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  1. #1
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    Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    I just blew an engine on an old truck I was using to pull a 16 ft bass boat with a 50 horse. My guess is the boat, trailer, and motor weigh 1500 to 2000 lbs. I am looking for the best mileage and most dependable SUV that I can get used for $10 to $15K.

    Any opinions?

    Thanks,

    T



  2. #2
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    I don't know if you can buy one now in that price range but I tow my tracker with a trailblazer and it does a very good job. I go from Louisville to KY lake about every weekend with no problems.

  3. #3
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    Tony,

    The only real advice I have is to make sure you get a truck that has a towing package. This will ensure you have a transmission cooler. I learned the hard way to make sure to protect the transmission.

    Danny

  4. #4
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    I own a small run-a-bout in that same weight range and i bley the transmission on a small truck I used to own. I lookede arround and found a good used Trailblazer for under 15K. It has preformed great. Never had the slightest trouble. SUVs and heavy trucks can be found relatively cheep right now due to the price of fuel. The only drawback to the Trailblazer is the fuel consumption. Since I live about 50 miles from work I spend quite a bit just to get there.

    Keep on chuckin'


  5. #5
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    Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD

    I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, and pull a 17ft Lowe Stinger 170W.

    It has a top of the line technology V-8 and an awesome automatic 4 Wheel Drive system. It also comes with a factory towing package with a transmission cooling system, which is critical.

    I get 15mpg pulling the boat, 55-60mph. 18mpg city/20mpg highway when not towing.

    You should be able to find a nice used one for that price range you listed. 2001-2002 for that price.

    The only problems with this vehicle is that every 12 to 15k miles you will have warped a front brake rotor. My mechanic says it is a problem with all mid size vehicles towing, not a whole lot you can do about it. To get around the problem you would need a bigger truck with a larger braking system and then you would be paying out the nose for gas. I had the best rotors put on last time and they still did it.

    topwater


  6. #6
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-13-06 AT 04:02PM (EST)[/font][p]If you want to save money and gas money buy a early 90's 4wdrive pickup. They don't weigh as much and don't push as much air as an suv. I have an explorer that I would get rid of in a heart beat to buy an older pickup to tow the boat. I say 4wdrive because I have been on a few wet ramps and watched people ding up their boats throwing rocks at the boat while spinning the wheels. So the ability to throw it in 4low and walk right out of the water is always nice to have.

    Step side trucks are nice for launching by yourself. You can stay dry and walk from the bed of the truck step into the boat without getting wet.

    just my two cents


  7. #7
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    Does it have to be an SUV? If not think small pickup truck.

    With a pickup truck's open bed you can launch the boat easily without getting your feet wet even in the worst boat ramps. It's easy to jump from the trucks bed onto the front of the bass boat.

    I have a Fishermarine WaterStrider III Aluminum Bass Boat with a 35HP Johnson Outboard. I have a old Hosclaw Trailer with 12" wheels. I think the larger the trailer wheels the easier it is to haul the boat and trailer. My trailer tires are rated at 55 PSI air pressure and are thin.

    Now I have hauled my boat around IN, KY and TN since 1978 when I bought the boat and trailer new. I first used a 1972 Datsun Pickup Truck that had a 4 cylinder engine and manual transmission. It took a while to get up steep hills but when on flat road and highways it would do 70 mph without much trouble. And you can not beat the gas mileage that those little pickup trucks get even when hauling a boat and motor.

    In 1986 I started using a Nissian Pickup Truck to haul the same boat. My boat is not light. It took two men to lift the back end 6" off the trailer on one side of the boat. So I would guess that it weights around 2000lb fully loaded. That would include two 6 gallon gas tanks and two Optima Batteries in the back along with an anchor and some other small stuff.

    I never had any transmission problems using either of the two trucks.

    Today you can get the king cabs to help keep stuff in the cab of the truck.

    Oh and the 1986 Nissian Truck has the Engine that has two spark plugs for each of the Four Cylinders. One set on the intake side and the other set on the exhaust side.

    I get about 20 mph on average and that includes a lot of the time hauling my boat to the lake on short trips and traveling to and from the local stores. Now this is with a truck that has over 160,000 miles on it.

    Keep your tires aired up and you can save a lot of money on gas and haul a lot of stuff cheaply.

    I have a 7' 3" long truck bed on my present nissan truck. I have a aluminum camper shell that I can attach to the truck bed when I want to go camping or to help better secure stuff in the truck bed. The only thing I don't like about putting the camper shell on the truck is that it makes it harder to see when backing up and it prevents me from being able to jump into the back of the truck bed when lauching. For that I have to wade out on the ramp to unhook the boat and lauch it. I have some water proof type neopreme shoes to do that job.

