Towing a 246 br

[cettialpha6]

  Has anyone with a 246; weighed the boat, trailer, gear and gas ? What is your vehicle and what's its tow rating? I know the dry weight is around 5200lbs. for the boat.

[Scurvy Dawg]

I haven't weighed my 246 R2 but I'm betting it's well over 7000 lbs loaded. I'm guessing closer to 7500 lbs.

Boat 4950#
Wakeboard Tower 350#?
Gear 300#
Gas 350# (40 gals)
Trailer 1500#?
Total 7450 lbs

I pull with a 2004 Expedition with the 5.4L with 4x4 and tow package. Rated at 8650 lbs. 4 + passengers, AC on, and loaded for fun.  I can run at 72-74 on flats in Illinois but in the Missouri Ozark Hills she bogs down to 50-55.  

Tried a Flashpaq to increase HP for towing - big pulling power difference but got about 9 mph   and constant shifting.

Run with factory specs with overdrive on, get 12-13 mph and minimal shifting. Tows best at 68-70.

Like the boat with 350 Mag MPI, wish I had just a little more HP and more sunny days on the water.

[cettialpha6]

  I tow with 08 Tundra truck crewmax 4x4 rated for 10K lbs with a towing package. I have a 4runner all wheel drive with a towing package rated for 7500 lbs, I thinking of trying to use the 4 runner this season. I was trying to gauge what others are towing the 246 with.

[SKICREW]

I tow with 08 Tundra truck crewmax 4x4 rated for 10K lbs with a towing package. I have a 4runner all wheel drive with a towing package rated for 7500 lbs, I thinking of trying to use the 4 runner this season. I was trying to gauge what others are towing the 246 with.

You didn't say how the tundra handles the boat. I have the same truck and have money down on a 246 but am worried that my truck won't handle this huge boat..
let me know how you like the tundra towing the 246, average milage towing, and if you have any performance mods on the truck.
Thank you for your time.

[ED3303]

We tow with a 2005 Expedition 4wd w/ 5.4 engine.  Have never had any problem whatsoever.  I also have a 2006 Grand Cherokee Ltd with 5.7 Hemi.  This is rated for 7200#.  I haven't towed with it yet but am anxious to try it this Spring.  I am betting that for short hauls it will do fine but may add a w/d hitch if necessary.

Skicrew, you will have NO problem with your rig.  I borrowed a Tundra for one short trip just to see what it was like.  It was a great tow, you'll love it!

[Scurvy Dawg]

SKICREW,
If you have money down with a dealer in Denver, ask them about the BIII gear case ratio. There is a specific setup for altitude, probably the 1.84:1.

My boat came loaded, trim tabs, etc. but not Perfect Pass. Sure wish I had it. My 246 R2 has the 24 pitch propset which is pretty good for pulling boarders. Even with low end performance of the 24s, consistent boat speed (19 mph) is hard to maintain for wakeboarding with the kids.  I beleive the mainline 246 BR runs the 26 propset for better high end. At any rate, Perfect Pass would be great for our normal use for kneeboards and wakeboards. My kids would be happier as i'm constantly bumping the throttle to maintain RPMs and speed.

Where will you be boating around Denver? Not many big lakes out there along the front range. My cousins run on a little ski lake just south of Denver.

Anyways, you'll the 246 R2!!

[SKICREW]

SKICREW,
If you have money down with a dealer in Denver, ask them about the BIII gear case ratio. There is a specific setup for altitude, probably the 1.84:1.

My boat came loaded, trim tabs, etc. but not Perfect Pass. Sure wish I had it. My 246 R2 has the 24 pitch propset which is pretty good for pulling boarders. Even with low end performance of the 24s, consistent boat speed (19 mph) is hard to maintain for wakeboarding with the kids.  I beleive the mainline 246 BR runs the 26 propset for better high end. At any rate, Perfect Pass would be great for our normal use for kneeboards and wakeboards. My kids would be happier as i'm constantly bumping the throttle to maintain RPMs and speed.

Where will you be boating around Denver? Not many big lakes out there along the front range. My cousins run on a little ski lake just south of Denver.

Anyways, you'll the 246 R2!!

The 246 we have money on is getting the perfect pass system installed! I had to have that opton. It also has the trim tabs so I can lower the nose when towing at the lower speeds. It is geared properly for the altitude, although I am not sure what the ratio is. 1.84:1 sounds familiar!
How do you like the wake behind this boat? What length rope are you running? Any luck on the 4 blade propset for the bravo III?
We plan on towing alot! Although we will be doing some after work outings to the local spots like cherry creek and chaatfield, Hoursethooth,  McConaughy on the weekends and powell for the longer trips.

[Scurvy Dawg]

SKICREW,
I'd love to have the Perfect Pass. We run with a 65' rope. At 45 (yrs not mph) I can get some pretty good air and clear the wake, maybe enough for a hand grab. There's not enough beer for flips, moguls and double diamonds maybe, but not flips. My kids are about ready to try, yeah right, although they snowboard and are getting pretty good at flips on a trampouline. I'm interested in trying to wakesurf though. At low speeds of 7-10 mph, it kicks up a monster wake with a pretty smooth face about 12-15 behind the boat. Hang ten!

