Tow Vehicles...Revisited (CP-16)

[Tadpole]

Most past discussions regarding tow vehicles dealt primarily with overall towing capacity.  I can tow my CP-16 with almost anything.  My concern is getting out of steep, slippery ramps.  I would like to buy a small pickup (Ranger, S-10, Tacoma, etc.) with a V-6 engine. 

My question is if I should go for a 4-wheel drive model (more expensive and harder to find used), or will a rear wheel drive be adequate on most ramps?  I've towed and launched larger boats with full size, V-8, rear wheel drive pickups and never had any problems.  I'm concerned that the smaller rear wheel drive pickups won't get enough traction to do the job.  As always, comments and suggestions appreciated.

Tadpole

[Billy]

I pull my 19 with a 2wd taco. Every now and then the rear wheels will spin. Just put the crew in the bed and out she goes. Now this only happens at a very low tide on the slickest ramps. When I use my tounge extension I never have problems.

Billy

[nies]

The only problem with front wheel drive only is that under certain ramp conditions with a hard pull and the weight on the rear you will lose traction as the front is raised enough to lose traction, you can pull a 16 with most anything. the power and traction is needed at the ramp...................four is great and well worth waiting and searching for.......nies

[mattman]

Where do you live that you don't have a 4x4 already? Even in our moderate climate in Central IL, I use the extra axle quite often. We have greasy mud and even a rain will leave me spinning my tires when parked off the road in the grass at a campground. When I am out in the national forests I feel free to explore much more knowing that I can put it in 4 wheel to free me up .  Also the 4x4 is only a little more money by the time I figure that the trailering kit is already in the truck (bigger battery-alternator-flasher upgrade-wiring harness and trans cooler). Don't rule out a full size truck, more plentiful and probably less pricey, plus you may find yourself using it much more than you anticipate. I am sure you would like to help all your friends move. Just some thoughts, best of luck.

[BruceW]

There's a ramp at Jordan Lake in NC where the sand washes across. One day I saw a 4-runner tow 3 different two wheel drive pickups up the ramp when they couldn't get traction. I have always had 4 wheel drive and that day, I saw why it's a good thing to have for boat retrieval.

[skip1930]

I'd recommend a Ford Pinto or anything bigger.

skip.

[Bob23]

How 'boat a nice Pinto Squire with the exploding gas tank- standard equipment!
Bob23

[skip1930]

" How 'boat a nice Pinto Squire with the exploding gas tank- standard equipment! "

Sounds super! Hit anything with enough force or penetrate the tank with a chunk of steel spreading gasoline and igniting it with a spark ... that can happen to any motor vehicle. Tanks today are plastic with electric fuel pumps inside of them ...

Luckily I found a mother who was convinced her daughter was going to be the next 'toasty' and was almost able to steal their Mercury Capri and take that car and go SCCA racing in Showroom 'C'. Oh, what fun. Never a worry about exploding gas tanks. I did roll the thing at Blackhawk Raceway Park in Rockton, Illinois during practice, just a slow roll on the grass, back on her feet. Cracked the windscreen. Got a new one installed in town, passed tech again Sunday morning and went racing. Not a scratch on the paint. Basically the same thing as a Pinto. Two years later unbolted the roll bars, put the carpet back in, took out the 5 point Simpson belts, and sold it to a kid.







And then got serious. Very serious.


skip.

[brackish]

I have a two wheel drive Toyota Tacoma double cab Prerunner with V6.  I have never had a problem pulling my 23 out on any ramp and some of them where pretty steep.  It is important that your tongue weight is set right and you may need a little weight in the bed on occasion.  I would not recommend 4WD unless you have some other need for it or you are going to be launching and retrieving at a variety of unknown ramps on many, many occasions.  There is no point in hauling around that extra weight, lowering your MPG, maintaining that front chunk, for the other 10-20k miles you drive a year that are not associated with launching and retrieving the boat.  You actually reduce your tow capacity by the addition of 4WD because of the extra weight of the components.

[tmorgan]

I have a rear wheel drive GMC Envoy (6cylinder) to tow my Suncat.  I installed a hitch on the front and a tongue extension on the trailer.  That combination keeps the rear wheels on the dry part of the ramps and I rarely have a problem.  The only time I could not get my boat out of the water was at my home lake where the water was so low due to a drought that the water was below the ramp....a real exception to the norm.

[Citroen/Dave]

My old DS Citroen had the gas can in a separate compartment sealed from the rest of the car, located under the rear seat, the most protected spot on the car . . .  

My current tow vehicle for my C 16 is a Front Wheel Drive Rav 4 Toyota.  It has a push button on the dash that locks the differential (up to about 5 miles an hour when it kicks out) that prevents one wheel from spinning.  This lock device helps pulling up on a steeper ramp or on a slicker ramp.  Other FWD tow vehicles may have a similar device.  If you go FWD I would recommend a locking differential.

Although I don't recommend it, one could pull a trailer beyond the slippery point up a ramp using a tow rope with the front jack/wheel in the down position.  Most jacks are not designed for this purpose but it might get you home a little earlier if you were stuck.  [I am assuming a single axle trailer with a 10-20% weight forward bias when level.]

If I had to try this technique, I probably would not have the wheel/jack extended to reduce the lever-arm stress on the jack. The boat would be closer to level coming up the ramp (less lever-arm stress on the jack because of the jack's shorter length), then bow down on level ground, where the stress on the wheel/jack would be much greater due to the weight shift forward.  It might cost the price of a new jack and other problems, but if I had to, I might give it a gentle try for a very short distance. I would stop and begin to raise the trailer hitch height as I approached level ground to keep some of the extra bow weight off the jack.  Remember, the boat may try to flip backwards so some weight on the wheel/jack is critical.  The balance will vary as the ground slope changes going up the ramp to level ground.

If the ramp was at all rough, I would not try this technique; the jack wheel diameter is too small.  Any bump will try to stop its rotation causing great stress on the jack. It could conceivably collapse the trailer tongue.

The use of wheel blocks half way up a slippery ramp are not advised either.  If you a forced to try this technique, get to a bit of level-ground-under-the-trailer-wheels, then stop and back-side block the wheels before hitching up.

Caution: These wheel/jacks are not designed to drag a boat about, not much more stress than a gentle hand push to align the hitch to the ball is all they are worth.  There are other considerations specific to each boat, trailer, boat balance on trailer, and the operators.  

Again my disclaimer: this is not a recommended technique.   Has anyone had a good or a bad experience using this technique?

[skip1930]

Looks like a Pinto to me.



The author, of Hand Book Of Trailer Sailing Bob Burgess toured the Florida keys with another couple.
Both parties had CP-16's for this trip.
One of those CP-16's was towed without problems by this Ford Pinto.

skip.