Does Anyone Use Small SUV's to Tow Boat? 2025

Brett's_daddy reply :

I have a 2014 Honda CR-V and it's rated for a max towing capacity of 1500lbs. I just wondered if other people out there are towing their boats with smaller SUV's like CR-V's and Rav4's etc.? Do you have any problems with it?

tiredbobmarley reply :

I tow my 14 ft alumacraft jon boat with a 4-cyl Mitsubishi outlander. Probably weighs around 800lbs with boat/motor/trailer/gear. It doesn't get up very fast but it still gets me to the lake. Just be easy on that transmission and don't get yourself into any steep/slippery ramps if possible. Other than that....no big deal. But I definitely would not want to haul a bigger boat than my jon.

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

All depends on the size of the boat. I towed a 14 jon boat with 88 Escort for 5 years no issues.

Brett's_daddy reply :

Well, the biggest boats I'm looking at are 16ft. aluminum boats like Trackers, Lund, Lowe etc. My CR-V is all-wheel drive and not sure if that would help or not?

tiredbobmarley reply :

awd will help you to pull the boat up the ramp and I cant see it being a bad thing with a trailer weighing down the rear

FluffChucker reply :

I tow a 17' fiberglass V-hull w/ a 2013 Ford Escape AWD with the 4cyl turbo. Pulls it like a champ. If I had to guess at loaded weight, I'd say somewhere in the ballpark of 1600lbs. Take that with a grain of salt though, because I really don't know for sure. I believe dry weight of my boat is ~900lbs, plus motor, 3 batteries, trolling motor, gear... etc.

Brett's_daddy reply :

Does 700lbs. sound right to you for a 1986 Lowe 16ft. aluminum boat with a 40hp motor and trailer? That's what the guy selling it says it weighs. I looked on Bass Trackers web site and the smallest boat they sell is the Pro Team 160 and that with trailer and 20hp motor lists at 1450lbs.

tiredbobmarley reply :

no way is that only 700lbs. My trailer alone is 350lbs (had to have it weighed in FL). And I only have a 14 ft with a 25 hp. I would assume somewhere around 1000lbs for everything. Unless newer boats/trailers have the technology to weigh less?

Robeng reply :

16 foot Lund with 40hp is 800 dry weight. Plus steel trailer at 1000 pounds. Tow with Hyundai sante fe rated at 1600 pounds. Has rating of towing 3500 pounds if trailer has brakes which mine doesnt. Add in200 pounds of gear for around 2000 lbs. No issues.

Brett's_daddy reply :

I looked it up and according to NADA the boat itself weighs 484lbs. plus a 35hp Johnson motor and trailer...what do you think we're looking at total?

I have a guy trying to sell me a 14ft. Glasstream fiberglass boat with a 40hp Johnson motor and trailer and he says he thinks the whol package weighs around 800lbs., said that he can easily pick it up and move it by hand in his yard.

sage reply :

I pull a 17 1/2 ft aluminum Lowe 170w with my 2009 Honda CR-V with zero issues. Many 100 plus mile trips.

desmobob reply :

I've been pulling a Tracker Pro170/40HP with my Subaru Forester going on three years now. The Forester is an older one (2009) with a conventional automatic tranny; the new ones have CV transmissions and a lot less towing capacity. My boat/motor/trailer is right around one ton. The Subie has no trouble with it.

Tight lines,

Bob

Edit to add: I forgot to mention that my most-used launch is about three miles from my house and the furthest I trailer the boat is an occasional 11-mile run to another nearby lake.

Further North reply :

On 3/31/2016 at 2:09 AM, FluffChucker said:

I tow a 17' fiberglass V-hull w/ a 2013 Ford Escape AWD with the 4cyl turbo. Pulls it like a champ. If I had to guess at loaded weight, I'd say somewhere in the ballpark of 1600lbs. Take that with a grain of salt though, because I really don't know for sure. I believe dry weight of my boat is ~900lbs, plus motor, 3 batteries, trolling motor, gear... etc.

