I'm jumping into this thread kind of late, but I just thought I'd relate my M-15 towing experiences with two smaller vehicles. I bought my M-15 in Seattle (I live in Wisconsin), and at the same time bought a late 80s Toyota Corolla 4WD wagon (manual transmission) with 194,000 miles on it (but pretty well taken care of). The vehicle was rated to tow 1500# - I think at the time I figured the M-15 trailer combo at about 1150#, plus I had some luggage and two people (including me) in the car, so I would guess we were pretty close to the 1500, all-in-all. I wasn't sure how the car would handle the mountains, so rather than start right out going over the Cascades, I somewhat nervously started my way down to the Columbia River and went east from there. Of course there were many more mountain passes later on, but I wanted to get a feel for the rig first. To my happy surprise, the car seemed very happy and didn't feel overloaded at all. I was able to keep good control of the RPMs with the manual transmission, but even keeping them high I didn't have to completely crawl over the Rockies. Mileage was decent, too. Stopping also felt pretty controlled, although of course I drove conservatively. I can't comment on launching/retrieval with that vehicle, but since it had the 4wd option, I think it would have worked well. And in case anyone is wondering if all that towing was hard on the car, well, I later sold it to a friend, who's still happily driving it (four years later) with over 275,000 miles on it. When I later sold the boat to a friend in Idaho, I promised delivery. By that time I had a 1987 Volvo 240 station wagon, also with a 4-cylinder engine, but this time with an automatic transmission (you can't always get what you want in a used car...). It is rated to tow 3500#, and weighs nearly that itself, but still doesn't have a huge engine. On that trip the car was *well* loaded down, I had a large dinghy strapped to the top, and it was winter. Ah, fun... I did have a transmission cooler on the car, since it had an automatic transmission. And, although they don't recommend using the overdrive when towing, I did use it occasionally, such as on long flat (or downward) stretches wherein I really wasn't asking much of the car. I decided the recommendation could be stretched with a careful eye on the tachometer and a feel for what kind of strain I was putting on the car. At one point I turned the wheel over to my travelling companion, which might have been a mistake, in retrospect (I thought he had more experience driving in snow); but the ensuing "event" did give me an idea of how the vehicle would handle in adverse conditions, while towing an M-15. Somewhere in Wyoming a semi-truck passed us - and you know how they put out quite a sideways "wind" thrust. Well, as luck would have it, that coincided with a snowy patch of highway, and my driver decided to apply the brakes. Not good! Well, the trailer slewed out to the side, then started fishtailing and gave the car a bit of a shaking. I was yelling "give it gas!" and thinking "Hello ditch!" But, we straightened out and were able to recover, although there was some damage to the boat and trailer from the fishtailing. Car was fine. I'm still driving it, two years and 60,000 miles later. I still hate giving the wheel to anyone else ;-) I'm not sure I would have wanted to use that vehicle for launching/retrieval, due to the rear-wheel-drive/automatic combo, but it was fine for towing. On a side note, I agree with whomever that was who posted about tying both sides of the stern down individually; I think that would have prevented some of the problems we had after the near-catasrophe. It's hard to know exactly what happened, and in what sequence, but the end result was that the upright that has the roller the bow and winch on it was bent, and the boat was able to slide forward and off to the side of it a bit. Also, the stern/back of the keel was able to "rock" back and forth - there were marks on the sides of the keel from where it had moved over far enough to touch the bunk supports on both sides. (All fixed perfectly later by a great Idaho boat shop.) In retrospect (or were I to tow one again), I would figure out a way to keep the boat from moving forward on the trailer (besides the bow stop, which was inadequate). Perhaps midships cleats with lines leading aft. I would also tie each side of the stern down separately, as mentioned by someone else recently. I think that would have prevented the problems we had. Of course who tows through Wyoming in February (besides me)? :-) Personally, I don't think you need a truck to tow an M-15, if you drive conservatively. That's one of its advantages! Of course to each their own. And I will reiterate that I was within rated towing limits on both of my vehicles. --- Rachel

I had one near miss towing Storm Petrel with my RAV4. The short version is that a semi and I tried to move into the same lane just before the interstate split. I ended up taking the other split, not the intended one, via the shoulder at 55 or 60. He was bigger - lots bigger, so he got the lane. It was close but no damage was done. My rig felt as secure as it could under those circumstances. I sure was glad the boat was tied down well. I checked things out at a rest area, then headed back to my original route. The RAV is a small but tall SUV with a very short wheelbase. I think it feels more stable that its size would indicate because of the full time all wheel drive. I really like the way it handles, both with and without the trailer. SP's Dilly trailer is larger and heavier than those I have seen other M15s sitting on. It has a lot of tongue weight but not enough for the RAV's rear to sag. You can tell the boat is back there and I notice the unusual motion when first leaving on a trip. I often tow over the mountains to the Chesapeake, such as the Appalachians are. I prefer the scenery of toll-free I68 through Western Maryland to the PA Turnpike, even though the hills are steeper. I run comfortably at 65-70, except up the hills, of course. The RAV gets about 20 mpg when towing and 27 when unencumbered. Bill Riker M-15 - #184 Storm Petrel