Towing a 25' boat 6 hours

RedRocketZ28

Original poster
Member
May 16, 2014
114
Figured I get a little discussion going in this section since it seems to be pretty dead. Anyway, my parents have a 1999 Mariah Z252 and we need to bring it up to Iowa from the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri since they recently sold their condo. It's sitting on a brand new double axle trailer and is ready to be brought home. We have the option of towing it with my Rainier or my Dad's 2002 Avalanche.

The boat weighs around 4300 lbs. dry, and I'm guessing the trailer to be between 12-1500 lbs. I am not concerned with the weight of the boat and trailer but more so the size of them. Currently the most I have towed with the Rainier is my Camaro on a flatbed trailer and it does a great job with that. I am guessing the weights would be pretty similar between the two setups.

I am trying to decide which vehicle, the Rainier or Avalanche, would be best for the job. My Rainier has a 5.3, 3.73's, tune, new brakes and good tires. My Dad's Avalanche is also a 5.3 but has 3.42's, and tires and brakes that could both use replacing.

As I stated before, my concern with the Rainier is that it weighs less and has a shorter wheel base than the Avalanche but it's in better shape mechanically and has the advantage of the 3.73 gearing and slightly more power.

With that being said, which vehicle would you all choose to do the job? Thanks.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Either would probably be OK. Pick a non-windy day (just to make it easier), the Avalanche being longer would be a little easier, but if it needs brakes I'd look at replacing them before towing with it. The Rainier I'm sure would do fine also however.

I guess it is really a 6 in one hand, half dozen in the other type deal, partially because each has their pros and cons (gearing better one one, wheelbase better on the other, etc).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mooseman

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
Either or. Does the trailer have brakes?
 

RedRocketZ28

Original poster
Member
May 16, 2014
114
Yeah, it has brakes. I am not sure if they are electric or surge though.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
They should be surge. You'll be fine with either. If it didn't have brakes I'd use the avalanche.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tiggerr

RedRocketZ28

Original poster
Member
May 16, 2014
114
Figured I'd update this quickly. We ended up using a family members 2012 Tahoe and it did the job just fine. Would still have liked to have more power but we got it home safely. I did hook it up to the Buick to pull it onto the road in front of my parents house so my Dad and I could clean it better. I don't know if it'd be a good idea to use it to pull to the lake or not. The boat makes it look pretty tiny.

 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
Now I have a feeling what 26' of travel trailer would look like behind my XL Voy... maybe I should start smaller...way smaller...lol.

Sweet looking boat! Looks like it has a cuddy cabin... :: drool::
 
  • Like
Reactions: Capote

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
And I thought my 19 looked big behind the truck lol. Am I seeing things or is there a piece of skeg missing off that drive?
 

RedRocketZ28

Original poster
Member
May 16, 2014
114
Now I have a feeling what 26' of travel trailer would look like behind my XL Voy... maybe I should start smaller...way smaller...lol.

Sweet looking boat! Looks like it has a cuddy cabin... :: drool::

No cuddy, just a large bowrider.

And I thought my 19 looked big behind the truck lol. Am I seeing things or is there a piece of skeg missing off that drive?

Yeah, this thing makes the Buick look like a toy. The Tahoe looked a little better but the boat is pretty long with the swim platform hanging off.

Yeah, there is a piece of the skeg missing. We are going to get it fixed here soon. The previous owner must have hit something. We have owned the boat for a little over a year and have maybe put 10 hours on it. Time to change that this season.

We are going to take it out this weekend but I am not sure if I should use the Buick or Avalanche.
 

littleblazer

Member
Jul 6, 2014
9,265
It'll make pretty big difference once it's fixed. At least your trailer isn't bent like mine. Scares me every time I tow lol. How many hours on it total about?
 

RedRocketZ28

Original poster
Member
May 16, 2014
114
220 hours. Everything is in great shape for the year. It was such a huge step up going to this from our 18' Four Winns. The small boat was nice for the lakes around here in Iowa, but we are looking to get another place down at the Lake of the Ozarks soon.

 
  • Like
Reactions: xavierny25

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,273
Posts
637,499
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online