Will a 3.0 pull a boat?

CKRobin · Feb 21, 2010

My dad is shopping for a truck and we have found a 2004 Ext Cab 3.0 Edge. Will this pull a bass boat? And when I say pull I don't mean just get the job done, would it be a plesent drive? Some fishing trips can be 400 miles away or further. Not sure about a towing package but I can install that if it doesnt have one.

02RangerXLT · Feb 21, 2010

Well how much does your bass boat weigh? One man's john boat could be his bass boat, and another man's yacht can be his bass boat...

Honestly, just find someone with a 3/4 ton pickup, the ride will probably be better...

CKRobin · Feb 21, 2010

I think it is just a small 14 foot fiberglass boat no clue of weight. His 4.0 reg cab does just fine. He is also thinking of stepping up a little but probably no more then a 17 or 118 footer then. 3400-3500lbs would more then cover anything he would pull.

Ranger97XL · Feb 21, 2010

the guy I bought my ranger, a 97 2wd i4, from owned a mustang stripping and parts warehouse, he would routinely drag parts and cars on a skid plus a bed full of parts to the scrap yard, the last trip he took the mud flaps were barely off the ground, he got pulled over for the brake lights being out, state trooper told him to get a real truck ;missingteeth;

. With a trans cooler and trailer brakes I wouldn't worry.

stockfornow · Feb 21, 2010

my 89 with the 2.9 towed my freinds ski boat just fine. the only thing i had an issue with was getting the boat out of the lake due to the unpaved launch. The 3.0 should do fine as long as you can get traction to launch.

02RangerXLT · Feb 21, 2010

Yeah, do it. Get a trans-temp gauge though... and trailer brakes would be nice...

2wd or 4wd? If you're going down alot of boat ramps, you might want to have 4wd...

CKRobin · Feb 21, 2010

It is 2wd. I think his biggest concern is if the motor is going to be working hard to do it. Or should I say sound as if it is.

92 5 oh · Feb 21, 2010

ive towed my 16' aluminum bass boat with my dads 99 3.0, auto, 2wd. no problems. boat weighs about 1400# or so loaded.i dont do it regularly with this truck or id get a trans cooler and temp gauge

Frank The Tank · Feb 21, 2010

Today I pulled a 2,500 lb (on the light side....) trailer with my 88 B2 on it....... i had no issues with power, but bridges and rough road was not fun.....
I had plenty of power..... 4.0 5spd, 4.88's..... but I didn't have the stability I'd have liked for the lousy road conditions.

If your under 4k I see no issues...... over 4k it wouldn't be fun for 400miles with a stiff wind side to side.

Frank

Chance · Feb 21, 2010

My beat/blown 3.0 can drag a bass boat around just fine and dandy...
This boat actually:

Just kinda sucks going up hills and whatnot but it aint bad.

My family launches boats in the dirt and sand more than anything though so I could never imagine trying to use a two wheel drive... but if you got concrete launches you outta be fine.

Tractorman · Feb 22, 2010

How will a boat trailer have brakes? Typically, it's the really large ones that have hyd. brakes.

I don't know how you'll be power wise, but truck wise, it will handle it without a sweat. I imagine with the 3.0 you'll be touching the floor on the hill more often, but that's about it.

michowski · Feb 22, 2010

To answer your question yes it will. Will it do it safely and easily is another story. A lot comes into factor here like weight, trailer, trailer brakes, ect.

adsm08 · Feb 24, 2010

Actually, little known fact is that the 3.0 is wholly incompatible with boats. If you put a boat on a trailer and plug in the trailer connector a 3.0 won't even start. Something with the software. The engineers still haven't figured it out.

Canoes, kayaks, and PWCs are fine, but boats just make them not run at all.

dru · Feb 24, 2010

I pull a 14' Boston Whaler with a 25gal fuel tank. Its likely a bit more weight than your bass boat. it gets the job done as I live a a mile from the ramp. That being said, I would not even think about towing it 400 miles, very uncomfortable.

Edit: My Ranger is an auto with 4.56's. even with the gears its sketchy accelerating into traffic, you can just feel the strain on the whole truck (motor, suspension, brakes etc.)

CKRobin · Feb 25, 2010

Thanks for all the replies.
After all this he is now not liking putting the grandkids carseats in the jump seats so rangers are out. We did get a nice 4x4 with some lift today where I work that I want to check out for myself.

Will a 3.0 pull a boat?

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