Towing a 25 Outlaw
 

Just bought a 02 Chevy Tahoe with the 5300 V8 and 3.73 gears. The book says it's rated for 7400 lbs. Just wondering if anyone has this truck and tows a 25 Outlaw or similar and how it handles that load? I'm estimating the boat, trailer, gas at about 7000#. Just about the rated load. I don't plan to tow very often so it shouldn't be too hard on the truck. At least I hope not.

We have the same truck (1998), and we tow a 27' Baja Boss to all the APBA national events with no problems. The only thing we do is to add a little air to the rear tires.

I tow a 24 outlaw with a 95 tahoe every weekand I have no problems even with crappy trailer brakes.

We towed our outlaw 25 with a F-150 supercrew (2wd) w/ no problems. I think my new ranger will pull it w/o a problem. Just wouldn't want to go far. 7000lbs seems a bit heavy for a 25 considering a 342 comes in around 10,000. The brochure says 4500Lb. That big tahoe shouldn't even notice it back their.

I don't think it should be a problem, just make sure your brakes and trailer brakes are in order. Getting going is the easy part if you take it slow, stopping is the tough part when approaching your gvwr limit.

The 25 weighs 4750 dry and will probably come in at around 5500 with fuel, water, gear, and misc. stuff. Trailer can be figured at another 1500#, so you're right on with your estimate! :cool:

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Baja Daze ]

Good point Daze - I forget about the trailer weight.

Yeah I did too when I got my boat
I actually thought a 2000 ford explorer could tow a 30' baja loaded with crap
and a tri axle trailer

(Doh, need some more cough cough crack over here cough cough )

Anyway, Now I drive a FORD F350 Daily and
my trans am sits in the garage collecting dust and I am using about 1 gallon per 9 miles (ouch)
Main rule of thumb, wanna play, gotta pay

280 baja es = 30 feet + 185 gallons fuel+ equipment, + 2500 lbs for trailer,
coming in around 10000 10500 lbs ish
(want to go to a weigh station and see but they are ALWAYS closed on the highways)

Anyway -- Like these guys mentioned, Getting going is the easy part even though you might think oh crap im hurting my truck, wait until your going 60 some MPH on the turnpike and some a hole cuts you off and you have to slow down fast

Make sure your trailer brakes are working!!!
Best advice in this thread
Heed the warning, you dont want your boat laying on its side on a highway or hit someone with that amount of weight
dooms day for you and the other person
Good luck and your truck should be more than suited to pull your baja
Good luck again to you
Jason

Nice Boat-Nice Truck. I have a 1996 1/2 4x4 Z-71 Chevy w/5.7 Vortec/373's. I pull my '98 25' Outlaw with an 850lb Alum. tandem axle trailer w/surge brakes. It pulls it pretty good, however if I really trailered a lot, I would want a 3/4 ton truck. These guys are right about the brakes. Surge brakes work great, but if the trailer sits a lot, it will need frequent service. And that is important. I think you'll be fine. :D

I have a '99 Tahoe w/ the 3.42 gears (5500 lbs tow rating) and I pull our '97 232 Islander. I put one size larger tires on it (265-75-R16) which effectively lowered my gear ratio even more. I definately know the boat is back there. It stops well with the trailer brakes; however, I've got my foot in it pretty good on hills. Flat land it tows at 70 real nice. Love my Tahoe, but I can't believe it is only rated to tow 5500 lbs.

Thing some of you need to remember is that if you are exceeding your tow limit on your vehicle and you have an accident, the insurance company probably has a case to not pay. That could get real ugly when you start taling about replacing a boat at the bare minimum (not even talking injuries, etc.).

Luxy60,

I pull a 29' Outlaw with twin engines that ways about 10,000 with trailer. I pull it with a Ford Expedition with the Triton 5.4. It pulls it fine but wish I had bigger brakes. My buddy pulls his 25' Outlaw with a 2000 Chevy 1500 5.3 with no problems at all. In fact, his truck pulls my 29' better than mine.

My cousin used to pull their 342 with a suburban. The only problem they had was the back end wanted to walk at interstate speeds. The have move to a dually and have no complaints. Another friend of ours pulls his 47 fountain with a new chevy dually. People have argued with him that the boat is too big for a dually, till they see him pull the boat out of the water w/o a prob and go flying down the interstate with it in tow.

I tow a 240 Baja with the same engine and gears on my 2000 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton 4x4.

Just be sure to use the Tow/Haul mode exclusively while trailering and keep it out of overdrive. Let the rpm's run on up. You may spend a little more in gas, but at least you won't burn up your tranny.

