Looking For Knowledge

[thatguy03]

ok my nephew is looking for he says either a pathy or a 4runner so he can camp and stuff but then he tells me he wants to get a boat too for fishin and water skiing..... k heres the question should he get one of those trucks to tow a boat or would he be better getting a half-ton truck with a v8 in it instead we live in british columbia and he would be seeing a fair amount of hills and millage goin up to the lakes

 

thanx

[blamtro]

Depends on the size of the boat he will be towing. I have an R50 and a 21' boat that weights in at ~5000#. It works for me right now as I only tow a 5-10 times during the boating season but it is SLOW. If I was purchasing a vehicle as a designated tow rig for my boat, I would go with a Titan or Tundra. However, I am going to hang on to the pathy until I finish college.

 

If my boat only weighed 2500# or less, I wouldn't fault the pathy at all.

 

Make sure the trailer has electric trailer brakes and you be sure to install an auxilary trans cooler no matter what you do.

 

My 2 cents...

 

ok my nephew is looking for he says either a pathy or a 4runner so he can camp and stuff but then he tells me he wants to get a boat too for fishin and water skiing..... k heres the question should he get one of those trucks to tow a boat or would he be better getting a half-ton truck with a v8 in it instead we live in british columbia and he would be seeing a fair amount of hills and millage goin up to the lakes

 

thanx

[Slick]

i tow our 2800lb boat tot he lake all the time with mini me...... she loves it! runs better when she tows somethin.

[vengeful]

I'd say, if the total trailer weight with the boat is under 3500lbs, you'll do right by the Pathfinder. The 4Runners can tow pretty well, too, and they have a slightly longer cargo area. The Pathfinder has better visibility. Do not get the 3.0 4Runner, those things are horrendous on towing, and head gasket failures are very common.

 

If the trailer is over 4000lbs, I'd go with a half-ton, or even a full-size SUV like a Tahoe or something.

[nige]

I tow a 14' aluminum fishing boat with a 25hp johnson. The boat has a full floor so it's a little heavier than most 14 footers. My truck tows it no problem, although it does use 25-30% more fuel. I'm sure my truck would have no problem towing a larger 16 foot aluminum with a 60 horse motor, but i would want to have my tranny cooler installed. You will want to have some heavy duty coils in the back if the tongue weight is high enough. As long as the trailer is properly balanced it should be safe. Just tell the boy not to tailgate and leave himself plenty of room to maneuver and brake.

[M in KC]

I pull my 20' glass I/O with my pathy all the time. The only issue I ever had was in Arkansas after we stopped at the lake house prior to launching the boat (dumb driver). There are some pretty good hills near the lake. I had to slip her into 4lo and she walked the boat right on up.

 

My new preferred towing vehicle is my '03 Sequoia. I know, not much of a comparison between the Pathy and the Sequoia, but we hauled 6 motorcycles in a 26' enclosed trailed from KC to Deals Gap, NC and this thing was a dream. Towing that long of a trailer has given me a whole new appreciation for the professional drivers on our roads. I was suprised as to the amount of total vehicle ossicilation that I felt from the air coming off other vehicles as they passed us.