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What does the best job in pulling a V22 Outrage with a tandom axle full of fuel and gear ?? Type of truck and size with out going too nuts ? Also what are the best brakes for this trailer it has six lugs 205/17/15 ?? Thanks

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I don't tow my boat that much but, here's what I've learned,
just about any vehicle can tow, make sure that the tow vehicle has enough power to pull you back up the ramp w/ the boat when you are leaving.

Although the "Cool Factor" is "ZERO", mini vans have a good towing capacity.

mw

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I pull my 1985 22 outrage with an 1996 GMC 1/2 ext cab long box. It has the 5.7l Vortec V8 with the towing package which includes bigger radiator as well as engine and transmission oil coolers. It pulls my boat as well as my fathers 22 guardian with great ease. Loaded with gear, carring an extera V6 outboard, an extra 70 gallons of fuel, and whaler CPD heavy duty trailer, the guardian is an easy 1000lbs heavier than my Outrage. The long wheel base really is nice when pulling cross country. You never feel like the trailer is steering the truck.

We have also pulled my fathers 22 guardian with a Buick Rainier awd with the vortec in-line 6. It does fine for around the town pulling but I would not pull with it across the country. With the shorter wheel base in hard stopping situations the trailer does want to steer the truck.

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I just bought a 2006 Nissan Frontier 4X4 and it tows my 18' Outrage perfectly. I can't even tell its back there. It may be a very cost effective way to tow a 22'. Its got a 265hp engine with very good low end torque. May be worth a look.

John

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I think any good 1/2 ton or equivalent vehicle will work if pulling on mostly flat ground with small hills once and awhile.

However, I live in a mountainous area and used to tow my Outrage 18 with my 1995 Chevy 1/2 ton with the 350 engine. It did OK up the grades but was slow. Around 45 mph up the grades on average. During the summer months when the air temperature was hot, I also had to turn off the air conditioning so I could keep up a little more speed and not overheat the engine. I did have the tow package with the larger radiator and the transmission cooler.

I needed something more substantial to pull my Outrage 18 and I also knew I was going to be purchasing an Outrage 22' someday.

So, I bought this and now my problems are solved.
Ford F-250 Diesel

I purchased and brought home my Outrage 22' Cuddy from Montana.
The speed limit in Montana and Idaho was 75 mph, no problem at all.
The steep grades were a little slower but then I really didn't have my foot it in either.
The truck has more than enough power to do just about anything a person could need.
Fuel mileage is around 18 or 19 mpg driving around the mountains here with no load and around 13.5 mpg pulling the boat.
Again, I live in the mountains and a trip to the coast is about 3.5 hours up and down many mountain grades.

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Despite how much I respect Jeff's and Joe's opinions I lean towards Joe here for towing a 22 in using a Ford 250 (a 3/4 ton). I may be a GM guy which is a 2500 series but it's the same.

What I find lacking in these "what is the best" tow vehicle discussions is the discussion about weight distribtion hitches.

I am a proven believer in these hitch attachments and people who tow horses and breeding bulls worth waaay more than our puny Whalers are believers too.

Do some research.

Regards,

Peter

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Peter,
You have a Chevy and I have a Ford... This means War.... :)

Actually, I had been a Chevy person my whole adult life, in trucks anyway.
I prefer the Captains Chairs in my truck as opposed to the bench seat.
I test drove the big 3...
1. Dodge doesn't offer Captains Chairs
2. Chevy changed their console on the models with Captains Chairs which went all the way to the firewall and made my legs feel cramped. My prior Chevy truck, the console stopped at the front of the chairs.
3. Ford seemed to have want I wanted in interior space and I also wanted to try their Diesel engine.

All of the models these days are good. Just depends on what a person needs and wants are out of a truck. My truck is for everyday use, going on vacation, and going out to dinner, etc...
It has everything I need plus the room to haul other people with the Crew Cab.
Therefore, I don't need another vehicle. My wife does have a Jeep, though I don't get to drive it much. I get even with her though, I don't let her drive my truck much either.... :)

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Joe,
I just returned from the Calgary Stampede, one of the finest rodeos in the world. $1.6 million for the rodeo prizes and almost $1 million for the Chuckwagon races. Nothing like it anywhere except maybe the world rodeo finals in Vegas. It was great to hang out in the barns with some of the few guys I still know. And I admit I spent some time eyeballing the rigs and hitches they use for the precious livestock. Probably why I had horses and breeding bulls on my mind. But there is something a lot of folk could learn from those livestock rigs that could be used, and probably should be used for our boat towing.

ALSO... There's a reason they call it the [color=red]GMC[/color] Rangeland Derby Joe! :D YAHOO!

http://cs.calgarystampede.com/chuckwa...huckwagons

Peter

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Peter,

Yes, I have always wanted to make it to the Calgary Stampede... Just the wrong time of year for me.

I used to raise Herefords and Polled Herefords.
Also raised horses. Full Registered Quarter Horse stallion and 1/2 Appaloosa/Quarter Horse Mares. You probably saw some photos on my personal site.
These horses made great cattle and mountain horses.
My riding days are over, at least on horses anyway. Had great times in the Marble Mountain Wilderness area where I live. No motorized vehicles allowed.... Not even GMC... :)

Anyway, back to trucks...
Lots of good trucks for rbritdu to choose from. Just a matter of what he really needs or wants in a truck.

