Buying Advice Little advice on which vehicle to buy

[Bbartlett2]

Hey everyone -- i just bought a lakehouse and a boat. The house has an uphill boat ramp leading to a garage. I am planning on leaving a vehicle at the lakehouse just to bring the boat up and down from the garage to the lake. The vehicle has to be able to tow 3,600 pounds uphill. I am thinking a side-by-side atv, or a gator. Something alone those lines. I would not insure or tag the vehicle. Would it be better to get a utility vehicle or a small truck? Also, what size engine would be best for a utility vehicle? Thanks so much for the help.

 

[radioman]

What about a tractor?:thumbsup:

 

[teg]

Tractor can do that and sooo much more...

 

[cowski]

no insurance = no truck.

 

[jenkinsph]

Just something to consider, I have one of my retired pickups 2000 F150 4x4 that I leave at my lake house. This enables me to commute to the lake in a car with better fuel economy, while there we have an extra vehicle to use too. This works out well enough and is about as cheap as you can go.

 

[TripleR]

Just something to consider, I have one of my retired pickups 2000 F150 4x4 that I leave at my lake house. This enables me to commute to the lake in a car with better fuel economy, while there we have an extra vehicle to use too. This works out well enough and is about as cheap as you can go.

Man, I wish I still had my old F150. I have a truck, tractors, ATV/RUV, but if all I was going to do is pull a boat, I'd go with an old full sized pick up. The first time you get chased off the lake in a storm, you will appreciate the cab and you can put a good size storage locker in the back for your junk/accessories.

 

[Dmace]

A decent sized (600cc or more) 4x4 utility ATV would be easier to store, cheaper to buy and have more off-road uses than a truck and cheaper than a side-by-side. A 4x4 with a selectable low range would have no problem with that boat. Many marines around here use them since you can put real aggressive tires on them vs a truck for those muddy, sandy ramps.

 

[scoutcub]

I also like the used pickup idea. I have a side by side UTV, and unsure what the tow rating is...I've towed my full sized jetski out of a pond, but don't know (kinda doubt it) if it's capable of pulling a good sized boat out of the water......
good luck!

 

[TripleR]

Back to the OP: I am planning on leaving a vehicle at the lakehouse just to bring the boat up and down from the garage to the lake.

Like I said, I own and use a 700 cc Grizzly, 660 Rhino SxS, several tractors. For the sole purpose of putting a boat in and pulling a boat out, I don't know how you can beat an older model pickup which you can leave sitting out. I can get one cheaper than anything else. I would not want to essentially waste the capabilities of the other machines for a single purpose. There is such a thing as over thinking something.

 

[Grandad4]

Gators are rated to tow about 1400 lbs. - probably conservative - but you have to figure Gators and other side by sides weigh about that much themselves. An ATV will be less than that. Don't know about anyone else, but if I needed to safely take a 3600 lb boat up and down a boat ramp (don't know how steep or whether paved), I'd want something that weighed at least as much as the boat, so it will be the "puller" and not the "pullee". So the tractor or 4x4 pickup sound like the best options to me.

 

[Dmace]

Gators are rated to tow about 1400 lbs. - probably conservative - but you have to figure Gators and other side by sides weigh about that much themselves. An ATV will be less than that. Don't know about anyone else, but if I needed to safely take a 3600 lb boat up and down a boat ramp (don't know how steep or whether paved), I'd want something that weighed at least as much as the boat, so it will be the "puller" and not the "pullee". So the tractor or 4x4 pickup sound like the best options to me.

So are you saying I can't tow my 10k dump trailer or 7000 lb tractor/trailer combo behind my "light" 5300lb Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck? How about that "light" 14k lb Kenworth hauling a 30k lb trailer? Even brand new 1/2 ton pick-ups only have a max weight of around 7k lbs yet can tow over 10k...
Point is, very rarely will a tow vehicle weigh more than it's trailer load. Remember, your towing the load not carrying it. Big difference!

 

[Rancher Ed]

I am in agreement with Grandad4 that you most likely want something that weighs close to if no more than the boat. While an ATV or side by side would have no problem pulling your boat on level ground, I for one would not want to try it. What you would be doing is trying to pull 3 to 6 times as much weight up a steep ramp that could be wet where if it lost traction you would end up in the water. Another thing is that ATVs and side by sides have pretty short wheel bases and tongue weight from the boat plus a steep ramp could have a not so great ending.

An old pickup would work fine and should be cheep to buy. (If you get a 2wd I would fine 500 to 1000 pounds of weight to keep in the bed so you know that you will have traction.) Just about any tractor that weighs more than 2500 pounds would also work fine.

Ed

 

[Runner]

"An old pickup would work fine and should be cheep to buy. (If you get a 2wd I would fine 500 to 1000 pounds of weight to keep in the bed so you know that you will have traction.)"

I like the pickup idea too.

If it were me, and pulling a boat up a ramp was the only job, I'd forget 2WD and go for a 4WD truck.

 

[Grandad4]

So are you saying I can't tow my 10k dump trailer or 7000 lb tractor/trailer combo behind my "light" 5300lb Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck? How about that "light" 14k lb Kenworth hauling a 30k lb trailer? Even brand new 1/2 ton pick-ups only have a max weight of around 7k lbs yet can tow over 10k...
Point is, very rarely will a tow vehicle weigh more than it's trailer load. Remember, your towing the load not carrying it. Big difference!

No, not saying that at all. We're talking about a wet, possibly muddy, soft or steep boat ramp that goes into the lake, where you have to stop at the bottom or go in the drink when launching and you need enough traction/pulling power to climb the hill going the other way. That's not the same as ordinary highway towing. Plus all those other scenarios you describe have working brakes on the trailer; with an ATV or side by side, it's the tow vehicle's brakes only. Now, I'll admit there are boat ramps and then there are boat ramps. But many of the man-made ones I've seen are pretty steep.

Just for laughs....

YouTube - ‪4x4x4x4x4x4‬‏

 

[jake98]

If it's a straight shot, a winch and rails is the way to go.