Towing a Boat

jrm123180 · Post by **jrm123180** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 1:09 pm

I'm possibly getting a boat that I will be towing with my baja. Just curious is anyone else tows a boat. The boat is a 1981 Galaxy bowrider on an oversized 2 axel trailer.

I've towed a 5x8x4 utility trailer with 2 bouncy castles in it before, and the car handles it just fine. Those castles are extremely heavy and the trailer was as well...it had integrated brakes on it.

Thanks,
Steve

bajabeauty · Post by **bajabeauty** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:35 pm

I considered towing a Seadoo jet boat w/ my baja...I looked thru the manual and the towing limit is very little...can't remember the exact weight but it was around 4,000....not a lot, the weight however goes up a little w/ trailer breaks. You might see part of the boat I'm speaking of in my profile picture...anyway we upgraded from a 14 ft to a 19 ft so it is basically is out of the question now for us since the weight is about 5,000 w/ the bigger Seadoo.
We ended up using our Jeep 4X4 which really comes in handy on those slimey docks....not sure how the baja would do on that. I'm curious to see how that works for if you do go ahead and tow around those weights I was a chicken to do that myself.

jrm123180 · Post by **jrm123180** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:21 am

If I endup with this boat, i'll let u know how the baja handles it. I have a 79 chevy 1/2 ton to haul it with if I have to...just can't take 2 or 3 people with me in the same vehicle.

jrm123180 · Post by **jrm123180** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:33 am

So I got a boat last night and towed it with my Baja. I ended up with a 1968 18' Mark Twaine with a 6cly inboard. (needs some engine work to run) The baja towed it just fine, down a large hill, all the way home and backed it up into the driveway with ease. Having seen how well this car towed this boat, I would have looked for a 20'.

Steve

bajabeauty · Post by **bajabeauty** » Wed May 17, 2006 10:35 am

Can you post a picture........thats good to hear......you are encouraging me to try this. Did you have a Suby tow hitch? How about did you try towing it in and out of the docks yet. I'm a little worried that with the water hieght I may could end up w/ water in the car.

wrx03 · Post by **wrx03** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 4:46 pm

The Baja pulls my little boat just fine. The only thing I don't like is I have to get my feet wet now. (When I go by myself). I had an extended cab chevy before. After I drive the boat on the trailer I use to walk up in the bed of the truck and hop out above the water line. The Baja is too short.

Maybe I should try to try hopping through the sun roof.

bajabeauty · Post by **bajabeauty** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 10:04 am

Good picture and the midnight blue is the best color baja in my opinion....used to have that color....thanks for that....I think I'm going to try my seadoo now....its all fiber glass, w/ the jet propulsion so its lighter than most boats anyway..

yellowblaze · Post by **yellowblaze** » Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:30 am

What hitch is everyone using? The Suby one is so expensive (ok, actually, the harness is)...

yellowblaze · Post by **yellowblaze** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 2:48 pm

Also, anyone got the pdf for the wiring harness install?

mbaksic · Post by **mbaksic** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:38 pm

Hey Blaze, I put on a Hidden Hitch, and I added aftermarket wiring, with the power goin all the way to the battery. If I remember correctly, hitch and wiring was about $175.00. The pain was wiring the box up to the battery, I had to do a bit of interior disassembling to get the power wire there. I could have tapped into the wires in back, but I read that the wiring was so small, it may not be able to handle the load with the trailer lites and all. The other nice thing about using the aftermarket wiring, I have it in the box, so it doesn't get wet or salty in the winter. The box I put under the bedliner on the right side, so its prolly pretty much waterproof. And I made a cargo lite to plug into the harness when its not in use. With a lite in the bed, it works alot better than the factory lite up high, especially if you have the tonneau cover on. Mike

yellowblaze · Post by **yellowblaze** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 3:51 pm

Dam, that's cheaper than I've found-and I only found one place that sold the hitch (reese). I was gonna go with plug and play subie harness, since it seems that if you even look at a subie funny you void the warrantee. WHat weight does everyone tow-and do you have trailer brakes? We're lookin at a small (12') jet boat....

bajabeauty · Post by **bajabeauty** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:40 pm

here is a thread from NASIOC about towing/ payload.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771981

Also I thought you could tow more weight than what the owners manual states for the '06 ...at 2,400 with trailer brakes, 1,000 without. Does any one know if the towing capacity has changed in the Baja since '03?

Can't the turbo handle more weight than the base model? What if you tow solo with no passengers....or with?

Also read that you should never directly connect the trailer brake system to the vehicle brake system......the trailer brakes need to be independent.

The baja trailer hitch is only designed to handle a class 1 rated load up to 2,400.

I'm starting to get discouraged folks......

When I looked into towing a 14 ft jet boat a few years ago it seemed
do-able....hmmmm, now I'm not so sure.

canuck37 · Post by **canuck37** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:56 pm

I've been struggling with this towing issue for some time now and haven't resolved it totally yet, since I have received conflicting advice. First, I installed an aftermarket hitch I bought off eBay myself - easy job, took about 30 minutes. The wiring is the kicker. The factory installed plug under the right fenderwall is designed for the Subie harness, which if you go to a dealer for they want a fortune for. I asked the local Uhaul guys and they said it would be easy to install a 5/4 wire converter kit and would do it for $40 parts included. I have done them before and went to WallyWorld and bought the kit for $10 but haven't done it yet. I am not sure about the comment on voiding of warrantee - perhaps someone can get an official response on that one. Can't see why it would. Anyway, my other concern is a tranny cooler. I have always installed them when towing anything with an auto, but that might also be a warrantee issue. In fact I asked one dealer about that and he said it would be a problem if the tranny fried and that I would be better off without the cooler as far as getting the warrantee to cover it! Go figure. So, bottom line is I haven't towed a damn thing yet (all I wanted to do was get a small utility trailer for an ATV) because I'm not sure how it would affect my warrantee! Anyone got something more definitive on either the wiring or cooler issues??

mbaksic · Post by **mbaksic** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:50 pm

I put a tranny cooler on my 03, because like you, I would never tow without one. Didn't have any problems with it, but I do all my own work since I work at a Dodge stealership, so it never went back to the dealer. I am up to 72,000 miles, and have towed my ATV all over the cheese state and up to the UP of Michigan. No problems at all. Trailer and ATV have to weigh about 1100 lbs at least. Only cuts into the mileage a bit, from 25 back and forth to work, to 19 when towing. Still better than alot of fullsize trucks, so worth it in my opinion.

Mike

mbaksic · Post by **mbaksic** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:57 pm

Ok Blaze, I looked it up on My Subaru, the hitch and wiring cost me $172.50, from a truck accessory place. They had to special order it for me as they did not stock it. The place is called Ultimate Truck. I don't know if they have any of those out by you, but you should be able to find something for a decent price. Mike

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