to tow or not to tow

[sickbayer]

hi all. ive a few questions im hoping you guys can give some answers or thoughts on... ive a 04 dodge dakota V8 it so struggles to pull my 03 thunderjet . ive been looking at changing the misses ford escape for a bigger suv just cannot decide on which one. so my 1st question is How much does my boat weigh? its 19.5' a 3/4 hard top with chevy inboard, kicker motor and a full swim platform. ive looked everywhere on the boat and online. 2nd question is what do you guys use to pull your boats...

[lskiles]

Most truck stops have certified scales and for a small fee you can weigh your boat/trailer.

[Rich McVey]

We have an '03 Dodge Dakota 4x4 V-8, I dont even notice my 15' fiberglass behind me when towing. I'd check the manufactures website or email them. They gotta have that info available. Other rigs I've towed with: Ford F350 with a diesel, it did a great job towing but was to long to get around alot of the crappy launches.

[sickbayer]

i think the 03 v8 had a bigger engine...mine is 4.7L with like 235hp and 290 torque.... ive had the truck since oct 03 and i love it except for the towing which im sure is 5700lbs i get about 7miles to the gallon when i tow the boat.! i did call siglars and they reckon it is about 4500lbs i just dont believe it. i think i give it a hsot at the truck scales, sound like it could work..

[racfish]

I pull a 16'Tracer by Smokercraft with a Honda 40hp on my 1990 Toyota 4x4 v-6.I do well except for the passes.I did swap out the fuel injection system with a TRD injection.That gave me better power.

[Coastfishin]

I tow my 15' Smokercraft with 2008 Toyota Tacoma, V-6, 6-speed manual trans. I can't feel the boat at all.
Last weekend I towed my step-sons boats for him. One is a 16' Sea-raider ski boat the other is a 18' fiberglass Crestliner.
It towed both of them fine.

[Mossy]

I saw a guy pulling out his jet boat the other day with an early 90's four runner and it didn't seem like he had a problem getting it up the steep hill. I had to stop at the scales a few months back to weigh my boat trailer and it was $8 I think for the CAT certified scale. What ever you decide on, think about how often you'll be towing the boat compared to how much the suv will be driven daily because of the gas prices(which I'm sure you've already thought about).

[A9]

Your boat is probably no heavier then 2500 lbs. Maybe it's near 3000, but I doubt that. Aluminums aren't too heavy. A V-8 Dodge should tow that just fine. You have to realize you can't drive normal when you have 2500 lbs in tow behind you....Take it slow, drive responsible. Your Dakota should pull it just fine....

[nineeleven]

Your Kota V8 should tow it just fine. How many miles does it have. Maybe a little turn up will do the job.

If you need a reason to get a new vehicle. Then get a 2001-2006 Tahoe or Sub, ride nice and will tow your boat with ease.

[SPARKY101]

06 dodge mega cab 5.7 4x4 hemi pulls my 18'tracker pro-tourney edition just fine,and is equipped with tow haul mode.I see no reason your rig cant pull your boat if you gotta v-8 you should be fine,When in doubt punch it:cheers: it will get you out of trouble

[sickbayer]

Nineeleven my truck has 80k on it and does indeed need a service. Sam Kafelafish if my boat weighs 2500 or 3000lbs i will buy you a beer, ive never owned any other aluiminum boats but have seen a alumweld and its a small boat all round i mean gunwalls are smaller etc. it is so deceiving. I also havea class A driving liencse and drive heavy equipment (im a pile driver). I have also used my truck to pull many things, air compressors, excavators tk 12 tralers with mini diggers..etc etc so i kinda know about what my truck can handle. And how to drive full loaded, it is just shocking, to punch the gas going up an hill just sends shivers down my spine..lol.. although i ave come to the conclusion that i really think it is the tranny that is the biggest let down on my truck.

I did just find out a gallon of gas weighs like 8.66 pounds. so a 50 gallon tank is like over 400lbs. well im off to blue lake for 4th july hopefully ill make it over..ha. im gonna take it to the scales soon, if it that bad ill have a good case to get a new truck..

[A9]

I did just find out a gallon of gas weighs like 8.66 pounds. so a 50 gallon tank is like over 400lbs. well im off to blue lake for 4th july hopefully ill make it over..ha. im gonna take it to the scales soon, if it that bad ill have a good case to get a new truck..

