Looking at a new boat, boat place saying upgrade the truck. :-(

I want a Cobalt 242WSS, dry weight is 4,600lbs, the trailer another 1,600, the gas is 400 lbs. 6,600lbs without anything in the boat. sales guy saying I will easily hit 7,000 lbs. Anyone towing this much behind their Tacoma?

 

Can be done but not safely. The weight limit for towing is rated at 6000lbs for the v6 I believe. Braking is the area where you would encounter most issues.

 

IIRC, the weight limit of our trucks with an O/R package is 6500lbs. Someone correct if I'm wrong. Might need a Tundra..

 

Also, towing at the weight limit may not be very comfortable... I know a buddy of mine had an F-150 that could pull his boat, but it was a much safer and more pleasant experience when he upgraded to an F-250. If you're going to tow it often, it does sound like you need more towing power... And I'd personally go American on a full-size pickup

 

If I were you and really wanted the boat and can afford it I'd step to the Tundra for sure

 

IMO towing the boat probably wont be a problem(especially if the trailer has brakes) but pulling it out of the water might be.

 

Pulling out of the water will for sure give you issues.

 

x2 on the american fullsize

 

Buy a tundra. Screw the american fullsize. My buddy has an '08 tundra 5.7 and he said it actually tows stronger and feels more solid towing than his '06 2500 HD duramax (w/ allison tranny) he had before. He says the only negative compared to the 2500 is that the tundra gets way worse gas mileage than the diesel did which is to be expected. He got rid of the duramax because it started falling apart (transmission problems, electronic problems, replaced alternator twice) the truck only had 40,000 miles on it. Only got half of what he paid for it when he traded it in.

As for the boat, How far is your haul to the lake? will you be towing it back and forth or keeping it in a slip?

 

Also consider where you are towing...
If you are climbing and descending mountains, you will definitely be putting yourself and others in an unsafe situation. If you live 3 miles from the lake and only need to tow it a couple times a year, you're probably OK with the Taco.

If I needed a bigger truck, I would look at the F150. Here is the towing specs:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/

Nice boat too:

 

This is my boat that I tow w/ my Tacoma. Its a Four Winns 205 Sundowner. Its weight is about 5000lbs +/- and I would say you can really tell its back there. Towing this makes for a somewhat stressful drive. The 4.0 has the power to do it, but seems to be screaming the whole time and only getting 9 mpg. Towing this boat with my brothers 5.7 Tundra was easy, I barely noticed it. I would say anything more that 5-6k you need a bigger truck if you are going to be pulling long distances or often. GL w/ the boat.

 

My family always had a boat. We went through at least 4 when I was growing up. We never towed them much-always had them stored at the lake on airlifts.
I was hoping to find someone that is actually towing that much weight. I am most concerned getting the boat out of the water. Even with 4WD I think that boat could yank em back in if the ramps are slick. It would be short runs as I would store close to the lake here in SATX.

A friend of mine has a brand new Ford Platinum. He hates to tow with it. Said he should have got a Tundra. But only a few months after he about, even with huge down still would lose huge on the trade.

 

6500 is correct. I was looking at the owners manual page by page last night to study up on my new truck.

 

speaking from experience in towing more than what my tacoma is supposed to tow, it is a stressful drive. getting up to speed isn't the issue at all, its the stopping that scares the shit outta me, even though my trailer has brakes. and also with that much weight if you dont have the tsb done you will be resting on your bumpstops in the rear like i do when i get up to about 6k+. i agree with getting a bigger truck.

 

I have put my boat in a 3 different boat ramps in my area. I have never had to use 4x4 to get it out of the water. My boat has a pretty good tongue weight and the added weight of gear in the bed usually helps w/ traction. Also as another member stated having the rear TSB done or in my case an AAL is a def must. When I bought the boat about 3 months ago I didn't have the AAL or the TSB and had to drive about 3 hours home with it. The whole time on the way home my truck was on the bump stops and seemed very unstable. It made for a very stressful 3 hour trip, especially over 65mph. Now that I have the AAL the truck doesn't squat and handles the trailer so much better. I'd say either look for a boat the doesn't isn't as big or buy a bigger truck. GL

 

^Dis. Not much could be worse than damaging your boat, your truck, or both and turning a nice weekend somewhere into a nightmare of insurance BS or worse.

 

I have learned Cars and Boats are just money pits. But you have to enjoy life, so they an investment in yourself, not in your bank account ;-)

My dad always called his boats money pits. Been wanting to get one for a while, but always working too much. I am a recovering workaholic. Not joking man, I can work till my eyes bleed - new place is way different. I work 40 hour weeks - compared to my last job 60-80 even better no longer on call!

the flipside is I have to do two annual projects that take anywhere from 30 -45 days of travel time. soo immma gonna enjoy this summer!

 

wow, should that boat should be on a tandem trailer? I thought anything over 3,500 lbs you go tandem.

 

Yeah that was my thought exactly when I went to purchase it, but the trailer is a Four Winns matching trailer that came with the boat when it was new (97). I would have really liked it if it had the tandem axels. It makes for a much better handling, and easier to maneuver trailer. Before I looked at this one I saw the exact boat but 1 year newer and it also had the single axel. I'm not really sure why 4Winns did this.