Honda CRV and Aluminum 5.5 boat towing capacity.

[sleepydragon]

Hi Raider,

I have been thinking of upgrading my 4.5 Polycraft to 5.5  boat. At this moment I have a Honda CRV 2003 AWD model with 1500kg towing capacity according to the specification. I am not sure if any member try to tow a 5.5 boat on this car. Your 2 cents chip in is much appreciated.

Cheers

[Fab1]

If your rig weighs less than that 1500kg braked capacity then it will be a legal towing combination.

How much dose your boat weigh fully loaded for a trip including fuel and all gear is the first thing I'd want go know?

Take whatever boat you plan to buy "fully" loaded over a weigh bridge to be "certain" of it's actual weight.

You can tow pretty much tow anything with anything provided what your towing is kept under the vehicles max tow rating,taking care on the roads,having a well maintained vehicle and being sensible at the ramps.

Cheers.

[jeffb5.8]

Honda CR-V are also not all wheel drives and you will struggle on a slippery ramp, they are Front wheel drive until you have wheel slip and then a rear wheel will come into play.

[Sigma]

I wouldn't even attempt to tow it with a CRV. 

When I bought my Quintrex 560 Freedom Sport, it was registered in Victoria but the owner had it here in NSW.

In order to register it NSW, he needed to take it over a weigh bridge. Completely empty with the Dunbier trailer, it weighed 1530Kg. Adding your fuel, eskies and everything else could add up to 1700-1750Kg

At the time, I had a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo and when I hooked it up, even with the Falcon you could really feel the weight when you were towing it. Due to this, the Falcon absolutely guzzled the fuel. I would go from Liverpool to Botany and it would waste nearly half a tank (65ltr tank) of fuel.

Since then, I traded the Falcon and bought a new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (2.4 Turbo Diesel) as it is a proper 4WD and I love how it tows the boat now and the fuel gauge hardly moves. 

Mate, my advice is, get a diesel....they were made for towing.

 

Cheers

Dave

[deek]

I have a Honda CRV Diesel. I tow a 4.55 polycraft without too much fuss. The CRV has a towing capacity of 2,ooo kilos. So, I'm pretty sure if you got the diesel you'd be ok.

[kingfishbig]

A lot, but not all 5.5m boats will be close to 1.5T fully laden, if not over it. There is also a big difference between towing a few km to your local ramp and towing several 100 km on the highway. If you think you will be doing much of the latter I would suggest having a significant buffer, ie being somewhat lower (say 20%) than the maximum allowed, for safety and stress free towing.

[sleepydragon]

1 hour ago, Sigma said:

I wouldn't even attempt to tow it with a CRV. 

When I bought my Quintrex 560 Freedom Sport, it was registered in Victoria but the owner had it here in NSW.

In order to register it NSW, he needed to take it over a weigh bridge. Completely empty with the Dunbier trailer, it weighed 1530Kg. Adding your fuel, eskies and everything else could add up to 1700-1750Kg

At the time, I had a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo and when I hooked it up, even with the Falcon you could really feel the weight when you were towing it. Due to this, the Falcon absolutely guzzled the fuel. I would go from Liverpool to Botany and it would waste nearly half a tank (65ltr tank) of fuel.

Since then, I traded the Falcon and bought a new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (2.4 Turbo Diesel) as it is a proper 4WD and I love how it tows the boat now and the fuel gauge hardly moves. 

Mate, my advice is, get a diesel....they were made for towing.

 

Cheers

Dave

 

It looks like I have to upgrade the car before I can upgrade the boat. My Boss won't approve for this expensive upgrade lol.

Cheers

[sleepydragon]

2 hours ago, jeffb5.8 said:

Honda CR-V are also not all wheel drives and you will struggle on a slippery ramp, they are Front wheel drive until you have wheel slip and then a rear wheel will come into play.

My CRV is All Wheel Drive according to the specification. I have been towing my boat with it with no problem at all.

[Ojay Samson]

36 minutes ago, sleepydragon said:

My CRV is All Wheel Drive according to the specification. I have been towing my boat with it with no problem at all.

Jeff is right, all crv's are more in line with being a front wheel drive till the FRONT wheels slip then they lock up the rear wheels to try give more traction. I think their buzz word/term is 'real time four wheel drive - RT4WD'

Edited May 31, 2017 by Ojay Samson
intially wrote 'rear' instead of 'front'

[Sigma]

I agree with Jeff and Ojay. I think that the other buzz word is "full time 4WD".

Before the falcon, I had Toyota RAV4 and as Ojay mentioned, the rear wheels only engage when the fronts lose grip...therefore most of the time you are using it as FWD.

The other thing is that I have noticed where these smaller AWD towing bigger boats, the cars suspension sags and that surely couldn't be good for your cars suspension when not towing.

My simple thinking is, bigger boat...bigger vehicle. Smaller boat...smaller vehicle. Yes, you might be able to tow bigger things with a smaller car due to the rating but think how much strain you are puttIng on the engine, gearbox, suspension and even the cars chassis.

