BIGGEST boat,,, SMALLEST tow vehicle...
 

Whats the most ridiculous (dangerous) towing scene you've seen...

I once saw a 30ft scarab being towed by a nissan pathfinder....

I once saw a 23 foot cruiser being towed by a kia sportage, with a 1-1/4 class 2 hitch..

I saw a twin engine 28 foot cruiser being towed by a dodge dakota

On I-4 about a year ago, my weekend trip was ruined by 2 1/2 hours of traffic caused by a jack-knifing incident.....

...Upper-20 to low-30 foot cruiser was pushing a bumper-dragging Isuzu rodeo!:mad: :mad: :mad:

NO JOKE,,,,
 

one time at the boat ramp, I saw a guy towing a 12 foot row-boat with a f-350 dually power-stroke. I guess this guy wasn't taking any chances...LOL

In Key West about 4 years ago, We watched as a old smallest ever built Nissan 2X4 truck tried to pull a 30ft trimaran sail boat out. He actually finally got it out once another truck tied to him and pulled.:D

Will

Dear old Dad
 

My Dad is not the sharpest mechanical person around and is also extremely optimistic.

A few years ago we were catching up on the phone (1400 miles between us) and in one breath he's telling me about the big block suburban being down and in the next breath he's telling me he brought the 25', 10' beam commercial fishing boat home for repairs too. Of course I was curious how he got it home- He towed about 160 miles from Cape cod to his home with his buddy's Datsun (not even Nissan yet) 4 banger pickup.

Yes, I chewed him out big time.

Of course he eventually upgraded- boats that is, to about a 9000 lb diesel inboard 28 footer. shortly thereafter the suburban is retired but I talk sense into him and he borrows his buddy's one ton dually when he needs to move the boat- until he buys a 302 powered 1/2 ton ford, gets in a pinch uses it once, it worked, now it starts becoming a habit.

I finally got him into a Cummins/Dodge after convincing him that he was destroying his otherwise pristine ford and was a liability to himself and others.

A few years back on the Garden State Parkway, I saw a guy towing a Top Gun with an early eighties Cadillac. The bumper was almost dragging, ad he was doing about 40 mph.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, people probably get a kick out of me towing our 16' Scout with my Excursion.

How about a friend of mine towing his 45' Sonic with triples behind his Expedition ? Short trip thank god !! About 1 mile .

Or another friend towing his mid 80's 40' fountain with 2-900's behind a toyota . He says it wasn't too bad .:D

Once I passed a newer Kenworth ,all decked out ,huge sleeper ,the works ! Pulling a about a 16' ranger bass boat !!:cool:

You should always have the right tool for the job !

Last summer, at the ramp, we watched a guy try to pull his two jet-ski's (1400 lbs worth) out with a Honda Civic.
He was smokin those front tires. We just sat back and chuckled.

HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY TOW A 40 FOOT FOUNTAIN WITH A
 

TOYOTA ?????.... that would be impossible.... In fact, I would pay money to seeeeee that.

i think i might win this one......

i tried to move my 27' scarab last year with my 4 wheeler(1986 honda fourtrax, still runs great!).....

lets just say the boat didn't move and inch and i almost lost a testicle.....

You're right Puder, you win, LMFAO! :D :D :D

i have moved my 25' checkmate with my polaris 500 four wheeler more than once no problem. have actually launched my 16' carolina skiff with it!

Not as bad as some of these stories, but worse in other ways... I towed my dad's 1979 30' scarab w/twin 454's about 3 miles with my 1991 Ford ranger stx 4x4 extended cab, using only a ball screwed into the bumper. I had a car follow me, to the ramp, and the parents were on vacation and never found out I borrowed the boat for the weekend, I was 17 or 18 at the time, thank god I knew what I was doing, and nothing happened to the boat, my dad would have killed me. I told him a few years ago, and he was still pissed. I just laughed at him, he's a cool guy, and he did things just like me when he was younger...

