Falcon ute towing my boat

[Mojo4fishin]

Hi,

First time poster here..

I have brought a 5.75m aluminium boat, weight is 1250 dry with fuel and items in the boat i would say it will add 200kgs or to round it of lets say 1500kgs . I have a ford falcon au one tonne tray back ute with a 1600kg tow bar.

My concern is when at the ramp, launching or retrieving the boat that i will not have enough traction due to the rear wheel drive and being light weight in the back.

My main ramp is the foreshore drive botany nsw at this stage, would you recommend this ramp with a rear wheel drive vehicle?

Any other ramps i can use?

Im currently looking for a 4x4 but they dont come cheap,so may need to save a few $$ to get a 4x4..

Any one currentlytowing a boat that is about 5.75m with a ute? I would like to hear from you.

Any help is appreciated.

[Overdraft]

For a while I was towing a 5.3 alli with an xr8.

On supper low tides it could get interesting but mine was a manual wich might of added to the fun of getting out.

I never got stuck but did have a few interesting experiences getting out late at night on dead low tide. Having said that the trailer I had needed to be completely sunk to drive the boat on so that didn't really help

If u can keep your back wheels above the slime on the ramp u will be fairly safe.

These days I tow a 6.6 with a 4x4 and never get stuck it was hard going from the v8 to a turbo diesel but I wouldn't own anything else now.

[stevefish]

My mate towed a 20 footer Bertram with a ute similar to yours, i think it had a limo diff. I retrieved with it many times. Like others have said- low tide got interesting but no real dramas.

Never been to your ramp though.

[Marty431961]

Just a thought

Hope it helps.

Try get a hold if a few large plastic water tanks,

Put in back of ute.

Fill with water when need weight in back

Using either tap water or bilge pump at waters edge.

When finnished just drain tanks.

Could double as livebait transporters??

Im a fiberglasser, have been building/repairing boats n custom giberglass things for 30+years .

I Have even thought if building a custom water tank that fits into the back of my 308 HZ ute

For launch/ retrieves

But no need now as bought direct injection turbo diesel landcruiser fits the job with ease.

Marty

[Marty431961]

Whups no edit button

Giberglass= fiberglass

Iphone keys too small for big fingers.

Sorry

Marty

[pjbink]

You will have the weight of the drawbar on the back (should be over 100 kg). I don't think you have much too worry about unless the ramp is particularly slimy or sandy. In such cases it will help to turn the traction control off. The system robs the wheels of power when it detects slipping, but this doesn't cater for the fact that you have 1.5 T of boat on the back and you will tend to go nowhere.

[abecedarian]

Billfisher is right, traction control off will let the wheels slip a little and dig through to firmer ground. If still slipping, turn it back on then give it a go.

Another thing to think about is buy some MaxTrax (I think that's what they're called). Basically plastic tracks you put in front if the drive wheels to give you traction to get you off the slippery stuff.

[Marty431961]

I might be wrong but Bear in mind that going downhill backwards at the boat ramp

There probably wouldn't be that much down pressure on the drawbar.

All the weight would be transferred to the outboard motor end of the trailer wouldn't it?

Thus Especially if its a steep ramp.

Cheers marty

[oz_brett]

I towed 1.8T of 6m boat with a 6cyl falcon wagon for 6 years (yes wagon not as bad as a ute) at first I feared the ramp but it was more the highway that was a problem,

Make the ball weight as heavy as you can by moving boat forward on trailer or axle back - ball weight should be 10% of total trailer weight.

This will give you aprox 150Kg on the ball to help with traction, when using the ramp look & wait for the cleanest ramp no sand & no weed etc, when pulling up the ramp go as slow as possible (much easier in auto) any sudden movement will cause a spin.

Once your on the highway the problem I had & you will have with a table top the wind will go over the cabin of the car then under the front of the boat causing the front of the boat to lift ( I didnt strap my bow tight enough once could see it lifting in the mirror) Keep in mind when the front of the boat lifts you have no weight on the ball & trailer sway will happen specially when trucks are passing you.

what you are doing can be done but be careful!!

Edited September 13, 2015 by oz_brett

[batfishing]

I towed a 540F with a BF falcon magnet pack ute. I used cooks river mostly, low tide could be a two foot job sometimes, one foot on the brake and feather it.

Also that was a 4 lane ramp, the far right lane tends to sand up

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[Mojo4fishin]

My mate towed a 20 footer Bertram with a ute similar to yours, i think it had a limo diff. I retrieved with it many times. Like others have said- low tide got interesting but no real dramas.

Never been to your ramp though.

I have the AU falcon ute... so no limo Diff

[Mojo4fishin]

Thank you all for the above information provided.

the tow bar on the ute is 160kg ball weight , with max 1600kg max towing.

not sure if I will be able to move the boat forward or back on the trailer.

I can stick to the high tides, but I fear that one day I will get stuck in trouble..

