Pulling 190 bay with a minivan...Is it Safe?

[mssrusso]

This is my first posting and hopefully I will soon own my first decent size boat. I am looking to pull the 07 190 bay with a minivan. The vans max towing weight is around 3200lbs.
Initially I thought I would be fine since the boat weighs around 1800lbs, plus 300lbs for the motor(115 yamaha 4stk), plus and I guess about 400 for the trailer, plus around 500lbs in gear/fuel/batteries/extras, that puts me around 3000lbs total. But after reading some postings by other members I have seen some extremely alarming weights claimed on some of their boats. I saw one that someone claimed the total weight was over 4000lbs. I am a new boater so is my assesment wrong in my thinkink of what I would be packing on the boat? Am I missing something when it comes to what things I will actually be taking with me on the boat?
I need help determining if I can pull my boat fully loaded with all the normal boating stuff safely with a V6 minivan as I am concerned with having my wife and three kids riding with me if it is unsafe.
I also was told that if your trailer weight in florida exceeds 3000lbs you need brakes on the trailer. This is another concern as the 190 bay trailer does not come with brakes.
Thanks

[fridaysoff]

I would not pull a 190 bay with your mini van.I doubt if I would tow a 170CC with a mini van. Under perfect conditions: straight,level road, with no stop signs or other drivers to contend with; a mini van towing a 190 bay would be unsafe. It would probably cut the life expectancy of your vehicle in half. Check into purcahsing an older model SUV or pickup truck to tow with. You'll probably save money in the long run. Good luck.
John D.

You need to check the owners manual on the van. It is gonna tell you what the rating is. If you can't find it you might call a dealership for the make of van you have. I tow 190 bay with t-top and 115 yammy 4 stroke all over the state to boat shows with my blazer with a 6 cyl.

[aronlevin]

It sounds like your van can tow 3200 lbs so I would check with your boat dealer for the weight of the 190 bay. If it is just under 3200 you might be ok in FL due to the flat roads, just remember you are towing 3200 lbs and plan for what is infront of you. What kind of hitch does your minivan have and what is it rated for? You have some research to do. Good Luck

[MolarBoater]

Your tow rating is for all towing and cargo weight. The max is for all passengers, cargo inside minivan, boat and trailer and fuels. The tow rating is also dependant on the braking ability of the auto. A little Jeep Liberty has a 5k tow rating and drinks gas like crazy and seems too little to tow a larger object like a 190. The chasis of a minivan were probably not design for much trailering as the suspension may not allow for safe control of the vehicle. If you had trailer brakes it would help but they are kinda tempermental and by no means maintenance free.
Check with your auto dealer, gas prices may bring down truck/SUV prices soon.

[k9reno]

I also try to stay under 80% of rated capacity. the two vehicle wont have to work as hard and should live longer.

[Putershark]

What make and model of Van? How far are you towing the boat to get to the ramp?

The reason I say such is because some Mini-Vans are nothing more than big cars that do not have a sub-frame. Others are Van bodies dropped down onto light truck frames and as such, much better suited to towing. The 6 cyl though "usually" has enough torque to pull a 190 sized boat in Florida since it is so flat.

Towing ratings though, have as much (if not more) to do with brake pad size and transmission coolers, as it does with raw engine power. Both items (Brakes pads and Trans coolers) can be beefed up to help offset the extra wear and tear which will be much less expensive then buying another truck just for pulling the boat. Here again how far are you even pulling it?

I would also make sure that you pay close attention to the engine's cooling system and how clean you keep the engine so that it runs as cool as possible Also you may need to upgrade the octane level of the fuel you are running in the engine so it does not knock and ping (which causes the ECU to kill the power even more) to death under the extra load.

Burning "more" of a lower quality fuel (by depressing the pedal down even further) is no savings and you are much better off running a higher grade fuel and using less of it

[BARISH]

I would recommend a different tow vehicle. A friend of mine has an 07 190 Bay. He tows it with a 04 Tacoma 4x4 that has Chevy 1/2 ton springs in the rear. The boat still squats the truck alittle. The truck has a 3.4L V6 with a manual trans. Tows the boat pretty good except going uphill. Depending on the grade I've seen him drop back to 3rd gear. From what I can remember most minivans come with a 1" -1 1/2" receiver which is too small. You need a 2". Jetski would be all I would use the minivan to tow.