Primary Tow Vehicle

[deerfield]

What is the PRIMARY tow vehicle for your Moomba? Choices are in alpha order. Please select one. If I missed a manufacturer, let me know and I'll modify to try and accommodate everyone. Poll will be open for thirty days. Thanks!

[moombadaze]

06 ram 1500

[zegm]

OK drop the Saturn and possibly the Mercedes and put up Volkswagon, Porsche and BMW. Oh alright you can keep the Mercedes. Of the German brands only the Volkswagon and Porsche (Touareg/Cayanne are the same vehicle) can pull 7800lbs.

[sandm]

I've got a ford f150 7700 edition. it's a 3/4ton suspension, frame, tranny and diff, but f150 body and engine. Schucks/napa never know what to order for it. a good idea from ford gone wrong....
and try to find aftermarket rims for a ford with a 7bolt pattern... uggggg...

glad I only drive it during the winter and to the lake in the summer. it's a gas pig..

[yearround]

06 dodge mega cab, 1500

too bad it is gas and not diesel

[jclay5]

03 chevy tahoe Z71

[SEARK]

07 Toyota Tundra double cab/4x4. Same color as my boat. It's a lot of red coming at you at one time. :)

[jester]

Seark,

Atleast then you know where you parked at the store before going to the lake.

[kaneboats]

Bow tie here.

[deerfield]

I am taking Zegm's suggestion and will add VW, BMW, and Porsche as choices in the poll. To make room I will drop "Other" as a choice. Will let you know when the changes are made. Gotta figure out how to do this.

[zegm]

deerfield,
Thanks!!!
I guess now we might see if there ARE any Eurohaulers besides mine.
Chevy is still close to our hearts, and it should be to EVERYONE else on this board too!!!
And there is a reason for that!!!! Right?

[SEARK]

Seark,

Atleast then you know where you parked at the store before going to the lake.

Yea, haven't lost it in a parking lot yet.

[TW3]

07 Duramax 2500HD. Let us not forget what powers your Boat BOWTIE.

[Reese350]

06 Expedition

[maxpower220]

Why does this display a bar graph when there are zero responses for that brand? Zero is nothing and would make no graph There is not a way to create negative responses, thus no need to display zero.

[JesseC]

'99 Tahoe 2 Door 4x4 w/5.7 I would not trade this truck for anything! I have always loved the look!

[zegm]

TW3 You got my point above the good ole Chevy Small block is the driving force in our boats!
I had a Ford 351 (Industrial/Truck engine) for years in our old boat and while it was reliable finding parts for it was not nearly as easy as it would be for the Chevy. It took a week to get new cylinder head bolts for that Ford!!!
Maxpower, we have to assume that is not a value for a non-value but rather the y-axis and it is segmented and matches the color of the graph just so we would now the correct position for that brand. ;)

[dtlaine]

I typically have a Ridgeline or Pilot. They're not great tow vehicles, but the price is right.

[patrick232]

Mine tow is the company Chevy 2006 2500HD with the duramax and 112K miles. But when we take a crew the wifes 2005 QX56 gets the call.

[Kidder]

07.5 GMC Sierra Crew Cab, 3/4 ton, Duramax :D

[jmvotto]

03 chevy 1/2 ton Chevy Surburban Z71.

[Scottys]

Primary vechile is an '05 Chevy Silverado crew cab, 5.3l, auto - perfect:cool:
We purchased an '08 Escape V6 AWD in the fall as a vehilce for my wife to drive in the winter. Hope to use it as a back up vechile to move the boat from the cabin to the launch 1.5 miles down the road. The launch has an average grade and a nice rough concrete apron. I'm just a little concerned that the Escape doesn't have sufficient weight for traction in order to pull the boat out of the water.
Anyone have any experience with an Escape pulling a Outback?

[zegm]

We have a couple of boats, one is big and the ramp gets covered with seaweed, so I stay in the boat, the wife gets in the truck. With the boat tied down on the trailer I give both throttles a little push and tell her to go, the boat will get the tow vehicle rolling and then you shut off the engines. We also do this with the ski boat only Mrs.Z is in the boat and I am in the truck.

