Anyone tow their rig with their car?

[baseball_guy_99]

I remember seeing a post one time about people pulling their boats with their cars. But I couldn't find it.

So just wondering who out there tows with their car.

I have a 2006 Chevy Malibu. 4dr LS 4cylinder. Boat is a 14/48 with plywood floor. 2 batteries, gas tank, and a 25hp Johnson. I won't be towing far...15 miles, mostly interstate. I don't think I'll have a problem.

What do you guys think?

 

[JamesM56alum]

As you'll see in this topic there are ALOT of different opinions, i personally wouldnt and i suggest people dont.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=23354

 

[LonLB]

This was our van a couple winters ago.

My brother in laws car. He still has it, and tows a pop up camper with it too.




He towed it down the highway 2 hours away to his house.


I think pulling a boat with a car is fine, as long as the car is built stout enough to handle the weight.

 

[baseball_guy_99]

I just have no other option. Can't afford to drive a truck or SUV...I have a 45 mile commute to work. My fiancé drives a Cobalt and she has a 35 mile commute to work. I used to steal my dads truck but we live 2 hours from my parents now.

So just trying to figure out how to tow my boat.

 

[earl60446]

I used to tow my 14ft lund, trailer, motor and all gear with my chevy prizm, 1.8 liter 4 banger, did it for ten years, no problem at all. So keep the speed down, make sure your car and trailer is maintained properly, get a good hitch. You should be fine.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I towed with a 1988 Porsche 924S once or twice. The car had no issues.

 

[THEABEXPERTS]

I towed with a 1988 Porsche 924S once or twice. The car had no issues.

HAAAHA! I thought i was the only guy with a 924 and a tow hitch! I cant believe it!




As for towing with a car, No problem! I own a body shop and see no problems with towing that boat with your car. Just be safe. If someone rear ends your car will protect you from the impact, your car has a long enough wheelbase for stability, your brakes are more than adequate and having a tow bar on the back will act as a cross member adding strength to the uni-body. I use a 10 ton chief frame machine to straighten uni body cars on a weekly basis and believe me, the rear structure is plenty strong enough to tow with. I hauled a piano and an air compressor from phoenix to Dallas with my old nissan maxima. Also used the maxima to haul my sandrail to the dunes for two years without incident.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I towed with a 1988 Porsche 924S once or twice. The car had no issues.

HAAAHA! I thought i was the only guy with a 924 and a tow hitch! I cant believe it!
SCCA?

 

[LonLB]

I towed with a 1988 Porsche 924S once or twice. The car had no issues.

HAAAHA! I thought i was the only guy with a 924 and a tow hitch! I cant believe it!
SCCA?

I towed a trailer with this some....Just tires/jack/a few tools.
Stupid thing broke enough and changing tires on a paved lot in the middle of summer sucked enough that I started trailering it....Lots more expensive that way though. When this was taken I had taken the hitch off

 

[great white]

Well, I have just a "little bit" of experience towing.

Here's our current "heavy" rig:

my truck doesn't even know my 12' tin is back there when I tow it!

As to your setup, I don't think it's a problem.

You have to try and stay within your vehicle ratings.

This will be in the owners manual.

Most FWD sedans are somewhere around 1000-1500 lbs rated.

A 14 ft boat and trailer that isn't loaded to the gills should be under that rating. Thus, fairly easily towed with your setup.

Getting up and down oat ramps might be a different story though....wet, slippery, getting the boat and trailer deep enough in the water to float without dipping the back of the car, etc....

The thing most people don't realize about tow ratings is it's not just about what you can get moving.

The rating is also in reference to how much your brakes can safely stop and what the chassis will handle for extra stress. The OEM's also take into account cooling and fluid capacities in consideration of how long your vehicle will live pulling a certain weight. Generally, the "how long it will live" part is so they can be sure you don't come back before the warranty is up......... :evil:

Also, make sure your hitch (specific to the car) is rated for the tongue weight your trailer will put on it. You'll probably max out at a class II or III, which should be more than adequate for your boat.

Have fun!

 

[dahut]

Towing with a car, in your case a Malibu? Heck yeah - you can do it. Like the song says, "...If you cant be with the one you love - love the one you're with!"

