towing a boat with 4 cylinder auto

I'm wanting to know what is the biggest boat I can realistically tow with my 4 cylinder automatic. I know that it is rated to pull 3500 lbs but I'd like to hear from some people that actually tow boats with their 4 cylinder Tacos.

I live in PA now but when I move back to Florida (hopefully within the next year or two) the towing will be without hills. I consider that a factor because here in PA I would be keeping the boat in the water. I'm only interested in outboard powered fiberglass center consoles. I figure I'll be able to pull a 16-17' fiberglass boat no problem. Once you get to 18 footers then it depends on the model as to how close it is going to be to 3500 lbs boat, motor, and trailer.

I will definitely put a trans cooler in. I already ordered a bluetooth for the obd2 port so I can monitor the trans temp.

 

1st gen 2.7 here. I’m at 17.2. My boat is lite on the fiberglass. (What I wanted).90hp 2 stroke. No gas in boat till close to ramp. I’m at 1700 with gear, no fluids. Trucks pulls fine on interstate 75. When I see a hill it’s od off time. 62mph has been my sweet spot. I merge the highway going 55mph if I’m on the skinny pedal. Must install trans cooler and a temp gauge inline of the cooler is a huge benefit being able to monitor the transmission. I can maintain about 170 degrees on highways. Temps don’t rise till stop and go that’s when the electric fan wired with relay and switch comes into play

 

Message me if you need more Info

 

Thanks for the reply Dilly.

So I ended up buying an 18' wellcraft center console a few weeks after my original post. Boat, motor, and trailer weighs about 2800 lbs with no gear or fuel. I get about 13-15 miles a gallon towing depending on how fast I'm driving. The trans temp never goes above 170 according to the torque app and using the bluetooth adapter for the obd2 port.

After I bought the boat I put helper springs in from fat bob's garage.

Last winter while in Florida I bought a 12' x 6' utility trailer with 4' high sides. I use it for hauling tree debris (I'm a climbing arborist). The trailer weighs 1750 lbs empty. I have pulled many loads of brush, logs, and wood chips. In Florida and PA. I'm amazed at what my truck will pull in this trailer. I routinely pull 4000-4500 with no problem. I pull a wood chipper that weighs 4800 lbs. I estimate that one load of chips I had was 7000 lbs including the trailer based on the volume I had in it. I only had to pull that load a half a mile that is why I loaded it up so much.

I just keep the speed below 65 on the interstate. Where I live in PA the roads are all 45 mph speed limits anyway so I put the truck in 2 on long hills. I'll even use L on some hills when I'm going slow thru a development. I like to keep the motor between 3000-3800 rpm when pulling a load uphill.

I pulled that trailer 1300 miles with a few hundred lbs in it from Miami to PA last spring. The biggest issue was wind on the interstate. When a semi would pass me it was both hands on the wheel LOL. Other then that no problems. I cruised at 60-62 mph.

The trailer had 15" wheels with 225/70 car tires on it when I bought it. They had good tread on them so I figured what the hell, I'll use them and see how it tows. On surface roads traveling upto 45 mph it handled fine. I loaded the hell out of that trailer. Then I had a job with heavy mahogany logs. My plan was to goto a dump about 15 miles away from the job but I didn't finish in time to get there before they closed for the day. So I had to go 50 miles on I95 from Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale fully loaded at the end of the day. As soon as I got up to 50 mph on 95 the trailer started swaying like a ^&%$^$#% !!! Holy shit was I holding on for life. I let off the gas and let it slow down on its own. I had to keep it below 45 mph to avoid trailer sway. I kept it in the far right lane with the hazzards on for 50 miles. Man that ride sucked. The next day after I dumped the load I went out and bought brand new 10 ply trailer tires and no longer have that problem.

I have airbags that I'm going to put on the truck soon. Also I'm wiring the truck for a 7 way plug and putting a brake controller in so that when I pull the chipper I can use the brakes. I may even install brakes on my trailer. Not sure yet because I may just buy a trailer that has them already.

I knew that I was going to being towing when I bought the truck but I wanted a 4 cylinder because I didn't want to give up the gas mileage. 25 mpg when I'm empty and 13-15 mpg when towing. Its like having two vehicles for the price of one.

 

I wonder if the app is pulling the temps from the inlet or return line of the transmission. In all though everything sounds covered. I would consider still adding the biggest trans cooler available, mabye an in-line magnetic filter. Unless ur automatic. Also noted, my fluid intervals are 30k for transmission now and 12k for my rear. Considering it severe duty, also my rear diff has been though hell from a rear wheel bearing exploding, just trying to baby it. Gear oil is cheap. Rear axles arent