I am suppsed to pick up my new Nitro Z7 next week. Now I am beginning to wonder if my '98 Ford Ranger, V6 will be enough to tow the boat with. What do you think? I live and fish is a fairly flat area. My wife has a Hummer H3 but she is not going to be happy if I use that every weekend...lol.
I towed my first boat (1995 18.5 foot fish and ski) with a 2000 3.0 V6 Ranger just fine. Just give yourself stopping room and you'll be okay. Welcome to the BBC BTW.
I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.0 6cyl (I would say similar in weight and horsepower to your Ranger)that I towed my Tracker PT-185 for 5 years without a problem. I traded the Tracker for a Nitro 591 (same as a Z-7) and was overhauling the transmission with in the year. The tranny guy told me it wasn't enough transmission to pull that much weight but I kept on doing it anyway. Within the year it was slipping again. I traded for a Silverado with a V-8 and a transmission to match.
Don't worry Ma'am....
I'm only here for the Bass.
Sounds like you need a new fishing partner. ( your wife) Problem solved. New boat behind a h-3 will look sharp. But be careful because they have no problem out fishing you from the back of the boat.
seen small trucks spin on the wet ramps, not enough rear in them somtimes, i agree will wear your tranny out faster, motor is big enough though.
1998 SPRINT 296 PRO/200 RUDE
I pulled an 18.5 with a v6 Dakota for 3 years, no problems...just tow with OD off and like others said..plenty of room to stop..that was always the biggest thing...also tended to slide down ramps somewhat, but it always stopped when the boat floated off the trailer! Always good for a laugh when someone new was backing it down for me and it started to slide...they would freak out big time!
Big weight difference between an aluminum & a fiberglass boat, the reason for the tranny rebuild!
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Superpro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Big weight difference between an aluminum & a fiberglass boat, the reason for the tranny rebuild!</TD></TR></TABLE>
That was my point. But on the other hand the Jeep had a tow rating of 5000 pounds... well under the package weight of the Nitro 591. The transmission guy showed me the difference between the size of the clutch plates in my transmission and the ones in a GM 350. Mine were about the size of a little sandwich plate and the 350 was closer to the size of a medium pizza pan.
Don't worry Ma'am....
I'm only here for the Bass.
Now we have changed our mind about what boat to buy. We purchased a 2008 Triton 18X2 with the Elite package plus a little more. We pick it up on Tuesday. I can't wait. We got the yellow trim to match the H3. It made it so much easier to convince my wife....lol. I will post pictures next week.
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