Do I need a 4x4 for towing?

R

richrich123

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www.japbay.co.uk
Hi,

Can anyone advise, I am looking at a suitable vehicle for using on a slip way. I currently havea 2 litre, 150 bhp VW bora. It has more than enough power to tow my 6m rib but I am not to sure about a slip way

I know idealy you should use a 4x4 but firstly, I can't see anything decent for under 10k and most designed for 4x4 aren't a very comfortable family car.

Does anyone else use normal cars on slips? I have been told / heard of numerous stories of boats pulling cars down into the water etc.

Has anyone got any ideas on a suitable vehicle for boat trailering / launch as well as a decent family car.

Any one have any knowlege ?

Thanks
 
Re: Need a 4x4

1.9L VW Passat Sport (not too different to the Bora) was great for my Bayliner, though the slip at the powerboat club was perfect and not too steep so it was fine - the journey to france sent the mpg down from over 40 to just 13, but on the slip it had good grip and enough power.

Saying that, the slipway in france is very steep and the marina Land Rover defender has trouble occasionally and that is rigged up with power winch etc, so it's made to do the job - not ideal for a family car?

It very much depends on the steepness of the slipway, swings and roundabouts really, some will be great and others not so good /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Just in my personal experience of course /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
All I would say is if your going to get a 4x4 get a proper one, not a softroader jacked up road car type. Proper 4x4's do make excellent allround practical cars as well, worse thing I did recently was get rid of my Isuzu Trooper and change it for a Subaru Outback. I have saved on fuel and gained performance, but to be honest the big 4x4 was a massively more versatile car and I could have lived with the downsides. Try one first you may be surprised and ignore all the 4x4 knockers.
 
[ QUOTE ]
ignore all the 4x4 knockers

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the Mini ones are nicer














BoobsCar.jpg
 
I use a Kia Sorento to launch my boat. I once used it to effortlessly recover a sports boat that made a twenty year old Land Rover spin its wheels.
 
it really depends on how steep the slip is. The one at Northney is so steep that cars sometimes slide right into the marina, but others I ve seen and used you, need to wait for the tide! Just bear in mind that at low tide, the bottom of the slip is usually under water, and so the slime builds up. I'd say, no, you dont need a 4*4 for 6m rib as long as its not a really steep slip, and you avaoid the lowest of tides.
If its just for launching, you can get an old Cherokee for £1500 or less. That is ok for 3.3tonnes, so you can help all those with nancy 4*4s up the slip!
 
One technique if you have a marginal car/gearing for the boat weight/slip steepness and a fairly wide slip is to end up with the trailer square on to the water but the car at 45deg to the trailer and full steering lock on towards the direction the car and trailer will turn to, as you get the rig moving (which will be much easier than a straight pull up the slip), you straighten the whole rig up.

Works up to the limit of traction on the tyres but I've seen it get improbably-looking combos of slips when once the boat is loaded onto the trailer they might be stuck or burn the clutch trying to get moving in a straight line. Helps with powerful road cars where 1st isn't really low and the engine isn't producing much low torque....

Try it, you'll be surprised how effective it can be if you have the room.

Big problem is without a 4x4 you are probably using a front-wheel drive car, with the trailer on the weight transfer is all OFF the driving wheels, trick there is to unhitch the trailer and put it on its jockey wheel with a short rope. Much better traction as much more weight on the driving wheels. Safer than a having couple of mates on the bonnet too.
 
I used my company 1.9 TDI A6 to launch/recover an 18' Bowrider. Never had a problem.

I also used a Discovery and more recently an X5 - both excellent. My view would be that if you are going 4 x 4, either get a proper one with low ratio or a smaller more efficient one with some sort of traction control. This can be more effective than low ratio.

Either way, for added security you could change the tyres to an off road/on road compromise. Before boats, i was seriously into off roading and even towed my first 13' boat to Isle of Wight behind a jacked up ancient Range Rover. 10mpg and the whole outfit worth less than 2 grand! No problem on the beach though!!
 
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MajorCatastrophe, I've been thinking about a Sorento recently.

Do you know the max weight you can tow with one?

What are they like as a day to day car?

