Truck needed to tow?

[wijames]

How big of a truck or SUV would I need to tow a 20' pontoon with a 40HP bigfoot engine? I'm in Tampa, FL and would like to tow my boat to the keys this summer. My brochure says it weighs 2330 but I'm not sure that includes the trailer. Any ideas?

[cvslawrence]

We have a 20' with a 50 hp, we tow it with a 1/2 ton v6 chevy and it does fine.

For long distance, i think a 1/2 ton with a v8 would be a better setup.

Let's see what others have to say.

[HandymanHerb]

The wind drag will get you more than the weight, when I was racing my Dakota will still hit 120 mph pulling the race trailer no problem (yes I know, race drivers shouldn't be driving on the way home) but hook a 20 foot pontoon to it and I was lucky to get to 75 mph with a 318 V-8 under the hood.

I let the other guys jump in on what to use, I have a CTD Ram 2500 now, might be a tad more than you need just to pull the toon.

[jimrs]

Most any truck will tow it just fine. Pontoons are harder to tow as they don't cut the wind very well. My neighbor just bought a used 24 ft Bentley and he pulled it home with his Nissan pickup. The next day he went and bought a new Chevy pickup with a 4.8L V8.

[jlongsta]

We own a Dodge Dakota with a 5.9 liter engine. We also have a F250 Ford pick-up. Both trucks will pull the boat but the F250 does much better especially out on the highway going long distances and up and down hills. I think the issue is the wind resistance. The F250 sits a lot higher and breaks much of the wind. We used to pull a large, heavy pop-up camper with the Dakota and it did great, even in the mountains.

[Bamaman]

Pontoons are not at all aerodynamic, and they pull heavier than they actually are.

A V-8 1/2 ton truck or SUV is very much preferred. It's nice to have a vehicle with enough weight to handle the boat--and the brakes to stop it.

I certainly wouldn't consider towing with any front wheel drive vehicle as they just don't have the guts for the job. FWD minivans are already lead weights before the boat/trailer is put behind them--and also unsuited for the job.

I tow with a 3/4 ton crew cab 2wd diesel pickup, and it's great in every respect for up to 12,000 lbs.
It pulls a regular boat or PWC like it's not even back there.

[NH Tooner]

You also need to consider the boat ramps you intend to use. many around here suck. some steep. alot are dirt.

[Texoma Toon]

You also need to consider the boat ramps you intend to use. many around here suck. some steep. alot are dirt.

Most any half ton pickup or suv should be fine.

[Ray Jr.]

We only had 1 problem using our Ford Explorer to tow our 22 footer with 90 Merc 4 stroke. a bad cross wind would move us over a half a lane on the highway. It pulled it with no problems, including trips thru the White Mountains of NH.
We ended up trading the Explorer for a newer Expedition, and now have no problems at all, and actually get better mileage with the Expedition whether we are towing or not.

[MikeM]

I use a Jeep Liberty 4x4 with a 3.7L engine (V6). It's not the fastest hauler around, by any means, but it gets the job done. I have been using the Tow/Haul feature to keep the transmission out of overdrive .. which causes my gas mileage to bottom out. But - having a 4x4 is nice on the ramp when pulling it out of the water. Lots of non-4x4 trucks spin their tires, while I just smoothly motor up and out.

[Mrtoler]

I have a dodge ram hemi I tow with alot and it does alright but it's not exactly setup for towing, more for messing with all the local mustangs and camaros that think they are fast.....but I do have 2 1ton diesels that are our service trucks for our business and I can pull my boat no problem with them and still get about 16mpg compared to the 6mpg in my 1/2 ton hemi but it only gets about 11-13 on a good day....I guess I can thank vortec superchargers for that

[GregF]

I had a E-150 van with a 351 and a Suburban with a 350. Both towed my boat like it wasn't even there.
The F-150 with the 300 6 was OK after I replaced the radiator with a 3 core. (the 2 core ran too hot)
The Explorer V-6 knows it is there but it is still manageable.
We haven't tried it with my wife's Lincoln MKX

[1arunem]

I tow with a 1/2 ton Silverado Z71 4x4 with the 5.3L V8. Does the job very well (24ft toon). As mentioned, 4wd is very nice to have on the sketchy ramps..

[GXPWeasel]

I certainly wouldn't consider towing with any front wheel drive vehicle as they just don't have the guts for the job. FWD minivans are already lead weights before the boat/trailer is put behind them--and also unsuited for the job.

I will disagree with you there, on part of that statement. I pull our 26 footer, tandem axle trailer, with my 1/2 ton silverado most times, and it does pretty well, considering the truck sits soo much lower than the toon. I can keep 70 fairly consistantly, unless bucking a big headwind. On occasion though, I will pull with our 2010 Traverse, (front wheel drive, 3.6L V6) and I will be honest, it tows the toon better than my Silverado does. Only had one minor issue at a very steep boat ramp with the Traverse, and the issue really wasn't one, as the front wheels started to slip a little bit, but I just manually shifted into 2nd gear (on GM vehicles, used for a snow/ice start) and off she went right up the ramp. So, the minivan, I will agree with you, but you can't just assume anything Front wheel drive couldn't do the job pretty easily these days. My Travese is rated to tow 5,700 lbs. and has the 290hp direct injected V6, which is more than my Silverado has, no paper, with the 5.3L V8.

[ronb]

I think this has a lot to do with how far and what types of roads you are going to be driving on combined with the boat and trailer. I've read somewhere on the internets that somebody was asking about hauling a 22ft pontoon with an Equinox (I happen to have an '06 AWD), I would never consider a trip with it, but I would move it around the yard.

IIRC, my boat dry weight is almost exactly 2500lbs (22ft South Bay with 90hp Merc Optimax) then add another few hundred (I figure 950lbs) for the trailer. When I pull it with my pickup '94 GMC 3/4t ext cab/short bed 5.7 auto 4wd, with cold weather and towing packages (extra oil cooler and block heater...) I get 12mpg when cruising at 60mph (I have accidently been up to 80mph once on the Interstate). Truck alone at Interstate speeds (75mph) I get 13.5mpg. On a good day, truck only and empty, keeping it under 70mph with the AC off, I can still get 15.6mpg (that never happens). Last weekend I pulled a 25ft Bennington down the Minnesota interstate (I94) it was about the most windy day I could imagine, I could not use overdrive (it wouldn't hold) I had the AC on high (wife and kids in truck) we drove down the highway at 60mph, which was almost the max speed that the old GMC wanted to go... I got 7mpg (50cents per mile, ouch). When I dropped that off I was talking to another guy who pulled a 24ft Sun Tracker with a 2007 Suburban (unsure of motor) but he said he got 4mpg... made me feel better about my 18yr old truck..

I've pulled much heavier items like tractors and cars, but you can really tell when you are pulling a pontoon, the wind resistance, side wind, blind spots are all much different when pulling a pontoon; another thing to think of is the side mirrors..are you going to be able to see around the 'toon with a smaller vehicle?

-ron