would my car tow a 3000-lb boat?

 

I would not advise it.

 

Nissan suggests that you tow no more than 1/2 ton with the car. I have seen a guy that had a 96 towing a boat before and asked him, he said that he never had a problem, but then he also never goes into 5th gear. He said that is where the problem is.

Also, if you do, watch your brakes. We already know they barely slow the car down.

 

It wouldn't tow a 3000lb boat, the tongue weight would be too much for the car, the suspension isn't made for it.

 

Things to be concerned about are engine, tranny, suspension, frame and brakes. Engine - should be ok. Tranny-may be ok. Frame - May be ok depending on tongue weight, brakes - may not be ok. Could warp your brakes. Suspension-again- depends on tongue weight. How far are you towing the boat? A couple of miles should be ok if you are careful. I would not go more than 5-10 miles with it though.

 

Its not nice to refer to mother-in-laws by that name!

 

The main problem with towing is usually never with how much the vehicle has the power to pull. It's usually how much the vehicle can safely stop without jackknifing. People found this out in the early 80's with the small Nissan/Datsun and Toyota trucks. They were by no means powerful or fast but they were all more than capable of towing more than their own weight (although not rated for). However many of them ended up in ditches from being jackknifed because they were not heavy enough to stay planted on the road when stopping.

 

I wouldnt be worried so much about teh engine at all but what this pull might do to a unibody sports sedan.

I would be surprised if soemthing (rear subframe assembly or some such) didnt get damaged.

This is somethign driver may not notice and just keep on driving for years and listen to his aligment guy tell him "Yeah it was kinda hard to align but we got it ok"...

Fred..

 

Towing that heavy of a boat with a Max is doable... however, be aware that it will overheat your transmission and overwork your brakes.

This is definitely never good for any vehicle.

-R

 

I just want a boat so badly, and would not want to drive a truck...thinking of getting like a 25 foot boat or something.

 

HA.. yeah, i understand... but you know that the maxima has a hunching problem already, and if you towed it, it would not be good for the springs in the back.. even though driving the truck might not be all that great, think about how it would be if your maximas engine got wore out.... also, driving a truck wouldnt be as bad as the result: being able to take the boat for a ride!! so think about it.. post questions, a lot of these guys here know a lot! GL...

 

Well, you could take advantage of the GM "take home for 24 hours" test drive. Get a truck, launch you're boat. Put it in a slip and do the same test drive in Oct.

 

If it's an automagic. You might be able to but wouldn't recomend it. I lost the 2k brochure somewhere so i can't really tell you, sorry.

 

i'm pretty sure its only rated for like a 1000 or 2000lbs i wouldn't tow the boat with it i would just get a beater truck to tow it by the way what kind of boat is it? and if anyone is interested i have a 23 foot rinker bow rider that may be for sale shortly

 

Yes, absolutely no problem if you have a braked trailer.
According to my specs sheet the max. tow capacity for a braked trailer is 1500kg = 3300lbs. Unbraked trailer limit is 700kg = 1540lbs.

 

my dad used to tow his boat around in a ~90 ford taurus.. it worked alright I guess, he usually never went more than 15 miles at a time and didn't go above like 40 mph. Eventually though the transmission started messing up and he got rid of it. Then again, it was a 10 yr old Taurus, it probably would've died anyway (stupid Ford).

He now drives a 99 Suburban which handles the boat just fine (and is one itself).

 

first of all, I dont have the boat. I would like to find one that fits my criteria and could be towed by my car. BTW my car is a 5spd. I am aware of the loads on powertrain and unibody, and would be looking only for a boat that comes with a trailer w/own brakes.

 

If you are looking at dropping $$$ on a boat and braked trailer, why not drop another grand or so on a 'beater' truck or car with more ability to tow? Not the most practical idea, I know...and not sure if you have the storage room for another car/truck, but its a thought.

 

usually when ppl hear "boat" they are thinking of the big-*** yacht. In reality, you can buy a small powerboat in decent condition with trailer for 3-5 grand. Used trucks (ones that would pass State Inspection) start from at least $3500, plus insurance, and maintenance. I have plenty of parking in front of the house, which is not on the territory, therefore, I'd have to maintain tags and insurance 24-7-365 on a beater truck, and boat trailer. If things were different, maybe I would have bought the truck and took it off the insurance for most of the year. There is no way I am trading in my Maxie for anything other than other Maxie, GS400, or 540i.

 

I would suggest you buy a cheap old truck to pull it with. I believe the car has enough power to pull it, but I wouldn't want to put that much strain on the body. With a truck and a solid frame, flex really isn't a problem. But with a unibody like the Max's (and most passenger cars), it would be quite a strain. (That's why I keep my old S15 Jimmy around---it will pull my 3800lb boat without a problem.) If you could keep it in the Class I range you could prolly get away with it if you could find some air-strut-type rear suspension to handle the weight (as well as trailer brakes.)

Just my .02 worth...

 

ah just get a jetski then forget about the boat. my max will have my jet ski on the back of it soon just need to get it wired for the trailer lights

 

Well, then I guess we need more informaiton on exactly what type of boat you are planning on getting.

 

Guess we need some more info on the exact type of boat/trailer combo.

 

If you get a boat, I'm coming over with the beer.

BTW....how much beer do you think the Maxima can tow?

 

Your problem isn't really how much the Maxima can tow. It can tow 1.5 tons. That's quite a boat. (Bear in mind that the actual weight sitting on the tow bar is only around 80-90 lbs.)
The Max being a FWD, your problem is the condition of your boat ramp.
In case the boat ramp is very steep and slippery you may not get your boat out of the water due to lack of grip and wheel spin on the ramp.
That's your main concern!

 

Thanks everyone for your input. I just looked in the User Manual, and it says the max allowed weight (with trailer), is 1000 lbs. The only problem is to find the boat light enough, and think about a good even ramp. Not sure if I am actually going to do it, but if I do, we'll have a beer together

 

You can even rent a truck from time to time if you don't want to buy a beater truck for $500-1000.
There is just something that doesn't sound good to me about a front wheel drive 5spd car with a 2000-3000# boat behind it on a wet ramp. The tongue weight will take weight off the front wheels too and if that wet ramp has any loose gravel on it... and God forbid the boat took on some water.

 

i have a 6spd 03 se and i recently got the trailer hitch from uhaul for $107 installed. i forgot the class of the trailer hitch but it's only rated for 2000lb load. it is basically bolted onto the spare tire well. i use it to tow a 4x8 utility trailer and i usually have my 450lb motorcycle on the trailer. the combined payload/trailer probably weighs ~750lb.
you'll have to look around really hard for a trailer hitch for the max that will allow you to tow more. tonque weight is one big problem and your car's rear end will look like it's being pressed down. in fact i think there is permenant "damage" to the rear springs because my car's rear end now look like it's lower than the front.
you can definitely feel the body flex eventhough i have relatively light load. braking distances are also much longer.
the bottom line: i wouldn't tow a 3000lb boat if i were you.....if you drive slow or don't go very far then you might be okay. but like someone else said, your biggest problem would be wet ramp/fwd.
get a "smaller" boat like yamaha's http://www.yamaha-motor.com/products...cid=10&mid=141 or other smaller lighter (~2000lb) boats