Towing question

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BigDawg148

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I am looking into buying a boat. Center console around 20ft. I have a 2015 Crew Cab 2 wheel drive. Any problems towing and pulling it out of the water. I don't think I will have an issue. Just seeing what you guys think.
 

init6

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Really depends on the weight of the boat and trailer. But, 20 footer shouldn't be all that heavy. Towing it will be easy. Getting it out of the water shouldn't be a problem either unless you have the rear wheels submerged.
 

zeddy

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or algae on the ramp. slicker than ice.
 

mowin

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I think it depends on the weight of the boat. A fiberglass boat is going to weight more than a aluminum.

The condition of the ramp, and steepness. I witnessed 2wd rigs having a hell of a time climbing out of a boat launch. Even seen a few needing to tug. And to be fair, a 4x4 that, well, don't know what happened, but she was submerged.
 

Farmer Fran

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Admittedly I have seen more 2wd pull thier boats out than not. BUT I can tell you the number of times I have seen another truck pulling a 2wd out of a boat ramp is a lot.

Check the ramp before you drop off. As stated above.

A guy a work uses a front hitch. Not sure how well that works but I have never heard him complain.
 

MADDOG

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Need weights (boat, trailer, GVW, tongue)

Axle ratio

Then calculate your total loaded/hooked weight (truck, fuel, passengers, gear, boat, trailer) and check that against your vehicles GCVWR specification.
 
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BigDawg148

BigDawg148

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Sorry guys for not following up. The total dry weight of the boat and trailer are going to be around 3500 lbs. Dont know tongue weight yet.
 

init6

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Sorry guys for not following up. The total dry weight of the boat and trailer are going to be around 3500 lbs. Dont know tongue weight yet.



Rule of thumb is figure 8-10% for tongue weight. So right now you can guesstimate 350.
 

69GWC

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You can pull that easy enough, but getting it out of the water just depends on your tires, any weight in the bed and what the boat ramp conditions are like.
 

bcbouy

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my best friends dad used to pull his 27 foot cabin out with his station wagon. my other buddy pulls his 26 footer out with a 2 wheel drive suburban.you don't need a dually with 800 ft/lbs to pull out a 20 ft. boat.my wifes cx 5 could probably do it.
 
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WillDiver

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That dry weight isn't accurate. Count fuel, gear, cooler. And when retrieving, everything is wet.
I used to pull my 17' with my V6 Jeep Liberty, over the grapevine. You should have no issues, unless the ramp is too slick.

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Shrfdeputy

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I have a 2013 1500 2WD with 3.55 gears and tow a lot. Out of the 55k miles on my truck I have had a trailer hooked up over 20k of that. Most of my towing is for business rather than pleasure, but I can tell you my truck just completed a 3100 mile run to CA and back with a vehicle on my trailer both ways and I was super impressed.

I had never towed a boat with my truck until last year when my friend's truck broke down. I went and picked up his Cobalt 226 that supposedly weighs around 5500# with the trailer. We had 6 people in the cab and I literally did not know the boat was back there. A lot of that had to do with superb balancing on a top notch trailer.

I've read the horror stories people have posted on here about 2wd pulling boats up slippery boat ramps. Let me tell you...it was not an issue. NOT. ONE. BIT. The tires didn't even act like they were going to spin, and that was after I almost fell on the ramp because it was so slick. The truck ripped that boat out of the water like it was taking off from a stop light.
 
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