First Boat - Towing question?

[FredC]

I am having a boat lift (i.e. per Triumph specification document) installed (i.e. property located in Sneads Ferry N.C.) for my 210 Triumph and I am trying to decide if I should purchase a vehicle to tow it? Does anyone think that I should still purcahse a used truck for towing even if I have a lift to put my boat on? And if so is a Ford Ranger RWD sufficient?


Thxs,

Fred

[rscott]

How many times per year do you expect to have to ramp your boat out?
How far will you have to trailer the boat to get it home or to a dealer for service?
If the dealer is close they usually provide pick up for a reasonable cost.
If you have a fishing buddy that goes with you a lot he maybe willing to help out in these situations.
Roger

[Fishin' DC's]

For what it's worth, IMHO a Ford Ranger is going to be underpowered for the 210. I tow with an F150 and would not consider anything less. I would say that you do need a trailer for those times that storms may blow in on you and you need to head to higher ground or way inland.

[FredC]

I don't expect to use the boat anywhere else but at the N.C. coast and there is a local shop that works on Suzuki motors. I need to ask them if they do pick-ups? I fogot about the storm factor.... I guess it would be to risky to leave it on the lift for a storm.
I should be able to find an F150 for a decent price with gas prices movin-up and such... is it a must for a 4-wheel drive though?

Sorry so many questions....

Thxs Again,

Fred

[rdc]

Hi Fred,

I have a 191 FS and use a Ford Escape with all wheel drive to tow my boat. Your 210 is heavier. Even though you won't be towing that often, I would recommend something with 4-wheel drive. It makes the biggest difference when you are pulling the boat out of the ramp.

Good luck,
rdc

[kingzing]

I am using a v6 frontier and it has a 6000lb towing capacity....If you are going to buy a new truck take a look at one...However my gas mileage for everyday driving is only around 20 mpg....Does a nice job with the 210 though.
TJ

[Bart]

I use a 4x4 Ford Expedition to haul my 210, but my usual tow is between 200 and 300 miles. The 210 will absolutely dominate and bully a Ford Ranger to the extent of it being extremely dangerous, even at low speed for short distances. I would also recommend an F150 or better even for short tows. So far, I haven't had to use 4x4 to haul out of a boat ramp, except for once in the ice (really stupid fyi). It may be cheaper to rent a truck when needed as well. I have seen comments on other forums about how cheap trucks are nowadays. I do think you could get by with a V-6 for short tows under 45mph. I've never heard anyone complain about having too strong/too tough/too heavy duty when it comes to a tow vehicle.

Bart

[HighTechRedneck]

I used to have a 2001 4x4 Ford ranger and if you are just pulling around town once in a while I am sure a 4x4 ranger would be fine. I currently drive a 2004 4x4 f150 to pull my 191 f/s. I dont even know the boat is back there. The 210 weighs about 500# more than my boat but I dont see any reason why you need a 4x4 150 a 4x2 f150 would be fine. I use some Pretty steep ramps when I put in at lake michigan and I have never even thought of turning on my 4x4. When shopping for a truck make sure it has a limited slip differential so you dont have a one wheel wonder.

No matter what you use be very sure the parking brake works very well and you have a good set of back tires. I have seen big dodge diesel struggling to pull small skiboat out of the water due to bald tires.

good luck
HTR

[wpschaef]

My opinion is that you should get as much tow vehicle as you can continue to afford. If you can afford an F250 4x4 ok, if not, get a smaller one. There may be only once that the extra saves your bacon,(or your 210) but it will probably make you happy it did. I agree that the Ranger will get bullied,(great image), by the boat. I had 2 of them for over 10 years and was never happy towing with them. I like my Ram 1500 2wd but I have a 170.
You might check out the articles on tow vehicles on trailer boats magazine. The following is a link to a page on that website that can check the actual tow capacity of a vehicle,
TrailerBoats.com - Tow Ratings Database= Good Luck.

[HighTechRedneck]

Here is a picture of the back hoe I pulled with my 2001 ranger 4x4. The back hoe with the trailer weighed 9000# to 10500#. The trailer didn't have breaks so the truck didn't stop very well but it was very stable on the road all the way up to 65mph. The 4x4 ranger is a much bigger beast than the 4x2.