I tow an '05 Crestliner CMV with the same vehicle...it's probably closer to 2800 lbs. most of the time. Zero problems.

That said, I wouldn't exceed the Mfr's tow rating, so per the original post; no way I'd go past 1500 lbs...and I'd probably try to stay at least 10% short of the rating.

On 3/31/2016 at 3:23 AM, Robeng said:

16 foot Lund with 40hp is 800 dry weight. Plus steel trailer at 1000 pounds. Tow with Hyundai sante fe rated at 1600 pounds. Has rating of towing 3500 pounds if trailer has brakes which mine doesnt. Add in200 pounds of gear for around 2000 lbs. No issues.

1000 lbs seems heavy for that trailer - the trailer for my 1850 Crestliner is about 800.

gimruis reply :

I would try to stay under 1000 pounds is your using a really small SUV like a CRV, Rav4, etc. All wheel drive will certainly help going up and down the ramp towing a boat. Depending on how far you have to go, anything heavier will require your vehicle to "labor" when its towing. You'll notice that on the fuel gauge! Simply put, go with a bigger SUV/truck, or pull a smaller boat. I use a V6 Ford Escape to pull around my Ranger RT178 and it gets the job done but I'd like to have a bigger vehicle to do it.

Brett's_daddy reply :

The largest boat I'm looking at would ben 16ft. aluminum. Like i said, that Lowe I'm looking at lists at a dry weight of 484lbs. and I can't expect a 35hp older motor would weigh more than 150lbs. so you're looking at 634lbs. with boat and motor and I'm guessing the trailer probably isn't more than 350lbs. so all totaled that's 984lbs. Am I guesstimating this correctly?

gimruis reply :

Yes that's a fair assessment.

RFSims reply :

2016 tracker Pro 160 with a 20 horse motor package weight is 1415 pounds. Add fuel and fishing gear you are at or above the max towing for the CR-V. Any boat heavier than this and you will shorten the transmission's and brake systems' life. Personally I would hate to panic stop a CR-V with a 1500 lb rig behind it.

Allen Der reply :

you gotta take into account fuel, starting battery, trolling motor batteries, seats, gear and everything else inside the boat. my 16.5ft lund is about 2,000lbs fully loaded. i think your best bet is going to be a utility boat or small tiller.

RFSims reply :

On 3/31/2016 at 9:16 AM, Brett's_daddy said:

The largest boat I'm looking at would ben 16ft. aluminum. Like i said, that Lowe I'm looking at lists at a dry weight of 484lbs. and I can't expect a 35hp older motor would weigh more than 150lbs. so you're looking at 634lbs. with boat and motor and I'm guessing the trailer probably isn't more than 350lbs. so all totaled that's 984lbs. Am I guesstimating this correctly?

Trolling Motor, fuel, 2 batteries, fishing gear adds 200-300 lbs? Do you carry fish home in the livewell? 20 gallon livewell adds 160 lbs.

In the mid 80's I had a 1980 Ford F100 with 302 V8/ C4 transmission and I added a transmission cooler. I towed a 23' camper in tandem with a 17' Glasstron bass boat with 115 Merc. The truck did pull the weight and the camper had electric brakes so no problem stopping. The truck did have it's tongue hanging out on long steep hills. However at 80K miles on the odometer I need an engine, transmission, had replaced both front brake calipers and drive shaft ujoints.

I'm probably within 10 years till the end of my fishing career and have done more dumb stuff than I can remember or care to admit in the 46 years of boat ownership. I would not tow any boat larger than a 14' aluminum with a 20 horse motor with a small 4 cylinder SUV.

Brett's_daddy reply :

I'll try to find a 14 - 15ft. boat. I don't want a jon boat...I'd rather fish from shore. If I'm getting a boat it';s going to have decks, side console and a livewell...I'll just try to find something smaller.

Brett's_daddy reply :

How about this...

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5510986441.html

ww2farmer reply :

I pull my Tracker PT170 with a Jeep Cherokee.........it handles it fine. But that's as big a boat as I would feel comfortable towing behind it.

