20 SF Weight and Minimum required tow vehicle

[muddywater]

Search didn't come up with anything for wet weight of a 20 SF. Anybody ever weigh theirs fully loaded? I'm trying to figure out what the minimum tow vehicle I could get away with is. I have a 5.3L V-8 4x4 at the moment but gas is killing me and it is just going to keep going up so I want to downgrade.

Hull dry weight spec is 1600 lbs.
40 gal of gas @ 7# per gal (rounded up) is 280#
assuming a heavy 4-stroke 150, 25-in. shaft 485#
trailer weight - I have no idea -mine is pretty hard to pick up by myself, so lets say 500#
Lets say 30 gal. of water sloshing around in the bilge just because (or you could say it was in the live well) @ 8.3 lbs per gal = 249 lbs
batteries hmm say 100#
and say about 200# more gear assuming no T-Top

That is 3414#

Anybody out there crazy enough to have tried towing a 20 SF with something like a Tacoma 4-cylinder rated at 3500# for short distances? The V-6's don't seem (in the real world) to get any better gas milage than my V-8 [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Thanks
-Muddy

[Ed]

Muddy-

I almost laughed when I first read your post because I thought you were joking. I think you would be 100% fine towing a 20 with a Tacoma. If it makes you feel any better....there is a guy at my marina who tows a 26-28 True World Marine pilot house with a Tacoma.

You'll be fine. Mark from Florida tows his 20 with a Grand Cherokee.

[jorgeinmiami]

I tow my 20 with a jeep liberty, but for longer trips I use a nissan armada.

Makes a difference for the longer trips, but for the shorter ones the v6 does fine

[Fr. Frank]

Go ahead and pull it with the V6 Tacoma. The issue is not the engine so much as it is the the transmission. With the right transmission, you can move a freight train with lawnmower engine. Just be sure you use engine and transmission oil coolers. It's heat build-up that kills them. I pull my 20' Seafari with an '02 Taurus.

I have a 20' Seafari (1811 lbs hull weight), which I once weighed fully loaded on our way to the Keys. 150 Merc, fuel & the cabin stuffed full of camping gear, bicycles on the deck, ...everything! I have a Tragic Trail tandem galvanized trailer that weighs 595 lbs, and the whole contraption together weighs 3492 lbs.

I have had no problem pulling it with my wife's '95 Toyota 4Runner with a 3.0 liter V6 automatic 4x2, or my 3.0 liter V6 '02 Ford Taurus(NOT the 24v DOHC). Towing fuel usage with the Toyota is 12 mpg city, and 14 mpg highway. Towing with the Taurus it is 14 mpg city, and 15 mpg hwy. When I used to tow it with my Grand Cherokee 4x4, (with its 7500 lb tow rating), I got 12 mpg city, and 13 mpg hwy.

I installed both heavy duty engine oil AND transmission coolers on both vehicles. I have used the Toyota to pull this rig 560 miles one way in one day without problems 4 times. Longest pull with the Taurus is 135 miles one way, also with no problems. I also used the Taurus to pull a friends' '23 Tsunami about 70 miles after his van broke down on the interstate on the way home form the Keys. I disengaged the tranny overdrive, accelerated very slowly, and kept the speed at about 50 mph. Other than the fact that he had more tongue weight than I was used to (about 275 lbs), the Taurus pulled it without any difficulty at all. His rig weighs about 6400 lbs. (Because my buddy is also my mechanic, I was willing to do this.)

I gotta tell you though, a little 2002 Ford Taurus pulling a 23' Seacraft looked absolutely ludicrous. The boat is twice the size of the car! We took a picture when we got to his house, I'll see if I can load it for y'all.

NOTE: ONLY "Police/Fleet" model Ford Taurus' come rated to pull 3500 lbs. Standard max towing capacity for an ordinary Taurus is 2500 lbs. If you have the 24 valve DOHC engine OR the dual fuel engine, the tow rating falls to 1200 lbs. The fleet models come with a rather large external tranny cooler already installed. I just piggybacked another 14K lb rated cooler in sequence.

