limit). Whatever boat I have next though likely won't ever stay in the water, but I'd just park it next to my slip on the trailer which means launching it every weekend, which is only 12 times a year.

Should not be a problem towing with a car then. Most people I know tow all over the place, every weekend. They might go 1/2 to 3 hours away. I have not had time to go boating anywhere but on my lake lately, but I still was using the truck until late last year for other stuff. Now its just been sitting around here not eating fuel.

**Storz** · 07-21-2006, 08:01 PM

We used to pull my dads with a 96 Corvette, then later a 2001 Corvette....got a lot of looks

**PaulR** · 07-22-2006, 08:39 AM

I towed my boats for ten years with cars. In the late 80's I had a MOD VP Bridgeport that had to run on Av Gas so I hauled two 6 gallon jugs in the back of my '86 Vette! I had a custom made receiver hitch that was bolted to the car with 14 bolts because the whole rear of the car was aluminum.

Sorry for the picture quality. These are pictures of pictures.

**sho305** · 07-23-2006, 11:29 AM

Hey was that a turbo 'bird with T-tops and a viper?? Very nice rig! Of course the turbos were not the greatest I guess anyway. I had a T/A with the 400 and I could have pulled anything with it but never did. I think the 17' and below boats you can pull with a car pretty good, at least these types of boats such as 'streams. They just don't weigh anything, much different than your typical I/O wellcraft.

**PaulR** · 07-23-2006, 04:55 PM

Yeah...that's a 1980 Turbo TA Indy Pace car and the boat is a 1980 Viper powered by a 1982 200. The whole rig was only 4 years old when I took that pic. Wish I still had that car now. I see them on Auto Trader for $25K...nuts!

**Juggernaut** · 07-25-2006, 07:22 PM

towing with a truck has its obvious advantages. ive never towed with anything but a pickup, but i borrowed it. i now have a '83 mercedes 3L diesel.with rwd. it weighs 4575 pounds, dry. i plan on towing a MX15 with a 1500 I6 hangin on the transom.the boat un-rigged weighs 495 lbs.
i assume ur towing your 184 baja with the 150 omc. ur boat should weigh about the same as mine, if not more.. but the deciding factor in a tow vehicle is the weight of the vehicle, the braking system, front or rear wheel drive, and the weight of the boat.
my car weighs twice what my boat should on the trailer, its got 4 wheel disk brakes, and rear wheel drive.. your jetta is front wheel drive, it weighs about the same as ur boat, but im not sure about what brakes it has. butbesides pulling your boat out of a crappy ramp, its all about safety. how safe are you in ur jetta?

**captcarb** · 07-26-2006, 07:30 AM

I've towed with my 96 Impala SS for 9 years now. I bought it new in the spring of 97. It's still going strong at 99K, including many trips from FL to IL and Wisconsin and back. If the trunk it full, I use the boat for storage. The Posi has handled every ramp I have been on (Many ramps). I also get to freeway speed on the on ramp before I enter traffic.

jim

**Tango** · 08-04-2006, 12:17 PM

I tow with my 1995 Z28 Camaro all the time. People just laugh... and it is funny. Especially when I pull up to the pump and still get 15-18 mpg at 65-70 mph on the freeway. I towed my Vector all the way from Savannah to Houston with the car. While living in Savannah I would tow the 20" CC fishing rig from MWR to Tybee Island every weekend and could get it out of the ramp without breaking the tires loose. I even pulled a 28 foot Contender out when the truck that was trying couldn't get traction enough to pull it out. Gotta hate that limp Chevy truck rear axle one wheel pull when you gotta big boat. The Camaro just hooked up on its drag radials and 3.73:1 gears and yanked that boat out!

And why not...? My LT1 350 has more torque and HP than a full size Cheby truck. My 4L60E with Corvette servo and extra clutch pack is stronger than a Chevy truck tranny. My 3.73:1 rear gear with torque arm suspension and 26.5" tall tire gives me a better gearing than a Chevy truck... So, why would it not work? I've got better brakes and a lower CG than a Chevy truck....

Guess that's why I eventually bought a Ford SuperDuty diesel F250 so I could get it all!

**sho305** · 08-04-2006, 12:37 PM

You are right, but if you have a heavy trailer behind a car (not an old huge car, a modern car) and something happens like a tire blows, you hit gravel/water and slide, someone hits you, etc; that heavy trailer can easily take your car and drag you right off the road and possibly flip you over in the process. But if you have a F250 diesel the truck will usually tell that trailer to get the **** back behind the truck and the trailer does it.

People roll travel trailers every year here and get killed even with trucks, sure boats pull better but you never know.

**mark30** · 09-27-2009, 05:35 PM

My dad used to pull his 19' MFG deep-vee with an '84 BMW 318i. The 318 was a trackcar with a 2.5 M50 6cyl and short gearing. It towed the boat surprisingly well, he even took it from NC to northern MI and back a few times.

**bearclaw** · 09-27-2009, 06:03 PM

I've used both. Trucks are nice for the sheer heft and power. But I don't currently have a truck, I commute 33 mi. one way each day and wanted something that was kinda quick, had rooms for dogs, had AWD, could tow but still got decent mileage. So I drive a Volvo V70R wagon: goes like stink and tows my ~1400 lb. boat/trailer like it's not even back there. Has the big 4-wheel disks so stopping not a problem. Gets around 22 mpg average.

If I had to replace it, I would probably look at something like a V-6 Tundra, or one of the bigger Subaru's. If I were towing something bigger than 2000 lbs., it would definitely be a truck.