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classic montauk 17 towing with v6 FWD SUV
whalerlibby	#1  Posted on 12/14/16 - 11:47 AM
Member Posts: 19 Comments: 0 Joined: 08/08/16	Recently acquired a 1987 Montauk 17 but we don't have a "traditional" tow vehicle. Closest we have is an Infiniti qx60 which has a 3.5l v6 with FWD only. This model is basically a FWD Nissan Pathfinder if you are not familiar. Tow rating is 3500lbs. I am confident we wont have much issues towing from home to ramps, I am just concerned with the FWD SUV at the ramps. Wheel spin and slipping backwards specifically. We did recently put on new tires with high rating for hydroplaning / wet traction. Anybody have experience with a similar setup? I believe my total rig with the 90hp Yamaha 2-stroke with hull, trailer, fuel should be about 2200lbs? Thanks.
JRP	#2  Posted on 12/14/16 - 2:01 PM
Member Posts: 755 Comments: 2 Joined: 08/29/14	I do not have specific experience with your vehicle, but based on what I know of the Montauk 17 and the general capability of a FWD SUV w/ V6 power, I doubt you will have any issues. On ramps -- really anywhere -- be sure to remember to always use the parking break in addition to the "Park" mode on the transmission. If you ever bump up to a much larger model, you may have to think about a tow-vehicle upgrade too. But I would think you'd still be okay with an Outrage 17 or 18. Getting close, but probably okay. Edited by JRP on 12/14/16 - 2:02 PM
jgortva	#3  Posted on 12/14/16 - 2:59 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 227 Comments: 1 Joined: 11/12/09	Like JRP, I do not have experience with your specific vehicle, but I do have 25 years or so of towing boats up to the 3500 pound weight limit with FWD minivans such as the Chrysler Town and Country, 2wd pickups, (RWD), and now my Hyundai Veracruz AWD with your same 3500 pound tow capacity. I have never had issues with FWD vehicles on even wet boat ramps. Just use the low gear and apply smooth even power and you should have no slippage, wheel spin, or other problems. In fact, in my opinion if you are towing with a 2WD vehicle, FWD would be my first choice over RWD as I experienced much more slippage or wheel spin pulling a boat up the ramp with my RWD Chevy Pickup than any FWD vehicle I have towed with. Jim G.
Finnegan	#4  Posted on 12/14/16 - 6:43 PM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	There is a little trick, not widely known, to prevent backward sliding of the vehicle caused by high boat weight pulling vehicle backward down the ramp. I regularly launch my Outrage 25 using a 7000# tow package Cadillac, in a moderately steep ramp. The boat, filled up with full tank of fuel (140 gallons) for a week of boating, clearly weighs more than the vehicle. The secret is, once the BOAT TRAILER begins to slope down the ramp, take the car out of reverse and put it in drive. The weight of the boat will still slowly pull the entire rig down the ramp, against the action of the transmission, but the car will never loose traction to prevent an out of control downhill slide. This also gives you instant forward traction if you need it, by keeping your foot lightly on the gas pedal as a precaution. I don't really know why this works, but it does. Try it, you'll see what I mean. If I leave the car in reverse, the boat can indeed pull the car backward sometime. But in forward, never. If you use proper wet traction tires, I don't believe that a front wheel drive vehicle will ever provide as much traction in a boat ramp as a rear wheel drive vehicle. Just think of the weight transfer situation, including tongue weight, as you pull out of a ramp - weight is transfered to the vehicle REAR wheels, not the front wheels.
action	#5  Posted on 12/15/16 - 3:37 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 208 Comments: 2 Joined: 01/03/15	I've towed my Montauk 17 short distances with a Subaru Forester and longer distances with an old Chevy S10 with no problems. It gets used at least once a weekend in NJ during fishing season. You should be in good shape.
mtown	#6  Posted on 12/15/16 - 5:30 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 609 Comments: 5 Joined: 07/06/08	I sometimes tow my 16'6 with a Toyota camry. The ramp is next door and is concrete, but the front wheels are on grass. If the grass is wet I crank the boat on about 2/3 of the way onto the trailer. This causes upward lift on the tongue and applies more pressure to the front of the car. I tie the bow to the trailer in addition to having the strap locked. As soon as it is on level ground [10' or so] I crank the boat fully on.
Phil T	#7  Posted on 12/15/16 - 5:55 AM
Administrator Personal Page Personal Album Project Albums Posts: 6994 Comments: 6 Joined: 03/26/05	I saw a local owner retrieve his boat with a FWD pickup from a very slippery and steep ramp by blocking the trailer in the water, dropping the tongue jack and hooking up a tow strap and pulling the trailer from the top of the ramp. He had a large shackle on his tongue skid bracket to attach the strap. In watching him, it was clear he had used the technique before as it only took him 5 minutes to rig it up.
mtown	#8  Posted on 12/15/16 - 1:49 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 609 Comments: 5 Joined: 07/06/08	Phil, I have done that also. Luckily the ramp is private so my experiments go unobserved. My kids think I'm nuts, but are sworn to secrecy.
EJO	#9  Posted on 12/16/16 - 11:21 AM
Member Personal Page Posts: 669 Comments: 6 Joined: 11/25/12	Ramps here in West Michigan at the local lakes aren't steep and therefore quite often your rear wheels are in the water, hence a FWD car that can handle the tow load such as the 3,500 lbs. you are talking about(your classic Montauk 17 is a lot less) is a good set up as the front wheels will be on dry land. Conclusion enjoy your towing with the QC60 (in comfort :-)) Skipper E-J m/v "Clumsy Cleat" a 2008 Montauk 150
whalerlibby	#10  Posted on 12/27/16 - 8:44 AM
Member Posts: 19 Comments: 0 Joined: 08/08/16	UPDATE: took her out over the weekend for the first time with great success and no issues whatsoever. Towing around town was a breeze and pulling the rig out of the water was effortless. Zero slip or spin even driving through some puddles and wet tires.
12 Inch Club	#11  Posted on 12/28/16 - 5:00 AM
Member Posts: 9 Comments: 0 Joined: 03/16/16	http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refe...s/800.jpeg made me think of this picture.