Tow vehicle
 

Hey guys. I have an 88 311 sr1 that I tow with a 2013 ram 1500. Have 0 issues towing boat and have towed it for 4 hr trip. Want to get a Tahoe but towing rating is lower. Anyone tow a boat that is heavier them what they say towing capacity is?

I would not tow that boat with a Tahoe, I have a 2010 Yukon and have towed my 32' boat, probably 8,000 -8500 lbs a few time very short distances. The suspension is way to soft, wheel base to short, I replaced the shocks with RS 5000 and that made a huge difference but I would never take it on a highway, not worth it, buy an older 2500 suburban if you need the room.

I just bought an 02 F250 as a tow vehicle, felt like I was going to damage my wifes Yukon if I kept towing with it

Thanks for the info!

Literally thousands of posts of this topic over the past 14 years.

In a word: no.

You want "extra truck" for when shlt goes haywire like blown tires, hitch coupler comes apart, emergency stops, losing brakes. etc. etc. The last thing want to start a trip with is "negative truck".

It sounds like you have been lucky...
...so far.

The bigger the better. Wheelbase is the most important factor. You have way better control if something goes south. Just like a race car. You want a longer wheelbase. With a bigger heavier truck you get the bigger brakes, better shocks, bigger tires with a bigger load rating and not to forget the more it weighs, the less the trailer will want to push the truck around.

Agreed x 100

I can't imagine towing much more than my jet skis with my wife's tahoe. It just seems SO flimsy.

I towed my 30 Concept with it quite a bit and it was ok, I would guess that it's 6-6,500 lbs, all short distances. I think that is about the max for them.

Tahoes are for taking the kids to soccer, going to the grocery store, and towing a 19ft Lund aluminum. They are not for a old school 31ft twin engine offshore boat. :bigbird:

Have you considered an Excursion?

It's really about what you feel comfortable with, but when the chit hits the fan you insurance may not back you. I had a 88 311 and towed it with a Chevy 2500 6.0, it did ok but when I upped to the 6.6 duramax I felt like I could relax, not to mention the allison is a beast and helps stop the rig like nothing else. If you are I would suggest air bags the least and make sure you have dam good trailer brakes. Short trips you should be find, a liability, but fine anything else and your really asking for it. It's always better to be safe then sorry. Many get away with the minimum we see it every day. Just be smart about whatever you do.

After towing a 38 footer around with the same 6.6 2500, I could easily see myself getting by with a tahoe and 311, would it be right? Of course not but towing anything smaller then a 38 with a 9'6" beam would seem like a cake walk.

Powerful diesels of today, can lead to a false sense of security as they help you mentally think the truck is not struggling. Its not the engine we need to worry about from a safety standpoint. its the stability of the tow vehicle, that comes from suspension, wheelbase, tires, big brakes, and so on.

i've towed 31ft boats on poorly setup trailers, that towed worse than properly setup trailers under 38ft boats.

Funny you said that about trailer set up. My brother inlaw has a 26ft liberator and the trailer was shot. I towed it one time and couldn't believe how terrible it towed compared to my boat. My trailer is mint and boat tows like nothing behind my ram even being a half ton. The whole trailer set is mint but trailer also cost almost 10k. Really like the new tahoes but Prob end up keeping what I have.

ya like everyone has said, the tahoe is a bad idea, I gave up the tahoe with my 271 years back, went into a crew cab sierra, same powerplant but the wheelbase is what made the diff

To Mild Thunder. I do have an Excursion. It weighs just over 8K. Tows my Scarab III (11K) like it's not even there. Same story with my 28' enclosed trailer and Pro-Street Challenger. I had a '99 Surburban I converted to a duallie. Didn't tow as well as the 4 wheel Excursion. It's all about the tow vehicle weight. The more, the better.