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Posts: 10
| Looking at 2011 GMC Acadia or Acura MDX, towing 3500 lb. boat (1760 Tuffy Osprey)
Anyone have experience with either |
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Posts: 132
| I've towed my 1850 Reata with the wife's 2011 Traverse (same chassis as Acadia) and it works well. I'm actually impressed with how well it tows the boat honestly. Pending hills/wind I get 14-15 mpg (10-12 with hills and/or wind). |
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Posts: 97
Location: Pickering, ON | A 3500lb boat & trailer with a 3.6L V6 (The Acadia)? No way man; I don't care what nonsense max towing capacity they claim.
Edited by JeffinPickering 11/3/2011 2:33 PM
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Posts: 2069
| A 1760 weighs 3500Lbs??? |
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Posts: 559
| I have a1760 Tuffy and pull it with a 8. 1 chevy and I pass you guys all the time. |
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| bobbie - 11/3/2011 6:26 PM
I have a1760 Tuffy and pull it with a 8. 1 chevy and I pass you guys all the time.
And then I pass you while you're filling up. Honestly, it works fine. Whatever these guys want to say they can, but the Acadia will do the job. Yes, other vehicles will do better, but you didn't ask what the best was, rather would those certain vehicles work. And in my experience, the Acadia will. |
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Posts: 130
Location: Madison, WI | I tow a Ranger 690T (right at 3000 lbs full of gas) with a Honda Pilot (same as the MDX). No problems.
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | I think it will work fine, I tow everything with a 1997 Ford F250 with a 7.5 (460). Yes you may get better fuel mileage but everyone needs to pick what works for them. Because I'm a big guy 6'2" 230lbs. Buy what you and your family will be comfortable in and get the job done.GVW has a lot to do with it, just not towing capacity. |
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Posts: 556
| 6-2 -- 230 llbs ----Is that really considered a BIG GUY by todays standards ?? just wondering----half dozen players on my sons high school football team bigger than that. I guess size of the person can definately have something to do with the size vehicle you would drive---Most of the SUV's mentioned will seat occupants of 6-2 to 6-4. You don't need the biggest ruck with the superlarge v-8 or v-10 engine to haul these 20 ft glass fishing boats--the v-6's and smaller chassis vehicles will do it just fine---onlyroblem would maybe be in the mountains and there are none here in the midwest that I have ever seen. |
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| http://www.tuffyboats.com/boats/1760
1760 is 1400 lbs. Are you planning to tow two at once? |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | I guess 6'2" 230 is not huge, but I would consider myself a big guy. My 19 year old is 6'4" 265 is bigger than me. I guess in your eyes I maybe little. I just said buy something you are comfortable in. I am a cross country mover so I drive 700 miles a day and just like to be comfortable.My friend sitting here said a v-6 won't carry him 7'2" 475lbs, just buy what you like. I don't need 800hp diesel in my rig, but it sure is fun to drive around the country.Just curious Esox911 how big a boy are you? |
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Posts: 132
| I'm 6'6" 285 and the Traverse hauls me and my boat just fine. Can even throw a couple other people in it too. Drove it from Minneapolis to Lake St. Clair and averaged 14 mpg doing about 72 most of the way. Drop the shifter to L and select 5 on the gear selector with the tow button enabled and go. No problems. And my Reata is probably 500-1000 lbs heavier than that Tuffy is. |
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| I'd trust the Acura way before the Arcadia. I thought about the arcadia but it really doesn't get that good of mileage with the AWD version which is the one I would have bought. Get a 4runner or Pathfinder. At least they can tow over 5000 pounds. An arcadia might tow well but can it stop well? Can it stop well in a unexpected circumstance? How about the tranny? If you baby it you might get away with it for a few years.
Just my 2 cents.
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| is the 1400 lbs on that Tuffy website, just the boat, excluding the motor? I cant tell. because the motor would add alot more lbs.
All the mid size suv's mentioned above probably pull a boat just fine, but i am assuming they are not built for it. They are fine if you are pulling your boat a couple of times a year. but if you plan on fishing alot, i am with the bigger truck guys on this one.
