Towing a boat with a 2000 outback wagon

[mgsondance]

Hi- As far as i can tell, the towing capacity of my car is 2000# (it's in good shape). I'd like to buy a seadoo 15' challenger jet boat, and it's dry weight is 2000#. Is this going to be a problem? I do not live on the water, so I will have to tow it whenever I take it out. Generally I will tow it to the river or lakes that are close, less than 20 miles. But I did rent a cottage up north and would like to tow it one time up there and back- 137 miles. I also might occasionally tow it to Grand Haven, which is about 40 miles.

Any suggestions or input? I've never towed anything with it, and just today talked to U-haul about installing a hitch. It's an after-market one, but one that is designed for my wagon, and is described as "heavy duty".

I've never owned a boat so I'm a real newbie with this, and would generally be putting it in the water by myself.

Thanks in advance!

[DavidPeab]

I have a lot of experience towing a camper and a boat with my Suburban and they have taught me several lessons. First of all, the 00 OBW (I assume you have a 4 cyl 2.5l) max towing limit is 2,000 lbs. as you've noted above.

It is a common misconception that you can tow up to the maximum limited weight. Wrong. You need to consider the Total Gross Vehicle Weight (TGVW) as your towing limit. The 2,000 lbs. towing capacity is based on an empty vehicle with a few gallons of gas. Your TGVW is 4,700 lbs. The Outback already weighs about 3,500 lbs. That leaves you 1,200 lbs without the weight of passengers, luggage, boat and trailer (tongue weight is a whole other issue), gas, and anything else sitting on your axles.

Personally, I don't think the OBW has enough torque to safely move the boat, and more importantly the mass or brakes to stop the boat and trailer. So, trouble up hill and even more down hill. Remember your car is 12 years old and probably does not have the same compression it once had. The Outback also has a unibody "frame" which is not designed to withstand the stress of towing - bumps, twisting, starting and stopping.

Bottom line: I wouldn't do it. A safe rule of thumb is tow at half of what your max rating is, like 1,000 lbs. or less. In your case, closer to 800 with one other person and a half a tank of gas.

I hope I didn't bum you out too much. Better safe than sorry.

[mcbrew]

There are two different weight ratings to consider:

GVWR - the weight of the car and everything in and on it. As far as towing is concerned, the only part that adds to this is your tongue weight, which will probably be around 200 pounds.

GCWR - the weight of your entire rig -- car, trailer, and all passengers and cargo.

Most cars are not given a GCWR... This is usually only found on trucks. The GVWR should be found on your drivers door jamb, and does NOT include the weight on the trailer axle(s).

Back to your question... I would want to get a real life weight of the boat on the trailer. A lot of dealership/manufacturer specs on weight are FAR from realistic. For instance, my camper clams to weigh 900 pounds, but actually weighs closer to 1,300 pounds -- and that's without water in the tank!

Personally, I would not have a problem towing a 2,000 pound boat/trailer combo. You'll probably find that the same car has a higher tow rating in other countries. For instance, my 2011 Outback has a 2,700 pound rating in the US, but has a 4,000 pound rating in the UK. The US ratings tend to be on the safe side. Of course, make sure your car and trailer brakes (if present) are on good working order, and count on driving slower than your normal cruising speed on the highway. One reason a lot of countries have higher tow ratings is that the speed limit for towing is lower... And it is enforced!

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by mcbrew

There are two different weight ratings to consider:

GVWR - the weight of the car and everything in and on it. As far as towing is concerned, the only part that adds to this is your tongue weight, which will probably be around 200 pounds.

GCWR - the weight of your entire rig -- car, trailer, and all passengers and cargo.

Most cars are not given a GCWR... This is usually only found on trucks. The GVWR should be found on your drivers door jamb, and does NOT include the weight on the trailer axle(s).