When wakeboarding, I rarely use the trim tabs as they create a messy wake. Just leave them neutral (up) and you've got a pretty nice wake at 19-20. Once you're up at 12-13 the bow drops nicely, unless you're really loaded. Then move the babes up front. Mostly use them for cruising. We've been out in a nice Tige and watched their teenage boys do the fliipin tricks. I think the 246 has a taller wake than the Tige with ballast. A good athlete could do some nice tricks behind the Rinker R2 as advertised.

I'll tryout the 4 blade BIII propset this spring at Lake of the Ozarks. I'm sure it will improve performance.

The 246 R2 is a great boat. Is that Lake Powell? Oh yeah, get the bow filler cushions. Ours are always in. We made a backrest cushion for more forward seating in the bow.

[SKICREW]

I'd love to have the Perfect Pass. We run with a 65' rope. At 45 (yrs not mph) I can get some pretty good air and clear the wake, maybe enough for a hand grab. There's not enough beer for flips, moguls and double diamonds maybe, but not flips. My kids are about ready to try, yeah right, although they snowboard and are getting pretty good at flips on a trampouline. I'm interested in trying to wakesurf though. At low speeds of 7-10 mph, it kicks up a monster wake with a pretty smooth face about 12-15 behind the boat. Hang ten!

When wakeboarding, I rarely use the trim tabs as they create a messy wake. Just leave them neutral (up) and you've got a pretty nice wake at 19-20. Mostly use them for cruising. We've been out in a nice Tige and watched their teenage boys do the fliipin tricks. I think the 246 has a taller wake than the Tige with ballast. A good athlete could do some nice tricks behind the Rinker R2 as advertised.

I'll tryout the 4 blade BIII propset this spring at Lake of the Ozarks. I'm sure it will improve performance.

The 246 R2 is a great boat. Is that Lake Powell?

yes lake Powell, it will be a long friday night drive, but what the heck I'll sleep on the boat in the sun with a beer in hand on saturday
I will be waiting on your reviews of the 4 blade propset!!!!
We really want to make the trip to Ozarks this summer, can you reccomend a nice lake front place to stay? Maybe a place where we can keep the boat in the water for the week?
Your boats color palet is beautiful! If I had the money to order a brand new boat I would have picked the same colors! Awesome!

[Scurvy Dawg]

SKICREW,
No idea for a place, maybe Inn at the Grand Glaize, 2 miles from Party Cove. Centrally located. Public ramp around the corner. We stay at a friends house right by there. Check out  www.midwestboatparty.com. It's dedicated mostly to gofast boats at Lake of the Ozarks. There's some condo links on there.

I'd love to do a houseboat vacation at lake powell, mead, or havasu. Been to mead and havasu by car. The water looks great.

[cettialpha6]

 :cool:You didn't say how the tundra handles the boat. I have the same truck and have money down on a 246 but am worried that my truck won't handle this huge boat..
let me know how you like the tundra towing the 246, average milage towing, and if you have any performance mods on the truck.
Thank you for your time.

The truck handles the boat great, avg mileage towing +/- 12 and I have the towing package option. I may get a Sequioa this spring with the same performance features as the crewmax. The admiral is employed by Toyota fyi

[Dan&Darci]

SKICREW, we boated on LOTO for three years.  Your best bet for a place to stay is to either check out MidwestBoatParty.com and search on condo rentals, or just google Lake of the Ozarks condo rentals.  You can get any size condo you need for as long as you need, with a covered slip, for a very reasonable price. 

I'd suggest planning on doing your boarding during the week as the lake on the weekends is incredibly rough for watersports.  There are some secluded coves that aren't so rough, but on the weekends they're usually full of cruisers on the hook.

It's well worth the trip, you'll have a ball!  Let me know if you have any questions....

[franchrm]

We tow our 246 BR with a 2004 sequoia with OD off.  No problems.

[nhsd]

We tow with a 2005 Expedition 4wd w/ 5.4 engine.  Have never had any problem whatsoever.  I also have a 2006 Grand Cherokee Ltd with 5.7 Hemi.  This is rated for 7200#.  I haven't towed with it yet but am anxious to try it this Spring.  I am betting that for short hauls it will do fine but may add a w/d hitch if necessary.

Skicrew, you will have NO problem with your rig.  I borrowed a Tundra for one short trip just to see what it was like.  It was a great tow, you'll love it!

I have an F150 with the tow package. The truck is rated for 9,000+ lbs. for towing. However, the hitch on this (and on all of these trucks and SUVs as far as I can tell) is only rated for 5,000 lbs. without a weight distributing hitch attachment. Even the Class IV drawbars and the 2" balls with the big stud are usually only rated for 5,000 lbs. towing and 500 lbs tongue weight. While I personally am not a stickler for these ratings, as I assume they are very conservative, I am not sure that I would routinely go 50% over the max rating (i.e. 7,500lbs) without w/d, especially if I were going to be going on a lot of hills/mountains or if the roads at the launch are rough.