Thanks, great info.. I don't plan to tow the boat all that much but I wanted to get a vehicle that could solidly tow the weight. The Outlaw is a heavy boat for it's size> With a trailer and fuel the weight adds up fast. I had a small Blazer previously, only rated for 5500# but I wouldn't attempt anything even close to that. The short wheel base and narrow stance just doesn't give a real solid feel on the HWY with any kind of load. I thought about a 2500HD but the Tahoe was much more practical/ comfortable and I love the truck. Could've also opt'd for the 4.11 gears and 8100# capacity but figured that would just be burning extra gas most of the time. Sounds like it should handle the 25 fine but not much more. Oh well, if I'm lucky enough to move up some day I'll worry about it then!!

MikeBaja232,

Might want to look at your gearing a little better. You said you put a larger tire size on and lowered you gear ratio a notch. You actually raised your ratio, or made it higher. This makes your rig work harder and reduces mileage.

Buck
#183

I would recommend installing an airbag setup on the rear. I did and WOW what a difference. You can add or subtract air as needed and have total control over the ride by adjusting for the load at that time. Really makes a difference on long trips with alot of gear. I installed Airlift brand with onboard compressor that is cockpit adjustable.

What most people aren't aware of, @ what the dealers don't want you to know { if they even know themselves} is that the manufacturers tow ratings are for dead level ground @ below 50 MPH NO expresway! Sometimes you can get a copy of the Manu. tow ratings from youre dealer { Not the brochure!}

Jason DO NOT take your boat and truck to a DOT scale. When you do this you have voluntarily went to the scale. If you are over your plated GVW you will get a ticket. If you are interested in knowing your GVW go to a truck stop they almost all have scales and they will not go over your rig and depending on the rules in your state you could end up in more trouble than you would expect. Every state law is diferrent but if you have commercial plates you are fair game for the DOT. Missouri for example requires a name on the side of your pickup with plates over12k and you are supposed to scale your vehicle even if you do not have anything attached. I transported horses all over the country and it is bad getting stopped at a scale. Don't believe that ignorance is bliss as you travel from state to state you need to know the regulations of each state. Forrest

Boat Weights?
 

Reading the responses, I guess I am not smoking some off brand @#$%^%, I run an '86 Force 280 w/t-SBC, it weighed in on a local grain scale @ 8600 dry on an aluminum tandem. This seemed heavy to me, but after surviving 8-12's on Erie during a run to PIB from Det, and a run back from Tawas in 6-8's, I guess weight can come in handy (Pulled w/2500 HD PU ext cab w/BBC, what a truck-80/85 mph loaded, great brakes, and 10 MPG)

I previously had a 24 Outlaw. I had the opportunity to tow this boat with 3 different vehicles.

1. - 1997 Dodge Ram 2500 with V-10 - It towed the 24 like there was nothing even back there.
2. - 1998 Dodge Dakota with 5.2-V8 - Did OK but had to install an air suspension in the rear to avoid major ass-drag. Also - this was a small truck so I had deal with the “tail wagging the dog” syndrome.
3. – 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.9-V8 - Didn’t do much better than the Dakota but at least it was a larger trunk so I didn’t have to deal with ass-drag or “tail wagging the dog”.

I now tow with a Ram 2500 Cummins. I still think the V-10 I had could out-tow this current truck but you can’t have a V-10 as an every-day driver. That’s why I have the Cummins. It’s great and I will never buy another gas truck.

I tow my 26' Boss 252 with a '99 Chevy Tahoe, 5.7L and it tows fine. The boat sat a little too far forward on the trailer when I got it (the bunks were sticking out about 6" in the back). I moved the bow stop back on the trailer to get the boat to sit all the way back on the bunks and then it started swaying at speeds over 65. Not enough tounge weight. If you have a problem with your trailer swaying on the highway, try moving your bow stop forward a little to add more tounge weight. The next step for me is to move the bow stop back again and also move the axles back the same amount. That should put the boat on the trailer in the right place and not remove any weight from the tounge. The dealer should have set the trailer up right in the first place but I wanted my boat right away and didn't leave them much time to set up the new trailer. When I bought the boat it didn't have a trailer so I had to buy one (the boat was used). Maybe I'll just take it back to them and have them do it right...:rolleyes:

Boss,
The 25 Outlaw should be close to the 252 as far as trailering goes. My buddy has a 99 Tahoe and he has a slightly lower max. trailering weight than my 2002 (same gears). Probably cause of the slightly higher HP on the 2002. I think his is 245 vs. 285 for the 2002.

What type, weight capacity trailer did you buy? I've been looking at South Florida, Loadrite, and Loadmaster. All three aluminum, bunk, dual axle with surge brakes, 6000 - 6400 lbs capacity.