Can a Chevy Traverse pull a 242 on a trailer safely?

[CraigAR]

In Florida your trailer registration is the same as a title. It has a spot for bill of sale/transfer on it. Make sure he has the trailer registration with him so he can sign it over to you.

 

[Bluewater272]

Thank you @seanmclean, I will definitely will call my local Toyota dealers and check. I'm in Northern New Jersey and your dealer is close to Phili. I hope it's available in my area, if not, there's always enterprise.

Now my next challenge is to convince NJ MVC to title the trailer without a title or certificate of origin. My proxy in FL didn't think about it at the time of the sale, and seller claim (and I believe him) FL don't give out title for trailers this class. I'm pretty sure I am going to spend days in the DMV trying to solve this one.

NJ does not issue titles for trailers either, but you will need a notarized bill of sale (they are sticklers about the notarization).

 

[Coheeba]

I think you should just move to Flerida

I'm originally from Jersey shore and you can't beat the gulf coast of Flerida.

 

[Glen]

As opposed to renting a car each time to use your boat, or having to buy an appropriate tow vehicle immediately, consider storing your boat closer to where you boat. At least makes it a very short tow, or even as convenient at a 'boat-tel' where they launch it for you. Of course, a slip works well, as well, if you are comfortable with that. Slip with a lift???

Good luck-

 

[Murf'n'surf]

@Murf'n'surf I wonder if you could maybe shed some light on that? This is making me curious, the trailer registration is so different/state by state.

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CraigAR is correct that the Florida registration is the title.

 

[Hezi]

I think you should just move to Flerida

I'm originally from Jersey shore and you can't beat the gulf coast of Flerida.

I don't think my x wife would let me take the kids down there...

 

[Hezi]

Thank you fellas, look like I will fly down there and rent a one way. Easiest this way. All the best!

 

[PeterB]

@Hezi I used to live in NJ - when I registered trailers there, they were more worried about collecting the tax than seeing a title. Many states don't title trailers under certain weights, so that's not uncommon.
They wanted a "bill of sale" which could be hand written, but they wanted year of manufacture, manufacturer, vin number, and price paid, then signed by the seller. Enjoy the boat!

 

[Big Shasta]

Thank you @seanmclean, I will definitely will call my local Toyota dealers and check. I'm in Northern New Jersey and your dealer is close to Phili. I hope it's available in my area, if not, there's always enterprise.

Now my next challenge is to convince NJ MVC to title the trailer without a title or certificate of origin. My proxy in FL didn't think about it at the time of the sale, and seller claim (and I believe him) FL don't give out title for trailers this class. I'm pretty sure I am going to spend days in the DMV trying to solve this one.

It's true. There is no title for the trailer in Florida. Just a registration.

 

[Hezi]

BTW, I ended up renting a one way Tahoe from Miami to Newark. It was a cheap deal I found by a chance. I guess Avis needed them up here ($150 a week. $400 after insurance). I experienced hard swaying with the Tahoe and had to learn to work with it (more gas). Here I use my wife's Traverse and it is doing absolutely fine. The brake piston is not working properly so it is canceled. I am keeping longer braking distance. The car towing rating at 5200 lbs. The manufacturer always keep a large safety margin. I figure few hundreds lbs over for short distances is not a deal breaker.

 

[Hezi]

Just for anyone reading this and want more info. I've been using my wife Traverse long enough to report it is 100% doable and fine to trailer my 242 LS with it. Having a tow package is a must (I think). I never loaded the car with more than one passenger and gear. Even with full fuel tank, the car is always stable on the road. Never went more than 65-70 but this is more in consideration of the Yamaha cover that'll stretch in high wind than anything else. I hope this help

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

Did you get the trailer brakes figured out? When I'm forced to tow my 240 with my jeep the trailer brakes help unbelievably

 

[Hezi]

So get this, a good friend of a good friend was my proxy buying the boat in FL. When I took the boat from him, he advised me the trailer will "push, pull, and kick" and gave me his brake lockout key (mine was lost). At one point, the lockout key which we taped to the frame came ojt of place and I did feel the trailer working against me. I re-taped and the trailer was working with me again. That friend had his trailer's hitch arm welded to frame which canceled the brakes all together. He is pulling with a Tundra and I was pulling with a Tahoe at the time. Both vehicles have strong brakes capable of handling the load if you leave a little room for errors. I pulled my 242 from Miami all the way to Northern NJ with no brakes and it never occurred to me to get the lockout from its locked position.

