Towing a boat with a Honda Civic

[MplsFisher]

I have a 2008 Honda Civic. Recently I was offered free access to a small boat (14ft aluminum with with 25hp, trailer, etc). I was wondering if anyone has tried towing a small boat like this with a similar sized car. The owners manual says I can tow up to 1000lbs with 100lbs tongue weight, but it might invalidate the warranty (I have to check with the dealership first, obviously). Should I bother getting a hitch for the car or is this a terrible idea?

[DTro]

You will no problem at all towing it.

You might have problems stopping.

You will have problems at some launches.

It’s possible, but not recommended. With your boat, gear, gas and a buddy in the car, you will be over limit.

[Fish Head]

Some 14ft boats are bigger & heavier than others. But for the most part, you probably won't have much trouble driving down the road. Stopping might be a different story.

Also putting the boat in the water probably won't be an issue, but pulling it out could give you some fits.

As far as damage to the vehicle itself, the transmission is what I would worry about. You may burn up that tranny before its time.

[solbes]

If it was an old Civic I might be inclined to give it a try. You really don't want to damage your nice 2008 though I'm guessing. How often are you thinking of going? Find a friend with similar interests that already owns a tow vehicle.

Funny story... I saw a Honda Accord pulling a much heavier 16 or 17' out of a steep ramp once. Two guys had to sit on the hood/bumper to get enough traction to pull it out

[Tip Up Rookie]

Don't do it. I had a Nissan maxima v6 that i used to pull a 14' with a 9.9. It worked great at first, but after a few thousand miles were put on the transmission started to give me problems and started to slip.

[MplsFisher]

Thank you all for the good advice. I was afraid that this was a bad idea, so I'll stick with plan B: convincing my brother to buy a truck!

[Tyler23]

thats what i would do. pulling a boat with a civic just doesnt seem right especially with a new one. there not built for that at all.

[Valv]

I wouldn't suggest it neither. Another vehicle just for towing might be an unnecessary expense, but compared to the cost of the repairs for your new (or newer) car it will be much cheaper. Find a beater truck or SUV that you will use sporadically just for the boat and you will be a lot happier. You don't need a $ 50k SuperDuty Crew cab diesel, an older Ranger/Blazer/Jeep will be plenty enough for a 14 ft boat.

[hydro]

I would go for it, based on personal experience. A while back, I had a Subaru sedan and towed a 14' boat (very similar to what you describe) all over the place. As mentioned above, stopping, perticularly in traffic will be your biggest concern as your brakes just do not have the area to dissipate the heat form the additional load. They will stop just fine, but they will get hot. Absolutely, check with your dealer and get their opinion as well. For occasional fishing trips you should not have any transmission problems if you understand what you are doing and take it easy.

As far as getting a second vehicle like a truck, while it sounds like a good option on the surface, be sure you can cover the purchase price, the insurance costs (always FULL price here), maintenance costs, and have somewhere to store everything. Here again, my experience has proven this to be an expensive option.

[riverrat56]

I too would find a friend with a tow vehical and no boat. Friends are cheap and don't require insurance or storage (well most of the time)

[Sandmannd]

I agree with the majority, that's going to cause a lot of wear on your new car. I think you will have a lot of problems with it getting the boat out of the water. Talking your brother into a truck is a great idea.

[shizzy]

is this a 14' tinny with no decking or console? if it has ANY extras aside from the bare hull and a tiller outboard I would say NO. my 14' alumacraft can be lifted easily by 2 guys, same with the trailer. add a small outboard and gas can and its still under 1000lbs. However...... add a trolling motor, battery, fish finder, rods, tackle, food, beverages and things add up fast. Also dont forget that gear and passengers IN the car also need to be factored in to your total weight.

BTW, my 14' Alumacraft with some decking, trolling motor, battery, 6HP outboard and gas can will get a little funky if I have to stab the brakes hard when pulling it with my Ford Ranger and that weighs a bit more then your Civic.

[motley man]

The transmission & rear end on smaller cars, vans are not made for towing or pulling and can lead to problems.

[SkunkedAgain]

Also to consider with such a car...loading and unloading when the lakes are low. You'll have your muffler and other car components under water in no time.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Anything more than a bike rack on a civic is pushing it!

[mn_bowhunter]

I had a 92 ford ranger with 5 speed and 4 cylinder and pulled a 14' alumacraft with 7.5 horse on it. I could only get it up to 60 or 65 mph with a tail wind. Gear didn't matter as I tried 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The added wind resistance is too much for smaller four cylinders. A buddy of mine has an older buick century with a 3.1L and he can pull around his 14' lund, but it's working hard.

[hovermn]

This is NOT a recommendation at all, but several years ago, I towed a small hovercraft, small 14' boat (not a deep and wide) and small utility trailer behind a '97 Honda Del sol! Stopping was never a sever issue, I accelerated a little slower than normal, and it did fine at speed. Did that for 3 years.

Did I get lucky? Probably. Was that stupid? I'd say so, but I was young and stupid, so it seemed to fit

[Random guy]

This thread made me laugh. It reminded of the good old days when I was running tourneys and criss crossing North America pulling my 219F Stratos, 150FICHT Evinrude and 15hp kicker with my little 4cyl Toyota pick-up. I remember having to make sure I ran the big 70 gallon tank dry in the bow of that old Stratos before I left or I had trouble steeering. Man the miles I put on and clutches I went through. Can't believe I lived through it.

I used to have to let the boat roll down the ramp so it floated the trailer a little and gave me a running start before the pull up the ramp got hard.

Crazy but it made sense at the time. Now I look back at some of the old pics and you could have put that truck in the livewell of the boat. Ah to be young and bullet proof.

[goblueM]

what do you guys think about a V6 1999 Ford Escort? That's what my buddy has and he's about to get a 14 foot aluminum boat/trailer with a 25 horse 2 stroke. Think he can tow it without too much damage?

[steffanf]

I don't think I would ever use a compact or a sub-compact to pull anything. While that rig doesn't weigh all that much, the cars' transmission was not not meant for such purposes. On top of all that, you're talking about using a 10-year old compact to boot? I tell you what... after the first time you pull that rig 20 miles, take a whiff of the transmission fluid. I bet you it will smell burnt...

[TroutYammer]

I have pulled my 14' Lund, 8HP Honda motor, 3gallon gas tank, Minnkota electric motor, battery and my fhising junk behind my Tpyota Corrola for years. The whole package is under 600Lbs and it really works great. Acceleration and breaking suffers somewhat but you will have 2X better gas mileage that any other rig going down the raod! Steep ramps could be a problem...you might have to get someone to sit on the hood on really steep ramps.

[Bottle Fish]

You could but I wouldn't recommend it. My Ex did this with her Toyota Camry and let's just say it doesn't sound or run as good as it once did.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Acceleration and breaking suffers somewhat

Thanks for making our point!

If breaking suffers does it really "work great"?

[ricqik]

i used to tow a 14' fully decked for yrs with my old '90 camry sedan. i don't expect drag race starts or porsche stops, accellerate fine n stops fine. i wouldn't say performance suffers at all, it's more like u'll notice it like driving by urself vs loaded with 5 medium folks in a camry.

[shizzy]

i used to tow a 14' fully decked for yrs with my old '90 camry sedan. i don't expect drag race starts or porsche stops, accellerate fine n stops fine. i wouldn't say performance suffers at all, it's more like u'll notice it like driving by urself vs loaded with 5 medium folks in a camry.

BUT the Camry and the Civic arent in the same class. Isnt the Civic in the same class as the Corolla? dont the Camry and the Accord sit in the same class?

[Jeremy airjer W]

You would be correct.