Need a car to haul my boat

NRC

I’m just here so I don’t get mined
Forum Supporter
This isn’t quite a wtb thread. Unless it turns into one I guess.

I have gotten my hands on a drift boat. The problem is I don’t have a vehicle to tow it with yet. We’re needing to upgrade to a bigger family car anyway, though.

The tentative plan is to go the Subaru route. Outback or Forester maybe? I have friends who tow their drift boats with their Subarus successfully. And they make sense as a good general midsize family car for people living in the city (Tacoma in my case).

Feel like I’m kinda just following the crowd, though. Curious to hear others’ thoughts on good options if you care to share.

Requirements in no particular order:
- easy to get baby in and out of carseat
- used not new
- good car camping adventure wagon
- decent fuel economy
- can tow a drift boat
- not too expensive used (I know the market is still pretty bad. The point of this bullet item is that we can’t afford a super fancy rig)
- reasonably low maintenance (this one’s kind of obvious I guess. The point being I am not good at / do not enjoy working on cars)

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!
 

RCF

Life of the Party
Help us out if you can. Weight of boat and trailer. Also tongue weight. It will affect recommendations.
 

Zak

Legend
Forum Supporter
This isn’t quite a wtb thread. Unless it turns into one I guess.

I have gotten my hands on a drift boat. The problem is I don’t have a vehicle to tow it with yet. We’re needing to upgrade to a bigger family car anyway, though.

The tentative plan is to go the Subaru route. Outback or Forester maybe? I have friends who tow their drift boats with their Subarus successfully. And they make sense as a good general midsize family car for people living in the city (Tacoma in my case).

Feel like I’m kinda just following the crowd, though. Curious to hear others’ thoughts on good options if you care to share.

Requirements in no particular order:
- easy to get baby in and out of carseat
- used not new
- good car camping adventure wagon
- decent fuel economy
- can tow a drift boat
- not too expensive used (I know the market is still pretty bad. The point of this bullet item is that we can’t afford a super fancy rig)
- reasonably low maintenance (this one’s kind of obvious I guess. The point being I am not good at / do not enjoy working on cars)

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!
I am very happy with my 2010 Forester. I tow a light 100lb boat with it. I just said l wish it were long enough inside for a sleeping pad. It was $11K with a new head gasket.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NRC

Lue Taylor

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
You might look into a Toyota Highlander it's all wheel drive and not a hot seller for the company may can talk down a good price for a new that what my friend did and with the price of used cars selling for what the previous own paid new for it.
 

SteelHeadDave

Broskioner
Forum Supporter
I’ve owned 3 older model Outback’s and loved them. Head gasket issues did in two of them but they were late 90s models. I’ve heard those issues have been fixed on the newer models. Never towed a boat with them but took them on all kinds of nasty mountain roads. It’s a little tight but it’s very possible to sleep in the back of them too. Spent many nights catching the last ferry to MA9 salmon beaches and getting a few hours sleep in the back. My last OB got nearly 550k miles on it before it but the dust. If taken care of they can last a long time and I abused the shit out of mine.
 

jact55

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Zero idea on towing capabilities. But my 2017 Kia sorrento has been great.
I paid 22k for it, with 17,000 miles. Thing has never been in the shop, it's ran perfectly to 80,000 miles currently.

Hard to find a lower awd price rig than a Kia sorrento. I don't know what market is on them now, bought years ago. But I'd buy another in a heart beat if needed.

My f150 that I paid over twice as much for, it's a turd. Maybe my standards going into a 50k vehicle were too high.
 

ColinShots

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
2015 Outback owner here (and owner of 8 previous Subarus). If you plan on towing, you either need to get a new Outback with the turbo (the XT) or find an older Outback with the 3.6l six cylinder. The 2.5l four banger is gutless, especially if you have the car loaded up with family and gear. I couldn’t even imagine towing up a hill. Also, they are pretty cramped inside and the trunk isn’t that big. Your better bet may be a used Highlander with the v6.
 

Eastside

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
You might look into a Toyota Highlander it's all wheel drive and not a hot seller for the company may can talk down a good price for a new that what my friend did and with the price of used cars selling for what the previous own paid new for it.
The Highlander has a 3500 to 5000 lb towing capacity depending on configuration. We have one and it tows my wife’s Mastercraft ski boat which is way heavier than my drift boat.
 