I have a bit of time until I pick up the boat, to look for a 4x4..so fingers crossed.

cheers

[stevefish]

I have the AU falcon ute... so no limo Diff

Not sure of the model exact model, I think it was either optioned or aftermarket. Not 100% sure on the issue though. I only ever drove it from the boat preparation area to the ramp and vice versa.

[brad_tate]

I might be wrong but Bear in mind that going downhill backwards at the boat ramp

There probably wouldn't be that much down pressure on the drawbar.

All the weight would be transferred to the outboard motor end of the trailer wouldn't it?

Thus Especially if its a steep ramp.

Cheers marty

The angle of the trailer only has a comparatively small effect on the weight on the towball. The weight on the towball on a horizontal surface is the difference between the weight behind the pivot point (i.e. the trailer wheels) and the weight forward of the pivot.

An angled ramp affects how much this weight is translated into downward force however - the greater the angle, the more that weight is translated into rearward force not downward. On horizontal ground 0% is rearward force and 100% is downward. At 45 degrees of incline 100% is rearward force and 0% is downward.

In between it is a linear transition from memory, so if your boat ramp is a 15% incline, then you will have 1/3 less downward force on your towball, but only of the weight over the towball, not the total weight of the boat and trailer.

Happy to be corrected if my Physics is wrong!

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[Marty431961]

So im correct? Or not,

Id be throwing a few sandbags in the back of the traytop.

Better be safe than sorry

Cheers marty

[Marty431961]

Correct in thinking that reversing down the ramp that the weight transfer would mean less downward force on towbar than on the flat?

Resulting in more chance of loosing traction.

And id think a limo diff would be worse as both wheels will spin resulting in maybe going sideways,

At least with a single spinner your rear should stay in 1 place a bit better,

[pjbink]

Correct in thinking that reversing down the ramp that the weight transfer would mean less downward force on towbar than on the flat?

Resulting in more chance of loosing traction.

And id think a limo diff would be worse as both wheels will spin resulting in maybe going sideways,

At least with a single spinner your rear should stay in 1 place a bit better,

With the car being on the same slope the weight bias will be the same so there won't be any less weight on the towbar I would think. Plus you need very little traction as gravity is doing most of the job. It's probably not a good idea to stop suddenly though (I have seen people use this as a launching technique - some cars have also been launched this way)!

[Mojo4fishin]

All,

Thank you for the above information provided..

I have a had a look at new and used 4x4 dual cab vehicles , but they don't come cheap.. have just brought the boat so paying another 40k+ for a 4x4 was just out of the question for now..

My thoughts are , The Ford Territory AWD is a option at this stage, the are priced from 8-15k with average km's the tow capacity is 2300kg( braked which my boat trailer is )

I assume this will still be better then the ute I currently own, with traction at the boat ramp and not some much the towing ETC as this is the same motor. I have also phone a few suspension and for about 1k I can do new spring etc for towing etc.

thoughts on this idea please?

Appreciate the help.

[batfishing]

We bought a territory just after we bought the 540sig. It never knew it had it on, and I never had an issue at a ramp. Great tow vehicle

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[Mojo4fishin]

Ian, how was the territory with fuel and towing the 540? Did you have the AWD or the RWD?

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[batfishing]

We had the AWD Ghia. It's a big car, big engine......so.........I'm recalling we used to run between 13-16lph. In it..................

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[Twinfisher 4.9]

Hi Billfisher, being on the ramp at say 25 degrees, despite both the boat and the vehicle being on the same slope, there is considerably less downward pressure on the tow-ball. Gravity sucks!

Edited October 10, 2015 by Twinfisher 4.9

[pjbink]

Hi Billfisher, being on the ramp at say 25 degrees, despite both the boat and the vehicle being on the same slope, there is considerably less downward pressure on the tow-ball. Gravity sucks!

Yes, that is correct (though ramps are usually 12 - 15 deg). Not much you can do about it though. You just need to make you measurements on level ground and make sure they are within vehicle makers specs as well as having sufficient down force to discourage swaying (7 - 10% of the rig weight).

This brings up another point which is it's helpful to have the rig sloping slightly downwards to the tow ball. Under heavy braking the front of the car will dive and the rear will lift. The trailer has its own momentum and if the car gets slightly out of line a jack knife can occur. A downward slope in you rig will help with stability under brakes.

[Twinfisher 4.9]

I agree, but with too much down weight on the tow ball it can also lead to trouble when towing downhill. I think that tow-ball weight is significantly overlooked and whilst I am totally opposed to further legislation, I have seen so many caravans and boats get into trouble on freeways, especially going down hill when the towed trailer, van, boat trailer, starts to push the towing vehicle. People naturally apply brakes, which is the worst thing you can do.

[amkr]

I agree, but with too much down weight on the tow ball it can also lead to trouble when towing downhill. I think that tow-ball weight is significantly overlooked and whilst I am totally opposed to further legislation, I have seen so many caravans and boats get into trouble on freeways, especially going down hill when the towed trailer, van, boat trailer, starts to push the towing vehicle. People naturally apply brakes, which is the worst thing you can do.

Whats the correct course of action

(assuming mr plod is parked at the bottom of the hill with a water pistol)