Towing A Small Tinnie

[riceball]

Hi I was hoping to get some advice from all the experience boaties here:

I am considering purchasing a small aluminimum tinnie (4.6m) with a 30hp 4 stroke or a e-tec, and I have a Holden Cruz 2.0 Diesel which it does have a towing capacity of 695kg.....Will that be sufficient to tow the type of tinnie that Im after? The weight of the tinnie plus trailer should fit within the towing capacity, but then should I also consider the weight of the car? Does anyone have any experience towing a boat with a small car? Any tips will be appreciated.

Thanks

Louis

[paul.kenny]

Hi Louis,

I have towed a 4.5m side console aluminium tinnie with a 40hp 2 stroke using a Nissan Pathfinder 2.5l Diesel. Last Christmas I towed the boat (with camping gear inside the boat) from Sydney to Mackay QLD and back without any difficulties. The Cruz may have problems towing a 4.6m boat at top speed along undulating roads, but you should be ok if it is just along local roads.

[pjbink]

Whatever you do, don't go over the manufacturer's limit for towing capacity as you could void your insurance in the event of an accident. This means you will have to factor in fuel and gear in the boat as well.

Having brakes on the trailer will increase the towing ability of the vehicle (and peace of mind). Indeed manufactures of vehicles give two figures for towing. It sounds like you have given the unbraked (ie lower) figure.

[andrew399]

Im pretty certain that a boat and engine of that size will be under 695kgs. Your obly concern would be steepish ramps and if towing on the highway up hills you will be going pretty slow but who cares really, I have a 4.5m with floors, seats, high sides and a 50hp and that is under 700kg with the trailer.

[riceball]

Thanks guys, in fact I'm most concerning about the vehicle on the ramp cause its a fairly small car compare to the other towing vehicles and its front wheel drive only, would it do fine with a say 500kg boat on the ramp?

[pjbink]

Specifications (Holden Cruze CD Diesel):

■Engine: 1991cc DOHC four-cylinder 16-valve

■Power: 110kW @ 4000rpm

■Torque: 320Nm @ 2000rpm

■Induction: Turbocharged & common-rail

■Transmission: Five-speed manual

■Driven Wheels: Front

■Brakes: Discs with ABS, EBA & EBD

■Top Speed: Not tested

■0-100km/h: 10.0 seconds (claimed)

■CO2 Emissions: 149 grams per kilometre

■Fuel Consumption: 5.7 litres per 100km (ADR combined)

■Fuel Consumption: 6.8 litres per 100km (As tested)

■Fuel Tank Capacity: 60 litres

■Fuel Type: Diesel

■ANCAP Rating: Five-star

■Airbags: Front, side & curtain

■Safety: ESC with Traction Control

■Spare Wheel: Full size

■Suspension: Strut(F)/Torsion Beam®

■Cargo Capacity: 400 litres

■Tow Capacity: 1200kg (Braked)

■Turning Circle: 10.9 metres

■Warranty: Three year/100,000 kilometre

■Weight: 1506kg (tare)

■Wheels: Steel 16 x 6.5-inch

It will certainly have the power and torque to pull that sized boat. As you can see it can actually tow 1200kg with a braked trailer. In any case I would go for a braked trailer with are relatively small car like this.

[TunaSickle]

Hello

I tow a 4.2m Tinny with a 25Hp on trailer plus gear with an Hyundai I30. Weight is just over 500kgs. It goes fine. Only struggles up very steep hills but can cruise at 110 no probs!

I had a Cruze for a hire car and I would say the I30 goes a bit better though.

Ash

[riceball]

Hello

I tow a 4.2m Tinny with a 25Hp on trailer plus gear with an Hyundai I30. Weight is just over 500kgs. It goes fine. Only struggles up very steep hills but can cruise at 110 no probs!

I had a Cruze for a hire car and I would say the I30 goes a bit better though.

Ash

Hi mate, is your i30 diesel or petrol? I suppose these 2 cars are similar in power and touque. And yeah I'm looking at a boat around that size too.

[andrew399]

Thanks guys, in fact I'm most concerning about the vehicle on the ramp cause its a fairly small car compare to the other towing vehicles and its front wheel drive only, would it do fine with a say 500kg boat on the ramp?