RFSims reply :

On 3/31/2016 at 3:40 PM, Brett's_daddy said:

How about this...

http://nh.craigslist.org/boa/5510986441.html

I think the CR-V could handle it just fine. Looks well within a 1500 lb tow rating. Not a bad looking boat either.

Slade House reply :

my advice to you is to get a transmission cooler

Brett's_daddy reply :

If I am well under my max towing capacity...lets say around 1,100lbs. for the heck of it...why the need for a transmission cooler? Most of my trips would be under a 1 hour drive.

Further North reply :

On 3/31/2016 at 10:50 AM, RFSims said:

Trolling Motor, fuel, 2 batteries, fishing gear adds 200-300 lbs?

Easily:

My gas tank is 41 gallons; @ ~ 6 pounds/gallon, that's 246 lbs right there.

Trolling motor batteries (3) are 61 lbs each, total 183 lbs.

Starting battery is another 46 lbs.

Trolling motor weighs 76 lbs.

...that's 429 lbs.

Haven't even added in all the lures and other gear...

On 3/31/2016 at 10:50 AM, RFSims said:

I would not tow any boat larger than a 14' aluminum with a 20 horse motor with a small 4 cylinder SUV.

10 years ago...maybe even 5...I'd have agreed with that...but technology has jumped a long way in that time and a lot of the old rules don't apply any more.

Between improvement in engine technology, suspensions, brakes and some of the anti-sway technology it not the same world I grew up in...not by a long shot.

Robeng reply :

you can go to scales like moving van lines or feed silo locations for small fee n weigh your boat in trailer n get certified weight.

in Michigan we have to have weight at SOS (secy of state) for trailer permanent registration (one time only) tag and boat registration.

Brett's_daddy reply :

I found a 1989 Lowe 16ft. Model 161 at one my local boat dealer. It's aluminum with a modified welded v-hull, 1989 2-stroke Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 Johnson trolling motor, Eagle fish finder, 3 pedestal seats, live well and 1989 trailer (with all new wheels and winch). The decks are in great shape. My boat dealer is asking $2800 for it but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $2400 - $2500. I know weight is a concern for me as I would be towing it with a small 4 cyclinder SUV with a 1500lbs. max towing capacity. People have said i should stay under 10% of my maximum towing capacity which would be 1350lbs., this boat according to NADA weighs 435lbs., the motor weighs 164lbs., trailer weighs about 300lbs., the miscellaneous other stuff (gas, trolling motor, batteries, gear etc.) comes to about 1150lbs. which should be an okay towing weight for me. Do you think this boat would be worth it?

WIGuide reply :

On 4/3/2016 at 9:51 PM, Brett's_daddy said:

I found a 1989 Lowe 16ft. Model 161 at one my local boat dealer. It's aluminum with a modified welded v-hull, 1989 2-stroke Yamaha 50hp outboard, 1989 Johnson trolling motor, Eagle fish finder, 3 pedestal seats, live well and 1989 trailer (with all new wheels and winch). The decks are in great shape. My boat dealer is asking $2800 for it but I'm pretty sure I can get him down to $2400 - $2500. I know weight is a concern for me as I would be towing it with a small 4 cyclinder SUV with a 1500lbs. max towing capacity. People have said i should stay under 10% of my maximum towing capacity which would be 1350lbs., this boat according to NADA weighs 435lbs., the motor weighs 164lbs., trailer weighs about 300lbs., the miscellaneous other stuff (gas, trolling motor, batteries, gear etc.) comes to about 1150lbs. which should be an okay towing weight for me. Do you think this boat would be worth it?

You could probably pull it with what you've got, but that seems a bit steep for a 27 year old boat and motor. I guess it's worth whatever you're willing to pay though.

Brett's_daddy reply :

Looking all around my area in the Northeast (NY, VT, NH, ME, MA) that's what those boats in good shape in that age range are going for...not just at dealers but private sales as well. These bass style boats seem to hold their value up here for whatever reason.

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