Cheers

[kingfishbig]

2 hours ago, Sigma said:

I wouldn't even attempt to tow it with a CRV. 

When I bought my Quintrex 560 Freedom Sport, it was registered in Victoria but the owner had it here in NSW.

In order to register it NSW, he needed to take it over a weigh bridge. Completely empty with the Dunbier trailer, it weighed 1530Kg. Adding your fuel, eskies and everything else could add up to 1700-1750Kg

At the time, I had a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo and when I hooked it up, even with the Falcon you could really feel the weight when you were towing it. Due to this, the Falcon absolutely guzzled the fuel. I would go from Liverpool to Botany and it would waste nearly half a tank (65ltr tank) of fuel.

Since then, I traded the Falcon and bought a new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (2.4 Turbo Diesel) as it is a proper 4WD and I love how it tows the boat now and the fuel gauge hardly moves. 

Mate, my advice is, get a diesel....they were made for towing.

 

Cheers

Dave

It's interesting that it came in that heavy. The specifications for that boat are a hull weight of 620 kg and a towing weight of 1.11T, which is typical for a pressed tinnie of that size.

Also I tow a 1.3T boat with an XR6 Falcon (non turbo) and I hardly know it's there on a flat road like the M5. Fuel consumption ticks up but only slightly.

[kingfishbig]

3 hours ago, sleepydragon said:

 

It looks like I have to upgrade the car before I can upgrade the boat. My Boss won't approve for this expensive upgrade lol.

Cheers

I'd get the boat first and see how it goes. If you are well under the vehicles rating of 1500 kg I don't see what the problem is. Pressed tinnies and the likes of the Surtees and Barcrusher of 5.5m shouldn't be more than 1.2 or 1.3 T fully laden.

[Ric001]

You may want to consider the gcm. When the trailer/boat gear and fuels are all combined with the vehicle mass and all the gear and passengers then you can be way above the max rating for your car. 

If car is rated at 4t gcm, max tow is 1.5t that only leaves you 2.5t for the car including all fuels passengers and luggage. 

Rms and constabulary can put you on a mobile weighbridge and give you an unpleasant surprise. 

Ric. 

[The Incredible Hull]

I used to have a 2003 CRV, and I've had it up on the hoist and have seen all 4 wheels moving. They are a constant 4wd.

1500 towing capacity? Thats a joke... 4.5m boat would be the max you would tow. Anything bigger than 4.5m, you need better towing vehicle. 

When you eventually upgrade cars, go diesel.  Gl.

[Sigma]

Hi Incredible Hull,

You would have seen them moving on a hoist cause the fronts were spinning (no grip), hence the rears kicking in.

Just googled it and it confirms this in the 3rd paragraph.

http://www.motoring.com.au/used-car-advice-honda-cr-v-2002-05-11061/

[jeffb5.8]

8 hours ago, deek said:

I have a Honda CRV Diesel. I tow a 4.55 polycraft without too much fuss. The CRV has a towing capacity of 2,ooo kilos. So, I'm pretty sure if you got the diesel you'd be ok.

Diesel, we didn't get a diesel CRV option here in Aust until something like 2014 unless it's a Jap import.

The front diff of a CRV are not LSD, so it's really only 1 drive wheel at the front, spin that and it then transfers to the rear which is also not a LSD so it then drives only one rear wheel.

my Mate who owns Honbits Autos wreckers in Smithfield, used to thrash the 2003 / 2005 CRVs on his 360acre property but due to the above they could not handle it, So he now has a bunch of Suzuki Vitaras which cop a hammering.

p.s 

they are great cars had one for 10yrs and only thing I spent on it was wear and tear items.

it towed my 4.4mtr tinnie and gear for a family holiday well.

Any bigger and you will find the short comings really quickly, it definitely struggled to tow my 5.4 Stacer Bowrider and all I wanted to do was move it down the road, I think my Stacer weights 1290kg plus fuel, gear and extra equipment.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2017 by jeffb5.8

[jeffb5.8]

Don't want to put you off just letting you know my experience.

Happy for you to come round hook up my boat and tow it round the block as I have a decent hill near my house and it's a wide quiet road. You will need insurance

[Trailcraft43]

I tow my 5.3 trailcraft with my 1991 Sahara direct inj turbo diesel.

have to keep a look in the rear vision mirror to make sure its still there. Cant even feel it on the back. 

Will weighbridge the boat for total weight when i get the sahara back from the mechanics when new clutch is fitted at the end of the week. 

I lifted it last week to totally degrease the underneath to make nice n clean for my mechanic to work on.

this will be its second clutch since 1991

 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Trailcraft43

[Fab1]

3 minutes ago, Trailcraft43 said:

I tow my 5.3 trailcraft with this 1991 Sahara direct inj turbo diesel.

have to keep a look in the rear vision mirror to make sure its still there. Cant even feel it on the back. 

