What do you tow your boat with? I have a 14 ft. V-hull aluminum that i plan to tow with a Ford Ranger or Dakota with a V-6.

I pull my beautiful Skeeter with a Chevy Taho.  It does alright towing, and sleeping in the back of it is a lot cheaper than paying for motel rooms.

I have a Toyota 4Runner with a V6. It's a great vehicle and I plan on keeping it for a few more years. It always towed my center console Mckee Craft with no problems. Towing weight was certainly one of the reasons I decided on the aluminum Skeeter I just bought. I think you gotta have a bigger rig with a V-8 to pull a full sized fiberglass pro style bass boat. Maybe in a few years.....

I tow my Triton TR20 with a GMC Z71 pickup (V8).

JT Bagwell

I have a 16' fiberglass bass boat (Bass Tracker) and my V-6 Chevy S-10 pickup pulls it just fine.  I've had it on everything from backroads to the interstate and I've yet to have any problems.

2000 dodge 5.2 conversion van.  you can sleep comfortably in the back.

Kid

16' glass bass boat. Pull it with a 2001 2.2 Liter 5 speed s-10. Pulls it just fine - Just make sure you stay on the ramp with the trailer - it wont pull it up out of sand/mud  ;D

I have a ford ranger with a 3.0 V6 that i have pulled my aluminum v-hull with for the past 3 years.  Wroks great and have had no problems.  As said above just make sure to stay on the ramp because if you drop of the side or the back in low water times it can be hard to pull out.

I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota 4X4 (V6) that pulls my 16' Dakota jon boat and haven't had any problems pulling mine. Had a 1990 Toyota 4Runner 4X4 before that. It was an automatic and struggled on steeper hills. But at almost 300,000 miles, I'm sure it lost some of its pep!

Illini Bass-  Check out Basshunter2K5's post on page 3, for more info on your question (I think there was 85 posts).  As for your rig, the tow vehicles you mentioned should have no problem at all.  JB

I tow my 18 foot Lund with a Dodge Dakota 4x4 with the 4.7L V8 engine. It's a great tow vehicle with plenty of power but it sucks back the fuel like nothing you've ever seen. What a fuel pig! >

Moral to the story .............. buy a full size truck with a small V8.

Take it easy

Urs Duelberg

I pull my tr21 with a 1997 tahoe sport, that's the old two door full size blazer has a vortec v8 and a couple of my buddies have described it as a boat pulling mother &&&&&& I get 17 mpg with the boat on. It took me 4 month's to find one in the condition of mine last year and boy do I love it

I have a 1999 Champion 187, And use a 1997 Dodge ram 1500 with a 5.2 liter (318 cu.) 5 speed. good gas mi. But lacks a little power. I guess you have to sacrifice some where.

I tow my 18.5 foot Stratos with a 2000 Cherokee Sport 4x4 with the inline 6 on 31" MTs and 3.55 gears.  Pulling it is fine, it is the stopping that is most affected.  I recently towed it 900 miles without any trouble.  Hurt my gas mileage a bit, but it doesn't get great mileage anyway.  Going from N. Indiana to Florida, I  towed through Kentucky, Tennessee and N. Alabama.

CK

This is a super question.

I tow my Tracker with my wife's 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep runs smoother when towing the boat then without the boat.

I will be replacing my 2000 Volvo around 500,000 miles (218,000 today).

I have been thinking of what vehcile to purchase to 1) tow the boat and 2) use for everyday use.  

I travel around 40,000 to 50,000 miles a year so I need a safe and comfortable vehicle that gets good gas mileage.

The Toyota 4 Runner sounded intersting.

Any suggestions?

The Toyota 4 Runner sounded intersting.

Any suggestions?

Hey Sam,

If you're going to go Toyota, ya may want to consider the Highlander hybrid. I hear it has decent power and when you're not towing the boat, the hybrid part would come in real handy. Just food for thought.

My red Tahoe pulls my red Gambler.

fivebasslimit, Do you wear your red RANGER shirt when you pull your red GAMBLER with your red Tahoe? ;D

Sam, I'm pretty much sold on Toyota vehicles. I think for style and long term durability they are certainly the class of the mid size suv field. I've had a couple of 4Runners and a Land Cruiser. The only real issue I have had with them have been the small, not very well padded seats. How does a company that builds 300k plus engines decide to put in a seat that is about as comfortable as a folding steel chair? I'm assuming the new generation 4Runner has made some improvements in the area of interior comfort. If you are going to be driving that many miles make sure you take whatever you are buying for an extended test drive so you can see how it feels.

I tow my 2003 Champion 193 with a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500.  Yep, its got a Hemi.

I tow my 16' Crestliner Angler 16 with a 1991 S-10 Blazer.

Subaru Forester

I tow my 2005 187 Champion with a 1997 Ford F150 extended cab.  See how that works newer boat older truck. LOL!  Actually I'm praying my truck holds on for a couple more years.  Gas mileage sucks, but Fords arent' known for great gas mileage.