Boattest.com article: How to Choose the Right Tow Vehicle

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DavidM

New member
Boattest.com just published a good article on selecting the right tow vehicle for your boat: https://www.boattest.com/view-news/5349

The article discusses how to look at the other ratings of the tow vehicle such as GCWR, GVWR and GAWR besides just the simple tow weight rating.

One point discussed which I have a problem with is the very high tow ratings of 1/2 ton trucks. First those high, up to 12,500 lb tow ratings for some 1/2 ton trucks will quickly run into GVWR and GCWR problems at those values.

Also I believe that when the trailer weighs twice what the tow vehicle weighs which it would bethe case with a 1/2 ton truck towing 12,500 lbs, you can have stability and maybe braking issues. I like to see no more than a 1:1 ratio unless you have the stiffened chassis of a 3/4 ton truck or better.

For example, a CD 25 can weigh 7,000+ lbs sitting on its trailer with fuel and gear. Few 1/2 ton trucks weigh that much. I would prefer a 3/4 or 1 ton truck to haul that much weight.

Another issue only peripherally discussed in the article is diesel vs gas for towing. Sure diesel in general produces more torque but I think a large, 6+ liter gasoline engine will do fine for towing heavy loads and is cheaper to buy and cheaper to operate.

David
 
David, I disagree. While one needs to make sure all the numbers are working (Ie, I've seen where the advertised towable weight can exceed the GVWR by the time you load the tow vehicle also). But 1:1 is not necessary. Semi trucks weigh in at 20,000 lbs, and can tow trailers weighing 60,000 lbs. As long as your vehicle is built for it and maintained, and your trailer is properly loaded and has it's own brakes, you are fine! Besides, you would be hard pressed to find a 9,000 lb pick up to pull a CD-25! Colby
 
Colby:

Part of my rationale is that maximum tow ratings of 1/2 ton trucks have gotten crazy in recent years. Looking back at the Trailer Life Tow Guide for 2007, F150, Chevy 1500 and Dodge 1500s were at about 9,500 lbs max (and that is probably too high). Today as reported in the article they are at 12,500 lbs.

Did the steel (or aluminum in the case of Ford) get thicker to be able to handle the increased stresses? Did the suspension get stiffer? Did they change to heavy duty full floating axles like their 250/2500 brothers? Don't think so.

Those changes were more for marketing reasons than real improvements in design over the last dozen years.

An aluminum bodied F150 weighs about 5,000 lbs. Chevy and Dodges weigh a bit more.

So yes I was probably too conservative indicating a max ratio of 1:1. 1:1.5 is probably a more realistic ratio. That would mean a tow weight of 7,500 lbs or so for a 150/1500 class pickup. That should handle a CD 25 fine.

And FWIW a tandem axle 18 wheeler tractor has much, much more beef than would be required to handle its 20,000 lb weight. It is designed to handle a 1:3 ratio from the ground up.

David
 
Trucks of today have made great improvements over the trucks of yesterday. I believe the tow numbers in the newer trucks. Trucks of today have very high tensile strength steel frames, much larger brakes and stronger transmissions. Some trucks have in dash digital brake controllers and transmissions that (when in the tow/haul mode) sense when the truck is being pushed down a grade and then respond to automatically downshift the transmission to help control speed and therefore use less braking.

David, I read the tow vehicle article you posted and enjoyed it thoroughly. The author makes a good point to take a truck manufacturer tow rating and stay under what you will actually tow by about a couple of thousand pounds.

A 2018 Ford F-150 can now tow 13,200 pounds and Dodge, GMC and Chevy are not too far behind those numbers!
 
Also keep in mind that higher tongue weights on the lighter trucks require a weight distributing hitch, something you don't see too often on boat trailers. Even though the vehicle will handle a heavier tongue weight without the WD hitch, the warranties and liability insurance may be affected.
 
DavidM":japkh4vh said:
... Did the steel (or aluminum in the case of Ford) get thicker to be able to handle the increased stresses? Did the suspension get stiffer? Did they change to heavy duty full floating axles like their 250/2500 brothers? Don't think so.
...
Click to expand...

Maybe the steel was plenty strong to begin with and the limiting factor was the power plant or the brakes.

Engine HP/cu. in is always increasing. New brake designs and materials improve performance. Computer controls, ABS, and traction control also can lead to increased capacity.
 
David,
I agree that you have made some very good points re that magazine article. I agree with most of the points in that article, and I agree with yours as well.
We tow a TC255 with a CAT weigh scale ticket typically 11,650# (1/4 full gas tanks) with a 2005 GMC HD 2500 Duramax diesel rated for 12,000# (with a measured tongue wgt of 1,160#, max 1,200#).
I would never even consider towing it with any 1500HD truck, despite the F150 max rating.
This truck tows our load like a happy Alaskan sled dog, ie like ‘you call this a hill? Lets Boogie!’. Never a hint of hesitation or overload, despite the specs.
Any C-Dory load over a CAT scale measured 8,000# deserves a 2500HD ¾ ton pickup truck. You will be glad to have it!
For your subject 7K# boat, I defer to the debates that always accompany this.
Although diesel is more expensive per gallon than gas, it contains much more energy than gas (esp after the gas has been diluted with alcohol). Although more expensive to buy new, a diesel engine will last much longer in service, on average.
Overall, I believe the truck makers in that they have better, lighter metals and tech than 10 years ago. However, I can understand your reluctance to believe them.
Also, I suspect that you are leaving out the trailers’ ability to apply HUGE electronic over hydraulic braking loads on the rig.
Happy Hunting!
John
 
Just a correction to my earlier post, I meant to say GCVWR. Or gross combined vehicle weight rating. Other things one must look at is the payload rating allowed. When you start playing with all the numbers, you can see how it's very easy to go over one, while still staying under another. John, you are very close on the F150 aluminum weights. My truck's actual weight is 5,250 lbs.

