NEED TOWING ADVICE** My first boat 93 Captiva 209 Cuddy 5.7 350

[Jessica]

Hello everyone, I am hoping all you experienced boat owners can help point me in the right direction!  :) I am picking up my first boat this weekend and want to be 100% sure I will be able to tow it safely. I looked up the weight of the boat online and its around 2,600 lbs. From what I understand that is quite different from the actual weight on the trailer with fuel in the tank. Trailer is a full roller shorelander. I have a newer jeep wrangler unlimited sahara that can tow 3500 lbs. I have quite a drive to get it home and it is mostly highway. My other option is a Tahoe which I know is perfectly capable of towing the boat.. The catch is that the Tahoe has larger after-marker wheels and I do not know if that could be a risk? The tires are low profile and the tread is starting to get a little on the slim side but still have a decent amount of tread. Will the wheels effect my ability to stop the boat safely?

Also any pointers for a new boater & fellow soon to be Rinker owner are welcome!! Thanks so much!

[Vuja De]

If it were me, I would use the Tahoe hands down.  The Jeep wranglers are nice, but you don't want to tow anything with one.  The wheel base is too short, brakes are small, and so on.

That set up won't be bad for the Tahoe to haul, even with less than perfect tires.

[Lifes Good]

I have a Yukon with low profile 22's.  Much better handling and stopping while towing.  Your Jeep will do fine with short hauls to the launch but for long huals you need the extra weight and handling of the Chevy hands down.

LG

[bat32]

If it were me, I would use the Tahoe hands down.  The Jeep wranglers are nice, but you don't want to tow anything with one.  The wheel base is too short, brakes are small, and so on.

That set up won't be bad for the Tahoe to haul, even with less than perfect tires.

Ditto, and welcome aboard!

[AlexisandChad]

I also agree with using the Tahoe.  Even with a setup like it being dropped to the ground with low profile tires would still be more capable for the towing.  My .02

[CampCobb]

The unlimited Jeep is better than the regular Jeep since it has the longer wheelbase, but only tow it under 45mph and keep a 8sec. following distance from the vehicle in front of you. The gearing of the Jeep will get it moving just fine but its the stopping distance that you should be aware of. For the long tow, use the Tahoe.

[pepmyster]

Tahoe, My 2 cents also. Welcome aboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[alswagg]

I have towed 232's with our old CJ7 with 33's  Not too bad but stopping was questionable sometimes.  What size tires are on the Tahoe?  Does the Jeep have a reciever hitch which is frame mounted?  If you feel better in the Tahoe go for it.  Probably a better combination for the first time anyways.  Good luck Al

[marc232]

Hi, You can pull almost any boat out there with a Ford Ranger if you'd like, it's all about the gearing. The problem is not the pulling, it is the braking and being able to keep the trailer on the road in the event of an emergency. A jeep can pull way more then 3500 pounds but being able to safely stop in a hurry or deal with a trailer that might have a flat and pulling is a different story. I've seen ppl with Dodge Dakota's pulling 20+ ft boats down the road, sure they have the motor and the gears to do it. But when you see them backing down the boat ramps and that boat just drags that little truck down the ramp because it doesn't have the weight to counter act the boat it's kind of scary. Me personally I would never pull anything longer then 16 with anything smaller then a 1/2 ton. just think, your cruising along the highway in your jeep pulling your boat just fine, someone cuts you off so you jump on the brakes. Now you have a boat/trailer that weight in around 2900lbs  pushing a vehicle that comes in at 4300lbs, first your rear tires get lite so there goes 1/3 of your breaking force,no the front can handle the extra but your back end can try to swing around past the front leaving you jack knifed in the middle of the highway wrecked. Now this is something that prolly wouldn't happen but it can, and I do see it happen alot in the winter with  1/2 tons pulling 6 place enclosed snowmobile trailers and thing. Oh yeah dont forget about cross winds, do you thing a jeep has enough to it to keep and trailer that gets hit by a strong cross wind from pulling it where the trailer wants to go?

But this is all only my opinion

[Lofty]

Overlooked in the foregoing is the excessive build up of heat in the transmissions of 'both' vehicles. Either standard or automatic. For long distance , highway traffic speeds you should have an aftermarket. transmission cooler (Radiator/heat exchanger) installed. Not particularly expensive, particularly in the US of A. If not stop frequently for cooling.... Cheers

[Shaun]

Go with the Tahoe, you will be much safer on the road and at the ramp.

[kleake]

I have a 97 182 with the 4.3l and pull it with my jeep cherokee and my suburban.  The jeep does ok for the short haul and when we camp, the suburban pulls the camper and the jeep pulls the boat.  I can tell you, the suburban is MUCH better.  When I pull the boat with the suburban, stopping is not much different than unloaded, and also handles much better.  The boat likes to push the little jeep all over the place, and stopping is a pretty good chore.  Now I do have a 4" lift and 32" tires, but thats only a couple of sizes bigger than stock.  The jeep is always behind the suburban with the camper because of this.  Bottom line, the jeep will work, but the Tahoe will be a much better tow vehicle power wise, handling wise and the most important,,,, brake wise....