Towing with Front Wheel Drive car

[Stevo25]

Hi Guys,

Are any of you guys towing with a Front wheel drive car? I have a toyota avalon 3L V6, my previous boat weighed around 700kg and this towed it fine.

The new rig will be around 1100kg and is arriving in 2-3mths, my towbar ratings say 1250kg braked but i can upgrade to the heavy duty towbar to tow 1600kg.

My worries are at the ramp, being a drive on trailer etc will i be having slippage issue? the last thing i want is the car going in the drink.

Its a heavy vehicle its GVM is 1450kg for a family sedan.

Can i expect problems?

thanks
steve

[joeT]

I've towed the stabi (about 1 tonne) with a 2L Subaru wagon (front drive) which is only rated to 1.2t. Had no problems but I stuck to good ramps and didn't retrieve at low tide. I find that front wheel drive cars, because the wheels are more up the ramp in the drier section, it makes up for the lack of overall traction that a rear drive would have.

Although I've never used a drive on trailer.

[wags on the water]

I think you will have problems, as all the weight will be on your non-driving wheels. The only experience I have towing with a front wheel drive car, was towing a car trailer (loaded with car) with a camry. Not proud to say I have done it but steering was extremely light and the power to the ground was...well...limited. So on a ramp - outgoing tide - you might have difficulties.
The other option is to invite mates to go fishing, and instead of sharing the bait, the favour for towing is enough.
Good luck to you.

Wags

[bigtez]

I would say that as long as there isn't excessive weight on the tow ball you should be fine. Being a front wheel drive could occasionally be an advantage cause you can have the driving wheels out where it is nice and dry without trying to launch the boat 6feet from the waters edge.

[squizzytaylor]

I think you will have problems, as all the weight will be on your non-driving wheels.


Wags I would think that the car trailer may have been possibly loaded to the front, On the above rig if set up correctly the towbar would only have 110kg of weight on it, a front wheel drive has most of its weight over the drive wheels (engine/gearbox) and therefore will usually have more traction.
Stevo, I know a guy who tows a 580 haines weekly with a 10 year old magna auto without issues and the car is a piece of crap, you should be fine.

Geoff

[LINZ_74]

Steve i agree with Geoff, i have an x-trail with front wheel drive and my boat and trailer weight 1150 kg and have never had an issue of loss of traction.
As long as you don't race to quick and take it steady i think you will be fine.

Lindsay

[Stevo25]

thanks guys,, yes i understand what guys mean with teh towball weight and i would never have over 100kg on a sedan on the towball.

thanks again

[squizzytaylor]

thanks guys,, yes i understand what guys mean with teh towball weight and i would never have over 100kg on a sedan on the towball.

thanks again

Steve, towball down-pressure should be 10% of the rigs total weight so in your case 10% of 1100kg = 110kg. Its when you go lighter you get the tail wagging effect and can also notice a significant decrease in your rear brake effectiveness on the tow vehicle.

geoff

[trueblue]

Use some wheel chocks behind the ca wheels when on the ramp retrieving the boat, helps for lighter vehicles.

Then just drive out slowly, try not to spin the wheels.

You will know soon enough.

Chers

Mick

[Nicko]

Relating to this....
Would it be possible to pull a 12ft tinnie behind a Honda Civic hatch which is also FWD?

[Brumby]

Stevo, I've done a lot of towing with a 3l Camry, pulling a Quintrex 5.2CC and a Haines 492, both a bit over 1000kg on the trailer. Never had a problem and sometimes even showed up the odd clown who thinks that a heavy right foot will work better on the ramp. Easy does it and crawl out.

As far as the so called 10% rule goes, use common sense, even the experts say it's a guideline. My tow ball supports about 80kg depending on how the boat is loaded and the rig tows very well. It was more like 30kg when I bought the Haines and that swayed for any little puff of wind or uneven road surface.

Have fun,

Cheers

[joeT]

Relating to this....
Would it be possible to pull a 12ft tinnie behind a Honda Civic hatch which is also FWD?

12ft tinnie would be about 200-300kg which could be easily towed by just about anything with an engine.

[Nicko]

12ft tinnie would be about 200-300kg which could be easily towed by just about anything with an engine.
Shit yeah, thanks mate 8-)