More on towing vehicles... 4X4 or Not?
I've read all of the archives on towing vehicles used for M-17's. I'll be dry storing my M-17 in South SanFrancisco at Oyster point (mast up). The launch ramp is only a couple hundred yards away, so I suppose I could get by with most anything. However, the question is for you folks with 2 wheel drive or front wheel drive. Have you had any appreciable problems getting the boat out of the water on wet ramps? I truely hate spending money on fuel (Yea-sailboats), so I don't prefer all wheel drive. I'll be keeping my Honda for non boating road trips and will use the tow vehicle only for it's intended purpose. I've looked at a couple of Jeeps, S-10, Rangers, etc. I believe any of those with 6cyl. and auto, will do the job. Do I really need the 4X4? Thanks for any input. Bill M-17 San Francisco
It depends on a lot of factors: car weight, boat weight, tongue weight, ramp angle, ramp condition, and driver skill. For the most part I have not really needed 4x4 but my all-wheel drive has come in handy when the ramp is covered in sand and other debris. A lot of my sailing is done on inland lakes with widely fluctuating water levels and amounts of debris. The ramp in San Francisco is probably much more predictable. Brian Ripley '88 M15; '99 Mac26X Roseville, CA --- BILLAMICASR@aol.com wrote:
I've read all of the archives on towing vehicles used for M-17's. I'll be dry storing my M-17 in South SanFrancisco at Oyster point (mast up). The launch ramp is only a couple hundred yards away, so I suppose I could get by with most anything. However, the question is for you folks with 2 wheel drive or front wheel drive. Have you had any appreciable problems getting the boat out of the water on wet ramps? I truely hate spending money on fuel (Yea-sailboats), so I don't prefer all wheel drive. I'll be keeping my Honda for non boating road trips and will use the tow vehicle only for it's intended purpose. I've looked at a couple of Jeeps, S-10, Rangers, etc. I believe any of those with 6cyl. and auto, will do the job. Do I really need the 4X4? Thanks for any input. Bill M-17 San Francisco _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
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Bill: I dry store my M17 with mast up. I have a manual transmission Subaru Forester all wheel drive and it does fine at the ramp. Granted, it's not the ideal tow vehicle for this boat (rated towing limit is 2,000lbs WITH trailer brakes) but I haven't had a problem recovering the boat or taking local trips. I would not recommend it for long distance towing with alot of hills. For that purpose I would add hydraulic brakes to the trailer (expensive, but cheaper than getting a dedicated tow vehicle). I get 23-28 mpg normal driving. ----- Original Message ----- From: <BILLAMICASR@aol.com> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 1:39 PM Subject: M_Boats: More on towing vehicles... 4X4 or Not?
I've read all of the archives on towing vehicles used for M-17's. I'll be dry storing my M-17 in South SanFrancisco at Oyster point (mast up). The launch ramp is only a couple hundred yards away, so I suppose I could get by with most anything. However, the question is for you folks with 2 wheel drive or front wheel drive. Have you had any appreciable problems getting the boat out of the water on wet ramps? I truely hate spending money on fuel (Yea-sailboats), so I don't prefer all wheel drive. I'll be keeping my Honda for non boating road trips and will use the tow vehicle only for it's intended purpose. I've looked at a couple of Jeeps, S-10, Rangers, etc. I believe any of those with 6cyl. and auto, will do the job. Do I really need the 4X4? Thanks for any input. Bill M-17 San Francisco _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
participants (3)
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BILLAMICASRļ¼ aol.com -
Brian Ripley -
Maria Jorge