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retiredff

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I now have a 96 GMC PU w/250k+ and it's started to nickel and dime me to death. It's time for something new!

I know FWD vehicles are bad especially on ramps, but anyone have experience with Honda CRV AWD or something similar? The Honda will tow 1500# and I assume the other brands are similar.

I have a 14' jon w/9.9 and the usual 2 batteries, gear, fuel tank and gear.

Any info appreciated

Tony
 
Not that your setup will be a problem, but Independent Rear Suspension vehicles in general aren't particularly happy towing. With light loads and minimal tongue weights you won't notice much. but as loads increase along with increasing tongue weight the handling of the vehicle will deteriorate. This is more noticeable in IRS SUV's where the vehicles have higher centers of gravity.

Lightweight trailers should not be a problem for the CRV, but if you move up in trailer load you might have to move up in vehicle capability. When it comes to heavy boats and tongue weights, a solid rear axle supports the load better.
 
with what youre gonna spend on a crv you can get a blazer or an explorer 4wd or 2wd. it will your boat just fine and.if.you decide to upgrade your boat you wont have to upgrade your vehicle
 
I have a toyota rav4 2wd with 2.5liter 4 banger. It is rated for 1500 lbs, (toy 6 banger is rated for 3500 lbs) and it tows my 16ft fisher just fine. I always tow in drive not od and keep speed around 60-65 mph. I estimate my fishing rig to weigh around 1300 lbs.

Why do you say fwd is bad on a ramp? Seems to me it is an advantage, front tires always on dry surface and not on a sometimes slippery ramp.

Tim
 
Tim-

with the weight on the rear of the vehicle, that transfers the weight OFF the front and that will cause a loss of traction. I have read where some guys have had to call a wrecker to get them off the ramp. Thats why I want AWD.

I realize I could buy a blazer or something similar but I already have a full size GMC. I'm at the age where I don't want to mess with the needed repairs or have a vehicle around just to pull my boat. I want something I can travel with etc. The GMC is a '96 and starting to nickel and dime me to death!

Tony
 
I tow my boat with a 1999 CR-V all wheel drive. My boat is a 2010 Polar Kraft MV1468 with a 15 Johnson. It pulls it like it is nothing. I even get about 20 mpg towing. I guess all boat ramps are different but where I live they are all concrete. I have never had even a slip of the front tires. With only about 70lbs of tongue weight it's not taking much weight off of the front.
 
I worked for Honda for several years and as bad as I hate to endorse jap rigs, the crv is a great car.

Unless your ramps are mud I wouldn't bet any money a fwd suv would get stuck from the weight of a Jon boat.
 
We had a AWD CRV for a company vehicle a about 6 years ago. I loved that thing. The only time we towed with it was a 4 wheeler on a trailer. Maybe a dozen times. It was a decent sized trailer and a rather large 4 wheeler. Not sure about weight though. The CRV didn't like it back there. 55-60 max speed and that was pushing it. Breaking was a bit of a challenge. I'm sure this trailer was a lot heavier than your boat though. But all in all, great vehicle.
 
I recently bought a 2002 Chevy 5.0L V8 cargo van strictly for fishing and towing. It gets the same gas mileage as my four banger 2.7L Toyota! Towing with the V8 is much nicer and a lot more room for equipment.

As far as traction on launch ramps, I carry a GI folding shovel for loose stuff and a stiff broom for those ramps with too much algae.
 
I searched for an AWD high mpg commuter/ light load tow vehicle last year and wound up with a `10 Subaru Outback 2.5 Limited. (love the backup camera for backing up to a trailer ;)

Its tow capacity is >2500, gets 32+mpg on the highway, and mid 20's towing. I use it to tow my 16' jet boat, my little 12fter, a light weight camper, and a utility trailer. It is hauling something somewhere on a weekly basis. I leave the drawbar in 90% of the time.

I have a full size truck for my big boat, but the Outback hauls the lighter loads with ease. I think it was rated the best little tow vehicle by a couple if different sites over the last couple of years.

The newly designed CRV looks real sharp but if the capacity is still 1,500 - I'd personally like something beefier. For frequent (weekly) and/or long distance towing I have always tried not to exceed 50% of a tow vehicles capacity.

I'm actually a Toyota/Honda fan and drove both the RAV-4 and the CRV, but decided to go with the Subaru. I'm hoping it can make the 200K miles I like to get out of my Toyotas.
 
