Off Topic - TOWING

'07 Toyota Sequoia with 4.7L V8
Pulling a '28 boat on proper trailer
Boat and trailer weigh around 10,500lbs total
Sequoia's towing capacity is 6,500lbs
I need to pull the boat from my house to a boat ramp which is about 1/2 mile away.
All of the ground is level, except the ramp itself where the boat will slope but the vehicle will be level.
I will go slow, around 10mph to and from

Do you think this can be done without killing the engine, transmission, rear, or anything else?

Thanks!

Deluxe

 

doing it exactly the way you described i don't think you would hurt anything , if the hitch and ball on your truck is strong enough. as you said , go SLOW...hopefully when there is no other traffic...maybe have someone in a cars run in front and behind you with flashers on . hope the cops don't bother you

 

The towing capacity also takes into account the structure of the vehicle. It is likely that you will tweek the frame, and if you don't have a cl*** III/IV hitch, would definitely remove your back bumper for you. depending on tongue weight, may just lift your front wheels off the ground and leave you with no way to steer. Is there a chance you can rent a uhaul truck or the like, they have greater towing capacity.

 

Doubt you will be able to pull it out of the water though.

 

It's an '07. Nearly new. I'd do it. It's what warrantees are for...

 

I did the same thing with a V6 Tacoma!!! Lucky I had low range to start out in. I did have to go down one steep hill and the brakes were not as effective. Be carefull!! The guy at the boat repair shop was blown away when he saw that tiny truck pulling that big boat!

 

And hope it doesn't pull you into the water. If you do go, be aware that IF the front wheels are on the ground, they will probably offer very little braking help. I think you are asking for trouble.

 

Sure, go for it. Them Toyotas are amazing! Especially if you encounter obstacles such as a giant pendulum swinging I-beam, or giant teeter totters

 

Tow ratings on trucks have a significant amount of the rating tied to braking capacity. Go slow and give lots of room to stop and you should be fine. I had a 28.5 ft. fibergl*** Rinker that only weighed 6000 lbs. How did you calculate the weight? (doubt my trailer went over 1500 lbs). Does the trailer have electric brakes?

 

The boat itself, dry, weighs 7,200lbs. Gas weighs around 1,300, Trailer weighs around 2,000. 10,500 total, approx.

I recently sold my '08 Tundra that could do this with a smile.

Deluxe

 

I'd say if the trailer has electric brakes (I'd be suprised if it does not) hook them up and go for it. You will know within a few hundred feet if its up to the task. Do you have low range and 4x4 for pulling the boat out?

 

Yeah. It has 4WD with a LOW option.

Deluxe

 

Hell yeah, this is what I'd do. It's what us rednecks have been doing for years.

The biggest problem you'd have is the stopping of the boat - but if you've got brakes wired on the trailer, then I don't forsee a problem with it.

If you don't have brakes wired on the truck for the trailer, I would run a pair of wires to a toggle switch you could hold in the front seat. One wire to the battery, one to the boat, and the switch in the middle. If you need to stop, just throw the switch and it'll stop you very shortly. It'll also make a decent parking brake for the trailer as well. If you really wanted to get technical, you could always use a spring loaded toggle switch and just hold it down when you wanted to stop the boat.

4wd with low is a torque multiplier so the biggest problem you'll have pulling the boat out of the water is getting traction on your truck. Keep the wheels dry and in 4 Low until you get on flat ground. Then just go slow from there.

This question reminds me of that Chevy Tracker commercial where the guy pulls over in front of the 18 wheeler that overheated on the side of the road. Tracker guy tells the trucker to 'keep it in neutral' while he tows it. Thing is, the tracker'd pull it, and probably pretty easily on a flat surface, but would have trouble stopping it or going uphill.

As I said, I'd go for it.

 

Am I wrong in thinking a gallon of gas is around 6 lbs? 1300/6=216 gallons of gas?

That said, for the 1/2 mile I doubt it will be a problem. I don't know what the tow rating would be for my Suburban but it doesn't like it when I get over 5000 lbs behind it, it's rough stopping with the lightest brakes they came with on it. Pulled a '57 Dodge (4000 lbs) on trailer (1500 at least) with like 1500 lbs of parts in it, up hill for me, though... in low, foot on floor, just made it. Had to go about 30 miles with that load, down hills, up hills... I went slow and easy.

 

Not a problem, drive at your own pace and ***ume everyone else is crazy and you will be fine. 4 low to come out of the ramp stop on the flat and switch. I moved some crazy big boats around Destin and Fort Walton Beach with a little 4cyl Bronco II. I only used back roads and drove at my own slow pace. When a little truck is used, you never leave the drivers seat, your parking brake only works on the back tires and 4 low gives you one wheel up front. Let someone else do all of the launching and you sit in the damn truck with your foot firmly on the brakes to keep the two dry tires on good pavement with brakes locked. (Don't ask how I came to learn this!!!) A trailer axle drop over the edge of the ramp is a horrible thing to work out of.

 

I was just thinking of the time my dad used a '79 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 to pull a 16x80 mobile home out of our pasture. We were living in it when our house was being built, and the water line wound up being trenched right across the front of the tongue. The mobile toter backed up to it and SUNK to the axle! Dad hooked a pair of 25' log chains to the front of the toter and started pulling. Got it moving and then kept right out in front of it while the truck and trailer were dragging/digging 8" deep ruts the entire trip - over 1/4 mile - across the water soaked pasture. Man, when he got the truck/trailer combo up to the road, that old Chevy had it's tongue hanging out!

That's another thing to look at and compare too - trailer house toter trucks. Those things weigh in at around 8-10K pounds, and pull loads in excess of 30-50K! And think about a regular old 1 ton truck pulling a 40' trailer rated at 37-40K. They have to base it mainly on braking rather than weight of the pulling vehicle.

 

first, no problem with the tow.

second, I pull 23,000 pounds (farm tractor on triaxle trailer) behind my 3/4 ton Chevy 4x4 ALL the time and go for long distances. It is all about the proper hitch, proper trailer, proper weight distibution, GREAT brakes, experienced driver and EXTREME defensive driving skills. Please don't think I am bragging, but just trying to make a point, that with good thought, it should not be a problem.

THIRD...do any of you guys ever think what buying those imports have done to our economy? enough said on that subject.

GO FOR IT and be careful

 

Saw a guy in Arkansas towing a 14x60 mobile home on the road with a swb '78 chev 4X4... wish I'd had a camera. I've pulled a small one with my '93 z-71, as well as a dozer and trailer that probably weighed 21k or so... but I belong to the 'hey, watch this' tribe...

But to answer the original question, you should be fine for that short distance..

Brian

 

what is the last thing a redneck says? "hey, watch this"

 

It would be a wise idea to use equalizer bars from your hitch to the trailer, thus spreading out the weight and taking off some of the load off the rear of that lite truck.

 

make sure the ramp isn't slimy my dad towed a boat and a Toyota tundra out of the lake by us. the boat got in the water and was to much the truck had no traction and went in to

 

Take video showing you getting stuck trying to pull the trailer and boat out of the water. Bad idea I think.

 

Hey, All. Thanks for your responses! I wish I never sold my '08 Tundra, which, by the way, was ***embled in the US and consisted of something like 65 to 70% American-made parts! Maybe this winter I'll look around for an old Dually with a big block. So old that it does not have to be inspected. One of those could easily do the job!

Thanks again.

Deluxe