# Total Rig Weight for Towing



## waterboy (Jul 18, 2010)

Hi guys, I'm looking to tow with my 2008 Hyundai Elantra 4cyl that has a 750 lbs. tow capacity and the class 1 hitch rated at 200 lbs. tongue weight. My question is a guestimate on the weight of a 14' All welded jon boat, 1986 30hp Evinrude, 8 gals gas, 3 batteries, trollmotor and the trailer. Any guesses :lol: 

My guess would be 400(boat) 100(motor)= 500lbs and the rest should be under 250 lbs I hope. I wonder if I could actually go to a truckers scale and get an accurate weight????


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## bassboy1 (Jul 18, 2010)

waterboy said:


> Hi guys, I'm looking to tow with my 2008 Hyundai Elantra 4cyl that has a 750 lbs. tow capacity and the class 1 hitch rated at 200 lbs. tongue weight. My question is a guestimate on the weight of a 14' All welded jon boat, 1986 30hp Evinrude, 8 gals gas, 3 batteries, trollmotor and the trailer. Any guesses :lol:
> 
> My guess would be 400(boat) 100(motor)= 500lbs and the rest should be under 250 lbs I hope. I wonder if I could actually go to a truckers scale and get an accurate weight????



Not gonna happen. I don't know what width 14' boat you are looking at, but after the 400 for the boat, 100 for the motor, you are still looking at 200 for the trailer, at least 200 for the 3 batteries (why so many?), around 60 for the fuel, before even adding in tackle, any decking you do, and whatnot. 

If I'm not mistaken, passenger weight in the vehicle is subtracted from the max tow capacity, so there goes some of the capacity already.


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## waterboy (Jul 19, 2010)

If I go over this 750 lbs. 4cyl. front wheel drive vehicle tow rating (say I tow 900 lbs.) what might get damaged, shocks or the transmission? I will likely be fishing 3-5 times a month. My launches I would fish from are only 2 miles,10 miles, and one is about 35 miles away. I live in Louisiana so there are no hills or mts. to climb, it's all flat driving.


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## bassboy1 (Jul 19, 2010)

I don't ever tow with anything lacking a frame, so I may not be the best to ask, but I would first worry about the unibody holding up. They are certainly not designed to tow much of anything, and from what I've heard, there is no stout attachment point for the receiver hitch, and many say the max tow rating on one of those is pushing it. 

Automatic transaxle might be a worry (I'm assuming yours is auto). If I _had_ to do it, I would rather have a manual, but it might still give you grief on the ramp, without the additional help from the torque converter. I know that hill starts on our 2000 Civic 5 speed, especially with a few people inside sure aren't easy. Just not enough power at the bottom end. Can't imagine trying it with 1000 pounds of boat behind me. Shocks would be on the bottom of my worry list. 

Warranty would be another biggie. I think those things have a pretty good warranty, but I can assure you that if they caught wind of you towing over the rated capacity, much of that will be gone. 

I'm not going to say that it can't be done, as I've seen worse tow rating - towed weight ratios at some local ramps, seemingly without a problem, but I can't, in good conscience, recommend it.

No close friends with a small SUV or pickup you could borrow? No need for a beater truck (older used ones can be gotten dirt cheap, and are rather inexpensive to own, provided you carry only liability insurance, and can be downright useful for quite a few things).


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## waterboy (Jul 19, 2010)

Yeah I do have a full-sized Dodge p/u but the motor is almost shot and has no A/C and after fishing it's always nice to cool off so I'm just tossing around the idea of using my car with A/C to tow such a short distance 3-5 times a month. I'll see if the the State police have a scale or can point me in the right direction so I can get an accurate weight of the rig. I'm actually picking up the boat in about 12 hrs. so I'm off to bed to get some sleep, but hey thanks for your replies.


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## po1 (Jul 19, 2010)

I'd stick with towing with your pickup to be safe, while you don't have any major hills down there you do have a lot of traffic todeal with. Just down that way a couple of days ago to deliver some water. You've got several truck stops to weigh your trailer. Big Easy travel plaza I-10 exit 329, Mardi Gras truck stop(BP) I-10 exit 236eb or 237wb or in Laplace at the pliot I-10 exit 209. All charge a small free up to $9.00.


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## ihavenoideawhattoput (Jul 19, 2010)

I would think the issue is not getting it there but getting it out after you get finished.

Even the little boats sometimes require 4x4 to get out on some ramps.


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## perchin (Jul 19, 2010)

I just googled the vehicle in question...... I wouldn't try to stop a 1,000 lb. boat on wheels with a 2700 lb. car.
I also would be hesitant if it would pull the boat back out of the water with only having 138hp. at 6,000RPM :shock: you would need to really ping that thing to the moon just to pull a boat.


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## redbug (Jul 19, 2010)

i would use the truck and be done with it. Why chance ruining up your car just to cool off on a 2 to 10 mile ride to get home


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## waterboy (Jul 19, 2010)

Just called the guy and the sale is still on, getting the boat in an hour. As for the towing, I'll just use the p/u and will feel safer getting to and from the ramp. For a/c in the truck, guess the windows in the down position will have to make do.


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## po1 (Jul 19, 2010)

You can always buy a small fan that plugs into you lighter and mount it on the the dash like we used to do in truckin before a/c was a big thing. With this heat lately it couldn't hurt.


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