trailing with a car

[tdrown]

Soon my Weekender will be losing its Winter and Summertime storage (my folks are moving to Texas) and I will have limited access to a vehicle with a trailer hitch. The Weekender is moving to dry storage in the parking lot of a lake somewhere between Allentown in Philadelphia in May.

What I'm wondering is has anyone weighed their Weekender with the trailer?

I realize that my overbuilt toe rail, hatch, and batteries will probably make mine a little heavier than most, but my cedar mast might take some off comparatively.

I can get a hitch that can tow up to 3,500 pounds on my 1994 Saab which only has a 2 liter engine.

Has anyone here had experiance with towing boats with smaller cars?

How do they fair?

[capt jake]

I would guess that the Weekender with trailer is no more than 1200-1400 pounds tops; probably lower. The only problem I can foresee is when pulling it out of the water at the ramp. Depending upon the slope of the ramp, it 'may' be difficult. I am not sure what kind of low end torque a Saab has.

[tdrown]

185 bhp and 263 Nm of torque, it's got a turbocharger. The thing only weighs 3,060 pounds itself, but apparently it can tow up to 3,500. It's going to be *fun* getting the boat in and out of the water with a manual transmission in this thing.

[capt jake]

It's going to be *fun* getting the boat in and out of the water with a manual transmission in this thing.

Ahhh, practice, practice. ;)

[waynemunro]

following the demise of my normal car on my recent trip I purchased a 1992 2.0 litre automatic 4wd Subaru legacy - I used it to get the weekender out of the water and to tow it home which was a 5-6 hour trip with a few reasonable hills - it did it without any trouble - I could tell it was not as powerful as my old car (1999 2.4 litre mitsubishi magna) but it performed fine.

[umop_apisdn]

I trailer mine around with a Suzuki Samurai, with it's massive 1.3L 65HP engine. Ok, I gotta move to the right for the hills, but other than that, no serious problems. But the low range 4x4 is nice for pulling it up the ramp. If your Saab is rear, or all wheel drive, I don't see any problems. If it is front wheel drive, the ramp may give you problems.

I saw someone in a front-wheel drive minivan trying to retrieve a runabout up a wet ramp. Lots of tire spinning involved. They finally got it out with a couple guys helping push from behind.

Noel.

[JeffM]

Make sure the Saab has adequate ground clearance. I put a hitch on our old Accord (for a bike rack), assuming that if UHaul had a hitch for Accords, then Accords were okay for hitches. But every time we went over a speed bump, etc. the hitch bottomed, and one time I destroyed a perfectly good bicycle wheel when it hit such a bump. I'm very happy towing my cs20 with our 2000 Toyota minivan.

[Bud_Wilson]

tdrawn: Start drinking at a redneck bar. The way to spot a redneck bar is drive buy on friday evening and there will be 20 pickup trucks and 3 cars in the parking lot. One of the cars belongs to the bar keep.

Y'all Come Cap'N Bud. :wink:

[Fintan Murphy]

Same here,

I tow the weekender with a 2 ltr. 4wd Rav4 manual. No problems whatsoever, even though it's a short wheelbase. Just make sure the tongue weight etc. are correct.

You can calculate the weight of your boat and trailer using a method of weighing at the tongue with a bathroom scale, then weighing again about a foot back, or moving the boat a foot, or something like that. Then some magical calculations are involved, giving the weight of the boat and trailer.

I know it's in the archives, or google, somewhere.

[tdrown]

Thanks for all the quick advise.

If it is front wheel drive, the ramp may give you problems.

the ramps is going to give me problems then.

Start drinking at a redneck bar. ...

I would, but I'd be up the creek without a paddle if they carded me. I'm not 21 till May.

[lewisboats]

I have seen some folks with a ball on the front of their front wheel drive vehs. They use it to pull up the ramp then switch to the rear for towing. Just a suggestion.

Steve

(you could get one whipped up at a welding shop)

[Andrew_Butchart]

My car comes with a screw-in tow loop at the front - I wonder if I could put a ball on it?

When I'm done with the Weekender I'm going to experiment with pulling it with my Toyota Echo - 1.5litre - 108hp If it works out OK I can avoid spending the money to put a hitch on my wife's vehicle.

[Mike Donlin]

Our stock weekenders that we built weigh in the 650 to 700# range. That is fully rigged less the 12 oz cans of liquid ballast, the thermal containment system, and the small cubes of temporary refrigerant. Our trailers are around 200# so you should be under or right at the 1000# mark.

[Dave R1]

The ball on the front isn't a bad idea from a maneuvering standpoint either. Sure would make it easier to run the trailer around. My FIL has a ball on the front of the 8N and his little JD lawn tractor for moving boats around at the cabin. Sure is slick. Around here I think you'd get strange looks at the boat landing though if you took the time to turn your car around before pushing the boat down the ramp.

Hey to Mike D. How's it going?

[umop_apisdn]

Around here I think you'd get strange looks at the boat landing though if you took the time to turn your car around before pushing the boat down the ramp.

Launching won't be a problem for him. And even retrieving may be ok, unless there is loose gravel or algae on the ramp. But by the time you know, it's too late to swap ends of the car.

But yeah, you would want to plan your retrieval well, so you don't tie up the ramp while moving your trailer around. Those powerboaters get mighty ornery if they have to wait in line too long. ;-)

Noel

[Phil]

Here's a good trailer backing tip that was on "Ship Shape TV". You put your left hand at the 6 o'clock position on the steering wheel & look over your right shoulder while backing. Which ever way you swing your left hand & wheel is the direction the trailer goes. :roll:

[tdrown]

Here's a good trailer backing tip that was on "Ship Shape TV". You put your left hand at the 6 o'clock position on the steering wheel & look over your right shoulder while backing. Which ever way you swing your left hand & wheel is the direction the trailer goes. :roll:

wow, thanks. That makes a lot of sense. I'll definately use that.

I should be getting the hitch installed this week. A U-Haul in South Jersey wanted $296 but I negociated down to $275 for parts, labor, wiring.

[Stump]

Find the hitch that fits your car and install it yourself. It's just not that hard. Metal bits, a drll and some wrenches; electritions tape, screwdriver and a knife. . I mean geeze. You built your own boat.

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :roll: :wink:

[Barry Pyeatt]

But Stump you don't understand, you live on the Left coast. He is on the Right coast, land of salt on the highways half the year and extensive corrosion the norm. Better by far to have them do it and be responsible to keep it right than cutting corners and saving a few $$.

Tyler, just remember to unplug the lights (every time) before dunking your trailer and then reattach them before driving off. And always rinse off the boat and trailer with fresh water after dunking. Makes a huge difference in life expectancy back there.

[Stump]

Barry, your right.... :oops: .... and to think, I grew up outside Chicago. Land of terminal cancer cars... :shock: :wink: