New Tow Vehicle

A forum for discussing issues relating to trailers and towing MacGregor sailboats.
tuxonpup
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
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New Tow Vehicle

Post by tuxonpup »

For the first 7 months of 26X ownership we've been renting a U-haul to pull her out of storage and down the boat ramp. My daily driver back home must've sensed I was out two timing her because after 20 years of problem free driving my '05 Ford Escape's hybrid battery stopped holding a charge over night. Those first few stop signs each morning became a herky-jerky affair until the regenerative braking would build up enough charge to keep the CVT from slipping in and out of electric mode and maintain acceleration. Not taking a hint, I soldiered on until Monday when she decided enough was enough and sprayed a sizable amount of brake fluid as the dash lit up like a x-mas tree with braking and ABS indicators. This was it, she was just asking for me to have the decency to make a clean break of it, once and for all.

This weekend was the first in months I had no jobs or out of town trips scheduled, so I did a quick search to see if there was anything I wanted to go test drive. Nine hours and 250 miles later, I was back in my driveway with a new daily driver/tow vehicle:

Image

A 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz SEL Premium with 31k miles, AWD, 2.5L turbo and a tow hitch for a 5,000# tow rating.

I loved my Escape's traditional SUV design, but wanted to be able to throw a sandy kayak in or load up gas cans without worrying about the interior. So it's not really an SUV but it's not really a pickup, kinda sound familiar? Worst of both worlds or the perfect blend for towing a 26X? Guess we'll be finding out as we just booked our first week long trip on the lake for the first week of June.

This is the MotorTrend follow-up on the year and model we got, there are some good boat hauling youtube reviews of it as well:
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022 ... ew-verdict
1996 Macgregor 26X w/150% RF Genoa & Nissan 50hp 2-stroke
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NiceAft
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by NiceAft »

Congrats on the new tow beast; is beast appropriate in this case?
Looking forward to seeing your report.
Ray ~~_/)~~
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dlandersson
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by dlandersson »

:D :D :D

Um, for sailors, it's "tow beast". :wink:
tuxonpup wrote: Sun May 11, 2025 7:55 am For the first 7 months of 26X ownership we've been renting a U-haul to pull her out of storage and down the boat ramp. My daily driver back home must've sensed I was out two timing her because after 20 years of problem free driving my '05 Ford Escape's hybrid battery stopped holding a charge over night.
OverEasy
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Tuxonpup!

Congratulations on the new ride!
Looks NICE!

The 5k lb towing will be a benefit too!
Having some extra capacity is always nice!

One of my best most reliable cars was a 1987 Hyundai Excel 4-door hatch back.
Logged well over 286,000 miles on it!
That means it basically drove from the earth to the moon (238,855 miles) with some extra mileage thrown in trying to find parking! :D :D
Put a Thule roof rack on it and used it to haul the lumber for several large decks and a long wooden fence never mind hauling several dozens of bags of garden soil, sand, rototillers along with myriad trips to the mountains and beaches when we lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. When we moved East we donated it to the Salvation Army and they actually used it for at least several more years for one of their staff. It was a good reliable car that got good mileage and was comfortable with a growing family. I still sorta wish I could have kept it but that was not to be.

A few years later in the East we bought a Hyundai Sedona van. Held onto that for 100,000 miles and traded it back in on a dealer promotional offer that was too good to pass up for a 2017 Dodge Caravan with 3500 lbs tow capacity that is still going strong to this day with over 115,000 miles and several North-South-North trips towing Over Easy (@ 3000 lbs). The Sedona was also a good reliable vehicle for us while we had it.

Again, Congratulations!
You will enjoy the aspect of the interior room for day to day people moving and the utility of the back bed for hauling stuff around.
Enjoy!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
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Russ
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by Russ »

Congrats. Looks great.

It seems many of these car makers are installing 4 cylinder turbo charged power plants in their vehicles.

Report back on how she tows.
--Russ
tuxonpup
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by tuxonpup »

Thanks all! Don't know if it qualifies as a beast, I saw a reviewer call it a 'trucklet.' I suppose it qualifies as a tow beast by European standards, they're always rating 4-cylinder compacts for pulling 1,600kg trailers, no pick-ups to be found.
Before we head to Powell in June, I'll be representing Tucson in a 50+ Memorial weekend hockey tournament up in Phoenix at ASU's arena and the question is always what do you do with that stinky bag of goalie gear after the first game Friday night. Leave it in the car and roll the windows down on the way back to the rink the next morning, bring it into the hotel room? That lockable tonneau cover over the bed looks like a god send, can even open it up for some airing out on that two hour drive back to Tucson on Sunday.
I've confirmed my goalie sticks will fit back there and our electric scooter is folded up in the bed right now, next up is trying out the trucklet's 110V inverter outlet in the bed to charge the scooter up while driving! Sort of a secret-hybrid-land-dinghy situation...
1996 Macgregor 26X w/150% RF Genoa & Nissan 50hp 2-stroke
OverEasy
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Tuxonpup!

The inverter is a nice touch! It comes in handy!

