Towing Capacities

Pedropup · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:51 am **Posts:** 104

So I hope I can get some solid info here from fellow boat wisdom.

How close to a vehicle's posted towing capacity is OK? I have a 2012 H210 and with boat and trailer, it is at 4700lbs. Am I okay with a vehicle that tows 5,000 lbs, or is it more realistic when you start talking about gas and gear and people etc to be in things that tow 6500lbs or more?

I ask, because the lease is coming due, and trying to find something that will handle three kids as a daily driver, as well as tow the boat, only seems to get me into $60,000 rigs which is out of the family budget. If we can have something that has a 5000 lb capacity, it opens up so many doors of possibities to solve the issue.

Safety is key. I don't want to push the envelope.

Love the feedback!

GottWhat · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 4:16 pm

For the sake of safety, you never want to be pushing the limits of your tow vehicle. White knuckling an over loaded tow rig is no fun either.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:33 pm

A lot depends on how much towing you do, how far and how fast . The higher the speeds and the longer the distance the more important a safety margin is. If you tow at the limit it may make your boatin g experience more stressful that you would want.

If you're at 4700+ I'd say a V8 powered mid size SUV or half ton pick up. No 6 cyl crossovers .

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:35 pm

My Nissan Frontier has a 6400 lbs tow rating, cost 29k, gets about 23 MPG. My boat weighs about the same as yours and my Fronty pulls it like a dream.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:55 pm

You never want to go past the rating. That being said it depends where you live. Here in FL you'll see S10s pulling car haulers.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

I agree that you are pushing limit....by the time you add fuel, supplies, passengers and stuff then your over. I would be looking at Tahoe type SUV or 4 door truck. New half ton fully loaded four door 4x4 Rams can be had for under 35k. Mine has tow rate of a little over 10,000 lbs.

Last I checked the Tundra half ton is around 30k without 4x4 option. MPG bites though....avg with the hemi is 17. The posted 23 to 25 MPG is driving downhill at 55 MPH with tailwind and AC turned off.

Guess it depends on what your daily use for vehicle is

Walt · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:06 am

Not sure about your numbers, but My 210SS weighs about 4700-5000lbs going into the water. My in-line 6 Envoy has a capacity of about 5800lbs. I've towed thru the Ozark hills many times of about 3 hrs each way at 72 MPH (9mpg avg), but most of my drives are a short about 10 miles to the ramp and I never get on the highway. If I were to be going back and forth to the Ozarks, I would have something with greater capacity (Tahoe or Durango). For my jaunts to the local river launch spot my 6 is perfect!

john55c · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:16 am

Like others have said, better to have plenty of capacity left over. Again, depends on how far, what kind of towing, etc.

We have a ramp in our neighborhood .4 miles from my driveway to the ramp. My wife drive a Jeep Liberty with a 5,000 lb tow rating (2002, I heard newer ones its less). With trailer, gas, gear, I am guestimating just shy of 5,000 lbs, so am almost at capacity, but don't go over 15mph. I would NEVER tow the boat with that vehicle on a main road. I normally tow with a GMC Yukon XL which has 7,500lb capacity. Plenty of capacity left over and can handle stopping the rig even without braking system without a problem, which is important.

I did see on another forum a local Honda dealership doing a pull of a 35' trailer with a Honda Pilot.....
http://www.thehulltruth.com/trucks-trailers/292429-honda-pilot-vs-ford-expedition.html

Jdpber · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2014 10:54 am

Hills vs flat land can make a huge power difference. I personally like to have extra capacity and beefy suspension.. I hate a tow vehicle that does not ride level.

a Crew Cab truck would be your best option.. now you can get the '09-'13tow max 6.2L 1500 silver ado and that would keep the budget lower. plenty of seats, and plenty of towing. Now your MPG are not prius but a buddy has one on stock tires and he is 17/22 which is not bad for a big 6.2L engine that makes 403hp 417ft-lb 6,000# wight he addition of rear air bags you are good for 11,000.

Now a 3/4T truck will push you to the 10k+ area and have an overall beefier suspension..

If you tell us the total miles towed a year and the towing road type, then the total HWY travel miles you will travel a year and the minimum year and or $$ we can dial you in..

If age is not an issue and you want power i would say a 00-07 Duramax for the 15-23k area depending on options and miles and you have all the power int he world.

some of the older dodges are notorious for the 5speed auto trans and Tcase failure. the 6sp manuals are BULLET proof. the newer '11+ ram auto trans is much better.