[deerfield]

Hey, guys - I've asked the webmaster for help modifying this poll. If your primary tow vehicle is a Volkswagen, BMW, or Porsche, hold onto your vote while I work to get these added. Appreciate your patience. - Deerfield

[sandm]

scottys....
I towed our supra 2x with my old 99 ford ranger 4x4 with the 3.0liter/5sp. it did ok on level ground and no real issues pulling up the ramp. towing up the long hill to get to the launch was another story, and traded it off for a full size 2 weeks after we bought the boat, but if all I had was 1.5 miles and it was fairly flat, I'd still have the ranger.

[Scottys]

Thanks for the insights on using a smaller vechile. I'll need to get the wiring tweeked to splice into the back-up light cicuit with a 4-pole to 5-pole adapter. Saw one at an auto parts store for like $10.00.

[maxpower220]

You should be able to find a harness that just snaps into truck's wiring without splicing for about $16.

[zabooda]

I had a "other" vote also even though 1 showed up. 2003 8.1L Winnebago Class A on a Workhorse 15,000 lb chassis. My local tows is with a 2002 Chevy Blazer with a rebuilt tranny at 40,000 miles and I learned even short rides require a towing package.

[canuckskier]

Used a 2004 Chev Z-71 with the 5.4L? for the first summer. Felt the boat was a little too much for the engine, and way too much for the tranny, so I got a 2005 Ford F-350 Diesel King Ranch, and haven't looked back.

That is the way to tow!

Side note: I tow at least 8000kms, or 4800miles every season.

Cheers

[meech]

2006 Denali

[kaneboats]

You should be able to find a harness that just snaps into truck's wiring without splicing for about $16.

If you have trouble finding the right harness, check an RV/Camping store. The one I went to a few years back had the snap harnesses for about 50 different vehicles.

[zegm]

Canuckskier,
Yeah Diesel is the King of torque!!!!
Deerfield, thanks again for getting the VW up there!
Now we need a Gasoline vs. Diesel Poll!
Did you know that you can get a MasterCraft with the same VW Diesel Engine that is in my Touareg!!! V-10 310hp (well in the SUV, not sure at the crank like they do with the boats) 553ft-lbs of torque!

[MAPWPD]

2005 Nissan Armada

[mapleleaf]

'03 tundra, oops I'm tow'in a Supra, I get confused when it's dark out..

[SEARK]

Looks like GM has a pretty commanding lead.

[jrunyen79]

05 Dodge 2500 Cummins diesel, can't being able to pass slow vehicles going up hill!

[sailing217]

A vehicle not on the list pulling near 5klbs capacity. Mitsubishi Montero with 3.5l V6 and auto-stick. Upgraded Old Man Emu HD suspension and new brakes (no sag in the butt). Tows well around flat ohio up to 65mph. Almost 140k miles on it and I don't think it will ever die so I can replace it with a Yukon XL Denali with the 6.2. Auto-stick is great since I can hold RPMs high and the truck doesn't have to hunt for gears. 3rd row fold into floor seat is nice.

Pulls the boat much better up the slippery ramps than a friend's Expedition 4x4 and same boat.

I didn't vote, but someday it'll be GMC/Chevy.

[moomba07]

2008 F-250 Harley Davidson 6.4 Powerstroke, must not be alot of diesel owners cuz ford was way down on the poll

[RepsolRoss]

2008 Honda Ridgeline pulling a 2008 XLV GG

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu266/RepsolRoss/NewRig.jpg

[maxpower220]

2008 Honda Ridgeline pulling a 2008 XLV GG


Good luck with that.

[04OUTBACK]

tow rating is 5000lbs, "properly equipped"
Dry weight of XLV is 3600 lbs, plus trailer, plus any gear, gas, etc. dang close on max weight.
It'd work for quick trips to the launch, but I could not see any road trips!

[moombadaze]

Ridgelines come ready to tow, but thats gotta be over by 1k at least.

[mcdye]

'08 Chevy Silverado Z71 Crew Cab

[zegm]

Moomba07

The Volkswagons in the group are diesels!!!

Go Rudolf!!!!!

[Ian Brantford]

Ridgelines come ready to tow, but thats gotta be over by 1k at least.

Kindly show your math. :-)

An XLV is 3600 lbs. The trailer is 1200 lbs. That's 4800 lbs.

**IF** you top it up with fuel, you might add 300 lbs to that. Some leftover water in the bilge might add a bit more. It's still in the range of 100 lbs (2%) over. It's nowhere near 1K.