Little Crazy
 

Insane, I Know

Cougarman-
 

Here's what you need-

OK lets see, In Oklahoma I saw 2 guys and 2 girls in a Jeep Wrangler towing a Bayliner 2452 (this is a large cabin cruiser type boat). Talk about a religious experience.:o

You wimps. 19 foot Baja with small block IO. 10hp Allis Chalmers lawn mower. Ok so it was just around the yard.

Brian

Hey Cougar,,,,
 

I bet your using the bumper hitch on that one too,,, Right ?? LOL

Rob, that is just crazy,, lucky you didn't lose the boat and the truck... KIDS !!!

Puder,,,, LMMFAO... almost lost a testicle... :p

I used to tow my old 18 footer around the yard with my dads honda lawn tractor..... HINT ( thats why they call them TRACTORS),,,, worked just fine...

LOL, I can just remember my Dad in the driveway; smoking one rear tire on the Montgomery Ward 10hp Garden Tractor; trying to get traction, with his 1969 18' Imp, 305 SBC/OMC drive, on an all steel tandem axle tralier (with baby moon hucaps) in tow. All totalled, it had to be at least 4200#.

(Boat is 100% original; including original engine; 300 hours; pristine conditin, and for sale, BTW)

A couple of guys towing a 29 Profile to the Ozarks from KC with a Jeep Cherokee(not a Grand). They where doing about 45mph.

I pulled a Cafe Racer round trip to Havasu with an Expedition .... 650 miles.:(

Chris232
 

Chris232,

Actually my friend, it is a frame mounted pintle hitch. Like you would use on a Bulldozer trailer or any other HEAVY equipment. It's rated for more weight than what you see there ( Truck & Boat ). But I still didn't say it was the smartest.

Cougarman

lemme guess, you guys using expeditions to tow big boats are leasing right?:D

never buy a used expedition:D

Dazz Right ... I turned it in the next week and bought a F-350 CC SB SRW PSD ... everything is OK now.:cool:

Good Point!...Never buy a used vehicle that has a trailer hitch...You just never know.

------------------------------------


Almost forgot. There was guy that showed up at our marina one time not too long ago who was towing a 388 Slingshot with Lincoln Navigator...:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

AND THIS ONE TIME AT BAND CAMP !!!!
 

what happend Baja-Daze... Buuuuuddy.... :p :p :p :D

Bubba style
 

I'm lucky enough to live on the lake. My 25' Daytona stays on a lift in a "community" 12 slip covered dock.

I'm also lucky that the yard is gradually sloped to the water so I can launch in the yard- handy no doubt for cleaning, maintenance and filling up with 93 at automobile prices. Being a hydroelectric/corp lake the level really fluctuates...

At normal levels I can launch in 2wd in my 4wd Dodge due to the gravel type shore. When the water is up (like now) I use my Dana 60'd rock crawling jeep as the shoreline is grass, but can get pretty muddy, backing in is cake...

coming out I usually have to winch to a tree to get the whole thing moving- beats spinning mud on the boat. You guys probably think I'm nuts but it's close to an hour round trip towing to the nearest real boat ramp.:D

I'm sure my buddy wins this one!
 

I have a Kenworth T-600 that is converted into a 14' motorhome used to haul a 48' semi trailer with two pro stock cars inside.
My buddy and race partner wnted to go to the lake with his one stand up jet ski and used the Kenworth to pull it! It was freakin hilarious to see that tiny trailer behind that huge truck!!

I towed a 388 Slingshot with a 93 blazer k1500--(aka taho)

Re: AND THIS ONE TIME AT BAND CAMP !!!!
 

...And then there was this time, when this one guy and his friend this other guy pulled up with their brand new 50' Nor-tech that they were pulling with an Isuzu Pup. Geez, I thought...That's a lot of weight for that little truck. :confused: :confused:



LOL! Just Kidding...No really, I was just kidding. :D :D
I made that last one up just in case you were all wondering!


