What do you use to tow your boat?

[Geiger41]

I have a 4 door Wrangler Sahara.....cant tow with this lol only rated for 3500 max.....boat plus accessories, plus gas plus trailor is probably around 4500/5000. Luckily I only have to borrow my boys Nissan pickup a few times a year to launch and to take out for the winter. I keep my boat on a Vlift in the summer...luckily

 

[jlcj7]

 

[Ryan Vogels]

Just so that everyone else can feel OK if they don't have as nice of a tow vehicle as most of these..... This is mine! It was to cheap to pass up. 2002 F250 with the V10 and 98k miles. $4900

 

[woodard1983]

Did you get the new light-duty diesel? I think that will be next on my list after I'm done with my 2011 Ram 2500 Heavy-Duty diesel.

Nope, I didn't get the diesel...looked at them, but didn't want to shell out the extra $$ yet...pretty sure the pricing on them will come down after a couple years, so I'm keeping my eye on it for the next trade

finally got the pics

 

[davel501]

 

[96Pirate]

2008 Nissan Titan SE 4wd...pulls nicely.

Funny story - I was driving through a neighborhood the other day and saw a Smart car backed up to a ~24' Sea Ray in a driveway. As I am sure it was not hooked up it just looked so funny. I did not have time to snap a pic but wish I did. That thing would have done a wheely if loaded up.

 

[davel501]

That is my work car. I get $0.55/mi when I drive it, I can park it anywhere and not worry about it. It spends most of its time at the economy lot at ORD. I kind of wonder how many times @txav8r has flown over it.

I doubt the car is strong enough to even support the trailer hitch but it makes for a funny pic.

 

[txav8r]

Ha ha...Dave, I will look for it now that I know what it looks like!

 

[Julian]

Got 15.9 MPG towing the boat from Raleigh to Shelbyville and back! Not too bad!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Not bad at all! That's what I get in my truck without a boat.....gotta look into those Eco diesels.

 

[jetboater4life]

Looks like I have one of the oldest tow vehicles on the forum. 2002 Yukon XL. Pic is in my sig.
I've put just over 100000 miles on it in 10 years of ownership. I am due for an upgrade but the new and slightly used ones are sooooooooo expensive.

 

[scot71]

2009 GMC Sierra with a 5.3 V8 and 4spd auto. It does pretty well, but you know the boat's back there.

 

[Big Shasta]

Don't have any pictures with the boat hooked up since I'm away from home. But this is my tow rig.... 5.7 tows like a CHAMP.

 

[Big Shasta]

2000 Chevy Silverado 4.8L V8 that has over 200K miles. It's a daily fight to keep Danny away from the Toyota dealership for that 4x4 Special Edition Tundra he wants. LOL

Let him go...LOL...You'll love it too!

 

[sysinu]

'10 silverado 5.3 gets about 13MPG on level ground, ~9MPG going up/down canyons
'10 Escalade 6.2 gets about 11MPG on level ground (sometimes significantly more), ~6MPG going up/down canyons.

Both these @65-70MPH cruising speed. Sometimes the Escalade gets 24+MPG... if the ground is level and there is no wind, that thin just cruises, but the average ends up sticking closer to the low 10's.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

2008 Honda Ridgeline with 80K miles. Gets 17mpg normally and 10mpg towing. Fine for short trips at 55mph, which is what I will do 90% of the time. Really struggles on interstate unless you really keep your foot into it and then wants to drop into 3rd up every little grade and I live on the flat side of NC. Normally only do 65mph in slow lane if have to get on major highways. Any more than that is out of my comfort zone for this truck. But it's paid for. I can burn a lot of gas for what a new truck costs!!! And new trucks burn lots of gas too.

 

[txav8r]

I can tell you even though my truck, 4x4 Silverado Hybrid 6.0L gas with two 80HP motor/generators, gets about 19mpg (with LLR tires and under 65mph, it gets 20mpg) in and out of town, towing is usually around 12-13. Well, not so when you tow at 70mph+, nor is it true when hills and wind are involved! It can rob you big time! On our Broken Bow trip, I averaged 10.8mpg going and 12 coming home. All depends on conditions, but the truck tows well and is in full control. At least I get good mileage for a full sized truck as a daily driver.

 

[Suchawittygal]

@Big Shasta..we're seriously looking. We're thinking about the GMC Denali (6.0 or 6.2..whatever the heck it is), but all this talk about horrible gas mileage has me a bit nervous. Although, right now we're doing good to get 15 mpg on both my Trailblazer and @DawgDaze Silverado. All I know is something needs to happen if we plan to pull this boat anywhere and not end up stranded on the side of the road.

 

[Troy]

I just got back from a 300 mile each way trip with the boat being pulled by my 2011 Nissian Pathfinder. On the way up to Destin, FL I was getting 11.6 MPG. Then I was able to find an 18 wheeler going around the same speed as I wanted to go and got my MPG up to 12.6. Got lucky on the way home and got my MPG up to 13.6 by drafting. I wasn't tailgating. I left plenty of room between me and the trucks, but it certainly helped.

 

[Speedling]

Expedition averaged 12.6 mpg so far going to Shelbyville and then going through the hills of Cumberland. Not bad figuring I did a lot of extra potty stops for the kids, ice cream stops for daddy, etc.
Really like towing with it though. We had the boat FULL of stuff, 3 adults in truck, 3 kids in car seats, and back packed to the top. Everyone was comfortable and truck drove great. Never lacks braking or power.