Boblee wrote:Ivan
At 3500lb's you will be well overloaded pulling the mac not sure if the x is lighter but I think with even the bare minimum of gear the M's are very close to the trailer rating of 1905 kg's or 4200lb's.
At 2270 kg ( 5004 lbs) ours is nearly 400kg (881 lb's) over but likely more when clothes and bedding etc is added the truck has a towing capacity of 6170 lbs and the springs etc are rated at 5500 lb's but the trailer isn't legally due to brake specs.
Our hilux with a towing capacity (legal here) of 1800 kg (3968) was way over even before the vehicle was loaded but did the job easily if not legally.
Personally I think the trailers should be rated at, at least 2500-3000kg or 5500-6600lb's but the that would bugger the argument about towing with the family car especially here where the ratings are far lower.
Boblee
The X is a bit lighter than the M as you stated. The funny thing about the tow rating is that if this truck had the "tow package" which used the same springs, engine, transmission, and rear end as the one we have, it had a rating of 4200 lb. If I did a lot of towing, and had lots of hills we'd replace it with an F150 to extend the life of the truck and to increase the margin of safety. However since we got the boat to Ohio, we've been moving it less than 5 miles per year so we haven't worried about the extra strain on the truck.
Will the TV be able to pull the load?...safely?
Will the TV be able to control the load at speed?...safely?
Will the TV be able to stop the load in an emergency?...safely?
I suspect too many vehicles that can pull a load are probably doing so on that safety line where they shouldn't be!
With our new Tow Vehicle or TV, we tow 200 to 250 miles across the Cascade Mountain 3200 ft pass with the overdrive off and use the cruse control all the way no problem. As far as great brake's our E350 1 ton van has big limited slip disk brakes. We added a limited slip rear end when we bought our van for the October pass crossings when last year there was 6 inches of snow and a whiteout blizzard on the pass coming back from Seattle pulling the boat. We plan on trailering from WA state to FLA to go sail to BVI and going east we need to go thru Colorado and the Rockie MT's so were glad to have a heavier van plus we can take turnes driving and sleeping on long trips.
On the other hand we live 2 miles from the clostest launch and could do that with most anything with a 2 inch ball attached. I do think if we lived somewhere there was not any mountain passes to cross pulling our boat, we would have bought some kind of lighter TV.
bubba wrote:.........going east we need to go thru Colorado and the Rockie MT's ......
Having lived in Wyoming and now Utah since the 60's and traveling through CO lots I'd suggest taking I84 from Idaho down to Ogden north of Salt Lake City and continue on I84 to I80 east across Wyoming. A lot flatter than I70 or old 40 across Colo. Not as pretty though as Colo.
The other option is go south of Salt Lake City to 6 and take it over Soldier Summit and down to Price, UT and then on to Moab, Utah and keep going south to Albuquerque, NM and then east on I40 or if it is winter keep going south and take I10 across to Florida. That is the route we might take going and coming to Florida from SE Utah. Pretty flat.
Here we are loaded ready to go early tomorrow will take 1-2 weeks to get to the WA border, actually when I took this picture noticed a rear tyre was down and of course it wouldn't be the outer one would it?
Sumner wrote:Having lived in Wyoming and now Utah since the 60's and traveling through CO lots I'd suggest taking I84 from Idaho down to Ogden north of Salt Lake City and continue on I84 to I80 east across Wyoming. A lot flatter than I70 or old 40 across Colo. Not as pretty though as Colo.
We drove that route headed east with boat in tow, last September. It was, indeed, a good route, except for the construction zone just east of Salt Lake, where the freeway starts into the mountains. The lane restrictions were very narrow. I expect the work would be completed by this summer.
Braz Daz
Won't be going down the bottom, will head up at Port Augusta and then on to Wyndham via Lake Argyle but if you are near the Cambridge Gulf you can call in for a Bundy or two
Or in Darwin after August.
Boblee wrote:Here we are loaded ready to go early tomorrow will take 1-2 weeks to get to the WA border, actually when I took this picture noticed a rear tyre was down and of course it wouldn't be the outer one would it?
Hi Boblee
I lived in Kununurra for 2 years 00 &01, then Derby for 3 years, flying airplanes to all the scenic spots and some time on lake Argyle not in a Mac though. Are you going to sail round to King Georges falls? If you are you should consider going around to St Georges basin, and Prince Regent and Hunter river. Or even all the way round to Montgomery reef and The horizontal water falls North of Derby, some of the most scenic coast in the country if not the world? http://www.panoramio.com/photo/9324886 check it out..
If you need any info on the area in general, message me. I never sailed around though, only flying.
Cheers Darren
fishheadbarandgrill wrote:I have a 2007 26M. I use a 1994 Ford Ranger XLT 3.0. I had no issues towing from the NC-VA boarder to Charleston, SC. Truck handled 55-60 mph on both I-95 and US hwys with no issues in OD on flat terrain. no swaying or tugging. I was pleased.
thanks for all the advice:
Here is what I have done to my 92 ranger: I put in heavy duty shocks up front and coil over shocks in the rear. It now has a trnasmission oil cooler installed. it is a 2WD with an automatic w/OD. I went through the truck and checked the remainder of the suspension as well as had the trailer bearings checked and repacked this month. I took it for a short test run of 10 miles all on city streets. No probs. I am going on a test-towing about 40 mi down the freeway tomorrow. I will post an update tomorrow night. Since I live in Colusa, Ca. and tow to Folsom lake, its about an 80 mi trip one way. mostly flat, very gentle hills only.
Thanks for the info. I read ivan's post also and it gave me a vote of confidence. I am a pretty cautious, perhaps overly so individual so I'll take it slow. I am going to try to go to Folsom on sunday and launch at Brown's ravine.
Chris
I'm using a V6 Ford Ranger now but looking to downsize from 2 Volvo sedans and the Ranger to 1 sedan and 1 tow vehicle. I'm liking the Ridgeline. It's a truck for folks like me who don't need a F-150. Basicly more for the Urban Cowboy types (probably showing my age a bit). The Admiral will be going from a Volvo Sedan to the Ridgeline
with a 1976 Olds Cutlass Supreme. Dennis