Well that must suck.


Seriously, unless you plan on hauling your boat 75% of the time or better, stick with the 1/2 ton. Save on gas, maintenance costs, and ride. That's not a heavy boat by any means. You start hauling a boat with twins, or multiple bedrooms and we'll talk 3/4 ton or 1 ton.

Just my $.02.... don't take offense.

I have a 25 OL and pull it fine with 1/2 ton truck. I have pulled it 13 Hours from NJ to MI with NO issues and about every weekend pull it 2 hours to and from the cottage, still no issues. Bigger is better but not necessary in this case.

Thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it.

now, not to poop on chevy because of all the wonderfull power we have for the marine industry from them but... i am a ford tech. i had a chevy before making the transition to a ford store. i swore i would never sell it. it was a 1998 gmc sierra 1500. it did everything i needed. i kept it in tip top shape. so i get a baja outlaw 24 in 07 and im pulling up a hill and snap pop crash. my driveshaft is laying on the ground with the pinion still hooked to it. i locked it into 4x4 and limped it home on the front axle (i threw the driveshaft in the bed). anways the ring gear sheared from the carrier and the pinion bound and broke. i replaced the gearset but i got out my measuring tape. the ring gear is 8.5 inches. a ford explore has a 8.8 with a v6. almost standard on the f-150 is the 9.75 and i got a superduty f-350 SRW. it is also a 4x4 and a diesel. and i still know the boat is back there. but instead of getting 7-8 mpg pulling on the highway at 65 i can run 70 75 and get 15mpg (with a few mods) if you are going to pull 5000lbs make sure your truck can handle 10000. nothing exceeds like excess. chevy has a good hd1500 with a 14 bolt and their duallys have an even bigger axle too. dodge and ford are just heavy built big axled machines. that truck is still on the road today though. it has 198000 on it and still looks great!

I pulled for years with a 150 shortie hi po v8 38'' tires was great, also now have a v8 limited explorer great. my co van e250 was so so.I will go back to a pick up if the wife trades her explorer, was going to use the sahra but a wrangler even beef up is , just good for the yard.

We're pulling our 26 Outlaw with a 1997 GMC Suburban, half-ton, 2-wheel drive, towing package. Given that we're right at the top end of the tow rating I probably wouldn't recommend it, but it does fine towing our boat up and down the hills in central KY. We have limited slip and haven't so much as spun a tire pulling up a steep, wet ramp. 4wd would be nice, but does reduce your towing capacity and IMO isn't a deal breaker. So long as you have limited slip you'll be fine with 2wd unless you get on soft, wet ground (speaking from experience here).

A 3/4 ton 4wd truck would be ideal if you're truck shopping, but a 1/2 ton truck will do the job.

I pull my 25 Outlaw with a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500. No problem at all. Picked up the boat in dubuque and towed it to northern Illinois.

I tow my 24 Outlaw with a 2007 Nissan Titan. Tows it pretty good.