Trailering Weight - '97 Horizon RS 180

deafwish · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:16 am

I can't for the life of me find this information on the net, so...
Might someone have some relatively accurate weights of a (circa) 1997 Horizon 180 with the V8 (350 Chev), on a standard trailer?
I'm trying to decipher whether my X3 3.0d (2tn towing capacity) will comfortably tow this on some longer trips.

Cheers.

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:41 am

I don't know for sure because the old catalogs are no longer on the FW website, but I'd guess the boat is about 3000 lbs and the trailer about 800, total close to 4000 lbs, so if the BMW can tow 2 tons (what is that in US weight, same or not?) it should be OK.
As always, just make sure the trailer is balanced right (tongue weight) the bearings and tires are in good shape and the brakes on the trailer WORK.....

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:52 am

I agree that the wieght will be right at the limit for the vehicle. Not a good situation, IMO.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:12 am

When I had my 2000 H180 the boat was around 2500lb and the trailer another 5-600. Figure with fuel/surprise at least 3200lb

If you live in flat country and don't do 80 on the highway a 4000lb limit is OKAY, but install the largest aftermarket transmission cooler you can fit.

I would pull my boat locally with my work minivan with a 2000lb tow limit, it was fine going 45 around town taking it easy going 5-10mi round trip.

rpengr · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:23 am

Gresh24 wrote:

I agree that the wieght will be right at the limit for the vehicle. Not a good situation, IMO.

I am not disagreeing with Gresh24, but as an alternate point of view, I tow a 5500 lb rig with a vehicle rated to tow 4500 lbs. Because of the all-wheel-drive, it does great at the boat ramp, but I wouldn't want to tow hundreds of miles, or through mountains. I limit my highway speed to about 60mph, and have a transmission cooler. I also converted the trailer to disk brakes, which work very well.

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:35 am

I'll agree there are situations that you can 'push the limit' like short trips and limited speeds, but the OP specifically mentioned long trips 'comfortably towing'. I would never recommend long trips with a vehicle like that, oh and I'd never buy a used vehicle from rpengr

deafwish · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:39 pm

Thanks for the responses.
Our BMW X3 has the 6 cylinder, 3.0d X5 engine & transmission - which is rated to 6000lb in the X5 of the same year.
As Ric has mentioned, 3200lb with a little bit of gear on a car rated for 4500lb sounds like a safe weight to me.
Now I've supplied these figures, does it change anyones perception on a safe towing weight for this X3?

ric · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:42 pm

You can tow anything with anything if it can physically pull it, the trick is to keep the temps within normal range. I used to tow my motorcycle across the USA a few times a year in a 12ft box trailer in a 1995 cherokee 4.0 classic 2wd at 80mph. The only way that was possible was with a big radiator shoehorned in there and a transmission cooler almost the same size. Didn't harm it one bit and everything stayed within normal temps. With the stock cooling when I first bought it you couldn't even turn the AC on at 70mph or it would overheat. The jeep forums were great back in the day, they set me up with everything needed (since they offroaded them in extreme conditons).

LouC · **Posted:** Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:00 pm

Another factor is did this vehicle come with the tow package, that can make a difference in terms of the proper coolers, sometimes a bigger rad or electric fan is part of it. When I bought my old 98 Jeep new, it was the end of the line for the ZJ (1993-1998) series and you could not order new ones and this one did not have the tow package. I added it bit by bit, I got the hitch/wiring, then added Bilstein high pressure gas monotube shocks, Air Lift airbags in the coils and a B&M Supercooler to keep the trans cool.
When I got my 07 Jeep, one thing I wanted for sure was the tow package from the factory, it came with the trans cooler, hitch, wiring, etc.

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:51 am

deafwish wrote:

Thanks for the responses.
Our BMW X3 has the 6 cylinder, 3.0d X5 engine & transmission - which is rated to 6000lb in the X5 of the same year.
As Ric has mentioned, 3200lb with a little bit of gear on a car rated for 4500lb sounds like a safe weight to me.
Now I've supplied these figures, does it change anyones perception on a safe towing weight for this X3?

No, that doesn't change anything. It's things like transmission coolers, heavier brakes and suspension, and different gear ratios for added torque that are included in towing packages - not just engine and transmission.

The ONLY figure that matters is your vehicles towing capacity. I think you are looking at closer to 4,000 lbs. for that boat.

As mentioned here, you can tow anything with anything. Your X3 will pull it. It's the wear and tear on the vehicle that'd be my concern. A transmission cooler at minimum is a must.

My H190 (and trailer) weighs about 3,800 lbs. dry with no gear.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:27 am

Gresh24 wrote:

deafwish wrote:

Thanks for the responses.
Our BMW X3 has the 6 cylinder, 3.0d X5 engine & transmission - which is rated to 6000lb in the X5 of the same year.
As Ric has mentioned, 3200lb with a little bit of gear on a car rated for 4500lb sounds like a safe weight to me.
Now I've supplied these figures, does it change anyones perception on a safe towing weight for this X3?

No, that doesn't change anything. It's things like transmission collers, heavier brakes and suspension, and different gear ratios for added torque that are included in towing packages - not just engine and transmission.

The ONLY figure that matters is your vehicles towing capacity. I think you are looking at closer to 4,000 lbs. for that boat.

As mentioned here, you can tow anything with anything. Your X3 will pull it. It's the wear and tear on the vehicle that'd be my concern. A transmission cooler at minimum is a must.

My H190 (and trailer) weighs about 3,800 lbs. dry with no gear.

The newer boats are much lighter. My 2000 H180 (same as his boat) was right around 2400 dry. Wood is is heavier then glass.

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:38 am

The specs I have from Four Winns (that came with the boat) say 3,060 lbs. boat and engine + 850-990 trailer + 50 battery + 210 Fuel (full) + 150-200 gear. So, I think conservatively, I'm looking at 4,300 lbs.

The boat and engine weight information I have is 500 lbs. more than the specs I found on NADA - it says my boat and engine weighs 2,560.

Somehow I don't think plywood and +1 foot is over 1,000 lbs. I think you're a little low on trailer weight estimate too ric.

ric · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:46 am

Gresh24 wrote:

The specs I have from Four Winns (that came with the boat) say 3,060 lbs. boat and engine + 850-990 trailer + 50 battery + 210 Fuel (full) + 150-200 gear. So, I think conservatively, I'm looking at 4,300 lbs.

The boat and engine weight information I have is 500 lbs. more than the specs I found on NADA - it says my boat and engine weighs 2,560.

Somehow I don't think plywood and +1 foot is over 1,000 lbs. I think you're a little low on trailer weight estimate too ric.

well, if you got a crusty painted FW trailer they weigh tons

LouC · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:47 am

Actually I think the older boats were lighter, I'm not sure if I can believe that but my boat was supposed to weigh 2560 with the 4.3 V-6, the later model 200s that are actually shorter (19'8" vs 20"9" but have a wider beam) are around 3000 lbs according to their website. The old brochures are not on the new FW website so I don't know the weights for the 180s. I was never able to find a place to weigh the boat around here so I'd guesstimate its probably around 3000 lbs....

Gresh24 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:50 am

ric wrote:

well, if you got a crusty painted FW trailer they weigh tons

Well, the OP has original ("standard") trailer. I'm guessing it's a crusty pained FW. Likely in the 850-990 lb. range according to Four Winns and not 5-600...

www.iFourWinns.com

Trailering Weight - '97 Horizon RS 180

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