Towing Capacity

32carv

32carv

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I'm looking to purchase a used pickup truck with at least 10,000 lb towing capacity to tow my boat. Probably not go far, just five miles to launch ramp and back twice per year. Would also be daily driver so looking for the best mpg I can get. Any recommendations?
Jim
 
I wouldn't worry about capacity for use as you describe. Go slow and leav Plenty of room for breaking
 
Towing capacity and good fuel mileage are not going to happen. My F 250 with the Powerstroke Diesel would handle the job but it gets 16mpg max.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pdecat

I wouldn't worry about capacity for use as you describe. Go slow and leav Plenty of room for breaking

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Just what do you expect to break?

George
 
What truck will safely handle the 10,000 lbs depends upon what type of roads you have to travel and how steep is the boat ramp.

George
 
I have friends who can do it for me or loan me a truck. Just want the convenience of having a truck for other things as well.
Jim
 
The truck that you could buy just for convenience is a lot different than the one you buy to safely tow 10,000 pounds.

George
 
Towing capacity is based upon cooling limits. Truck will reach those limits first. If it is below 80 degrees, you have good trailer brakes and the tow is under 50 miles any good heavy duty half ton can get the job done. Ideal would be a 3/4 ton diesel.
 
It's not just about being able to tow the load but you have to worry about getting it stopped in a hurry if needed. Stress on the tranny and brakes can cause issues if the truck is over loaded.

Also if you get in an accident and you are towing over your vehicles max limit your insurance co. may decline any claims.
 
Safely is the operative word. Most trucks whether diesel or gas has a tow limit of 10,000 lbs with the 3.50:1 gear ratio. Changing to 4.10:1 will raise the towing capacity to 20,000 lbs. with proper suspension components included. there's probably an insurance thing in there too.

If you buy a used truck with a 20,000 lb towing capacity from the factory, all suspension components will be included.
 
Out of curiosity, what boat/trailer is 10K lbs w/ an 8.5ft beam?
 
Insurance will not be denied for being over the tow limits. I have yet to see any private vehicle policy with such exclusion.
 
Insurance may not be denied, but get into an accident while towing over the limit for your vehicle and the other parties involved in the accident can easily lawyer up and cause you a ton of financial problems. If someone gets hurt or killed in the accident, then your problems will become much worse.
 
quote:
Originally posted by GeeBee

Insurance will not be denied for being over the tow limits. I have yet to see any private vehicle policy with such exclusion.

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Thanks. I was going to bring this up. The 'ol myth of "If you do (fill in the blank)
wrong, insurance will be denied".

My old roommate back in my single days in the late 80s was an insurance guy. He said that is a common myth that insurance will be denied if you do "X". (drive an uninspected vehicle, drive overweight, drive with bald tires, etc.)
You might get a ticket or fine for those infractions, but that has nothing to do with whether insurance pays.

Will insurance be denied if you get in an accident for speeding, or failure to pay full attention? No, insurance will not be denied, but you might get a ticket. And sure, someone could get injured, and you could have a claim made against you for causing the accident. But, that is the case whether that accident is because of having an overweight load, or because you were speeding or driving distracted and not paying attention. People have traffic injury claims made against them all the time, no matter what the cause (speeding, you drifted in to their lane, you were distracted, etc.)

Insurance pays because of stupid human tricks.
Other than a tree randomly falling across the road onto a car or something like that, can anyone think of any case where a car accident happened that was not because of human error? Other than the tree falling across the road type thing, ALL accidents are because of human errors. If insurance companies could use the human error/stupidity excuse to not pay, then 99.9%+ claims would be denied.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PhillboMy F 250 with the Powerstroke Diesel would handle the job but it gets 16mpg max.

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I just drove 400 miles with my 7.3L Powerstroke and got 19.5 mpg!

OP - Yeah, get a truck, they're handy to have. You're not towing far so any 1/2 ton or greater should be fine (but I wouldn't go less than 1/2 ton and I'd personally go 3/4 ton if it is in the budget).
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesagansett

Thanks. I was going to bring this up. The 'ol myth of "If you do (fill in the blank)
wrong, insurance will be denied".

Click to expand...


Exactly! This is "urban legend" stuff.
Click to expand...
 
My late wife was an executive for Ford. One time when I was in Dearborn with her, the engineers told us how they design trucks. One of the things they design for is they know for a fact that at least 100 times in a trucks life it will be overloaded by a factor 2. So they know people overload them and they design for it. Ford takes their trucks out to Yuma and loads a trailer on at least a 105 degree day and steadily increases the load until the truck overheats. That is the towing capacity.
 
It's a 2006 Monterey 298ss with 9.5' beam. 2014 Tri-axle trailer with surge brakes.
Jim
 
It is not about the size of the boat, but the weight and the weight of the trailer. (combined weight) The tow capacity of a car or truck means nothing if you are towing a boat on flat land for a short period. But with that said, braking is important, go slow and steady, leave lots of room between you and the car in front of you. I have towed 5k weight with a small pickup that said the max weight to tow was 1k. More important is the the ramp where you launch the boat. Front wheel drive, four wheel drive and the incline of the ramp means something. What you described as what you tow, and more importantly the distance, any little car or truck can do that. The ramp and such should concern yo, as well as understanding the limited brake capability you may encounter. You will not do any damage to a car or truck with the conditions you posted. If you tow the boat up amd down mountains, then yes. you will have big problems.
 
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