Towing Capacity

[bennord]

Need to say my bit!

1. When you tow something heavier than 1.6 ton you need trailer brakes. (Brakes should be set up to pull the on the car slightly when activated)
2. Load the trailer/boat evenly on the left & right as well as front & back (slightly more to the front) and most sway problems will resolve themselves!
3. Drive the auto like a manual up & down hills, avoid aggressive accelerating
4. At the boat ramp! I think common sense will work here
5. Transmission cooler would be good idea, if you are doind a lot of towing during the hotter part of the day.

 

[david dubbo]

Most boats take water to some degree when they are out, either seeping in thru leaks or just plain waves over the side. 1 litre of water = 1kg and it's pretty easy to have a few hundred litres sloshing around in the bilge.

As for towing - the most important thing is load it right. Around 25kgs of towball weight is ideal, no more than 50. New springs/shocks/suspension rubbers is probably a good idea - they are often shot by now anyway. A transmission cooler and new fluid probably wouldn't go astray if you are towing for any great distance. Be sympathetic to your auto and it should be fine if it's in otherwise good shape. Also, keep in mind that you can't stop, turn or accelerate anywhere near as well as when you aren't towing so keep large gaps from the car in front, be vigilant and try to drive as smoothly as possible.

Reaper

Dont know about that I am a proffesional sail maker and have sailed many many miles including 4 sydney to hobarts (including 98) a transatlantic and several fastnet races I would be very surprised if the boat weighed more at the end of a race than at the start yeah we take water but that is what we have bilge pumps for as in a race car weight is very very important and there is no way it would weigh more at the end as 4 towing I would personally look for a manual or at least take it easy and drive like a manual extra maintainance and a bloody good wash underneath after dragging boat out and yeah a trans cooler minimum

 

[Reaper]

Dont know about that I am a proffesional sail maker and have sailed many many miles including 4 sydney to hobarts (including 98) a transatlantic and several fastnet races I would be very surprised if the boat weighed more at the end of a race than at the start yeah we take water but that is what we have bilge pumps for as in a race car weight is very very important and there is no way it would weigh more at the end as 4 towing I would personally look for a manual or at least take it easy and drive like a manual extra maintainance and a bloody good wash underneath after dragging boat out and yeah a trans cooler minimum

I totally agree about bilge pumps but that's not the point - Most boats take on water. Whilst I've never done a Hobart, I've been sailing most of my life. Some boats have auto bilge pumps, others have manual ones (often forgotten to be turned on). And yeah - weight a killer when your racing

Reaper

 

[pegaus]

As for towing - the most important thing is load it right. Around 25kgs of towball weight is ideal, no more than 50. New springs/shocks/suspension rubbers is probably a good idea - they are often shot by now anyway. A transmission cooler and new fluid probably wouldn't go astray if you are towing for any great distance. Be sympathetic to your auto and it should be fine if it's in otherwise good shape. Also, keep in mind that you can't stop, turn or accelerate anywhere near as well as when you aren't towing so keep large gaps from the car in front, be vigilant and try to drive as smoothly as possible.

Reaper

This is wrong 25kg to 50kg towball weight is no where near enough, the trailer would sway with on this much towball weight at high speeds the general rule of thumb is that you want 10% of your trailer weight on the towball so if your going to be towing 1750kg you need to have 175kg on the towball, a good way to check your towball weight is to put your bathroom scales under the dolly wheel