Towing with the Traverse was a whole different story. First rides I had to go much slower and keep lots of braking distance from vehicles ahead of me. At times the Traverse could barely stop. I decided to remove the lockout and see what happens. Boy I'm glad I did. Suddenly I regained my privilege to a manageable braking speed and distance. So the trailer kicks and work against you at times. But this surg brake system helps. My brakes i suspect can get some woked done to them. I can back up against them. Car works harder, but the trailer move against the brakes. Even like that the surge disc brake on a single axle helps a lot.

I looked into electric over hydraulic but decided to hold for now

 

[octavio3311]

As long as your electrics are plugged in - the brakes will not apply themselves once you put the truck in reverse. You don’t need the lockout key.

Unplug it - then it will lock up the brakes if reversing up a hill or if hitting a driveway lip - if it feels any resistance.

 

[2kwik4u]

I personally despise Hydraulic "surge" brakes. I think they are a band-aid for a proper braking system. The nature of the system is inherently reactive instead of proactive leading to all kinds issues, especially in panic stop situations where they are needed most.

Choosing the right materials, processes, and components for electric brakes can easily allow them to survive the minimal time they spend under water, and provide a SIGNIFICANT increase in control and predictability when towing. If one is seriously concerned about running electric brakes and "dunking" them, then simply unplug at the ramp, or move to a more complex electric over hydraulic system. I won't keep surge brakes on anything I own. I put a set of electrics on my last trailer ('98 Rinker 182) to increase my safety margin when towing with a lighter vehicle.

I'm unsure what the previous owner of my wifes traverse pulled, but that vehicle came with an electric brake controller already installed. We haven't used it for anything though, as I've always had a larger vehicle when we needed to tow anything significant. I can tell you with a full load of people/fuel/cargo, and the AR190 in tow, it was more than the Traverse wanted. Running at 5k rpm up some of the local hills. It did it, but it wasn't happy about it with coolant and trans temps climbing the whole way. Glad the OP is having success though. Everyone has different comfort levels with their equipment.

 

[WetWillie]

This was the biggest thing that steered us to a 21 foot boat as we really wanted the 24; but would have exceeded the tow rating of our SUV even with an upgraded tow package with transmission cooler and upgraded cooling system our 21 foot still taxes the tow rating of a 5000 pound SUV. And we only travel 5 miles each way to our boat ramp and even with that I could tell it really pushes the vehicle capabilities. If you are not doing much beyond 10 to 15 miles you can get away with it but it is certainly not a comfortable experience to attempt a long haul with. I can’t really see adding 1200 pounds to what we tow with a similar vehicle set up. After the first few pulls to your destination, you will know if it’s suitable for the task...

 

[Tom in SC]

If I'm lucky enough, tomorrow I will be the owner of a 2015 242 limited s. The boat is in Florida, I'm in New Jersey. I'm planning to haul it up here, (and to the water for the next 2 years) with my wife's car; a Chevy Travers with a tow package. The car tow rating is up to 5200 lb (this number includes passengers, luggage, etc.). The boat and trailer dry weight is 5056. This is w/o fuel (50 gallons =300 lb), equipment etc.

Initially, I will be pulling it from Florida just myself. In the future, I'm planning to load the car with up to 8 passengers and pull the boat no more than 25 miles to the water . I realize I'm borderline with this car but I'm have no choice. Does
anybody on this forum have the experience pulling boat with a smaller SUV? 2017 Travers is one of the biggest SUV, not including the Tahoe class of SUV. Yet it has less tow capacity compared to other SUV.

Do you think I should be alright?