Back in the day before “inverters” my Dad made a regulated 12VDC motor / generator / alternator that still works 70+ years later! :D 8)
It uses a variable speed regulated 12VDC motor (WWII surplus) which uses a centripetal spring make/break to regulate speed.
That then drives a combined DC/AC generator/alternator that he fabricated…. This was designed to utilize any rotary input to generate a regulated 14 VDC output (to charge up a 12 VDC automotive flooded lead acid battery… this voltage also provides the power to energize the 120 VAC /5 amp capacity regulated alternator. It fits in a shoebox with room to spare for the input and output cables. This was a project my Dad did not long before I was born!

It still works and I’ve used it on multiple occasions when we had our travel trailer and when out in the ‘boonies’ to power corded drills and skill saws for various projects. Now it’s nowhere near as efficient as a current make inverter and one had to fiddle with it periodically to adjust the frequencies but it was a hoot to use. Having working power tools up until the advent of real battery powered tools like Ryobi 18V, Mikita, Dewalt, Kobalt etc… Turned quite a few heads and shortened many a spot project. Real Buck Rodgers! 8) :D 8) :D

Enjoy the new wheels!

Best Regards
Over Easy 8) 8)
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Be Free
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by Be Free »

You are playing HOCKEY in TUCSON in JUNE? I'm going to have to think about that ....
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
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"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
tuxonpup
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by tuxonpup »

Be Free wrote: Mon May 12, 2025 9:37 pm You are playing HOCKEY in TUCSON in JUNE? I'm going to have to think about that ....
No, our AHL team got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs this year, so the only sheet of ice here at the Tucson Convention Center is done until training camp next September. We have to travel far to the North now to find ice, all the way to frosty Phoenix! They actually lost their NHL franchise last summer as they'd been kicked out of their arena and were playing at ASU's little 5,000 seater that this tournament is in.

Slightly off topic but MacGregor related... We were Roadrunner inaugural season ticket holders when the Coyotes moved their farm team to Tucson. Then the parent club ended up playing in an arena that was smaller than ours and were forced to relocate to Utah. I bought the streaming package to keep up with the team and any promoted Tucson players, which came with two free obstructed view tickets for a week day game in Salt Lake City. Not super likely to get used. Then come October, I see two 26X for sale in Salt Lake City and after some inquiries over facebook market place, we drive to Phoenix on a Saturday, buy two same day tickets to Salt Lake City, take a Lyft to the local U-haul after touchdown and drive down the street to a Mexican catering company where the facebook 26X is stored. Jose and I come to an agreement, we hook it up to the rented Silverado and tow it to the nearest Walmart, where the girlfriend shops for king-sized bedding and I manufacture a new trailer light assembly from their auto section. Once it's street legal-ish, we tow it to a hotel by the highway, eat and crash out. Next morning, Sunday, we hop on the highway, tow it 379 miles South down through Zion and arrive at Lake Powell at sunset. Monday morning, we splash her for the first time, spend the whole day on the water and then anchor for the night across the bay from where we put in. Next morning, Tuesday, we motor back across, pull her out and put her in dry storage across the road. Then we drive the 379 miles back to Salt lake City, drop the Silverado back at the same U-haul and take a Lyft to the Delta Center to watch Utah get blown out by Ottawa in the first two periods using our free tickets. Our very expensive free tickets. We grabbed a Lyft to the airport during the 2nd intermission, caught our flight back to Phoenix, then drove the remaining 2 hours back to Tucson.

So yeah, our Arizona hockey team moved to Utah so we flew there and brought a boat back to the desert.

Image
1996 Macgregor 26X w/150% RF Genoa & Nissan 50hp 2-stroke
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NiceAft
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by NiceAft »

I got exhausted just reading about it. :D
Ray ~~_/)~~
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Russ
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by Russ »

Fun story.

I was thinking, "why didn't he rent the truck one way?" But you had to use those "free" tickets. :D 8)
--Russ
OverEasy
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by OverEasy »

Of course there’s hockey in the desert!
They just play on the tops of those flat sandstone mesas on roller blades…… :D :D

Played golf out there once and hitting it into the rough was quite a unique experience watching as the ball ricocheted off the boulders and rocks…. After my parterre when out to find his ball (and two rattle snakes in the process :o :o ) I decided to just take the Mulligans when it was my turn :D :D … the darn balls just aren’t worth it! :D :D
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Piddle and Futz
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by Piddle and Futz »

Forgot to mention we upgraded as well.

Image

Powerful enough that we hardly feel the boat back there, somewhat offset by a 300 mile towing range. Nice to be able to run the power washer from the truck A/C outlet.
OverEasy
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Piddle and Futz!

Nice choice for an electric truck!
I’ve heard/read some really good reports on Rivian!
Would love to here your own experiences with your new ride and the towing capabilities… things like:
How far do you tow?
What kind of actual range when towing do you get?
What’s the acceleration/deceleration like? Is it smooth or is it jerky?
Braking? With just the regenerative vs actually having the mechanical discs engage?
What do you like/use about the interior? Is there enough room?
The front end storage is interesting and do you feel it’s useful?

Best Regards
Over Easy 8) 8)
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Russ
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Re: New Tow Vehicle

Post by Russ »

OverEasy wrote: Mon May 19, 2025 12:46 am I’ve heard/read some really good reports on Rivian!
My nephew owns a Rivian. Nice truck. He loves it.

Was a PITA to get body work repaired, though. Apparently, these newer brands are harder for body shops to learn how to repair.
--Russ
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