As alluded to by some others, there are a lot of advancements in the tow vehicles of today. Structurally, they've probably always been able to handle the load. But you have a lot of different drive trains now. One example is with the newer Ford F150's. Tom on C-Otter can pull a heavier load with his turbo charged 6 than I can with my 5.0L V8. Yet we pretty much have the exact same trucks.

I had no problem pulling Midnight Flyer behind my 2010 Highlander. Until I got use to pulling it behind my 2016 F150. I'm pretty sure anybody pulling with a dually is going to feel like the tail wagging the dog if they stepped down to a smaller pickup. Sure, a lot of the new ratings are marketing. But you can bet your bottom that the lawyers are not going to allow the manufacturers to over rate their products weight capacities.

The bottom line, buy what you are comfortable with. Tow with what you are comfortable with. But stay within the specs/capacities rated. And anything over 3000 lbs should have it's own set of brakes! Colby
 
I must admit to being somewhat disappointed about my brand new F - 150's towing capabilities (on paper - - weather prohibits me from actually getting the rig on the road!). The Ford literature says that for this model the maximum loaded trailer weight is 7600#. As noted previously, the fine print then notes that this is with a weight-distributing hitch. But further on it says my truck as factory equipped with the trailer tow package and hitch can handle 12,900 # GCWR. If the the truck curb weight is 4769# and the trailer 1200# then doing all of the math (and adding in people, cargo, etc.) it seems like I shouldn't tow more than 5000# to keep any margin of safety. So that means if I move up to a CD 25 I would need a new truck!?
 
I ran the numbers for a 2 wheel drive 2500 pickup weight vs the weight of my 4 x 4 Yukon XL--the Yukon is about 100# heavier.

For me, as long as you are good with the transmission temps--and most modern trucks either monitor that, or you can install a Scan Gauge thru the OBD port which will measure the transmission temp--then you should be fine. Yes, they have the "tow haul" modes, and one should be careful to monitor what gear the truck is in, and avoid lugging--many times the 8 speed transmissions, are basically 2 or 3 overdrives, to get the EPA rated fuel economy. I like the the feature where you can lock in a gear for either climbing or going down grade. Yes, the trucks do have good transmission retarders.

There was a difference towing the 22 with a 40,000 lb RV vs the 5800+ lb truck--but not that much of a difference.

The electric over hydraulic brakes are important, especially if doing a significant amount of grades.
 
LakeHouse4305":2d1liouv said:
... it seems like I shouldn't tow more than 5000# to keep any margin of safety. So that means if I move up to a CD 25 I would need a new truck!?
Click to expand...

I would expect that the tow limit is the tow limit. The margin of safety should be built into that. You should not either expect that the vehicle will suddenly fail if you are slightly over the limit nor should you limit your tow weight to some % of the tow rating.

Having said that, the lower the tow weight the safer you are and the less wear on the vehicle. Being safest would mean no towing and keeping the vehicle as light as possible. But if we all did that, there'd be no point in this discussion.
 
When it comes to towing, I always feel that it better to be a bit overpowered than to be at the tow limit and need that extra power. I recall several years ago hauling bison up a steep hill out of the Red Deer River valley. I was driving my 1992 F250 Diesel and pulling a 20 foot stock trailer with 15 young bison in it. As I neared the middle of the hill, I slowed to a crawl, both feet were pushing the pedal down as hard as I could, black smoke was belching out of the tail pipe. Had I stalled out I had one of two options. Backing down the steep winding road to the river or establishing a new free ranging bison herd. A few minutes later the gradient eased off, my speed increased, the black smoke disappeared and I had found Jesus.
 
Peter and/or Judy

I've been there, trying to get to the top but that was a long time ago. I think that a stock trailer filled with 15 bison must be a good load to haul, certainly more than any C-Dory. And, by the way, did the bison ever shift weight, especially towards the rear?

With the advent of the modern V-8 and good autos, I would think that any 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton could haul any C-Dory, with the exception of the TomCat. The lighter trucks would need an equalizing hitch and stabilizer, sure, but those 1/2 tons are not light vehicles and the C-Dorys are stable when towed. As Bob mentioned, you'll have to manually shift down and wait when you're going up or down a hill, but that's life.

I don't know about the smaller turboed engines that are coming out, but even in the 1/2 ton the vehicle weight is enough to control a C-Dory. Just drive carefully. I've successfully towed a C-dory 25 between San Diego and Seattle and stability was not the problem. If the engine and trans can handle it it's good to go.

I guess I can't resist a discussion on trailering

Boris
 
I think that a stock trailer filled with 15 bison must be a good load to haul, certainly more than any C-Dory. And, by the way, did the bison ever shift weight, especially towards the rear?
Click to expand...

I've hauled more than a 1000 bison of all sizes in my trailer and generally they load and travel well. I have two compartments in the trailer and try to load the front compartment heavier than the rear. A full load is easier to haul than a partial one. The worst is when you have two young bulls in the front 12' compartment and they decide to see who's boss. It is a moving load for sure, but after a few curves and hills they tend to settle down, something like learning to stand on the bus.

Hauling my C-Dory is easy compared to the stock trailer, but the boat is harder to back up due to the bumper hitch as compared to the gooseneck on the stock trailer. I do prefer the electric brakes on the stock trailer over the surge brakes on my boat trailer. I might upgrade this in the future.
 
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