Here's what another owner had to say about doing exactly what you propose:

"Towing with the 4 cylinder, 4 speed tranny....
I have a Yamaha waverunner. The weight of it is less than 700lbs., with fuel. Then the trailers weight is 150+/- lbs.
Acceleration is fine and well within an acceptable range from red light to red light. I could barely notice a difference while pulling the ski. Getting on the interstate while using the on ramp, I could tell that I was using more of the gas pedal but still had some power left if I needed it. On the interstate at 60-75 mph was fine and had no problems passing other vehicles as I needed. It'll take a little longer though. Still no worries. Over all the car never felt like it was stressing to get the job done.
Braking with the jetski was perfect. The brakes on the car could easily stop a lot more weight than a single jetski and trailer. I could hardly tell any difference at all.
All in All, the 4cylinder Malibu has no problems pulling my jet ski and trailer. Please take into factor that I live in Florida and we have no hills here, just bridges."

Uh oh, there's a problem - this guy had a jet ski, and you are talking about a fully loaded boat.
Hmmmm... boat towing with your Malibu strikes me as something you shouldn't get comfortable doing. The tranny and drive system in these cars is not designed for it. In fact, The Malibu is the one car in Chevy's line up for 2006 that is devoid of a tow rating! The Malibu MAXX has a rating, but not the regular Malibu. Launching and recovery are also a separate can of worms.... and that is the point of towing the boat, after all.
The Malibu is a decent bread-and-butter car, in my opinion, and I wouldn't mind having one. But keep in mind that's what it is - a passenger car. Will it hold up to a boat? For occasional trips, probably. But, you should take the other recommendations and beg, borrow or steal a beater truck as soon as practical.

 

[Popeye]

Used to tow my dad's 14' fiberglass double hulled boat with a Volvo 242DL at highway speeds up to Fremont, WI (175 miles one way) to go White Bass fishing a couple times a year and to Lake Michigan (10 miles) quite a bit. Never had a lick of problem with that and it was a 4 banger.

 

[great white]

Used to tow my dad's 14' fiberglass double hulled boat with a Volvo 242DL at highway speeds up to Fremont, WI (175 miles one way) to go White Bass fishing a couple times a year and to Lake Michigan (10 miles) quite a bit. Never had a lick of problem with that and it was a 4 banger.

A flying brick and a Malibu are two very different beasts...

 

[Deadmeat]

I towed my Grumman 1542 for 13 years behind a 1985 Honda Civic 4-banger. Never had a problem other than replacing the clutch once, which might have happened anyway. Right now I'm towing my G3 1544 behind my 2003 Honda Civic and it works just fine.

 

[bassboy1]

This was our van a couple winters ago.

My brother in laws car. He still has it, and tows a pop up camper with it too.




He towed it down the highway 2 hours away to his house.


I think pulling a boat with a car is fine, as long as the car is built stout enough to handle the weight.

Come on, a Crown Vic has a frame and a V8. That doesn't count as a car. :lol:

 

[PATRIOT2]

Go for it . . . run what you brung . . . . I towed my 1462 Lowe Superior all over Arizona and to South Padre Island and back with a 1995 Saturn SL2 5-spd 1.9L . . . . before that I used a 1989 Ford Escort Pony . . . never had an issue.

 

[Jay D]

Well I had 2 different vehicles to pull my 14' richline. One was a 1990 toyota corolla with a 1.6l engine and the other was a 1984 toyota vanwagon with a 2.0l engine. Both were GUTLESS wonders, especially the van, But both did the job adequately. both hitches were bolt to the rear bumper style rated at 100lbs tongue weight and 1000lb rating. I never towed faster than 60mph and I always gave myself plenty of time to stop, change lanes etc. In other words I drove like a old man. The ramps can be tricky but just be careful and scout out the ramp BEFORE you launch. If you do it right you will be fine. Just maintain your car(brakes, oil etc) and dont overload it or the trailer with useless stuff.

 

[baseball_guy_99]

I take the bare minimum with me when I fish. Small cooler, gas, batteries, motor, and some tools.

The hitch I'm looking at is rated 350lbs tongue weight and 3000lbs towing. I can lift the tongue of my trailer with one arm so I know that sucker does not weigh 350lbs. I would guess at most my whole rig weighs 850-900lbs.

Our plan is to get a truck/SUV as soon as our cars are paid off in roughly 2 years. I will be towing the boat no more than 2 times a week through the spring and summer.

 

[great white]

This was our van a couple winters ago.

My brother in laws car. He still has it, and tows a pop up camper with it too.




He towed it down the highway 2 hours away to his house.


I think pulling a boat with a car is fine, as long as the car is built stout enough to handle the weight.

Come on, a Crown Vic has a frame and a V8. That doesn't count as a car. :lol:

Crown Vic only "sort of" has a frame.

The frame relies on the body to give it full strength in a crown Vic.

It's a cross between a full frame car and a unibody....