I think you will be fine mate as long as its not a really steep ramp, where are you thinking of launching? I launch mine with a 2.4l petrol hilux and I have never needed to put it in 4wd, keeping in mind I probably have wider tyres so more traction then you but looking at those engine stats above you have more power and torque then my car so you would be fine pulling it, just take off nice and easy on the ramps

[TheAlby]

Thanks guys, in fact I'm most concerning about the vehicle on the ramp cause its a fairly small car compare to the other towing vehicles and its front wheel drive only, would it do fine with a say 500kg boat on the ramp?

A slippery ramp on low tide might bring your front will drive unstuck...i have seen a couple of rear wheel cars struggling at Wharf rd to get traction on low tide

guess it depends on the ramp

[pjbink]

A slippery ramp on low tide might bring your front will drive unstuck...i have seen a couple of rear wheel cars struggling at Wharf rd to get traction on low tide

guess it depends on the ramp

Although a FWD will have the drive wheels further away from the water than a RWD, which could help. I have towed quite heavy boats with sedans. The only problem I have had getting traction is if the ramp is sandy. One trick to use if you lose traction is to get a couple of mates to sit on the boot (RWD of course)!

Generally a RWD will tow better than a FWD, which is probably why they have set the maximum braked tow weight at 1200kg even though the vehicle weighs 1500 kg.

What seems to have been ignored here is braking. One day you may be going down a hill on a wet road and will have to stop quickly. With a small car the weight of the trailer can easily cause a jacknife once you go into a skid. ABS brakes would help but if you are going to tow much over 500kg I would also get brakes on the trailer.

[riceball]

I mostly launch from Roseville or tunks park, the side road going out from Roseville on to Waringah road is quite steep which worries me a bit......And sounds like braked trailer is the go, are they much more expensive than the non-braked ones?

[Geoff]

One trick to use if you lose traction is to get a couple of mates to sit on the boot (RWD of course)!

Another is to use the outboard to provide extra push.

When the boat is on the trailer & there is a traction problem with the vehicle , use the outboard to give the vehicle assistance, normally it does not need a lot of reves to help the car along.

However , a word of caution. Ensure the winch post can handle the pressure otherwise it could end in tears.

Geoff

[a boat]

Hi Louis, a 4.5M tiller steer alloy boat with a good trailer and the outboards you are thinking of will be under your 695Kg limit so no worries there and as the guys have said the only time you may get in trouble is at dead low tide on a bad ramp, but then again having front wheel drive the drive wheels will be higher up the ramp. If you did decide you wanted brakes because you are going to add gear like electric outboard, electric start on the main engine therefore needed two batteries, and all the gear for a trip away than brakes might be the go and they add about $500 to the overall buy price.

As I am sure you are aware when looking at different brands some brands offer more boat for your money and therefore make sure you are careful with weights and when you are ready get in touch with me and I give you my thoughts and a Raider price on what I think is the best 4.5M tinny package around.

Cheers,

Huey.

[PlayerOne]

Hi Mate. You will be at the upper limits of the towing capacity, but you car should tow it fine. Just give yourself more distance when stopping....

I used to tow a fully loaded 4.2 tinny (w/40hp, electric motor, batteries etc...) with a Mazda 3. Which has similar towing capacity as your cruze. It wasnt ideal with 3 people board and AC on - but did it okay. (I have upgraded to a commodore now though...)

PS> 30hp might be small on a 4.6m???

[TunaSickle]

Hi mate, is your i30 diesel or petrol? I suppose these 2 cars are similar in power and touque. And yeah I'm looking at a boat around that size too.

Hello, I've got the petrol model. Also has been fine on the boat ramps too.

[Guest Aussie007]

look up the boat,trailer,motor specs online and total the weights together my mate has a modern 4.5m alloy boat 40hp ive towed it with my commodore and i sure as hell wouldnt tow it with a small car it took a fair bit to get the boat moving on the other hand i have a older alloy boat 4.3m 50hp and its light as a feather i would tow it with a smaller car

[greg123]

Hey mate,

I used to be in a similar situation as you are now. I towed my tinny (4m) with similar motor and battery etc, with a FWD VW Golf. I didn't find any major problems when it came to driving other than a noticeable decrease in acceleration.

However, the major issue I found was traction. Most ramps in Sydney were fine (including Roseville) but I found myself having to inspect the ramps properly to see whether it would be too slippery with a low tide etc. Eventually as I wanted to start fishing other areas I found my car came unstuck on some ramps that I needed to use, so I came to my senses and bought a 4WD.

In short if you stick to the ramps you know well you should be fine, but as you want to fish some more remote areas up the coast or even off long reef (to save yourself the trip from the harbour) you may want to consider buying a small 4WD.

Good Luck with your fishing