    I think this is a great thread. I am anxious to see what other's say about what they think it a good vehicle to haul a boat with.

    I did use a 1990 Dodge Mini Van with a towing package a few times. But mostly I used that Van to haul a Coleman Winnabago Popup Camper. The Van would pull the boat easily. It had a 6 cylinder engine but I can't remember the size of the engine displacment. Some where around 3 liters I guess.

    My Nissan were all two wheel drives.
    Regards,

    Moose1am

  8. #8
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    Georgetown,Illinois
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    I pull a 17' stratos /150 johnson with a 99 ford ranger 4 litre 6 cyl.4x4 I have pulled this setup for many thousand miles no problem make sure if you use a small truck to have trailer brakes as well as the tow pack with tranny cooler. your mileage will be the same as a 150 ford p/u though but I like the smaller truck and the 4 wheel drive comes in handy on wet or icey ramps....

  9. #9
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    RE: Best Vehicle to Buy to Pull a Small Bass Boat...

    Curious about responses to this myself. I've been looking for something that'll do a better job towing my 16 foot Tracker ProV than my little Toyota Tacoma (that I had before the boat...and before I got married and gained a wife and kid-plus-kid's friends). Oh, it would also preferably get better gas mileage than my Tacoma. :) Reliability's also an issue; my Toyota spoiled me compared to previous vehicles.
    Things I'm considering (mildly used):
    -Nissan Xterra (decent mix of reliability, power/towing, roominess; so-so mpg, fairly inexpensive),
    -Nissan Frontier w/crew cab (similar to Xterra, but less room, and that's a big issue for us right now - same goes for most trucks),
    -Honda Pilot/Nissan Pathfinder/Toyota 4runner (similar to the Xterra, I believe, but costs more),
    -Saturn VUE w/Honda V6 (moderate room, good power for its size, decent mpg, CHEAP! (but also apparently of questionable quality, outside of the engine), probably not the greatest for towing, especially since I'm not sure there's even a towing package option on this vehicle),
    -Toyota RAV4 (2006 only, since they have a new V6 option and an optional towing package and get exceptional mpg and are roomier than previous RAV4s),
    -Toyota Highlander w/V6 (great drive, decent room, decent mpg; unsure of it's towing capacity or if there's a towing package option; like most of the car-based SUVs, towing's questionable...though my boat's fairly light),
    -Ford anything (I used to be a Ford-guy, but my wife and I have both had Fords spontaneously catch fire, resulting in piles of charred metal and rubber, so...um...no Ford/Mercurys),
    -Jeep Liberty, or most Jeeps (seems like most Jeeps are good for towing, just have poor mpg, outside of the aforementioned Grand Cherokee. Granted, I'm just going by the MPGs listed by manufacturers.),
    -Chevys (having trouble finding something I like in a Chevy/GMC; maybe a Canyon, but their quality seems questionable from what I've read).
    OK, I'm sure I've left out some vehicles I've been researching, but those have been my general impressions so far. Again, this is from someone needing an inexpensive vehicle for family use AND towing. In an ideal world, I'd probably go back to an F150.

    PS. Sorry for rambling.
    PSS. Anyone need a 2000 Toyota Tacoma 2wd? :)



  10. #10
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    Cadillac EXT

    I have a new Cadillac EXT luxury SUV. It has seating for 5 with leather seats, yet if I fold the back seat down, I have an 8 foot truck bed.

    It has a factory towing package and a 6.2 liter Vortec V-8 with 403 horsepower. Comes with a 6 speed automatic 4 wheel drive system.

    I use it to pull my 2005 Ranger Z22 Comanche bass boat.

    The Cadillac starts at an affordable $54,700 and the Comanche costs a reasonable $42,000. I won them when I was a contestant on the Price Is Right.

    I keep them parked down by my camper down on the White River. If the river comes up, I can tow the camper up to higher ground, and still get to work with the boat.

    Next, I am going to start dating super models.



  11. #11
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    RE: Cadillac EXT

    Dang Chigger! looks like thing are moving on up for you ehh? No more hitching ride and stuff. What you say we take the new rides to Kalifornia and go after that 25 pounder? :D

    The guy with the Tacoma> why don't you go with a newer Limited double cab Tacoma 4x4. Fuel efficient and if your 2000 Tacoma is pay off then an 05 or 06 Tacoma shouldn't cost you that much.

  12. #12
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    RE: Cadillac EXT

    Idbefishing, perhaps if I could get my wife to agree to it.

    (*hears the sound of a whip in the background*)



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