Iffy On Towing a 32' Wellcraft CCF (~10k lbs), With My '99 2 Door...!

[SeanEboy]

So, I live 15 miles from my office.. 10 miles are on a two lane highway, 40mph minimum. I have a '99 2 door, 5.7l, that has some sort of towing package, as it has a brake controller, and the welded universal hitch on the back.
I know the towing capacity is typically 6500lbs on these things...
The boat weighs ~9000, plus 1000 in motors, and it's an aluminum tri axle trailer... So, let's say the rig is 12,000 to be on the safe side. Am I an absolute nut to pull the boat home (once a year) with my truck? The trailer has surge brakes on it, I'm very confident in my driving skills with it on the back in general (I'm the only one who usually trailers it that 1x or 2x a year).
We pulled it here last year with a '95 Suburban, 1500.. And had absolutely no issues... So, I'm thinking of taking a shot with my Tahoe... I'm not looking to hit 55, I'm not looking to get anywhere near anybody else - drafting with a 32' boat is never a good idea.. Will my truck fall apart in pulling this thing?

 

[THE YETI]

When in doubt...

I'd ask a friend with a dually. Lol.

 

[SeanEboy]

Tell me about it.. I only have whimpy Jeep friends.. I need more dually friends.. I was actually thinking of getting one myself for a bit - and hauling boats around to pay for the truck/gas...

 

[gpracer1]

What rear end gears do you have ?.....that usually dictates towing capacity. I would do it in D3 , not overdrive.
No big deal if only 15 miles.

 

[SunlitComet]

12,000 lbs. no way in hell

 

[LuSe4]

That is exceeding your tow rating by a quite an amount.
I would ask the local dealership to test drive a 1 ton truck for a couple of hours!

 

[BattelWagun]

I would not trust a 4l60 with that kind of responsibility. 12K lbs is just asking for trouble.

 

[noJeepshere]

I once pulled my old Jimmy on a flatbed trailer 30 miles, at speeds up to 60mph, with no issues. That combination weighed in the neighborhood of 8000lbs. But I have a 4x4 4 door with 3.73 gears. Yours, being a 2 door, probably has the 3.42 rear, which I don't think is suitable for towing anything more than a couple thousand pounds, just not enough gear reduction to be helpful imo.

Many car rental agencies rent out trucks, in fact, u-haul rents out pickups just for this purpose. Rent a pickup (even a 1/2 ton) with insurance for the afternoon and tow worry free.

 

[TAHOETIM]

Surge brakes and all if you get in a tight spot it will push the Tahoe around. I would also worry about tongue weight. Mine has pulled a 27' camper before that weighed in at about 6500 and pulled it but was about as much as I would want to put on it.

 

[99 2dr]

I Draw the line at 10,000 with my 99 2 door 3.73 gears, NV4500 Manual Transmission, 12 K Hitch never exceeding 1000 lbs tongue weight.

 

[Trippers99hoe]

I vote no,I towed my 96 2 door home when i purchased it with a blown engine on an 18 ft equipment trailer with surge brakes(8500 lbs) it was a scary 150 miles.

The bad thing is If you were to get in an accident you can be held criminally responsible.

 

[domin8]

Don't do it for all the reasons listed above.

 

[SeanEboy]

Hey, appreciate the input all.. I knew it was a bad idea.. I was only going to do it if everyone was giving me the go ahead... Which obviously didn't happen. Got a 2500HD to do the job, and it did so quite well. Now, the problem is, I want to buy that truck.... ;c) 6.0, long bed, nice setup...

 

[Fishintahoe]

Dont do it, man... dont do it!!!!

 

[Gzes]

Ive towed about 8-10k for a shitload of trips when i bought 70k bricks.... I also towed around 12k in my 2wd ram so... If u got balls i say do it. I would.... Btw i also have a 2dr but its a 94 and its a tbi

 

[Monzter Mike]

I would never tow a 10,000-12,000 lbs trailer with surge brakes behind my Tahoe, or even with a 3/4 ton Suburban. It will push you, and if you can't apply just the trailer brakes to slow the trailer down when it starts pushing you it could get hairy. I'd find someone with a 1 ton truck, preferably a dually to tow it. When towing heavy size matters, wider & longer is better, my extended cab dually tows stuff behind it that you wouldn't even know it was there if you didn't see it in the rear view mirror.

 

[KPOD]

On this same topic, is the engine the limiting factor with OBS Tahoes (5.7L gas and 6.5L diesel) or is the frame what's preventing it from towing more?

 

[Monzter Mike]

On this same topic, is the engine the limiting factor with OBS Tahoes (5.7L gas and 6.5L diesel) or is the frame what's preventing it from towing more?

It doesn't take to much weight to start loading down the rear suspension on my Tahoe till I'm on the bump stops. Installing overload bags & weight distributing hitch, will help with distributing the weight to all the wheels & help gain some stability to keep from getting sway with a heavy load.

One of my buddies did bend the frame on his 96 Yukon towing his brother's bagged 65 C10 with a big block when it was aired out on a car trailer, he said it felt like he was hauling a tractor. I have seen a couple other Tahoes & Yukons with the hitch bent downwards too.

As far as engine size goes a small block will do the job. I've got a couple friends with 5.7L duallies who haul just fine, my 454 just takes less effort to get the load going & my mileage isn't much different than one with a 5.7L engines.

 

[KPOD]

It doesn't take to much weight to start loading down the rear suspension on my Tahoe till I'm on the bump stops. Installing overload bags & weight distributing hitch, will help with distributing the weight to all the wheels & help gain some stability to keep from getting sway with a heavy load.

One of my buddies did bend the frame on his 96 Yukon towing his brother's bagged 65 C10 with a big block when it was aired out on a car trailer, he said it felt like he was hauling a tractor. I have seen a couple other Tahoes & Yukons with the hitch bent downwards too.

As far as engine size goes a small block will do the job. I've got a couple friends with 5.7L duallies who haul just fine, my 454 just takes less effort to get the load going & my mileage isn't much different than one with a 5.7L engines.

Good to know, thanks. So if I got a 6" suspension lift, I could pretty much kiss towing goodbye then? Since the trailer weight would kill and destroy my rear suspension?

 

[SunlitComet]

some of it it suspension load and some is engine setup. and even more some is the rear end gearing. look at the tow ratings in the owners guide and you will see how it works.