I carry my gear in the truck, where there is room for another 500 lbs of cargo allowed, on top of two passengers. My gear weighs less than 200 lbs total, including cooler and hydrofoil.

One thing that I did not find out beforehand: what's the tongue weight of the trailer with an XLV on it?

Before buying a Ridgeline, I spent hours checking out its capabilities from other owners. I found several documenting their experience with years of towing right at the limits. No problems. My conclusion is that when Honda says that you can tow 5000 lbs, they mean that, and they don't mean a nod and a wink and an implied "don't really go over 3500". Yes, there are some owners who want more power and torque. The 2009 model bumped those up. For those not satisfied with that, go for a full-sized truck and be happy.

"Properly equipped"? That's "standard equipped". :-)

Ridgelines are ostensibly a mid-sized truck. However, they are only 300 lbs shy of my father's 1997 Silverado. I found that to tow very nicely, but I don't want to get stranded in the boonies like he did... several times.

You know how Moomba's still get flak for not being "real" towboats, and how we owners tend to be more mature adults who work for our money and are more concerned about the product than the image? If you spend much time on the ROC (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com), you'll see that the Ridgeline occupies the corresponding niche in the pick-up truck market. There are tonnes of former owners of GM, Ford and Dodge trucks there.

I am not planning to use my Ridgeline for long-distance towing through the Rockies. I tend to stick within a 1-hour radius and have no more than modest hills. I much prefer to have the best mid-size truck as my only vehicle than a full-size.

[moombadaze]

Ian, Anyway my math- boat 3600, trailer 1400, gas 280, stuff for boating 300, people in the ridgeline 4x150 average-my thinking husband and wife with 2? little ones-most tow limit weights i read figured driver only- so thats what i used. This was my fuzzy math.

I have lots of customers who are contractors and they love the truck and have lots who ask how it tows so give some feedback after you have used yours more(I think you recently got it)- give the good the bad and the ugly if you would. What boat do you have anyway?

Looks like its handling the tounge weight with no problem.

Youre right they all come ready to tow the max weight-nothing needed to add.

[mapleleaf]

I am amazed see the ridgeline doing what it's doing. Best mid-sized p/u and all I think is Tacoma, Impressive showing by Honda. Anyone into the Suzuki Equator yet??

[dtlaine]

I towed my OBV from Tampa to Lake Sinclair, GA with my old Ridgeline. It did ok, but the engine is wound-out at 75 MPH. If you take the "D3" feature off to let it out of third gear, it hunts for gears with a very small incline. It does a good job for short trips, but I believe I'm 3800 lbs + fuel and gear. The XLV is heavier, and the tandem axle trailer is as well. It would be nice to have V8 torque (or diesel), but the Ridgeline is a fantastic vehicle for everyday use.

[littletna]

09 Ram. We'll see how well it will tow. I got rid of the diesel.:( come on warm weather!!!

[Ian Brantford]

I am amazed see the ridgeline doing what it's doing. Best mid-sized p/u and all I think is Tacoma, Impressive showing by Honda. Anyone into the Suzuki Equator yet??

Yes, the Tacoma is a fine truck. I naturally checked out recent-used and new Tacomas and 4Runners, as I was coming from an older 4Runner. If I were in the habit of doing any real off-roading, I probably would have gone for a double-cab Tacoma. However, with the Ridgeline, I got a bigger cab (comfort for 5 adults plus underseat storage), a trunk, full-time AWD, a trunk, a bed with over 48" between the wheel wells, a TRUNK, a swing-out tailgate, and a bunch of other stuff that I cannot even remember right now... for less money.

One thing that I did not realise would make such a big difference in winter conditions is the drive system. The Honda AWD vehicles (Ridgeline, Pilot, etc) are primarily FWD, with the rear system coming on via electronically-engaged wet clutches when needed. The handling in snow is far better than standard-issue 4WD, and you don't have to sandbag the bed. However, (back on the topic of towing) that rear drive and the independent rear suspension limit the load to what we discussed earlier -- it is highly unlikely that there will ever be a heavier-duty "towing package" to compete with other brands.

