BoatUS.com: Government Affairs

For most of us, the days of towing the family boat with the family sedan are gone, lost to changing tastes, regulatory pressures and the march of technology. Finding a new car today that can tow a substantial load, say more than 2,000 pounds, is difficult. Over the past 25 years the number of car models that were rated to tow more than one ton has decreased dramatically. In 1978 more than two-thirds of passenger car models could tow more than a ton. In 2004 just one model in 20 could do the same.

A look at the 2005 model year lineup available from major automobile manufacturers on Edmunds.com turned up eleven passenger cars that could tow one ton or more. Of those, the Chrysler 300, Cadillac DeVille, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Camry, and Volvo S40 were rated at 2,000 pounds. Only the Saab 9-3, 9-5, Subaru Forester, Legacy, and the Volvo S60 and S80 are rated at greater than 2,000 pounds. The Saab 9-5 tops this list with a 3,500-pound tow rating.

The cars with the highest tow ratings still fall short of even small to mid-size SUVs and pickups, with exceptions such as the car-based Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4.

With tow ratings limited on cars, the size and type of boat a family sedan can haul is limited as well. For example, a small bass boat such as a Procraft 175DC with a 125 Mercury outboard on an appropriately sized Loadrite trailer would weigh approximately 2,175 pounds, putting it outside the range of five of the 11 most capable cars. A Sea Ray 180 Sport, a modest-sized bowrider, has a dry weight of 2,100 pounds without a trailer. A slightly larger Regal 2200, a 22-foot bowrider, is listed at 3,700 pounds dry. And don’t even think about hauling a cuddy cabin or express cruiser behind your car. A Sea Ray 245 Weekender weighs in at 5,100 pounds, before you fill the nearly 70-gallon fuel tank.

Many of the same advances that have made cars safer, more reliable and more pleasant to drive have also diminished their towing capability. The advent of front wheel drive, which dramatically improved winter weather road handling and fuel efficiency, also dealt a serious setback to towing capacity.

“Most everything in a front wheel drive vehicle is about efficiency,” says Pat Goss, co-host of PBS’s “Motorweek” and a long time BoatU.S. member. “They don’t have the endurance to pull a heavy load.” Engineers design front wheel drive systems with components that meet the maximum projected needs of the vehicle, and not much more, keeping fuel efficiency high, but not providing the strength necessary for towing heavy loads. This is true not just for engine components, but also for related systems such as the radiator, alternator, and power steering units. A typical front wheel drive today might have a radiator half the size of a rear wheel drive vehicle, says Goss.

In fact, looking at which components are upgraded in “towing packages” offered on SUVs and pickups offers a glimpse of where today’s cars are lacking. Towing packages typically include a larger radiator, transmission oil cooler, larger battery, heftier alternator and even power steering coolers. Installing these will reduce everyday efficiency, while improving the endurance of the tow vehicle. But front wheel drive effects towing in still other ways.

Maintaining traction on a slippery ramp while trying to pull a boat out of the water can also be tricky with front wheel drive. If one wheel of a front wheel drive vehicle starts to slip, the power typically gets transferred to the other wheel through the transmission. If that wheel slips the power is transferred back to the other side, which can lead to the front of the car lurching from side to side. Using the steering wheel to attempt to correct for this usually does more harm than good, as the transmission computer reacts faster than the driver can.

Front wheel drive can also reduce your control on the highway. If a trailer starts to sway, it transfers this motion to the back of the car through the hitch. Having more weight in the back of the car helps to resist this motion and maintain control of the trailer. Putting all of the drive components in the front of a car reduces the mass of the rear of the car, and therefore its ability to resist swaying.

Along with front wheel drive came other changes that diminished towing capacity. Unibody construction techniques are nearly universal in modern cars. Built without a frame, the strength of a car’s body comes from sheet metal that has been bent into compound angles. When the whole structure is assembled, it becomes a rigid, single unit, but it lacks the strength to deal with lateral forces, such as those produced by a swaying trailer, unless the automaker specifically designs the vehicle for towing. Honda has done just that with its new Ridgeline truck which, despite its unibody construction, can tow up to 5,000 pounds.

Advances in engine design also changed how we tow. Today’s cars offer overhead cam engines with multiple valves or variable valve timing which provide good fuel economy, but little low end torque. Without sufficient torque, it’s hard to get a heavy load such as a trailer moving.

On the other hand, pickups and SUVs have become more capable as tow vehicles over the years. Based on light truck platforms, SUVs allow us to tow heavy loads, often much higher than the family sedans of yesteryear, and still have room for five or more people and all the stuff necessary for a day on the water. “Without today’s SUVs, many trailer boaters would be unable to go boating. They just don’t have a choice,” said BoatU.S. Government Affairs Director Michael Sciulla.

The boom in popularity of SUVs has led to a striking increase in the number of models available to fit the needs of trailering families. And with more than 50% of new boats sold in the U.S. today considered trailerable, those needs are greater than ever. BoatU.S. members alone are estimated to own over 500,000 SUVs and light trucks.

A 2005 Ford Explorer can pull 7,000 pounds with the proper tow package. A 2005 Chevy Tahoe is rated at 7,800 pounds. And those aren’t even the largest SUVs available. The Ford Excursion and Chevy Suburban are rated for 11,000 and 12,000 pounds respectively.

Looking back at the sample boat packages, a mid-sized SUV can comfortably tow a bowrider, or fishing boat of moderate size, and a larger tow vehicle offers the possibility of trailering a cabin cruiser or offshore fishing boat. It’s no wonder that boaters are turning to these vehicles more than ever before.

Perhaps spurred on by greater availability and higher towing capacity, the definition of trailerable is growing as well. Boats and the tow vehicles that haul them are increasing in length so much that it is becoming necessary to change the design of boat ramps. A revision to the States Organization for Boating Access’ Design Handbook For Recreational Boating & Fishing Facilities is in the works, that, in part, reflects this trend. Boat and tow vehicle combinations have gotten so long that the slopes of existing ramps are often too steep and the ramps too short for some modern rigs to safely use existing launch facilities.

So while towing with the family sedan may have all but ended, SUV’s have surpassed our expectations, more than adequately filling in for the sedans of old.