Pulling and towing.

[SALTED]

Hi to you all.

As the newbie i hope im not about to ask something that has been covered to death,and if so i do apologize.

My tow car is the trusty 94 V6 Commodore wagon,in exceptionally good nick i might add.The info i have is the legal towing cap is 1500kg's. I would have to say the to and from the ramp on the highway is not much of an issue at this weight, my question is how does the trusty V6 Commodore go pulling it's "legal" towing cap up your average boat ramp??.

Curious to get some feedback before i go and spend $40,000 on something i get get back outta the water.

Thank you.

[russ81]

Hows it going mate
Firstly what size boat are you towing.
It depends on the ramp condition. if its a good clean ramp with a generous angle you will be fine it starts to become an issue when you have a steep ramp or a slippery ramp and this is when low range comes in handy.
I recommend to do some homework on the ramps you will use most regularly.

[juju]

As Rus81 said ramps and angle can make a difference...i watched a guy with a V8 71 fairlane trying to get a 14ft silverline glass boat witha 40 hp merc up the ramp at cabbage tree creek one day...low water the ramp was coverd in slime..he was sitting theer spinning the tyres...

[SALTED]

Thanks Russ.

This is the hard one. At the moment im in the running for two boats, and yes both vastly different. One is the Clearwater 1900 and the other in the mix is the Yalta 535 or even 555. The wife dosen't have a prob with the 40'ish grand for the boat;D (hence the Clearwater) but we don't want to have to upgrade the car.

I would like to keep it in the 5.2 - 5.6m range.

[russ81]

If you are going for the clearwater 1900 you will need to upgrade as the weight of the vessel is 1550 kg from the specs i can see but i could be wrong.
in saying that it is a beautiful boat. and if you can split with the cash would be worth the upgrade

[SALTED]

Russ.

I was affraid you would say that. I saw one at the local dealer and it had listed a 1550kg towing weight, i thought it was a bit much, but hey, it might have just been spot on.

[russ81]

I purchased a 5.6m trailcraft sportscab earlier in the year and was towing with a suzuki grand vitara xl7 with a 2.7l v6 on the ramps was fine and rarely had to use low range but towing up hills it was useless so i upgraded to a patrol a bit of overkill seeing as the boat only weighs 1 tonne fully loaded.
Have you though of buying a cheap ($2000) 4wd solely for towing.

[timddo]

where can you get a cheap $2000 4wd.????

[Blackened]

G'day

2k for a fourby? no worries. I know of a friend who sold his '89 pajero for 2k this last week.

There's always stuff in th trading post.

Dave

[Jeremy]

Russ.

I was affraid you would say that. I saw one at the local dealer and it had listed a 1550kg towing weight, i thought it was a bit much, but hey, it might have just been spot on.

When you get a towing weight quoted, check what it includes. ie does it include a full tank of fuel, esky and ice, offshore anchor kit etc etc. Further on this, make sure the trailer that comes with your rig is rated to carry the boat fully loaded up.

Jeremy

[davez104]

Just double check on your towing capacity, is that braked or unbraked? I would have thought the commodore would have been capable of a bit more than that. Also jump under the back of the old girl and see if it's fitted with a limited slip diff, should be a tag on the diff housing telling you to use LSD oil if it is, this will make a big difference up ramps. If it's an auto and you have to tow a reasonable distance, it would be worthwhile having a transmission cooler added, you will probably cook the tranny otherwise.

Dave.

[SALTED]

Thank you all for your input,

Russ. I did have the upgrade to a cheap 4wd thought but at the moment the commodore sits around alot and its a practical size for nearly all our needs and as myself and wife both have company cars the last thing we want is another just sitting around for towing purposes, as much as i'd love to.

Jeremy.

The quoted 1550kg was boat,motor,trailer unloaded, so with fuel and gear i estimate about almost 1700kg.

Davez. That is the braked towing cap for the V6 Commodore.

Also the l.s.d is already on the cars as i also thought this would be a big help and as im in the auto trade its not an overly expensive upgrade for me.

Thanks again all..

[Reef_fisher]

trade the dunnydoor in on the cheap 4b.

[steveg1100]

The problem is there is not just the cost of purchasing the 4wd but also the upkeep rego insurance maintenence, if someone is selling a car for $2000 how reliable do you think it is going to be? how many kilometres has it done?

[onerabbit]

Dont think you would get much 4wd for 2k, or the value out of the rego if you just had it for towing,
& not selling the Commondore for a mid-range puddle-jumper may well be something you curse yourself for if you get badly stuck????

Our local ramp is usually pretty good, but if the tide is a big low, (there's a big hole at the end ), or the council has been a bit slow getting to pressure clean it, it can be a real problem.
Getting stuck a few times prompted me to change to a mid range 4by.

Muzz