I own a 2004 Chevy Tahoe 5.3 with a decent amount of improvements. lift 35x12.5-20 tires and wheels 4wd custom tuning on the engine for the improvements that have been made. she is not hot rod but she is an suv that can seat 6 without the 3rd row. and 9 with the 3rd. air bags. tows the FW like a dream loaded with 6 in the tahoe. i also have a camper that i tow and loaded with water and supplies it is about 7,200 i can cruise 65-70 thru the SC GA TN hills just fine. It also have 4 wheel disk brakes and a power controller for the camper so that helps towing a ton..

MORE INFORMATION AND WE CAN GUIDE BETTER.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Jul 07, 2014 12:09 pm

2007 Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi Quadradrive II full time 4x4 and rear and front electronic locking diffs. Slippery ramps no problem ever. Put on a set of Bilstein monotube high pressure gas shocks and a set of Firestone Ride-Rite air bags in the rear coils and it will pull a LOT of weight. Its not big like a pick up truck (I have limited parking space) but it pulls like a freight train. And used ones can be bought for pretty good prices. These are rated at 7,200 lbs. Now if you want a truck or a bigger SUV then go that way, but if you want something more compact in size nothing for the price can out-pull one of these.
The latest 6.4 Hemi in the Ram trucks is rated at 410 hp and 429 ft lbs of torque....

rbatterton · **Joined:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:34 pm **Posts:** 15

When we bought our 2004 H210 we had a Honda Ridgeline. Honda stated the Ridgeline had a towing capacity of 5000 lbs with a max tongue weight of 1500 lbs but that was garbage. We bought the boat from a guy 110 miles away and that night right after we dropped the boat off at home we rolled right over to the Ford dealer to look at F-150s. In the Ridgeline we didn't so much tow the boat as it pushed us.

Pedropup · **Joined:** Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:51 am **Posts:** 104

So I was able to bring home and try out a Toyota 4 Runner, which according to the website, has a Towing Capacity of 4700 lbs, but the owners manual says 5000 lbs.

I hooked up the boat to it, and went on a test tow. The rig did fine. I found some roads where I could stand on the brakes, and it performed very well. Acceleration was definitely less than the X5, but it is not like I was looking for speed. I am never in a hurry to get where I am going when I have a boat behind me. I found a side road to a freeway and then took it over the pass that we have to go over to get to the lake. RPM's stayed at 3,000 if I kept it at 50 MPH on the climb, and about 3500 RPMS if I kept it at 55 MPH, all while on cruise control, which it never turned off..the vehicle was able to hold speed. I never once had the sensation that the boat was in control in any form, it was just the engine working harder than the other tow vehicles that I have used that I could tell and feel, which I expected to be the case in the first place.

All in all, it towed the rig more solid than the X5 Diesel did, just not as fast. Only real drawback that was concerning, was the fact that I went through about an 1/8 of a tank of gas in 20 miles!!!! I am hopeful that if I do some upgrades to the suspension and the usual exhaust/intake upgrades, I can get better performance and all will be just fine. I spoke to several mechanics of many different brands, as well as the shop foreman of the boat shop I bought the boat from 3 years ago, and they all agreed that towing at capacity is not that big a deal....you are really only going to do permanent damage, or really create an unsafe situation if you abuse the capacity to stupidity levels.....and/or drive like an idiot, which in that case, towing capacity really does't matter anyways.

I know there are some here that are going to disagree with this, but I really did a ton of research, including your opinions, and feel good about the choice....especially with the limited options I have with the need for the daily vehicle, as well as towing, as well as keeping the wife happy and the budget under control.

NiagaraChillin · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 7:55 am

Pedropup wrote:

RPM's stayed at 3,000 if I kept it at 50 MPH on the climb, and about 3500 RPMS if I kept it at 55 MPH, all while on cruise control, which it never turned off..the vehicle was able to hold speed.

Pedropup wrote:

Only real drawback that was concerning, was the fact that I went through about an 1/8 of a tank of gas in 20 miles!!!!

That's prob why you used so much fuel, high RPM's at highway speed. My Nissan runs about 2100 rpm at 55mph pulling the boat. Granted I only live a mile from the ramp, but I have towed a couple of times further distances, and had no problems.

rpengr · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:44 am

I think your choice is fine for the usage you described. Just make sure you have the full towing package (transmission cooler and PS cooler if required).

Miles per gallons sucks when you are towing. You are driving 2 vehicles off one gas tank. I average 10mpg when towing.
I like to think of it as 20mpg for the truck and 20mpg for the boat = 10mpg total.

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:53 am

The drivetrsins on those trucks is overbuilt so you should be fine. As noted the things I'd check is to make sure it has the full tow package (trans cooler etc). Also find out if they require synthetic fluid in the rear and front differentials for towing. My Jeeps both do and I've had no problems with diffs. I know previous 4Runners had soft rear springs and as such benefitted from air bags in the rear coils for towing.

www.iFourWinns.com

Towing Capacities

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