is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

A forum for discussing issues relating to trailers and towing MacGregor sailboats.
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Tomfoolery
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by Tomfoolery »

Herschel wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:08 amWith my travel trailer I can use a weight distribution hitch (WDH) and take some of the load off the rear axle, but I have never seen anyone do that with a boat trailer. Again, just speculation. always have to crank all the the numbers. :|
I looked into that once. Someone makes a WDH for a pole tongue, but I don’t remember who. Might have been an adapter to simulate the vee-tongue of the typical TT. I never took it any further since the tongue load isn’t enough to worry my Grand Cherokee, especially since it has self-leveling shocks that pump themselves up (into a small hydraulic accumulator that’s part of the shock) as you drive if the rear is low, and bleed down a bit if it’s high. My trailer is about 200 lb below the 650 lb hitch tongue load rating.

Ah, here’s a couple.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... W4023.html

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... 58393.html

Someone made or maybe still makes one specifically for light trailers with pole tongues, which supposedly works with surge brakes. Which can be a problem, of course.
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by Herschel »

Tomfoolery wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:55 am
Herschel wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 11:08 amWith my travel trailer I can use a weight distribution hitch (WDH) and take some of the load off the rear axle, but I have never seen anyone do that with a boat trailer. Again, just speculation. always have to crank all the the numbers. :|
I looked into that once. Someone makes a WDH for a pole tongue, but I don’t remember who. Might have been an adapter to simulate the vee-tongue of the typical TT. I never took it any further since the tongue load isn’t enough to worry my Grand Cherokee, especially since it has self-leveling shocks that pump themselves up (into a small hydraulic accumulator that’s part of the shock) as you drive if the rear is low, and bleed down a bit if it’s high. My trailer is about 200 lb below the 650 lb hitch tongue load rating.

Ah, here’s a couple.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... W4023.html

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... 58393.html

Someone made or maybe still makes one specifically for light trailers with pole tongues, which supposedly works with surge brakes. Which can be a problem, of course.
That is really neat. I would think that would bring a lot of vehicles into play as tow vehicles. My first Mac tow vehicle was a Crown Vic. My thinking was that if a Ford Taurus could tow my boat surely my Crown Vic could. :D Had to put in spacers in the rear springs, plus a 7 inch riser. :x Having shelled out all my "extra" funds for the Mac, had to live with that for seven years. Partly why I ended up going to a marina slip full time. The rest was just my age and Florida heat. Oh, well...water under the keel. :wink:
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2017 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel
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On trip to Jacksonville, Florida, one-way is 504 miles.

With the :macm: in tow, it did not quite reach Florida on one tank. We stopped near the line, but still in Georgia to fill up the truck and boat.

For the tank average, we achieved 18.4 mpg via hand calculation.
When running 55 mph to 60 mph highways (several hours worth), the computer registered 21.1 mpg average.
When running 70 mph very consistently on cruise control, the computer registered 18.8 mpg average.
When running faster we got as low as 17.7 mpg.
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by Jimmyt »

Sounds pretty good for hauling your fully loaded Mac down the road.
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by Starscream »

Used car prices are insane these days.

I brought our 2018 Pathfinder in for an oil change, and parked it beside a brand new dark green 2022 SL Premim Pathfinder that looked really, really good. The dealer told me that the reservation for the green one had just cancelled somehow and it was available at LIST PRICE with no additional markup if I bought it today, trying to tempt me. Last one available in Québec, he said, until at least June. Good sales pitch. I laughed at him until he told me that he would give me what I paid for my 2018 as a trade in.

What?

Trade in my 4-year old Pathfinder for what I paid for it? Was he insane? Well, it WAS heavily discounted when I bought it (they were basically giving away Pathfinder SV's at the time, with a discount from Nissan and another discount from the dealer totalling about $12k in rebates).

Called my wife for authorization. Called another dealer to confirm the June story. Bought the new one. What a huge upgrade from the 2018. Propilot, HUD, no more CVT, and some really cool bells and whistles.

Image

In with the old, out with the new. Expensive oil change.

Just a little bit of buyer's remorse, but wow, what a vehicle compared to the old one. I always said the 2018 was a big lump of OK...the only normal-size, 7-passenger SUV that could tow 6k lbs stock. Its best features were its amazing fuel economy and its tow-rating. It's old-running-shoe shape was awful, though, and the on-board tech was very 2000's.

Well, they made the 2022 look good again, while keeping all the good things from the previous version, and having 8-passenger seating. Plus, they gave it 48" clearance inside, between the wheel wells, so that it can take flat 4x8 sheets (something that every SUV should have, in my opinion, if they really want the U to stand for Utility). Fuel economy with the 9-speed auto is supposed to be as good or better than with the CVT, but that remains to be seen.
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by Jimmyt »

Wow! What a gorgeous vehicle! Was the buyers remorse due to the fact that you didn't get a matched pair? :wink:
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Re: is this forum for "trailers & towing" only or can we talk about tow vehicles?

Post by billybax »

I needed a replacement for my 2005 toyota Sienna to pull my 26x that I got at the end of last year. The Sienna with 3500 towing capacity towed it OK but was 17 years old and time for an upgrade. We looked at Kia Telluride, and Toyota Highlander but those were almost impossible to find, and the dealers were adding 3k - 5k to the sticker price. We ended up with a used (7000 miles) 2021 Subaru Ascent. It's a really nice vehicle but I haven't towed with it yet. I need new receiver and am trying to decide on a 4" drop or 6"drop. I used a 2" rise with the Sienna. I'll have to pull it out to level ground and do an accurate measurement.
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