Back to your question... I would want to get a real life weight of the boat on the trailer. A lot of dealership/manufacturer specs on weight are FAR from realistic. For instance, my camper clams to weigh 900 pounds, but actually weighs closer to 1,300 pounds -- and that's without water in the tank!

Personally, I would not have a problem towing a 2,000 pound boat/trailer combo. You'll probably find that the same car has a higher tow rating in other countries. For instance, my 2011 Outback has a 2,700 pound rating in the US, but has a 4,000 pound rating in the UK. The US ratings tend to be on the safe side. Of course, make sure your car and trailer brakes (if present) are on good working order, and count on driving slower than your normal cruising speed on the highway. One reason a lot of countries have higher tow ratings is that the speed limit for towing is lower... And it is enforced!

I towed for years with my 2001. 2000lb max. The car towed weight well stopped fine. Power was fine. The place it fell flat on its face is cooling capacity and heat generation via the exhaust. If all your doing is flat towing in mild temps and packing light with fairly flat terrain. 1500lbs empty with 85+ temps and hill climbs youll cook the car due to the weak cooling system.

[DavidPeab]

Instead of depending on anecdotal information from folks who have towed certain weights "without any problems" or folks like me who are a bit paranoid, go to this site - Travel Trailer Weight Calculator and calculate it for yourself. Fill in the blanks using the descriptions of the data needed. You can check your owner's manual or Google the specs.

[grossgary]

*** are you towing in flat land or mountains?

Originally Posted by DavidPeab

Instead of depending on anecdotal information from folks who have towed certain weights "without any problems" .

that stuff is more anecdotal. real world experience is more valuable. Subaru puts 2,000 pounds but they can't do it in all situations without issues. that's where experience trumps the books.

as noted above - the cooling system is not up to towing 2,000 pounds in any condition noted in the US. if you're pulling steep mountain grades during hot/humid weather then you're going to have cooling issues. been there, done that, as mentioned above.

if you're towing flatland then who cares, you can tow 2,000 pounds with a Geo Metro, doesn't take much to get a boat going, a 2,000 pound boat/trailer can easily be moved by hand on flat land...go try pulling it up a 7% grade!

[Radar]

A question for me would be whether the car could get 2000 lbs moving up a boat ramp. I've seen boat ramps that are incredibly steep. Towing on a road is nothing like hauling a boat up a steep ramp from a dead stop.

[Brucey]

I've flat towed a Chevy S-10 through WV mountains including a few short 15% grade hills through town from a dead stop. Probably 3000 lbs. I do have an auxiliary transmission cooler as well.

Slow? Yes. But it still did it. The S10 did the braking for both cars as well, so overheating them wasn't an issue.

[DavidPeab]

that stuff is more anecdotal. real world experience is more valuable. Subaru puts 2,000 pounds but they can't do it in all situations without issues. that's where experience trumps the books.

Sure, why use a tool specifically designed with a scientific method devised by several folks with years of experience towing loads, when you can listen to folks here whose main method of predicting reliability and assurance that it safe is basically "well, I got away with it, did not destroy my vehicle or anyone else's property and lived, so you can too?"

I still think it is a bad idea to tow at max capacity in any situation. Traveling around in a steel box with another heavy object attached by a 2" ball to it is a dynamic process involving unpredictable situations which require experienced responses to the forces of physics. A driver that is inexperienced with towing a boat, as mgsondance notes above, can get into a lot of trouble real fast when following poor advice. I've towed stuff big and small for over 30 years and have enough anecdotal evidence and some pretty wild stories, but I still don't agree that it is a good idea for the person who first posed the question.

Brucey, you are a wild man. I'd hate to be in front of you going down that hill just before Morgantwon. It'd be wonder we both don't end up in Cheat lake. :-) BTW, I don't think a Seadoo trailer has any electric brakes, at least none as beefy as an S-10.

[mcbrew]

Originally Posted by DavidPeab

BTW, I don't think a Seadoo trailer has any electric brakes, at least none as beefy as an S-10.

No, most boat trailers have surge brakes.