[nestorpr]

I have a Tacoma 6 cylinder and it pulls my 20 Seafari very well but I think the 4 cylinder will do an OK job. As you say, it's rated for 3500# and my old 4 cyl. Ford Ranger was only rated for 1600# and still did the job adequately for VERY short distances, the only problem it had was coming up the ramp. You won't have that problem with the 4 cyl. Tacoma, it's more powerful, however, I think that for longer distances or highway use the 6 cyl will be more economical than the 4 cyl since the engine won't be working as hard. I can go about 200 miles on a tank of gas with my 6 cyl. Good luck with your choice.

[Ryan]

I think that having a 4x4 v6 is about as low as you realistically want to go, because you will work a 4 cyl too hard when towing and you want a 4x4 for those steep and/or slippery ramps. I tow my 20 with an f150 2wd v6 and its fine except for low tide ( tires spin) or certain ramps

[muddywater]

Frank, you TOWED a 23 with a TAURUS!!! You guys ARE nuts! LOL That is too funny. We have to see a pic of that!!!

Thanks for the input. I have been researching Tacomas, Frontiers, and the Canyon/Colorado and had been pretty shocked to find out the gas milage they get with 6's (and a 5 in the Colorado). Their observed milages were as bad (even in the 5-cylinder Colorado) as what I got on my last two trips with my Z71. That is with 50% of my time spent in 4 wheel drive in some nasty stuff. I find that very difficult to believe, but haven't found any way around the facts. That is why I am now looking at 4-cylinders. I imagine there will be alot more people making this consideration when gas reaches $3 a gallon (which I think they said could be coming in the next 6 months).

I hit the water most weekends from April to the beginning of November, but tow less than 15 miles on what you guys would consider backroads with no stops between the ramp and storage. I average 580 miles a week (mostly highway), so if I could go with a 4-cylinder and live with the performance, then I could buy another boat with the difference. I gotta' get a 4-stroke outboard too, my trusty old carb Merc drinks gas like CSC'ers drink beer.

-Muddy

[Capt Chuck]

Go ahead and "Go For It"

[oldbluesplayer]

I'm towing my 20' Seafari with a 6 cyl Jeep Grand Cherokee, and it works ok, but not great - it's pretty hilly up here in New Hampshire, going up to some of the big lakes - and I have the extra duty towing package, class 3 hitch, extra coolers, extra heavy duty radiator, 4 wheel disc brakes, and 7500 lb towing capacity. Not towing, I get something like 20 mpg - but then my commute is mostly highway - oh yeah, I also have 235,000 miles on this jeep - the straight 6 jeep motor is fabulous for good life, with reasonable care.

I'm not sure I'd want to try, up here anyways, with less motor. Maybe ok in the flatlands of Florida or somewhere like that.

In my past experience, I had a Ford pickup, 8' bed, with a 300 in 6 cyl, and a Ford full size Bronco with a 302 v8, at the same time, and used both to pull the same boat, a 19' Sunbird. Neither vehicle particularly felt that boat, but it was clear the V8 was working easier - on the flip side, the longer wheelbase of the pickup made the towing much easier if it was windy out, or coasting down long hills, where the boat used to push the short wheelbase Bronco around some.

Bill

[ScottM]

pretty shocked to find out the gas milage they get with 6's (and a 5 in the Colorado). Their observed milages were as bad (even in the 5-cylinder Colorado) as what I got on my last two trips with my Z71.

Muddy,
Amazing, isn't it? I went from a Chevy Blazer 4x4 w/4.3L V6 to a Ford F150 4x4 ext cab w/5.4L V8 and couldn't believe how close overall mileage was with the 2 vehicles. If I remember, the Blazer got 14-15mpg around town whereas the F150 gets 13. I too considered downgrading due to fuel prices but it hardly seems worth it.