Vehicle to pull a 26x??

[Moondance]

morning


What types of vehicles do you folks use to tow your 26x's around.

I'm just trying to get an idea of all the different cars and trucks people use.

I have a Subaru Outback Wagon and a Nissan Frontier pick up. Will either of these be any good for a long haul trip?

The Subaru is a 4 cylinder and the Frontier is a a 6 cylinder.

Any experiences with either or similar vehicles would be appreciated.

thanks

[Moe]

Do individual searches on the words Subaru and Frontier and you'll find a lot of previous discussion.

[Jim Cate]

Same question: Any thoughts on using a 2002 Mercury Marquis (small V8, rwd) or a Chrysler Voyager minvan (V6, fwd)

Jim

[Moe]

The Ford 2002 Towing Guide rates the similar Crown Vic with 4.6L V8 at 1,500 pounds towing capacity and 150 pounds tongue weight. However, I believe this is the vehicle shown in the MacGregor 26X brochure and website launching the boat.

For the other, seach on Voyager and Caravan.

[Scott]

72 ford 3/4 ton camper special heavy with 429 backed up with a c-6 tranny. Motor and trans out of a 72 merc marquis. 11 mpg w/o a trailer and 11mpg with a trailer.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

We use a 2000 F150 Ford PU, V-6, 27,000 miles on the odometer. Standard shift, 5 speed. Tows fine. It struggles if I try to pull the MacX from the water with the ballast full. I always empty the ballast coming into the marina...and it prevents any trouble at the ramp. We tow comfortably at 55-60 MPH.
I have a check list (and I think CHECK LISTs are without question very important ) concerning towing. >>> lug nuts, spare, lights, engine up, trailer ball tight, safety chain & many more including lug wrench with extension handle, jack with mounting boards, & many more, hatch secure, etc....on and on and on...
Happy Sailing is Safe Sailing and Safe Towing...
Ive learned that a Mac trailer will shear all five lug bolts if not secure...I once saw my aluminum wheel passing me up at 55 MPH after hearing a loud THUD....Aweful way to learn a lesson...right ??

[mark,97x]

pulled my recently sold x,for several years with either my 97,grand marq,or my 95 toyota 4cl,auto and 3500 tow cap,wife never had any touble pulling the x and me out at ramps,and both vech's did fine to the lakes and bay's in south ga. and north fla,avg 120 miles no mountains

[argonaut]

2000 F150, 5.4L V-8, 4WD, extended cab w/topper.
Easily lugs a wet Mac 26x up a ramp with no fuss.
Love my truck.

[hiram6]

Factory tow ratings are frequently given in two ways. With or without the tow package. I tow with a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a stright 6 cylinder engine and automatic. Factory specs say towing capacities are 3500 lbs without the tow package, 5000 lbs with the tow package. Factory tow packages most often include three things:

-receiver hitch
-transmission cooler
-different final drive gearing

My Jeep didn't come with the factory tow package, but I've added the receiver hitch (rated at 5000 lbs.) and a heavy-duty transmission cooler. I feel these are the two critical issues, I'm fine with keeping my stock gearing as it's already low being that it's a 4WD.

An absolute thing to add to anyone's checklist is to disable overdrive on your automatic transmission, or stay out of 5th on a stickshift.

No problems whatsoever towing the Mac X w/ a 40HP outboard with my Jeep. As always, usually the bigger limitation in towing is the STOPPING power of the tow vehicle, not the PULLING power.

IMHO, the Mac X could be towed by any of the vehicles mentioned above at moderate speeds on relatively level terrain. Make sure both the trailer's surge brakes AND the vehicle's braking system are in top notch shape, and drive super-super defensively.

[Divecoz]

I tow ours with a 98 Ford Explorer Sport 4.0 HO V6 Does the job gets 15 mpg doing it but I would not use it for a long haul . Plenty of power but the body/wheel base is too short . . 55 to 60 is Max safe running speed.
I will be adding Air Shocks this summer to see if that helps any .

[argonaut]

Hiram's point is well taken.
Nearly anything will tow a Mac. At least as important is being able to stop and to be able to stop in all conditions safely.

[Jack O'Brien]

Moondance:

I used a 1997 Outback wagon for two years to tow my X despite it being twice the car's rating. No sweat. But I stayed in flat Florida. Upgraded to a Honda Pilot. Works great. The Pilot is rated at 4500# for boats.

[Jeff]

I bought a 10 year old Chevy Suburban 4x4 just to pull the Mac 26M that I'm picking up soon. Got a great deal on the vehicle. I could have pulled it with my 6 cyl Nissan minivan but I wanted room for gear + kids since I intend to trailer it to several places. The van was right at the weight limit, not including extra gear for extended vacations, etc.

Durn but I love that big vehicle. I intended to only tow with it, but I love driving it!

Environmentalists please don't worry, my daily driver is a 4 cyl.