In all seriousness, that navigator had seen better days. It was dripping damn near every fluid that it could leak and was smoking ever so slightly. :rolleyes:

We bought a 201 Liberator from a guy who pulled it with a Mustang 5.0 5-speed. At the sea-trial he pulled the boat+trailer out of the water and you could smell the clutch burning. He had the boat a year and already had to replace the clutch once.

Well....

This isn't the largest or the smallest, but I would like to hear everyones opinion.

Z71 Tahoe Class V Hitch Load Bal, 3.73, 5.3 W/Blower ---- Towing a 32 Active Thunder V Hull.

This is just tempoary, the new truck was ordered this morning, but won't be here for six to eight weeks..... I know this is nuts, but I would like to be in the water shortly.

What do you think about Florida to Houston? Please I need some advice and not flames... LOL

Cheers...

Seen an MGB pulling a boat once before. Don't recall the boat type or size, just thay it was big enough to have a tandem axle trailer.

White knuckle ride
 

Codd- don't do it! That would be one white knuckle ride and the AT would be driving the tahoe. A lot of people get by with similar combo's with a short tow to the ramp but your looking at 40 hrs rt battling the crazies at highway speeds. You'd also be lucky to have a tranny left when you are done (Yes i know it's a pretty flat run) The 4L60E just is not rated to tow that much and with blower torque on the front end- the tranny would be the fuse.

You mention a class V hitch- isn't that 5k /500 lbs? tongue weight? You would definatly need a weight distribution hitch to safely pull the AT any distance. Good luck but stay safe!:eek:

Cat: I know its not wise :rolleyes: , that is why I think I am going to have it shipped. I am only going one way though, and it is a drive that I would love to make.

On the Class V hitch is rated for 10k/1700 tongue according to the specs. The tahoe already has a 5k hitch on it.

I am going to stay safe, that is my primary concern, if I do it, the tahoe will be upgraded, and I know the tranny is the weak link.

You need to see the tranny of a Corvette after a large does of Turbos and Gas. ;-) They are pretty much the same tranny, and mine withstood 35k miles under 626 RWHP :D

Hmmm....let's see here.........when I bought the Bayliner all we had to tow it with was a 1993 Z-34 Lumina....Hmmm.....23 footer tandem trailer..and boat weight of about 3300lbs....

Well we pulled a double ski trailer to this place with both skis....

Now the only problem with this is the boat was in Atlanta Georgia......and I live in Ormond beach Florida....

Luckily my parents lived about 10 miles from the marina where I got it.....Some interesting things were going through my mind as we made that 10 mile trip with the boat.......First off...well what's that funny smell???.....Oh that's just the transmission freaking out.....

Couldn't sleep all night worrying about it....:(

Got up in the morning and went straight to the gas station....filled those tires up to about 50 PSI......and then jennifer asked if the owner's manual had a towing limit in it somewhere..........

And to that I quickly ran to the glovebox and grabbed it before she could.....Oh it had one and it was about 1000lbs total....I just said "No Honey...can't seem to find it".......while quickly tearing the page out and throwing it away...

Now the funny thing here is.......we got on the highway and that damn car sat at 85 friggin MPH the whole way home........Couldn't F-in beleive it........

Now running the A/Cwas not an option........too which I was repeatadly told sucked very badly......:rolleyes:

I once seen a couple in Saginaw pull a Carver Cruiser about 30' long with an Astro mini-van. We had to help him push the thing out of the water the wheels were spinning so bad.

How about a Formula F357 -SR1 behind a Mercury Mountaineer?

About 25 years ago, my dad was in Miami and got a great deal on a then fairly new 27" Magnum w/twin small blocks. As you can remember, these were built very heavy, with a bi steel trailer. He pulled it all the way from Miami to NJ with a Buick-Electra 225. The car died not too long after the trip, but we had a great boat for the next two summers.

Had a buddy that pulled a 22 Glastron with 225Merc with a Chevetee! Went from Lansing to Grand Haven several times a month. He said it was not too bad but you had to keep it above 65 so the engine was tached out in 3rd else it han no power? Seen him do crazier things than that though.