NRC

I’m just here so I don’t get mined
Forum Supporter
Help us out if you can. Weight of boat and trailer. Also tongue weight. It will affect recommendations.
Yeah, I know it would help, but currently unknown. Fwiw it’s a 15’ or 16’ x 48, so a little smaller and slimmer than the typical drift boat. That’s all I’ve got for now.
 

Rob Allen

Life of the Party
This isn’t quite a wtb thread. Unless it turns into one I guess.

I have gotten my hands on a drift boat. The problem is I don’t have a vehicle to tow it with yet. We’re needing to upgrade to a bigger family car anyway, though.

The tentative plan is to go the Subaru route. Outback or Forester maybe? I have friends who tow their drift boats with their Subarus successfully. And they make sense as a good general midsize family car for people living in the city (Tacoma in my case).

Feel like I’m kinda just following the crowd, though. Curious to hear others’ thoughts on good options if you care to share.

Requirements in no particular order:
- easy to get baby in and out of carseat
- used not new
- good car camping adventure wagon
- decent fuel economy
- can tow a drift boat
- not too expensive used (I know the market is still pretty bad. The point of this bullet item is that we can’t afford a super fancy rig)
- reasonably low maintenance (this one’s kind of obvious I guess. The point being I am not good at / do not enjoy working on cars)

Appreciate any thoughts or advice!


Gonna offer my opinion, it's just my opinion and I know there are many ways to skin this cat.

1. Towing and good gas mileage really do not go together.

2. A Subaru is fine if you use improved or not steep solid surface ramps. or you plan to unload your boat and slide it down the ramp or bank. And remember you gotta get it back out too.

It's my opinion therefore that a small or mid sized truck or SUV is the best option. Something with ground clearance and 4 wheel drive.

Just my opinion. If I owned a drift boat a Subaru simply wouldn't work at the ramps I would want to use.

I think an old forerunner or that type of vehicle might be a good option.

Also. If I were to do it this would be a 3rd vehicle. I wouldn't want it to take the place of a commuter car because of the gas milage issue..
 

NRC

I’m just here so I don’t get mined
Forum Supporter
Gonna offer my opinion, it's just my opinion and I know there are many ways to skin this cat.

1. Towing and good gas mileage really do not go together.

2. A Subaru is fine if you use improved or not steep solid surface ramps. or you plan to unload your boat and slide it down the ramp or bank. And remember you gotta get it back out too.

It's my opinion therefore that a small or mid sized truck or SUV is the best option. Something with ground clearance and 4 wheel drive.

Just my opinion. If I owned a drift boat a Subaru simply wouldn't work at the ramps I would want to use.

I think an old forerunner or that type of vehicle might be a good option.

Also. If I were to do it this would be a 3rd vehicle. I wouldn't want it to take the place of a commuter car because of the gas milage issue..
I hear you on the gas mileage! That’s why “decent” was the goalpost. But it won’t be our primary commuter car. It WILL be our primary going out of town car.

Good point on ground clearance for wonky ramps.

Getting a lot of encouragement in the SUV direction from this thread. I’ll poke around at 4Runners, highlanders, etc online and see what I learn.
 

Bricaud

Smolt
Forum Supporter
We occasionally use my wifes 2017 outback to tow our older Hyde highside. Typically on quicker float trips to known easy ramps - think Bristol (RIP) to greenbridge on the Yak. Or long distance trips to Montana to visit family where we will only get to float a few times over the vacation.

The 4cyl Subaru does fine going up and down the mountains - its not a rocket ship but gets the job done.

typically we tow with our F350 when gear volume, truck camper or comfort is required.

I would echo comments above - outback gear storage volume isn't that great - a rocketbox up top helps alot. I worry about loading up too heavy and towing with the CVT transmission. Ass end of the Subaru also gets quite squirrely when loaded up and towing at highway speeds.

We just had baby #1 and are learning about how easy it is to fill up the car with a stroller, diaper bag, car seat etc. The outback is great with the baby but it sure fills up quick, not leaving alot of room for other gear.

if possible the SUV route would likely be a better tool but the Subaru will get it done.

