I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in news:fab14a43-6d55-44ce-afa4-
:

I used to tow a 1600 lb boat with a Plymouth Acclaim, front wheel drive
sedan, and had no problems. I only used good concrete ramps with moderate
slopes and dry conditions. If the ramps were wet with a bit of mud then
even the rear wheel drive pickups were having a lot of wheel spin
especially if the boat was heavier or the driver just floored it. Good
driving on decent ramps should work fine. I also carried a tow rope just in
case but never needed it. Note - there probably is no where to attach a tow
rope on a Vue that won't cause suspension or ody damage. Check that out
ahead of time and determine where you could safely attach a tow rope before
you are stuck on a ramp. In an emergency you could block the trailer
wheels, unhitch from the Vue and have a friendly helper hitch up his
vehicle and pull it up for you. Even untrailer the boat, switch the trailer
to the helper's vehicle in the parking lot and then have them back down and
load up your boat and pull it to the lot. Lots of possibilities to solve
problems that may happen so go and enjoy.

The traction control could give you some trouble - most of those systems
reduce engine power if a wheel slips and that could get you in trouble if a
ramp is slippery and you need a small bit of wheel spin to get up. Driving
uphill pulling a load requires more engine power, not less, and having a
computer cut power on the ramp will be a hassle. Be prepared for this
problem and be ready to brake hard if necessary. Best thing is to turn the
traction control off before pulling the boat out of the water - it won't
help in slippery ramp conditions and it could hinder something fierce.

On Apr 1, 9:52*am, Reno wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in news:fab14a43-6d55-44ce-afa4-
:

I also carried a tow rope just in
case but never needed it. Note - there probably is no where to attach a tow
rope on a Vue that won't cause suspension or ody damage.

I guess I was just going to wrap it around the frame that runs across
in front of the engine. I think if I got stuck it wouldn't take much
additional force to pull me out. The Vue would still provide 90% of
the force, it would probably just need an little extra umph to get
rolling (at least that's the logic I'm using).

The traction control could give you some trouble - most of those systems
reduce engine power if a wheel slips and that could get you in trouble if a
ramp is slippery and you need a small bit of wheel spin to get up.

Ah, I'll dig out the manual and find out which of the 3 "drive modes"
I should use. That's a good point that the traction control may be
bad.

-Robert

On Apr 1, 12:36*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

Please post a follow up to let us know how you did.
I used to tow my 19' bowrider with I/O (about 2500 pounds) with a 1998 Olds
Silhouette without a problem. I'm sure that I was at max weight for the
minivan, if not over.

wrote in message
...
On Apr 1, 12:36 pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:03:52 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Apr 1, 12:36*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

New construction ramps are now all grooved at a 90 degree angle to the
water's edge - you've be surprised at what a difference that can make
towing a boat up a ramp out of the water even when wet.

On Apr 1, 3:50*pm, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:
On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:03:52 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On Apr 1, 12:36*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires.
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

New construction ramps are now all grooved at a 90 degree angle to the
water's edge - you've be surprised at what a difference that can make
towing a boat up a ramp out of the water even when wet.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The day I slid back I was at Baldwin Bridge, at the mouth of the CT
River, beautiful cement ramp, slotted, grooved, studded with metal
grip plates.. But with 2 inches of that sea grass, I might have well
been on a hockey rink, a tilted one Like I said, street tires, I
would have been swimming, had some pretty aggressive tires on the jeep
back then.

On Apr 1, 4:25*pm, wrote:
On Apr 1, 3:50*pm, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:





On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:03:52 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
On Apr 1, 12:36*pm, "Robert M. Gary" wrote:
I was thinking of taking the new boat to the lake this afternoon using
my wife's car. She has a FWD Saturn Vue with the factory larger tires..
It has the towing capacity but a friend warned me that FWD vehicles
may be more likely to spin out pulling a boat out of the water. The
car as electronic traction control. If it slips does it help to let
air out of the tires? I do carry a 10,000 lb tow rope. If someone is
around and I can't get it out I guess I could ask for a pull, but
hopefully I won't have to. Any tricks are appreciated, hopefully it
won't be an issue but I don't want to get stuck.

-Robert

A big variable with front wheel drive cars is the incline of the ramp.
If the ramp is steep you'll get less traction. Other variables are
total weight of boat, tongue weight, what the ramp is (concrete,
gravel, etc) and whether it's generally slippery when wet, etc. I've
got a ramp I use that in the morning before it gets used alot is fine,
after it gets a good soaking from boats being pulled it gets slippery.

New construction ramps are now all grooved at a 90 degree angle to the
water's edge - you've be surprised at what a difference that can make
towing a boat up a ramp out of the water even when wet.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The day I slid back I was at Baldwin Bridge, at the mouth of the CT
River, beautiful cement ramp, slotted, grooved, studded with metal
grip plates.. But with 2 inches of that sea grass, I might have well
been on a hockey rink, a tilted one *Like I said, street tires, I
would have been swimming, had some pretty aggressive tires on the jeep
back then.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

True story. Lake Center Hill, TN. The lake gets lowered a LOT by the
TVA in the fall. The place where we stay when we go in Oct for an
annual fishing trip with some GA guys and some Cleveland guys has a
ramp that is nice when the water is high, but the part that is still
in the water in Oct. is steep as hell! My first time there, I've got
my Jeep Cherokee with boat attached. All of the guys are out fishing,
they got there the day before. I look at that ramp and think JEEBUS!
But, then I think hell, my buddy Paul's boat is much heavier than mine
and he musta put his in okay...... So, I back 'er down the ramp, and
the trailer is so steep that I have to let out a LOT of winch strap
and the boat is out in the middle. I pull it back with a bow rope,
then pull my jeep and trailer out. Later all of the guys are back,
fire is going, drinking a beer and eating. I said something about that
damned ramp. Paul says you didn't put your boat in there yourself did
you?? Yep, I did. The office has a four wheel drive tractor with that
they put them in with for you when the water is that low!!

"Robert M. Gary" wrote
hopefully it won't be an issue

I never had ramp trouble with my Taurus wagon.

"Ernest Scribbler" wrote
I never had ramp trouble with my Taurus wagon.

This is the boat I used to tow with the wagon:
http://blizzard.zmm.com/thunderbird/rearview.jpg
The manufacturer lists the approximate weight as 2750 pounds. I never
weighed it, but I figure with trailer, fuel, and the usual stuff, I was well
into the 3K range. I'm on the Kanawha River in WV and most of the ramps are
fairly steep, but generally clean and dry like this one:
http://home.comcast.net/~blizzard3/b...s/pocaramp.jpg

(Now I have a big pickup and a 1500 pound boat. Go figure.)