I pull my 16 ft tin with a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan. Never had any problems with ramps or towing. Its front wheel drive. One lake that I have been to has a real steep ramp and it done fine. The van has the 3.8 and gets about the same mileage with or without the boat. 20 to 22 mpg and feels like nothing is back there.

Steve
 
We have an older Toyota Highlander FWD V6. I use it to pull my 17ft Tracker Pro17 (I'd guess ~1100 lbs with trailer) with absolutely no issues. I have a few very steep ramps near here that we put into and have never had a problem. The only place I'd be concerned about would be one of the ocean ramps at low tide with all of the algae.

The car tows the trailer very well, and I haven't had any issues with braking. The New CRV/RAV4's are about the same size and rating as my older highlander (rated 3500 lbs.)

You shouldn't have any problem with an AWD vehicle.
 
donmac said:
I searched for an AWD high mpg commuter/ light load tow vehicle last year and wound up with a `10 Subaru Outback 2.5 Limited. (love the backup camera for backing up to a trailer ;)

Its tow capacity is >2500, gets 32+mpg on the highway, and mid 20's towing. I use it to tow my 16' jet boat, my little 12fter, a light weight camper, and a utility trailer. It is hauling something somewhere on a weekly basis. I leave the drawbar in 90% of the time.

I have a full size truck for my big boat, but the Outback hauls the lighter loads with ease. I think it was rated the best little tow vehicle by a couple if different sites over the last couple of years.

The newly designed CRV looks real sharp but if the capacity is still 1,500 - I'd personally like something beefier. For frequent (weekly) and/or long distance towing I have always tried not to exceed 50% of a tow vehicles capacity.

I'm actually a Toyota/Honda fan and drove both the RAV-4 and the CRV, but decided to go with the Subaru. I'm hoping it can make the 200K miles I like to get out of my Toyotas.
Click to expand...

I will second the Subaru recommendation. I tow with a 2007 Tribeca, which is an SUV based on the Outback platform. It pulls my 14 footer with no issues and I still get around 20 mpg towing on the interstate. Subaru has one of the best AWD systems out there. The systems on the Honda and the Toyota small CUVs are more "Emergency AWD". I used to work at the Subaru plant in Indiana and there were quite a few high mileage Subarus in the parking lot. If you do get a Subaru, make sure you get the factory tow package which includes the transmission cooler. Subaru takes their durability engineering seriously and rates the vehicles very conservatively towing wise.
 
i would go with a honda i tow my 12 ft with all my gear decking and kids with an 06 odyssey and the lake i go to has a rather steep ramp. the odyssey i hate to say seems like it pulls my boat out easier than my 04 f250 did before i got rid of it.
 
I pull my 16' w/25 hp & gear with my '96 GMC Sonoma PU 4 cyl AOD. It does just fine can barely tell that the boat is even back there. Will probably pull it down on a big hill. If I were to replace it I would probably look for another Sonoma with the 4.3L (v6) just to have the extra power and could pull something a little heavier if need be.

A friend of mine has a heavy duty 4wd Ford Ranger and he pulls all sorts of things with it, including his car trailer, but not for long distances.

Lots of options out there without having a vehicle just to tow the boat and sitting around the rest of the time, but then again it might be nice to not have to unhook and rehook every time you wanted to go fishing. :lol:
 
Ok don't laugh at me, but I have to say that when I first purchased my 14' Mirrorcraft with and old 25 yammy my tow vehicle was my trusty ole 91 honda civic hatch-back. I sure miss that old car...It pulled my boat motor and all the gear just fine.....had over 250k to boot. I have a F150 with the tow package and I cant even notice that there is something back there.
P.S....I also tow my 21 center console that out weighs my tinboat by a couple thousand ponds with no problems. I say get what you want within your budget.
 
The new Ford Explorer can tow 2,000 with a 4 cylinder ecoboost or 5,000 with the 6 cylinder. That will probably be my new tow vehicle.
 
I have 3 different choices to tow my boat with. A 4wd Full size Dodge truck, a 4wd Chevy Trailblazer, And a 2wd 4 cylinder 5 speed Ford Ranger. Granted the complete rig, boat/motor/trailer/gear probably weighs 1200 lb or so. I have yet to find any problems using the Ranger to pull it. Plus it gets over 20+ mpg doing so. You don't even really know it's back there running 65 mph. Now with that said if i'm going somewhere i've never been I drive one of the 4wd's just in case the ramp is crappy or super steep. But here in Florida that's rare, most ramps here are pretty good and not very steep.
 

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