Will my truck tow my boat sufficiently?

Question

I'm considering purchasing a boat but not sure if my truck will pull it or not. I have a 97 Ford F-150 with a 6 cyl. Not sure of the weight of the boat. It is a 17 ft. Tracker (fiberglass) with a 75 horse engine. I'm sure it will haul it down the road ok, but I'm more conserned about getting it up the boat ramp. The lake I usually go to has a pretty steep ramp.

Answer 1

The Ford has a lot of torque, so you should not have a problem towing the boat. The only concern that I would have is traction. You may need to put 200-300 pounds of ballast in the back of the bed.

Regards,

Dan

PS If you can't pull the boat up the ramp, disconnect the hitch, and take your winch wire and move the truck up 12-14' up the ramp and use the winch to pull the boat trailer up to the parked truck. Repeat if necessary.

Answer 2

You shouldn't have any problems.

I pulled a 20' Stratos bass boat with a 200 Merc on it with my 98 GMC Sierra with the v-6 for about 4 years.  I sold that boat and now have a 17' Nitro with a 115 Merc on it, and I am still pulling it with the same truck.  You will want to add a transmission cooler to your truck, especially if you are towing the boat long distances.  Good $50 insurance policy for the transmission.  If you have trouble getting up the ramp, drop the transmission down into low (1 or 2) and it will help you up the ramp.

Answer 3

it has enough power but 4wd is better on a slippery ramp

Answer 4

Sure it will,  I used to pull a 15' pro style bass boat, drive on trailer all the time with a Nissan 4 cyl. PUlled it out of the water every time. 4WD would be good, looking for a excuse to buy another truck ?? you have it !!

Answer 5

the F-150 will tow a lot more boat than that.  no worries.

Answer 6

2-wheel drive 1/2 ton trucks are usually not the ideal candidate for boats. You probably dont have a locking differential, which means you will get that 1 wheel spin when trying to pull the boat out of the water...especially if the ramp is wet. And your truck, motor and transmission arent designed for any kind of heavy pulling. But if it all you have....be sure and bring a friend, who also has a truck anytime you go fishing.

Answer 7

I agree with the other posters, that should be more than enough to tow your boat.  It may be a little light on power on the ramp.  Just make sure not to spin your clutch.  I towed a 17 foot boat with a 3.0 liter, with a 1993 ford ranger with a 3.0 cyl, and that was fine

Answer 8

The truck will do fine- for years I used a 4 cylinder Isuzu pickup to pull a 16 foot fiberglass boat and a 90 horsepower motor and it made it O.K.- not great, but it still got the job done- I could have used my full sized Chevrolet, but the Isuzu could be left hooked up to my boat, and since I used it almost daily, it was so easy to go back and forth and just leave everything hooked up.

Answer 9

I like the Dodge better, but you'll do fine.  You might need wider tires on the rear, and extra weight in the bed, but then again ...maybe not.