Anybody tow with an 850?

mblackwell · Post by **mblackwell** » 06 May 2011, 12:55

Just curious, can I (realistically) tow a 19' foot fiberglass inboard with an 850 GLT? We saw a similar size boat behind a Saab Convertible but didn't get a chance to see how it performed on the Boat ramp. I've been using a Liberty CRD to tow, but I'm thinking my foray into the diesel world is two trips in one (First and Last). Diesel = $$$s. Our CRD has had no problems but lots of others seem to be fraught with them.

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 06 May 2011, 16:08

It depends really on how much it weighs. I personally don't think it will be able to do it but weigh really has a lot to do with it. If it is more then a couple thousand pounds then no way.

Post by **Fish stick88** » 06 May 2011, 20:07

No, its not strong enough to pull a fiberglass boat, it would be nice but the weight is too much on the rear axle, and also when you are retrieving your boat your car could get pulled back in with the extra weight. DONT TRY IT

Post by **Glencoeteen** » 06 May 2011, 22:56

pssss I tow my 17ft Seaswirl, has a 3.0l in board with my S70T5 Just a good idea to have a trans-cooler, and make sure that the ramp is not steep. if its a slight incline then no problem.

Post by **boosted5cyl** » 07 May 2011, 08:59

The max reccomended weights are in the owners namual. The max weight(s) are based less so on power and more so on braking ability and the weight of the towing vehicle. You could probably pull a Boeing 737 with an 850 (would be hard on the tranny, but it would do it). The hard part would be when you try and stop the thing!!!

Post by **jblackburn** » 07 May 2011, 09:46

That's what I would be worried about towing; I'm thinking of towing a trailer across a few states with my Volvo. My s70 has more torque and hp than my dads V6 Liberty, and I would add a transmission cooler, but the huge brakes and RWD are what makes the Liberty a good tow vehicle. I pulled a 3500 lb trailer with it a few years ago and it did great - except for the 14 mpg I got out of it on the trip

Post by **Glencoeteen** » 07 May 2011, 10:10

jblackburn wrote:except for the 14 mpg I got out of it on the trip

Agreed! I am actually Pulling my 06 F250 out of the barn, and going to go top it off with some fresh diesel, towing on the hwy i
ll get 20. just the thought of $4.50a Gal for Diesel scares me.... it has a 38gal tank

urbex · Post by **urbex** » 09 May 2011, 01:12

Fish stick88 wrote:No, its not strong enough to pull a fiberglass boat, it would be nice but the weight is too much on the rear axle, and also when you are retrieving your boat your car could get pulled back in with the extra weight. DONT TRY IT

Gotta love the uninformed.....so what you're saying is that my 850 won't be able to pull around my 14 foot boat that weighs less than 500lbs with trailer, just because it's fiberglass? Or that all fiberglass boats are heavier than any other boat?

The car could get pulled back in with the extra weight? Wow...all those years I spent pulling a 1969 Formula 19 foot fiberglass I/O boat with an '87 Grand National (which is only a couple hundred pounds heavier than my 855) out of the water countless number of times must have just been a damn lucky streak then! When I did the same thing with a 2WD S10, I must have had God Himself as my copilot, seeing as how the S10 is roughly the same weight as my 855, and doesn't have jack for weight over the rear wheels!

There's also these nifty things called weight distributing hitches that most people who have pulled a decent amount of weight on a bumper pull hitch would be familiar with that compensates for a heavy tongue load (assuming proper weight distribution in/on the trailer to begin with).

Like FCPgroton said, it really does depend on the weight of the towed vehicle (don't figure to figure in the trailer, any published weights on the boat from the manufacturer likely is only a dry weight of the boat itself, meaning it will not include the weight of fuel or water on board, nor will it include any accessories - life jackets, fire extinguishers, fishing gear, coolers, etc). The length of the boat and the material it's made of doesn't really mean squat. I know of several 16 foot aluminum hull setups that weigh considerably more than 19 foot fiberglass boats.

Also, being FWD, you're actually at a bit of an advantage over RWDs, as you can get the trailer deeper into the water while still keeping your drive tires on dry pavement away from the slick as greased snot algae. There's only been a handful of ramps I've seen that allow for backing the trailer into the water far enough to properly load/unload the boat without getting the rear tires wet (i.e - NOT power loading/unloading).

The whole notion of the boat pulling the tow vehicle into the water is indicative of someone who's seen a few YouTube videos of people getting stupid on the ramp, and now thinks that it's the norm.

Can an 850 pull this off? Depending on the boat, YES. That F16 is roughly 1500lbs dry. Add fuel, accessories, trailer, and it's probably a bit over 2,000lbs total. That 850 pulls it right out of the water with no problem whatsoever. Granted, you're probably looking at more than 2,000lbs on a 19ft inboard setup, but I doubt it's more than an additional 500lbs. If you have an automatic, I'd highly recommend a trans temp gauge to make sure the trans doesn't get too hot, and make sure the trailer has _functional_ brakes, along with whatever you need in the 850 to work with the brakes (most trailers will have electric brakes that require a brake controller in the tow vehicle). Depending on the tongue weight, you may also need a weight distributing hitch.

gjz30075 · Post by **gjz30075** » 09 May 2011, 07:16

Agreed. I towed a 1500lb car, sitting on a 600lb trailer, on a 1500 mile round trip with nary a problem. The trailer had no trailer brakes so its just a matter of being very careful when braking. Otherwise, besides mileage dropping a bit, it really was pretty easy. And that was probably 120k miles ago and the trans is still ok.

mblackwell · Post by **mblackwell** » 09 May 2011, 10:16

I agree that stopping and possibly steep boat ramps are likely to be the issue. The boat is a 19' Stingray with Mercruiser Alpha one (gen 2). Boat and trailer weigh a little less than 3000lbs.

I have towed it with a Cherokee which was about the same power and weight as an 850. It worked, but you knew that boat was back there.

I'm kind of spoiled towing with a 4 wheel drive Liberty diesel that seldom even spins a tire on the wet boat ramps. However backing down my driveway the boat will sometimes drag the Libby back a few inches with the brakes locked - unless I back up vewy, vewy, swowey.

I am tempted to get a trailer hitch put on the 850 and try it, as I have a small utility trailer which I could still pull even if the boat is too much.

In the 80s I pulled a 15' foot fiberglass outboard (I don't remeber the actual weigth but I think it was around 1200 lbs) with a Ford Fiesta. The main issues then were steep, wet boat ramps.