The mid sized suv's just are made to handle that continuous abuse and everything on your mid sized SUV would wear down way quicker, and probably end up costing alot more money.
if you pull the boat alot, at a minimum, full size SUV or Pickup (GMC/Chevy 1500) |
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| I have a 08 pilot and I love it, and would not scared to pull that boat with it. The Acura is basically a pilot with fancier trim fit and finish. If im not mistaken, it also has a bigger motor (or at least more HP. 245vs300 pilot mdx). I have pulled a boat hundreds of miles with my pilot and would highly reccomend it or the Acura which is basically the same thing. |
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| I was mistaken in my last post, the mdx does have the same motor as the pilot. But, it does have an extra 20hp versus the pilot. |
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Posts: 512
| dcorfman - 11/3/2011 8:41 PM
I tow a Ranger 690T (right at 3000 lbs full of gas) with a Honda Pilot (same as the MDX). No problems.
3000 pounds? I just weighed my navigator 165cs and it was 2360.
Is my number wrong?
Dave |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hi Dave,
Might be a bit high on that... I have the navigator 165 as well, and I have a 2400 lb trailer under it. The navigator weights (standard weight of CS) is 961 lb, then throw in 23 gallons of gas, motors, gear, etc, and I think you might be close to 1700 lbs. Weighed with the trailer..I'd say the 2360 would be about right.
The 690T...big boat, older construction designs and fiberglass...I would not be surprised if the boat and it's gear would weigh 3000 pounds.
As for the vehicle in question, I don't think the engine would be the area of issue for the most part. Hills and such might put a bit of a strain on transmission, but I think the biggest issue is BRAKES... I think it was mentioned quickly earlier... can the vehicle stop the rig? That 1400 boat alone is going to gain some weight with gear, gas, etc... I would guess the trailer under that rig would have brakes on it. If it does, I don't think there would be much issue, save gas mileage. If it didn't have brakes on the trailer, I'd be thinking hard about putting them on...
Steve |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | Being a professional cross country mover, I think I know something about towing.I have a CDL (Commercial Drivers License). I have all endorsements (tanker,doubles,triples,hazmat,auto and motorcycle). I also have 2 million safe miles in commercial vehicles alone. It is just not towing capacity you need to look at. When towing anything in a panic stop the object being towed will plow forward.If you have you vehicle loaded to max(family,gear,luggage etc.) and then add max trailer weight that's a huge load.When towing there is motor strain,tranny strain and most important brake strain. Make sure you have a vehicle that will handle what you intend to use it for.To give another example I have a kid that works for me he took an old car and added big rims and tires.That is a lot of weight over stock. He was replacing brakes alot. I helped him put larger brakes on the car,problem solved. If it is you,dog and boat your fine.Family,dog,equipment,luggage and loaded boat trailer go bigger. |
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Posts: 8844
| I looked into this quite extensively when I bought my truck. The key factor you need to consider is your GCWR, or Gross Combination Weight Rating. It's basically the maximum total weight for your truck, what you're towing, and anything you have in or on either one, including yourself. The Acadia for example:
GCWR ia listed @ 9,500#. Subtract curb weight of 4656#, and you get 4,844#. Okay, that's more than most boats. But you also have to subtract the weight of passengers, cargo, and gas. Figure 2 guys at 200#, now you're down to 4,444#. 20 gal/gas in the boat and 20 gal in the truck? (40x8=320) and you're at 4,124#... That means your boat, your boat trailer, and anything else in it can't weigh more than 4,124#. Certainly enough for most boats. But when you look at towing capacity, it's listed at 5,200#... Proves you can't trust towing capacities.
So anyway, GCWR minus weight of vehicle minus weight of everything in your truck and boat including you minus gas = weight you can safely tow.
I figured it out with my truck, and it came to 8,900#, even though towing capacity was listed at 12,000# |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | That's some heavy gas there addict...where can you get that? 
Great assessment with your post, though..one of the best (if not the best) posts on this thread as to what the buyer needs to consider for their towing vehicle.
Steve
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| The comments about the importance of brakes to towing reminds me of a question raised by a post I saw about a large vehicles brakes being cooked while towing a Ranger, despite having surge brakes on the trailer. When I first got my pick up, I towed a large travel trailer, weighed almost 7,000 empty. However, it had electric brakes and I set the controller up the way the dealer and veteran camper owners suggested. Had smooth stops and despite towing that trailer around 10,000 miles, I didn't need to replace my truck brakes until around 70,000 miles.
Can surge brakes on a trailer be adjusted? The electric brakes on my travel trailer were set so that they engaged slighty firmer than the truck brakes, keeping the trailer straight and putting less stress on the truck brakes. |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | Not sure on surge brakes, I only have experience with air,spring and hydraulics. Fuel is figured between 7-8lbs. per gallon. So he took 8lbs,20 gallons in boat,20 gallons in vehicle =320lbs for fuel. |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Diesel fuel would be upwards of 7 pounds per gallon... Gasoline is around 6.3 - 6.5..