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Check out this link for vehicle tow ratings from 1999 to 2005. http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm...m?id=42175

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The F250 Diesel is sorta the Granddaddy of the pickups, and a wonderful machine for mountain passes/etc. If ya got the $$$$, just do it.
But I just bought a used 97 Suburban 4x4 with great leather, and A/C control for everyone, and......absolutely decadent luxury and silence. Doesn't even know my OR 18 is back there (except in severe sidewind).....has the (new in '97) 255hp Vortec 350, with balls of torque. Enough seats to take the neighborhood, or 6 weeks of gear with you. 3 rows of seats! And still plenty of room behind the last row.........20 MPG at 65 mph. I hate parking it (anywhere), and everybody has one, but what a great car/truck for road trips. First domestic car I have owned for 40 years. I'm impressed. It has 203K on the clock, and strong/tight still. Very well treated by it's previous owner....still just like new. This particular car will tow 8800 lbs, and I believe 10K w/load leveling etc. Will slow slightly at steepest parts of mountain passes-usually the summits, to maybe only 65 mph. The Tahoe/Yukon badges are about the same, just less room.Same MPG tho. I previously used mid-sized Range Rovers/Land Cruisers etc......never going back there. Buy the used Suburbans cheap while they still are!!!

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01 Dodge Cummins, 3/4 ton, six speed, HO, 4" exhaust, edge comp chip, injectors, hi perf injection pump, are air cleaner, con ofre clutch and pressure plate, big turbo. 27 miles per gallon and somewhere around 650 horse.

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Just a note: There is also the option of After market "Superchargers" for towing. "Powerdyne" makes units that require no tapping into oil pans (ceramic aircraft bearings perminantly lubed)www.powerdyne.com, there is also "Vortech, and other brands, "power on demand" instead of big motor discplacement all of the time.

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I am with Joe on this choice of tow vehicle. This truck is overkill for something like a Montauk, but works great on my 22 Outrage and my brother in laws 25 Outrage.


Our rig:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d97...hing03.jpg

Doug Vazquez

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Well, I'll throw my two cent in on this subject ... I've had a 16'9" whaler since 1973 ...towed it with a 4 cylinder Volvo (112HP) ... boat had 120 HP. It did fine, but died on grades. Towed from Maine to FL.
Towed with a 1978 F-250 and a 1997 F150. All we're manual transmissions. The 1997 F150 had the small V-8, and you could feel the boat ... but not bad. My son now has the 1997 F-150 .... but last year I got this call from him to go look at a 25' Outrage with him ... and he said lets take your new truck ... boy did he suck me in. We live in Maryland, he got me to agree to go lookat this Whaler .... Then I found out it was in Greenbay. Damn if I new where Greenbay was on the Chesapeake ..... Then I found out I'd be going to Greenbay Packer Land.
Short story ... left at 7pm on Thursday .... drove pass Greenbay... sea trialed the Whaler.... He bought it, and we where back home in Annapolis by 7 pm Saturday. My 2005 F-250 diesel didn't know the 25' whaler with twin 150 Optimax's was behind it .... plenty of power.
Son tows the 25' with his F-150 only to the local boat ramp ...hard time getting above 50 mph. If he goes any distance, he has to borrow his wife 2003 Tahoe Auto Trans, I believe it fully loaded and has the 350 engine ...he says it's ok, not great, but can handle the 25'. Remember we live in MD ... flat land.
The nice thing about the F-250 Diesel .... it get's me invited every time he tows to the ocean ....looks like I be doing a lot more off shore fishing.
One of his good buddy's also has a 25' Whaler, he tows with a F-250, gas engine ... does fine, but both of them prefer my Diesel
So I second Joe's recommendation .... Diesel, if you can afford it ... I think GM's are fine also, just prefer the seating comfort and room of the Ford ...I have the crew cab.
One problem, wife didn't like the F-150, but steals the F-250 every chance she gets.

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If your gunna tow something ......
"Pull it with a Cummins"

B):DB):DB):D

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I have a 347 stroked 5.0 w/ 9# super charger, and a 150# Nitrous Oxide shot hooked up at 850 H.P there's not much she can't tow, it's O.K. to go a bit "Nutty", point out to the wife that it's part of "BOAT MAINTANANCE". I have another 5.0 on the stand (extra) if anyone wants to play.

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I have a 2000 Dodge with the Cummins diesel. The truck has 248,000 miles on it and it will pull your garage with your truck and boat in it B)

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just had to put in a word for my f-250. i have had alot of trucks and nothing pulls like a diesel. i have towed cars, vans, palm trees with a bobcat, and my friends boat and you can't tell they were their. the only way you know you are towing somthing is the truck rides like a caddy. good luck shopping p.s. i would stick with 7.3 diesel hear problems with the 6.0

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I used to tow my 17' GLS SuperSport with a Ford Explorer, until 'The Accident'.
It pulled fine, hardly feel it behind me and never any trouble at the ramp.
I now have a Chevy Trailblazer that works just great. Thankfully the Whaler is in full view in my rear view mirror which helps me remember it is there, especially when I get behind a slowpoke on the highway.

I'm gonna get a speeding ticket while towing the boat, I just know it.....

My 2cents

Si