Don't have a picture of the boat hooked up to the Subaru so this phot of our other rig will have to do:

IMG_8896.jpg
 
Last edited:

Stonedfish

Known Grizzler-hater of triploids, humpies & ND
Forum Supporter
My 2014 Outback just had gasket problems with 114K on it. Not a cheap repair but way cheaper than a new vehicle.
I’m probably in the minority here, but I’ll never buy another Subaru again when this one dies.
SF
 

Trout Trekker

Steelhead
Back in '08 we bought a FWD Honda CRV ( good family car, gets good gas mileage, etc, ) as a second home / guest use vehicle. So, it mostly sat undriven, it's fifteen years old now and just crossed over to 100,00 miles.
I mounted a Curt hitch to it and used it at times to tow our Hyde and it did fine, never really knew the boat was behind the CRV on the road. The only downside was on slick or stepper than normal ramps with the OEM tires, it would lose grip and spin. I found a remedy for that, but it's completely nuts, time consuming, etc. A better solution would be an AWD version.

Normally the boat would get towed with a Cherokee which is a superior tow vehicle for this kind of duty, but they get lousy gas mileage and finding one that's in very good condition is getting tough.cherokee.jpg
 
Last edited:

Divad

Whitefish
If you buy a 4Runner know they haven’t changed in 15 yrs, so you don’t need new to get the current running gear.

I’m a little biased on a 4 door truck with canopy setup. My sister loves mine for the baby seat too because she doesn’t have to bend down. Tacoma or Colorado. Plus great car camping, storage for days, safe, and you have a bed for yard work etc.
 

Chucker

Steelhead
Drift boats are light, you don’t need to go overboard with a tow vehicle. A heavy drift boat + trailer might be 1,000 pounds. Subaru Forester has 2000 pounds tow capacity. That’s all you need. I used to get over 20mpg towing a 700 pound drift boat with mine too. However, it is small for a car camping adventure wagon.

I am in a similar sort of situation. Looking to get a bigger boat, so need to upgrade the vehicle to something with 4-5,000 pounds tow capacity. Don’t need a truck, so it has to be a SUV. Can’t be too huge, as I have a very very narrow driveway (less than 9’). Any thought or suggestions appreciated!
 
  • Like
Reactions: NRC

Salmo_g

Legend
Forum Supporter
I've been towing a boat with Subaru Outbacks since 2000, first a 2000 model and then the 2014 that I'm still driving. Both with standard 4 cyl. engines. Decent gas mileage (~26 mpg) but less when towing. Cargo capacity is better than a sedan, but for longer fishing trips I bought a Yakima Skybox for the roof.

Vehicle choice involves compromise. Sure, what I really want is the space of an F-250 4-door crew cab with a full 8' bed and the turning radius of the Subaru. Oh, and at least 40 mpg fuel economy. Thus far I've found it impossible to have mutually exclusive attributes, with cars and anything else for that matter.
 

EmergingFisher

Life of the Party
I have a 2015 GMC Terrain, 4 cyl., which tows a 12 foot aluminum with motor well. They are roomy inside for passengers. +1 on a Sorento, that's what I am considering next, whenever that is. I will say though that the Terrain (at least the older versions like mine) do not have the highest clearance - I've never had an issue but I don't know that I'd trust it on some rocky drift boat launches I've seen.
 

skyriver

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Having gone through my fair share of vehicles, transporting kids and fishing, hunting & camping all usually while pulling a boat I'll give my recs. Based on your requirements of course.
First, the stay away from list:
Anything luxury- I've owned Volvo XC90 and an Audi Q5. Loved them. But they are too expensive to maintain and we had to sell both because they were facing eventual repairs that would be crazy expensive. You'll see really good deals on decent XC90s and Q5s. Don't do it.

Small trucks- Not great for kiddos. Dropping off kids at daycare in my 1998 T100 was painful. No back door. Not great for camping either unless you put a canopy on it, which I did. And it was bigger than any small truck of today. Now, some small trucks do have rear doors which would help a lot. Still too small though.

Big trucks- You don't need one and even if they say 17-20 mpg... You're not gonna get it. My F150 Super Crew 4x4 gets 15. I don't drive it much except to fish.

The list you need:
SUVs with AWD or 4WD that are just big enough to fit the family and pull the boat out of a crappy ramp.
The good deals that are reliable cars list- Kia Sorrento, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, etc.
I think this is the sweet spot between price, function and reliability. The Highlanders fetch higher prices even at higher mileage. They're good cars, but so are the others for much lower price. Beware of cars from Florida, Louisiana and the NE. Try to get a West coast car. Just way less water and rust issues.

And as much as I love Toyota 4Runners they are expensive, even with high mileage. My son has a 1998 that has a gazillion miles on it and it's still going strong, but we bought it with him several years ago with a ton of miles already on it.

Good luck! And congrats on the drift boat!
 
Top