Who is towing a pontoon boat? Share your experience.

[blind squirrel]

You should probably marry that girl lol But thank you, its a little ridiculous honestly

To answer your question, yes it made me nervous. I've only towed said boat twice with the 4runner from storage to the boat slip for the summer and just recently back to storage for the winter which is only a few non-highway miles away. Will I be hauling it again next summer? probably not. If the drive I had between the 2 place wasn't mostly flat I wouldn't have done it. I don't like the strain it put on the truck, and I like my 4runner a little too much to put it through that again.

The reason I haven't year upgraded from our V8 4runner is because we tow our Malibu VLX all over the country and sometimes my dad's Malibu XTi 23 footer. Sure wish you could get a v8 in the Gen 5, I'd be an owner for sure. Those M's are sweet.:thumb:

 

[sovat4r]

I towed ours this past Spring for about 100 miles from the dealer to our place at the lake. Overall it did ok through the VA Piedmont hills, of course the already-overweight 4R required manual shifting and generally staying in 3rd-gear if you wanted to maintain any sort of highway speed.

There was one 'Oh Sh!t' moment when I hit a particularly bouncy bridge joint while passing another vehicle, going about 65. Boat/trailer got to bouncing my Superflex HD springs so badly that VSC had to immediately take over, slowing my rig to a near stop and keeping me from totally loosing it into the center median.

I have since upgraded my tow rig for the bigger loads.

 

[Mindflex]

I towed ours this past Spring for about 100 miles from the dealer to our place at the lake. Overall it did ok through the VA Piedmont hills, of course the already-overweight 4R required manual shifting and generally staying in 3rd-gear if you wanted to maintain any sort of highway speed.

There was one 'Oh Sh!t' moment when I hit a particularly bouncy bridge joint while passing another vehicle, going about 65. Boat/trailer got to bouncing my Superflex HD springs so badly that VSC had to immediately take over, slowing my rig to a near stop and keeping me from totally loosing it into the center median.

I have since upgraded my tow rig for the bigger loads.

Nice looking truck. Thinking about getting that ladder as well.

Curious what type of trailer you have and if you feel like you had the right amount of tongue weight and tongue height.

Since I am pulling something similar, curious to learn more so I can be as safe as possible.

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[ehcanadian]

The reason I haven't year upgraded from our V8 4runner is because we tow our Malibu VLX all over the country and sometimes my dad's Malibu XTi 23 footer. Sure wish you could get a v8 in the Gen 5, I'd be an owner for sure. Those M's are sweet.:thumb:

Keep them as long as you can, both the rig and the boats. VLX is a personal favorite of mine, the ideal wakeboard boat IMO. If you're ever in Jersey feel free to hit me up for a pull!

Seeing your from kansas, Im going to be at KC Watersports in June. My second stop on a cross country cable park trip !

 

[Mindflex]

Bump! Can't believe no one else has anything to share on this.

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[williamlv282]

I had a 21' deck boat for a while and it felt too big for my truck. I think yours is definitely too big. Short distances is fine, but taking that thing on the interstate for a while is probably not safe.

 

[Mindflex]

I had a 21' deck boat for a while and it felt too big for my truck. I think yours is definitely too big. Short distances is fine, but taking that thing on the interstate for a while is probably not safe.

Genuinely curious on the reasoning you recommend this (not trolling).

The reason I ask I my first priority is safety while towing and want to make sure I am not missing something you or others may be aware of.

How heavy was your deck boat?

From my experience when towing this on the freeway you knew it was there but it never felt unsafe even when maneuvering.

It is 10% under the tow rating on a nice twin axle surge break trailer. It is also with the rated tongue weight.

Is there a specific reason you have or just a 'feeling'?

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

 

[williamlv282]

Genuinely curious on the reasoning you recommend this (not trolling).

The reason I ask I my first priority is safety while towing and want to make sure I am not missing something you or others may be aware of.

How heavy was your deck boat?

From my experience when towing this on the freeway you knew it was there but it never felt unsafe even when maneuvering.

It is 10% under the tow rating on a nice twin axle surge break trailer. It is also with the rated tongue weight.

Is there a specific reason you have or just a 'feeling'?

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

My single axle boat trailer was from the 80's and the boat was a little over 3000lbs I think. Don't know how much the trailer weighed but I definitely felt it back there every time I came to a stop and took off again.

You boat just looks huge in the photo I assumed it weighed more than mine. Didn't mean to assume anything. If you're within your tow limit then you're probably fine.