[/ QUOTE ]

Max. towing weights (kg):


Trailer with brakes - Manual 3,000 - Auto 3,500 - 3.3. Petrol 2,800
Trailer without brakes - Manual 750 - Auto 750 - 3.3. Petrol 750
Max ball weight (kg) - Manual 120 - Auto 140 - 3.3. Petrol 140

I have the XS with tiptronic auto gear box. Diesel is noisy when stood still but is unbelievably quiet once you get going and comparable with internal noise levels of BMW's et al , on the motorway.

The steering is too light, but I put up with it and the climate control electric driver's seat and heated front seats work well. Audio is good. The mono LCD sat nav display is rubbish, but it still gets me to my destination every time, but if you tend to go off route, even to a motorway service area, you will have to eject any music CD and put the nav CD back in.

It tows my boat - 2000 kgs + with no problems.

For the price it is brilliant.
If I had the money I would get a Land Cruiser!
 
agree with all the others re steepness of slip etc however don't get caught out!!! I've had to tow quite a few boats out for people when their 2wd (and pretend 4x4) didn't work.
Don't be afraid to ask for help from the guy with the "proper" 4x4 whos waiting to launch his boat....I'm sure they'd rather help you launch/recover than wait for 15mins watching you fry the clutch.
By the way my 4x4 is a 3.0ltr Toyota Hi-lux Surf. Auto box, with low/high range transfer box thingy. So far, i've never got stuck, even when other "pretend" 4x4's did. Normally only have to stick it in low range, into drive and take foot of brake.....Design of tyres do make a huge difference as well!
By the way it's a great road car too!!!
 
I have a Surf too, tows and slips my 20 ft Rinker without a problem.
It's better than the Range Rover I had in that the boat affects it less when driving. 5 seats and a ton of storage in the back.

Drives superb without the boat too, in 2WD mode. I took it green laning last weekend and it was great at that until I found a puddle 3 ft deep that I chickened out of going through, I think the car would have made it but it wasn't worth the risk...

Goes really well on the motorway too, I drove to Yorkshire and back this week, 500 miles round trip 80 quids worth of diesel.
 
You dont need a 4x4 for towing.

If it is just grip you are looking for why not check out Rally tyres ?

I have seen plenty of 4x4s getting pulled back wards as they only have smooth road tyres anyway.
You will find they are more expensive and slightly noisier on the motor way but all insignificant compared with 4x4 which are noisy, guzzle juice and cost a fortune in tyres
 
I use a Saab 95 Automatic to launch / retrieve a Maxum 1800 from various slips with no problem, usually with the kids in the boat. A bit of planning works wonders. Not failed yet. If it's too wet and weedy use a rope as previously posted.
 
I would always recomend a 4x4 for towing, its not just the pulling its also the stopping in a hurry, you don't want the trailer overtaking you. On steep slips i just use the low range on my Range Rover and it pulls my 7m rib out on tickover.
 
I have towed a variety of boats (Upto 3500kg) with a selection of proper 4x4's over the last decade. I have used Disco's (V8 and TD5), Defender and Grand Cherokee's. The power and grip of a decent 4x4 on the slipway makes launching and recovery childsplay.

However in recent years I have downsized the boats and also the towcar. We currently tow with a Honda CR-V diesel, but I have also used my Bora (1.8T) to move the boat . Both cars have the same towing limit, but the CR-V is a lot happier than the Bora. In the wet the bora can simply sit still spinning its wheels trying to get some grip, the CR-V does the same but then the 4x4 kicks in and off we go.For this reason I wouldnt consider using the Bora on a slipway. (Your boat is probably lighter than ours though).

I run the Honda as a compromise, it has car like driving qualities and running costs with some 4x4 ability. I would reccomend it for boats upto 1000kg but not over. We find it will launch and recover on most reasonable slipways but when its steep and long the smell of burning clutch can linger for quite a while !

This slipway at Fowey is about as steep as you could go (You can see how steep by the distance the car is from the water while the trailer is submerged) Despite it being modern grippy concrete with no slime, 2 wheel drive cars could not even pull empty trailers up it. The CR-V nearly died and I have need a new clutch since.
CIMG0217.jpg


A full 4x4 is the best thing for towing and launching, but if your circumstances wont allow one then an SUV such as a Nissan X Trail or CR-V will be simialr running costs and driving to your Bora but will help with the towing as well.


Mark
 
Thanks for all those really useful comments. The slip at Littlehampton 9West Sussex) is quite steep but it is also used for the lifeboat rib so the RNLI keep is clean and well maintained.

Pity they wont share their tractor !
 
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