I know this is a contentious subject, but I think that sufficient power to keep up with traffic (staying in the slow lane if necessary) and absence of sway signifies an adequate tow vehicle, provided you have plenty of stopping power. I know that at least one M17 owner with a Subaru thinks it is adequate as a tow vehicle, but he considers surge brakes on the trailer extremely desirable; I am certainly going to buy them. On steep grades, it is easy to turn them on and off with the throttle to slow the rig down, and they don't engage at every stop unless you have a lead foot on the brake. Incidentally, my experience with surge brakes has been towing a 12,000 lb rig with an 8000 lb pickup, and I never had a problem. Tom Jenkins ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrei Caldararu" <andreic@math.wisc.edu> To: <deuce3window@sbcglobal.net>; "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 11:17 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Towing a monty 17
Hmm... That's interesting... perhaps that's why towing my M-17 feels so much heavier than my previous Compac 16. The Compac 16 is listed as 1100 lbs displacement, and the Monty 17 as 1600, but the difference felt like much more than 500 lbs. Has anyone else put an older Monty 17 and trailer on the scales? Sounds like it's time to upgrade my tow vehicle (ouch), mine has only 2000lbs tow capacity. How many people have added brakes to their trailer, and would that help? I am not too worried about engine power/transmission, as I almost only tow on flat land.
Andrei.
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