Using 150 2014 GXL for towing heavy boat off boat ramp

[JC69 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close JC69]

Hi

I have a 32 foot Boston Whaler I keep at my yacht club on a custom trailer. All up with fuel and water and trailer, it would weigh close to 6t. At the moment, I use the club tractor to launch and retrieve the boat which it does easily, although it is a pain to have to go and get it, put it back or wait if someone else is using it. The maximum distance it would have to tow up the ramp is about 10m. The ramp angle onto the flat road is about 20-30 degrees. The boat then gets towed about 200m to be put back into its stand. It obviously can't be used for the road and I dont intend to use it as such. My mate has a 4t Cat at the club that he tows with his F250 (different beast of course). He reckons I can do it with my Prado and he's owned a few. The ball weight is hard to judge but it would have to be around the 200kg mark. I'm also running Yoko A/T 275 light truck tyres.

Whilst I am aware that the rated capacity of the Prado is 2.5t, the guy behind me uses a Isuzu tray back ute to tow his 5t boat and trailer on the ramp with no problems - no wheel spin. He tells me the rated capacity is 3.5t although I'm not certain on that. I have trailer brakes on the trailer of course. My other concern is that I would have to drive the back wheels in to about hub height which is not ideal but something I'll need to weigh up.

I tried to post a photo of the boats side by side but the file size was too large. I rang Toyota but they weren't prepared to give me a simple yes or no but I can appreciate why. I feel that the Prado could easily tow it on the flat around the club, but getting it up and over the ramp concerns me given the tow weight. Obviously the tractor provides the best mechanical solution, just not the most convenient. Is such weight even possible over such a short distance or would it just put too much strain on the drivetrain ?

Many thanks for any advice.

[JohnLynn Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JohnLynn]

What an interesting question, I am looking forward to the responses most of which I expect to be negative, so here are a couple of what I hope are positive comments and questions.
You ask about the drive train but you haven't said if the Prado is manual or automatic. If manual and you needed to slip the clutch a lot to get going this obviously would be detrimental. An auto trying to move a heavy load would heat the oil but surely not to the point of causing any harm?
The tow bar weight should not be an issue (IMHO) as 200 Kilo is only the equivalent of a couple of large people sitting right in the back?
I would be a bit concerned about dipping the wheels too deeply into salt water though, is there any way you could have a draw-bar extension?
In conclusion if I were in your situation I would definitely give it a go, presumably if you found it would not move you could always get something towing on the front to help. I suppose the worse thing that could happen is the whole rig sliding back down the ramp but I guess with a "proper" trailer with its own brakes this is very unlikely.
If anyone is interested in how unqualified I am to answer this question here is a bit of background to my limited experience:
I have a manual GXL Prado here which I use to launch a 5M Trailcraft boat. No idea of the weight but far less than the Boston Whaler above. I always use low range to avoid slipping the clutch even on a perfectly good ramp. I also have a commercial fishing boat in the UK, it is an Offshore 105 which is launched and recovered once a year. It weighs 7- 8 tonnes and is on a trailer that I made with no brakes and a very long draw-bar to avoid the tractor going in the water at all. I wouldn't even consider using a Prado to tow it because the slipway is not concrete just stones forming a crust over mud.

[Guest Close Guest]

Just make sure to take video for us all. Yes it likely will tow it, will it damage stuff? Perhaps.. I'd check drawbar weights.

We tow our 41 foot twin engine cigarette boat ~~+/- 5 tonne loaded with 600 litres of fuel with our F250 with no issues. I've moved it on flat with a 200 series without any major drama. You could defo feel it was there though.
Pulling out on a ramp is a different situation. Depending on how slippery it is etc.. Low ratio 1st gear manual select, CDL on would be my suggestion, and turn off CDL when you have to turn.
I'd also be lowering tyres very slightly to get a better footprint, although depending on DB weight the rears will balloon a bit anyway.

We have had a couple times even with the F250, where ramp was slippery or steep and couldn't get traction.. Its roughly 650HP, so literally just lights up all 4 35" tyres. Solution, have a driver in the boat, and give both engines a quick throttle blip whilst in forward gear and front of boat clipped into its lock on trailer..