I have a 2014 Stratus 186 VLO which is supposed to weigh 2,720lbs. I am looking at getting a van which can tow apprx. 3,500lbs. Normally when I am fishing it's just me, my empty truck, and a friend, so add apprx. 300-400lbs. and gear  for people which would take that 3,500lbs. down to 3,000-3,100lbs. and I should be safe by apprx. 380-480lbs. Now that's just for a quick 20 minute trip to the lake that is flat and dry. If I was loading up the family and going on a trip I would easily exceed that weight. I would love to keep a truck but a minivan seems to be the way we are headed with a family, my wife drives a car. 

 

In an earlier post someone said to get my vehicle weighed at a feed lot or truck scale. I don't think I have too many of either around me. I am near the Forest Lake, Minnesota area. 

 

 

Where could I go to get my boat and trailer weighed and how much would it cost?

I don't think that there's a lot of other ways to get an accurate ways to measure something that weighs that much.  If you have live near a highway, you could ask the nearest truck weigh station if you can run across the scales and they give you the weight (doubt they will).  Almost all truck stops have scales - when I was in the service, I did what they called do it yourself (DITY) moves.  You get paid by the weight, and you get the weight from running the moving truck or your personal vehicle across truck scales before and after the you loaded it with your belongings.  I think it costed less than $10 then, but I haven't used one in 10 years.  This is the main company whose scales you find at truckstops (aroundnthe southeast, anyway).  https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

Can’t help on the weight but had the same thing happen.  My wife wanted a minivan so I insisted that it have a factory towing package.  That added enough extra stuff so that we could use it to pull my boat.

i had a Champion 206 with a 225 motor and a tandem axle trailer.  Sh pulled it to Mississippi once and to Austin TX.  She never had a problem.

To weigh it, most places that sell feed and grain have drive on scales.  Park the boat on it with loaded just like it would be if going fishing, and pull the vehicle off the scales.  A lot of the larger truck stops have drive on scales also, Usually only about $5 - $10 to get one weighed.

 

No vehicle should be loaded anywhere close to it's max towing capacity unless you just plan on making short trips and driving slow.   Not only is it extremely hard on the drive line, the brakes and tires on one are way too small to safely stop it with that much of a load. 

Having the experience of towing boats and cars for over 55 years, and being a master mechanic, I personally would use a vehicle that weighs at least close to 5,000 pounds and towing capacity of over 6,000 pounds to tow a boat that size.  If not, and you tow it very much and very far, you will regret it.

The dump may have scales that'll be pretty accurate. I'm not too familiar with your area but most of them I've seen here in Arkansas do.  They'd do it for free here.

A scrap yard, truck stop with full service shop, or someplace they sell water for irrigation/cattle will have a scale.  It's easy here in Illinois because you can stand outside of town and look around for the nearest grain elevator. 

 

Please read and absorb what @Way2slow has written for you.  A 3500 pound towing capacity is almost nothing.  Heck, a 2 door Jeep Wrangler has a towing capacity of 2500 pounds!  This minivan you are thinking of purchasing is NOT meant for towing.  It's not about "can it pull this" or "will it damage my transmission/engine/vehicle".  It's about the driving characteristics of the vehicle once it's on the road and rolling along.  If you must have something that carries a lot of passengers then how about a Yukon or other large SUV?  A Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't even a "large" SUV and it would get you more than double the towing capacity of what you are looking at and that's with a V6.  My 2014 Grand Cherokee is rated for 7500 pounds.   

Just had to take my trailer to get it weighed so I could register it!  Took it to the scrap yard, they charged me $5 to weigh it.  And they give you a state certified weigh slip.

Also look up Cat scales on the web, they have them all over the country, just pull on them and weigh it!

6 hours ago, tcbass said:

I have a 2014 Stratus 186 VLO which is supposed to weigh 2,720lbs. I am looking at getting a van which can tow apprx. 3,500lbs.

 

Boat 2700

Motor 400ish

Trailer 600 give or take

Fuel 200 or so

Batteries......

Trolling motor.....

Gear......

3900+

 

No way would I consider a vehicle that could only tow 3500.

 

The dump 

5 hours ago, S Hovanec said:

 

Boat 2700

Motor 400ish

Trailer 600 give or take

Fuel 200 or so

Batteries......

Trolling motor.....

Gear......

3900+

 

No way would I consider a vehicle that could only tow 3500.

 

 

 

Supposedly the dry weight is 1,500lbs so I assumed equipped was around 2,720lbs.

Pick up your boat & step on the bathroom scale.  Once you get a reading, weigh yourself without the boat.  Deduct your weight from the first to get an accurate number.

 

This is how my friend Bruce Banner does it.

1 hour ago, OCdockskipper said:

Pick up your boat & step on the bathroom scale.  Once you get a reading, weigh yourself without the boat.  Deduct your weight from the first to get an accurate number.

 

This is how my friend Bruce Banner does it.

 

Reminds me of this. lol. 

 

Any dump/landfill will have a scale that dumpsters go in and out of  daily when dumping trash.

 

Towing that much weight that close to the max tow rating is a terrible idea. 

An SUV instead of a minivan would be a good idea. More power, better towing, plenty of family space.

If anyone else is considering towing a normal sized glass boat - please do it with at least a V6 on a full-sized truck/SUV at the bare minimum, with V8 or more, or even deisel infinitely preferable. There's could and there's should, and for everyone's safety sake please lean toward what you should. 

If you have a recycling center near you that takes scrap metal and aluminum they would have scales.

18 hours ago, CountryboyinDC said:

I don't think that there's a lot of other ways to get an accurate ways to measure something that weighs that much.  If you have live near a highway, you could ask the nearest truck weigh station if you can run across the scales and they give you the weight (doubt they will).  Almost all truck stops have scales - when I was in the service, I did what they called do it yourself (DITY) moves.  You get paid by the weight, and you get the weight from running the moving truck or your personal vehicle across truck scales before and after the you loaded it with your belongings.  I think it costed less than $10 then, but I haven't used one in 10 years.  This is the main company whose scales you find at truckstops (aroundnthe southeast, anyway).  https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

 

 

Thanks for this - I always wondered how much my boat really weighs, and a cat scale is on the way to the lake about 10 mins from my house. Perfect!

On ‎7‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 5:54 AM, Way2slow said:

To weigh it, most places that sell feed and grain have drive on scales. 

Your nearest Co-op or Hog Inc.

Thanks. Took it to a rock place. The Stratos 186VLO with 115 horse Evinrude Etec weighed 2,960lbs. on the trailer.

 

And it cost $5.

On 7/26/2019 at 5:19 PM, Log Catcher said:

If you have a recycling center near you that takes scrap metal and aluminum they would have scales.

Yep, and if you put a few pieces of scrap in there to actually dump you can probably weight it free, or even MAKE a few bucks, assuming they don't mind you towing a bass boat in their yard. They weigh you after you drop off your scrap as well.

When I went to the local stone and stone crushing company they weighed my truck on the way in and on the way out. That's how I payed for the stone. I'm sure you could get the guy in the shack to give you a number if you had something like that near you. Super quick... just stop for a second on the pad and move on.

Does anybody know how much a  v6  2. 7 L eco-boost 4 x 4 Ford F150 will pull. I am buying a trailer that way 7000 pounds dry