Gas weighs roughly 6 lbs or so...So that is another thing to consider....Even just a half tank will tack on some extra weight...

It's a buyers market out there for big SUV's and trucks....Everyone's trying to sell em to downsize to something smaller, they sure ain't selling very hot and the prices are lowered in hopes of making a sale....You can get a lightly used one, fully loaded, just a few years old with low miles for a GREAT price...High gas prices are catching up and people are ditching their suburbans for smaller SUV's...

[Bscman]

If it's a 2wd Dakota, have you thought about regearing?

I had an '89 dakota, 5spd, V6 that I used for several years towing snowmobiles/trailers (1,500-2,500lbs) and it it seemed to do okay. I ended up swapping out the original gears (around 3.26 : 1 IIRC) to a set of 3.55's and the truck took on a whole new life. Fuel economy stayed the same on the freeway, but it sure picked up a heck of a lot of towing power.

A 4wd would require matching gears front and rear, and probably cost prohibitive.
A single set of gears and installation kit can be had for $200-250...a steal if you do the work yourself.

Intake and exhaust work can help you pick up a small about of power as well.

[sickbayer]

hey guys well i got my response from thunderjet
Hi Jay,



You have quite a nice boat! So let’s break these weights down a bit.
I would say the trailer is about 1300 lbs.
The boat with all those options has got to be pushing 3200lbs, especially if you have any additional equipment in the boat. Then theres fuel, which if you have 50 gallons or so of gas at I think 6 lbs a gallon, that’s 300 more lbs.

All in all I would say you’re around 5000lbs…


now this feels about right, throw in the misses, two kids and our boxer food and camp gear im am really close to max GVW..well the same engine on the new dakota gets 302 hp 329lb of torque and can tow 7050lb, good grief dont technology move fast. thanks for all the input will let you know if i get something bigger, which i think i may have to if i want my dodge to last me. another 4years.

[ChrisB]

Nice boat, was just on their website looking for weights. It should tell you, but you're right it doesn't. If you are set on Dodge, I would definetly get the hemi Ram. It should be rated to tow up to 10,000lbs, I know the F-150 is. If you keep your dakota and upgrade the wifes SUV, a Tahoe or something to that matter will get the job done. And remember, the 5.3 late model Chevy is about the best gas mileage V8 engine you will find.
7mpg towing and the feeling that your trans could take a dive at any moment is the WORST feeling ! I towed my bass boat with a Chevy S10 for a year, did ok, but always thought about the trans too. Now I got a Chevy Van 20 with a 350, pulls ok, but still think about the trans ;)

Good luck.

[spadam98]

Hey there i had a 03 4x4 dakota it only had v6 but it was gutless and got horrible gas milage so i traded it for a brand new 08 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 4.7L the same motor as in the new dakotas and ive used it to pull a 19 foot smokercraft with 90 horse loaded with gear and 5 adults and one child and it did great and i still got 14 mpg. so i say stay with dodge and trade up im sure u wont regret it
brian

[sickbayer]

Hey there i had a 03 4x4 dakota it only had v6 but it was gutless and got horrible gas milage so i traded it for a brand new 08 Ram 1500 4x4 with the 4.7L the same motor as in the new dakotas and ive used it to pull a 19 foot smokercraft with 90 horse loaded with gear and 5 adults and one child and it did great and i still got 14 mpg. so i say stay with dodge and trade up im sure u wont regret it
brian

yeah that 4.7L has climbed up in the HP and torque department you get llike 60 more HP than i do..

[sickbayer]

UPDATE
we just purchased an 07 Ford f150 lariet 4x4 supercrew, kept my dodge so im happy.....yohooo ellooo big hills.
thanks for all the help...

[Dave]

This is my 2005 Toyota 4Runner. It has the V8 engine and pulls my Hewes Craft like it's not even there. Congrats on your new purchase. It sure is nice to be able to pull your boat with no issue.

[A9]

This is my 2005 Toyota 4Runner. It has the V8 engine and pulls my Hewes Craft like it's not even there. Congrats on your new purchase. It sure is nice to be able to pull your boat with no issue.

We got the 4Runner's "big brother" the V8 Sequoia. Towed our old Center Console 19'er great, but all it pulls is about 400lbs of aluminum now....I think a hybrid would be able to tow it easily....