pulling a boat with 4 cylinders

How many of you have pulled a boat with your 4 cylinder? I'm looking around for a 16ft flat boat and was wondering if anyone had any troubles pulling.

 

No problems. I pull 18ft Fish & Ski with mine. Seems to handle it fine.
I did add a transmission oil cooler, just for peace of mind

D Sailer

 

I know my boat has a package weight of 2200 lbs. Add for fuel and gear I'd guess around 2800 lbs. Mind you, its no rocket off the line, but it will get the rig moving. Once up to speed it handles the load well

 

I pull my 18' Caravelle with my 2.7 4X4 with no problems 2400lb boat plus 300lb in gear. It is not quick by no means, but does OK once you get going. Brakes good, handles good. I use 4L to pull the boat out of the water up the loading ramp.

 

I pulled my 14ft lund all the time with my old 97 2.7 5spd 4x4. It had 33s an a lift kit tho and it wouldn go past 70mph on the interstate but it worked fine. Any hills or wind and youll slow right down pulling a boat tho. Havent pulled with my new truck yet, its the 3.4 so now i can haul ass

 

yeah. I figured if all else fails put it in 4 lo and pull the boat out of the water that way. A bridge or hill on the other hand.... well i guess I'll just have to get a running start.

 

I pull my 18' crownline loaded at a boat/trailer weight around 4,000lbs. It pulls good enough for me not to even want a v6 and I pull the boat every weekend in the summer.

 

If you pull boats or stuff often.
just reember to have the brakes adjusted and the fluid fluid more often.

If you have an Automatic, drain and fll a bit more often.
Fresh fluid is good fluid.

This will also tell you if you are over heating that tranner.
If so add a good cooler..

 

14ft aluminum!! no problem! don't burn your clutch on the loading ramp it you have one!! lol

 

Pull a trailered 2000lb zodiac.
MPG suffers, and have to manually hit 3rd on the auto for hills.
No issues with sway or braking.

 

I tow my 17' bowrider (somewhere around 2500 lbs. loaded with fuel & gear) with my 5-lugger (4-cyl reg. cab 2WD 5-speed manual - 3.31 rear end) and agree with what pretty much everyone has said so far. It's slow off the line, but cruises fine once you get going. Handles and brakes very well. Have to downshift on hills. MPG obviously suffers (but still probably comparable to an unloaded V6). Getting up the ramp when taking the boat out is a bit of a challenge, but not bad at all. I have to slip the clutch - so I'm real careful to keep the revs as low as possible so as not to fry the clutch. The 2.7L has a lot of low-end grunt (for a 4-banger) so it's not a problem. If you have a 4x4 (4.10 rear end) it will be easier (especially if you use 4L). If you have an auto... obviously not an issue either way.

 

im renting some seadoos and dont have a tow hitch...can i just put a ball in the bumper and tow it that way? or no

 

If your doing it for traction then you could use the gas and brake but obviously not too much of each and that prevents you from rolling back and from having to give too much gas to get going and spinning. It just makes it smoother cuz often there is a small line on a slippery boat ramp between spinning and rolling back.

 

Yeah, you can use the bumper (that's why it's there) but go easy - if the truck's higher than the trailer it'll be a little unbalanced, plus the rear of the ski's will be closer to the ground. For my 16' boat & Pre-runner I had to get a bit of a drop hitch or I would scrape the motor getting it in my angled driveway.

 

I pull a 24' pontoon a few times a year with mine. I've no idea what it weighs, but I think it's pretty heavy. A bit slow to start but handles fine.

 

16 foot Carolina Skiff with no trouble.

 

i pull a 18 foot fiberglass boat with mine.