Will weighbridge the boat for total weight when i get the sahara back from the mechanics when new clutch is fitted at the end of the week. 

 

That's the first time I've seen one of those new mobile 2 post hoists.Should have enough of an angle to drop the box now.This post has gone all over the place for the poor bloke asking the question.He'll be told he needs a Mack truck before long.

[Fab1]

1 hour ago, Trailcraft43 said:

I tow my 5.3 trailcraft with my 1991 Sahara direct inj turbo diesel.

have to keep a look in the rear vision mirror to make sure its still there. Cant even feel it on the back. 

Will weighbridge the boat for total weight when i get the sahara back from the mechanics when new clutch is fitted at the end of the week. 

I lifted it last week to totally degrease the underneath to make nice n clean for my mechanic to work on.

this will be its second clutch since 1991

 

I guess the quinny was to heavy fir the Nissan buried under it and his lockers didn't help him.Time to get a toyota i think.

[spotterone]

Pretty sure every boat manufacturer fudges their figures at least a little bit in order to make their boats seem lighter, or at least provide a completely dry weight, which is definitely not how we use our boats. I've got a set of corner weight scales which are accurate to the kilo, and I've weighed a few boats now. Every one has been way over the initial "estimate" from the manufacturer. Mine for instance should be 1750kg or thereabouts on the trailer, but is almost 2150kg on the scales with a little bit of fuel in it. Food for thought if you're looking at buying a boat that's supposedly close to the max towing weight of your vehicle.

[sleepydragon]

15 hours ago, kingfishbig said:

I'd get the boat first and see how it goes. If you are well under the vehicles rating of 1500 kg I don't see what the problem is. Pressed tinnies and the likes of the Surtees and Barcrusher of 5.5m shouldn't be more than 1.2 or 1.3 T fully laden.

That is correct, how do you know I am going to go for Surtees/Barcrusher  ?. My Crv rating 1.5T but again I want to know if any one does it in real life. I don't want to go to expensive upgrade from the boat to the car.

 

Cheers

[kingfishbig]

51 minutes ago, sleepydragon said:

That is correct, how do you know I am going to go for Surtees/Barcrusher  ?. My Crv rating 1.5T but again I want to know if any one does it in real life. I don't want to go to expensive upgrade from the boat to the car.

 

Cheers

Well you said 5.5m alloy so those models popped up (and also they have a light towing weight). I haven't owned a Crv so I am just going by what I know. As I said if you are well under the max tow weight I don't see too much of a problem. The biggest drawback would be that it would be a bit slow and underpowered. As I said if you are just going a short distance to the local boat ramp you can  put up with such shortcoming at least for a while.

PS if you do decide to get a better tow vehicle then there is no need to go to much expense. A Ford Falcon from AU!! on will tow a 1.3 T rig easily and are cheap as chips (depending on the year model). Actually they have a higher tow rating than a lot of medium 4WDs.

[deek]

14 hours ago, jeffb5.8 said:

Diesel, we didn't get a diesel CRV option here in Aust until something like 2014 unless it's a Jap import.

The front diff of a CRV are not LSD, so it's really only 1 drive wheel at the front, spin that and it then transfers to the rear which is also not a LSD so it then drives only one rear wheel.

my Mate who owns Honbits Autos wreckers in Smithfield, used to thrash the 2003 / 2005 CRVs on his 360acre property but due to the above they could not handle it, So he now has a bunch of Suzuki Vitaras which cop a hammering.

p.s 

they are great cars had one for 10yrs and only thing I spent on it was wear and tear items.

it towed my 4.4mtr tinnie and gear for a family holiday well.

Any bigger and you will find the short comings really quickly, it definitely struggled to tow my 5.4 Stacer Bowrider and all I wanted to do was move it down the road, I think my Stacer weights 1290kg plus fuel, gear and extra equipment.

 

 

Diesel came out in the 2013 model. Mines a 2015 6 speed manual.

[Fab1]

57 minutes ago, kingfishbig said:

Well you said 5.5m alloy so those models popped up (and also they have a light towing weight). I haven't owned a Crv so I am just going by what I know. As I said if you are well under the max tow weight I don't see too much of a problem. The biggest drawback would be that it would be a bit slow and underpowered. As I said if you are just going a short distance to the local boat ramp you can  put up with such shortcoming at least for a while.

PS if you do decide to get a better tow vehicle then there is no need to go to much expense. A Ford Falcon from AU!! on will tow a 1.3 T rig easily and are cheap as chips (depending on the year model). Actually they have a higher tow rating than a lot of medium 4WDs.

I'd get a wagon if you go down that route just for the longer wheel base, leaf spring suspension.I had a Ea wagon with the 5sp manual that towed beautiful and had a heap of storage to go away with the boat.

My head gasket issues were solved with an au head gasket and the firewall cracking due to fatigue(Cable operated clutch)was remedied by a hydraulic replacement.These are common issues with the E series and early Au.