Best to estimate high no doubt....
Steve |
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Posts: 8844
| VMS - 11/6/2011 6:01 AM
That's some heavy gas there addict...where can you get that?
[...]
shhh. My truck runs on water!  |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | 6.3,6.5,7 or 8 the point is the same. I use BP gas it has salt water blend,very heavy. |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Scooter70 - 11/6/2011 4:49 PM
6.3,6.5,7 or 8 the point is the same. I use BP gas it has salt water blend,very heavy.
Is that some of the oil they skimmed off during the oil slick in the gulf?
A "salt water blend?" I'm not following you...can you explain that a bit further so I can understand how BP gas would be heavier than other blends out there?
Steve |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | It is full of saltwater and detergents from the Gulf of Mexico. You know they used that oil. I just bought some BP gas i figured it weighed more. LOL |
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Posts: 582
| i wouldn't do it... a good rule of thumb is to get a vehicle that has a tow rating double of what you are going to tow. Good friend of mine lost his transmission in his Arcadia at 90k. It was covered by the powertrain warranty but did leave him stuck. He would do alot of towing (2 ATV's on a steel 2 place snowmobile trailer). If you gonna pull that much get a tow vehicle that can tow. |
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Posts: 8844
| Another thing to think about, on any vehicle, is to get the towing package. Usually this consists of heaver shocks/springs, all the wirig harnesses, a larger radiator, and perhaps the most important feature, a transmission cooler. That's the one thing that I think about benefot a lot of folks who are blowing transmissions. Heat is a transmissions worst enemy. You can buy aftermarket coolers and install them yourself, it's pretty easy.
Overall, I'm of the mindset that you can never have too much truck. You'll pay for it in extra gas for sure, but you can buy a lot of gas for what it costs to repair any of what's going to break if you're pushing the limits of your vehicle.
The only thing I'd have done differently if I had mine to buy all over again? Diesel. Sure, they're loud and they stink, and they're more expensive to service, but wow. The amount of torque and HP you get? Wow. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | yesterday i drove my diesel for a nice 8 hour drive. it now has 220,000 miles on it and although i went through a few pains with it over the years, it's as nice and enjoyable to drive today as it was the day i bought it. i agree ... buy a diesel truck and then just quit thinking about buying trucks for 10 years or more. i'm driving this one to 500,000 then plan to pull it over on the side of the road and shoot it like an old horse. |
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Posts: 136
Location: Dane Country | A new diesel does not stink at all. You can wrap a white towel on the pipe and it will smell like it was just ironed. Everything has a trade off. Gas engines cheap replacement diesel wow.In cold country you need to plug in a diesel,diesel has glow plugs,and a very expensive turbo.I have a 1997 Ford F250 with a 460 and my son has a 1997 Ford F250 diesel.Being a truck driver all my life I like the quiet gas my son loves the hot rod diesel. The funny thing is stock both trucks pull the same, but he does get better mpg. Both truck 14 yrs. old and still run like they are new.
Edited by Scooter70 11/7/2011 7:29 PM
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| I just bought a 2011 Ford F250 crew cab 4X4 6.7 liter diesel. We pull a Ranger 619VS which I guess weighs about 3000#. We just went from Indiana to Hayward and back, with the cruise set @ 72mph we got 13 to 15 mpg. The truck never shiftered out of 6th gear. On state roads without the boat @ 60-65 mph it gets 18 to 22 mpg. Diesel is about 40 to 50 cents a gallon higher than gas, so with the better mpg, it might be a wash. Fun truck to pull with. |
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| Another couple things to take into account is relaxation. I use to drive a somewhat underpowered SUV and I would baby it but it just didn't quite cut it. I was always dreading the 3 hour drive up North and back. I would have to draft off of semi trucks and keep it around 60-65 miles per hour. I was always the slowest guy on the road but I was babying it getting good mileage but it was still very stressful as it was always gear jumping etc...
Now I just sit back and relax while towing. It's all about torque. Not just lots of torque but "low end torque." Lots of vehicles today have tons of torque but they're so HIGH up in the power band. Sure you might get 275pounds of torque in your little SUV but if it's at 3700+ rpms it's useless. How often are you running at 3700rpm? You want a vehicle that has low end torque with 90% of it coming at 1000 rpms. It really makes a difference. |
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Boat Towing