Suzuki... Equator? They make a mid-sized quad-cab? Oops. I guess that should have been on my short list. Let's see... after a quick review of the specs w.r.t. what makes me happiest (legroom, drive system), I'll stay happy with my choice. :-)

[Ian Brantford]

I towed my OBV from Tampa to Lake Sinclair, GA with my old Ridgeline. It did ok, but the engine is wound-out at 75 MPH. If you take the "D3" feature off to let it out of third gear, it hunts for gears with a very small incline. It does a good job for short trips, but I believe I'm 3800 lbs + fuel and gear. The XLV is heavier, and the tandem axle trailer is as well. It would be nice to have V8 torque (or diesel), but the Ridgeline is a fantastic vehicle for everyday use.

Oh no! You used D3? It's not for towing!!! In fact, NOT using it for towing is spelled out in the owner's manual. This topic comes up frequently at the ROC. D3 is only for engine braking in hilly areas. Leaving it on at highways speeds may do heat damage to the transmission.

The gear hunting is a reported problem in earlier models. There have been some service bulletins on shifting, such as this one for upshifting: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10095 . You might want to talk to your service department to see if there are any transmission software updates that apply.

I don't think that I'd tow my boat at 75 MPH, even with a full-sized truck. Then again, most of my travel with it is on secondary roads and cottage roads. Did I mention that we ran out of money for road maintenance here a while ago?

[mapleleaf]

Yeah, saw the equator at the toronto autoshow last week. Quad cab, seemed comparable to everybody elses mid-size, but at a good price point. I think 32 000 not fully equipped.
Your AWD FWD comparison is bang on. My '03 tundra is not nearly as nice as my wife's '94 Grand cherokee in the snow and she's got 330 000 km's!!! Would be nice to see Honda lose some ride comfort, maybe, for a little more meat in the rear???
Waiting on Tundra Diesel.......
Road maintenance!!!! I was just over the bridge in Quebec last summer... it was frightening to say the least......

[jjerrod]

mine is a 2003 Silverado SS with a modified LQ9 6.0. Its AWD so traction is really not an issue unless you really get into it. Its not my Daily driver so it really doesnt see to much use unless its pulling somthing.

[dtlaine]

Ian, I'm blaming Stacy if there are any updates for my vehicles that aren't done. He's in charge of the service on my Hondas. I guess I just figured that the D3 button was for towing, as it's in the same location as the "OD Off" or trailer mode button on most other trucks. I towed it up in D3, and I let it do its thing on the way back. It seemed happier with it off. That RL is down the road, and I have a Pilot at this point. I haven't towed the boat with it, and with its 4500 lb capacity, I'm curious to see how it tows compared to the RL.

[moombadaze]

Don, sorry i missed you when you picked up the pillot.

think you could make Lake griffin on the 14th-its about 1.5hrs away

[Ian Brantford]

Ian, I'm blaming Stacy if there are any updates for my vehicles that aren't done.


Blame assignment is an important life skill. :-)



I guess I just figured that the D3 button was for towing, as it's in the same location as the "OD Off" or trailer mode button on most other trucks.


That is quite understandable, and many others have made the same mistake. Actually, you just reminded me about my 4Runner's ECT (Engine Controlled Transmission), which was a driver-selectable mode specifically to reduce automatic transmission hunting when under heavy load. The 2009 Ridgeline lacks this feature, but it does have a newly retouched engine and transmission. I'll report back after I have done some towing.



I towed it up in D3, and I let it do its thing on the way back.


I doubt that a single trip would have done harm, especially since you did not note the transmission's thermal alarm coming on.



I have a Pilot at this point. I haven't towed the boat with it, and with its 4500 lb capacity, I'm curious to see how it tows compared to the RL.


What year is the Pilot? As of 2007, the Pilot was rated for 4500 lbs boat, or 3500 other trailers, and required a Honda transmission cooler option. I found that for 2008, it is an unqualified 4500 lbs, and it is unclear whether it already has a transmission cooler as standard equipment like the Ridgeline. Perhaps Stacy could be asked to check for that cooler?!? :-)

[moombadaze]

I'll try to get back with you on monday about the pilot tow package-If i remmeber correctly all we added to Don's was the hitch and trailers wires, its the new body style 09.

[dtlaine]

Stacy - no worries on not being there when I picked it up Fri. I'm just glad it works. I don't think I'll be able to make it on the 14th. I'll let you know if something changes.

Ian - It's a 2009 Pilot. I think they come standard w/ the trailer hitch and coolers, but the wiring is an option. I'll have it for another four months, and then I hope it's back to an RL.