Tow Mc26

[BOAT]

Yes, that explains it way better than I did. In fact there are a lot of people that do indeed tow the MAC with cars that really do not have the drive-train to do it (As in the example of the Bug), but most of those folks only tow the boat a couple miles. The place where I really see the difference in the REAL capacity of cars and trucks is at the launch ramp.

In my van I just put the van in drive and can idle right up the ramp with ease with a full ballast, in the meantime I can hear the guy next to me flooring his gas pedal roaring up the ramp with everything his 4 Runner has got to offer yet the guy in a a much small Toyota on the other side of me is having no struggle at all.

A lot of it is the drive train - one guy has a small four cylinder and the other guy has a big six. One guy has a 3/4 ton rated rig and the other guy has a lot less. I see lots of big trucks struggling at the ramp because they are only 1/2 ton trucks with small V8 engines and I see the guy with a 3/4 ton straight six diesel just powering up the ramp with ease.

It's all about the drive train.

The MAC would probably break a bug - and there are lots of pictures on Google of vans and trucks going into the water at launch ramps because they did not have sufficient beef to get up the ramp even though they had great GVWR.

I think your expination is very good.

[RobertB]

Personal opinion:
Most important when towing is suspension including tires rated for the load. Then transmission and brakes. Last engine power (that would be torque, not horsepower )
Most important for ramp - traction!

I remember one day at Ocean City, MD when I pulled my up the wet ramp effortlessly with my Volvo XC-70. Actually had another boat owner come over and state that would have made a good commercial for Volvo. It did so well because of the advanced all wheel drive. Where the car is marginal was in the capacity of the suspension and the transmission - that is why I now have the F-150 (after a new transmission).

[seahouse]

In my van I just put the van in drive and can idle right up the ramp with ease with a full ballast, in the meantime I can hear the guy next to me flooring his gas pedal roaring up the ramp with everything his 4 Runner has got to offer yet the guy in a a much small Toyota on the other side of me is having no struggle at all.

A lot of it is the drive train - one guy has a small four cylinder and the other guy has a big six. One guy has a 3/4 ton rated rig and the other guy has a lot less. I see lots of big trucks struggling at the ramp because they are only 1/2 ton trucks with small V8 engines and I see the guy with a 3/4 ton straight six diesel just powering up the ramp with ease.

It's all about the drive train.

The MAC would probably break a bug - and there are lots of pictures on Google of vans and trucks going into the water at launch ramps because they did not have sufficient beef to get up the ramp even though they had great GVWR.

Hey BOAT – what you are describing here is more related to operator error than anything else. I don't believe that there would be a current (say last 10 years) road car available in North America that doesn't have enough power (torque, actually) to pull a Mac up a launch ramp, of reasonable grade. Even the engines in small econoboxes today have lots of torque and power. As mentioned by RobertB, it's traction (wheel slip), not power that is the limiting factor at the boat ramp.

If a guy just floors the gas pedal he's going to get wheelspin all the way up (or down!) the ramp, no matter what the engine or drivetrain. If you switched the two drivers in the above example I think you would see it's the driver, and not the vehicle that is the bigger difference. It's a difference of the amount of torque being applied to the drive wheels, and not the torque that's available from the engine.

The boat/trailer/vehicle in the water things on Youtube videos are not from lack of power either.

Well. OK.

They kinda' are.

Lack of brain power, that is.

Simple brake application would have stopped most of them from getting soaked. But, again, those things don't usually happen to people who use common sense. Gentle application of throttle as the transmission torque convertor builds torque as the brake is released will get you out every time if you have enough traction with the drive wheels.

TIP : A 2X4" piece of lumber, or similar, placed behind the wheels on the slope of the ramp will take some of the strain from the parking brake and transmission pawl, and prevent the vehicle from rolling back, if needed in an iffy situation. I always apply the parking brake, and then put it in "park", in that order, when on a slope.

- Brian.

[BOAT]

Yeah, that all sounds right to me too seahouse - I really am not well versed on why all those other people ended up in the drink on you tube. It does seem to me that when I am at the ramp that a lot of people go way too far into the water with their trucks (I have never gotten my van wet launching the boat, not the back tires, not the bumper, nothing) and as for rolling back with the brake and everything well, the weight of 'boat' is not even a factor for me when I am launching because by the time my trailer wheels are under water (long before the van gets to the water), 'boat' is already floating. (It's a steep ramp).

I think I have heard some tire squealing from those pickups now that you mention it. Just last month I saw an old 1972 Chevy Van go about half way into the water trying to launch a Bayliner. The Harbor Patrol sent a tow truck to the ramp and they winched him out of the water with the Bayliner still attached!

[Russ]

The Harbor Patrol sent a tow truck to the ramp and they winched him out of the water with the Bayliner still attached!

You mean like this....

[BOAT]

Well, no, it was not that bad - the Chevy van was only about half way into the water - the driver and the front half were all still sticking out of the water and the driver was still sitting behind the wheel and the motor on the van was still running when he finally called out for help. A couple of guys launching a fishing boat with FOUR HUGE 100 HP Mercs on the back stopped what they were doing and ran over to help the guy. I don't know what he said to the fisherman guys but he seemed afraid to get out of the cab. When the tow truck came there was a Harbor Patrol car with it and they hooked up the winch on the back of the tow truck to the front of the van and the tow truck slowly winched the van and the bayliner (still attached) right out of the water and then the tow truck started driving forward towing the whole mess away from the ramp.

After they removed the tow cable from the Chevy Van, the Chevy Van drove off with the Harbor Police like as if nothing was wrong with the Van. Not sure what the dealyo was.

The part in your picture where the Mater Truck is using the tow winch cable thing from way up high to pull them out of the water - that part does look the same as what the Harbor Patrol Tow truck did too. I wonder why they do it that way? I guess it's better using the winch than backing down the ramp? not really sure (I never drove a Mater Tow Truck.)

[Highlander]

I heard he forgot to unhook the bow eye put the boat into reverse & gave her sh_t & dragged the whole outfit into the Drink

J

[Russ]

I heard he forgot to unhook the bow eye put the boat into reverse & gave her sh_t & dragged the whole outfit into the Drink

J

You mean THIS one...

[Jeff L]

I heard he forgot to unhook the bow eye put the boat into reverse & gave her sh_t & dragged the whole outfit into the Drink

J

You mean THIS one...

I am wondering If this action on the ramp was set up to entertain the passengers

on the small cruse ship in the back ground of the picture ???

[taime1]

I am wondering If this action on the ramp was set up to entertain the passengers

on the small cruse ship in the back ground of the picture ???

That's not a small cruise ship, it's a white they just move so slowly people confuse them for cruise ships...

[Sea Wind]

how about a chain reaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aoSRH9Ddhs

[Boblee]

thank you all. I think I might have surprises by weighing the boat. I Will try to find other solutions.

I can guarantee you will be surprised if you weigh the boat in operational condition IMHO the trailers should be rated at least 2500 kg or 5500lb ours is now rated at 2800kg (6117lb) and would just scrape in if weighed when travelling for the winter trip.