You know, I've been pulling my Montgomery 17 "Flight" for about six years now. The boat, trailer and assorted cargotta weigh in at about 2200#. I first towed it with a Subaru Outback with a five speed; it was in this car that my wife and I got considerable experience in how to smoke a clutch at the boatramp. After 16000 miles the clutch and flywheel were toasted. I've been towing for a couple of years now with a small pickup with a 3L v6 (Mazda B3000, Ford Ranger) and it handles the weight just fine. If it were much heavier I would opt for trailer brakes, but I've had no problems to speak of (excepting the time that the boat and trailer got loose from my truck (at 45 mph)on the busy transition between two clogged freeways).

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chonshell@ia4u.net 04/25/02 06:58PM >>>

Thanks, Harvey: That reminds me of another question I wanted to ask. What is the consensus on towing with an automatic, rather than a standard, transmission? Seems to me, a standard would be a challenge on a slick boat ramp, however, standard transmissions are cheaper to buy, cheaper to fix and better on gas mileage. Anyone? Also, I broached the same tongue-weight question in a different way last year and remember someone saying something about adding a transmission cooler: Would anyone recommend this modification to a tow vehicle and, if so, is it an expensive ddition? --Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harvey Wilson" <HarveyWilson@compuserve.com> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 8:09 PM Subject: Tongue Weight I pulled my M-17 with a Ford Aerostar 3L auto. I doubt that boat and trailer weigh more then 2500 lbs, unless it's carrying a lot of entra gear. Mine had an 8hp Evinrude, and it trailered sweet all the way from Ft. Myers, Fla. to Atlanta, Ga Harvey/Ga M-17 Stargazer #294 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats