Time to put the 3.7L to work!
#1
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Central Florida
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Time to put the 3.7L to work!
Picked this baby up about a month ago, just now getting around to sharing:
It's a 20' Hydra-Sports bay boat with a 150hp BRP Johnson 2-stroke. Weighs in with a dry weight of 3500 lbs. Add the trailer, motor, and fuel, it's a total package of around 4500 lbs. Surprisingly, the truck yanks it around with seemingly little effort, despite being a V6 4x2. I've taken the boat out 3 weekends in a row since I got it, and I haven't had a traction issue at the ramp either, even at low tide. The boat is definitely not light, and I'm not going to be going anywhere super fast while towing it, but the truck is definitely the one in charge while towing. I'm very impressed with the 3.7L (in case anyone cares about it anymore )
After towing it a few times, I got tired of not being able to see a thing around the boat, so I installed a set of OEM towing mirrors. Now I know it may seem silly (and ironic) to put towing mirrors on a truck with a V6, but I decided visibility has nothing to do with engine size, so I went for it. And these things are awesome. Power, heat, turn signal, and puddle lamps are all fully functional. One of the best things I ever did to the truck. I was planning to do a write up, but I ended up installing them at night, so if anyone plans to do this and needs some help, feel free to PM me. Once you spend an hour doing one, the second one only takes ten minutes
And finally, 1" rear blocks are on! I finally got rid of the sag in the rear end. A shout out to KMAC for pointing it out so that it bugged me every time I looked at the truck I went with a 1" instead of a 1-1/4" because I got the blocks and u-bolts for free from a local 4x4 shop. I think it turned out great. No more sag!
Would I rather have a V8 4x4? Yes. Do I love this truck, and does it do everything I need it to do? Absolutely. I may hold onto her for awhile.
It's a 20' Hydra-Sports bay boat with a 150hp BRP Johnson 2-stroke. Weighs in with a dry weight of 3500 lbs. Add the trailer, motor, and fuel, it's a total package of around 4500 lbs. Surprisingly, the truck yanks it around with seemingly little effort, despite being a V6 4x2. I've taken the boat out 3 weekends in a row since I got it, and I haven't had a traction issue at the ramp either, even at low tide. The boat is definitely not light, and I'm not going to be going anywhere super fast while towing it, but the truck is definitely the one in charge while towing. I'm very impressed with the 3.7L (in case anyone cares about it anymore )
After towing it a few times, I got tired of not being able to see a thing around the boat, so I installed a set of OEM towing mirrors. Now I know it may seem silly (and ironic) to put towing mirrors on a truck with a V6, but I decided visibility has nothing to do with engine size, so I went for it. And these things are awesome. Power, heat, turn signal, and puddle lamps are all fully functional. One of the best things I ever did to the truck. I was planning to do a write up, but I ended up installing them at night, so if anyone plans to do this and needs some help, feel free to PM me. Once you spend an hour doing one, the second one only takes ten minutes
And finally, 1" rear blocks are on! I finally got rid of the sag in the rear end. A shout out to KMAC for pointing it out so that it bugged me every time I looked at the truck I went with a 1" instead of a 1-1/4" because I got the blocks and u-bolts for free from a local 4x4 shop. I think it turned out great. No more sag!
Would I rather have a V8 4x4? Yes. Do I love this truck, and does it do everything I need it to do? Absolutely. I may hold onto her for awhile.
#2
#3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Central Florida
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Thanks man, I'm really pleased with the stance. Sometimes it's dead level, sometimes it has a hint of rake, depending on where I'm parked. It's close enough to perfect for me.
What really convinced me to finally put the blocks in was when I first hitched this boat to it and the rear sank even more. It was not pretty. With the blocks, the tongue weight doesn't seem to squash the truck so much. It looks like a much more respectable setup.
The truck does handle the boat well, although I wouldn't want to tow much more than this with this engine. It tows like a champ until I hit a hill or a bridge
What really convinced me to finally put the blocks in was when I first hitched this boat to it and the rear sank even more. It was not pretty. With the blocks, the tongue weight doesn't seem to squash the truck so much. It looks like a much more respectable setup.
The truck does handle the boat well, although I wouldn't want to tow much more than this with this engine. It tows like a champ until I hit a hill or a bridge
#5
Thanks man, I'm really pleased with the stance. Sometimes it's dead level, sometimes it has a hint of rake, depending on where I'm parked. It's close enough to perfect for me.
What really convinced me to finally put the blocks in was when I first hitched this boat to it and the rear sank even more. It was not pretty. With the blocks, the tongue weight doesn't seem to squash the truck so much. It looks like a much more respectable setup.
The truck does handle the boat well, although I wouldn't want to tow much more than this with this engine. It tows like a champ until I hit a hill or a bridge
What really convinced me to finally put the blocks in was when I first hitched this boat to it and the rear sank even more. It was not pretty. With the blocks, the tongue weight doesn't seem to squash the truck so much. It looks like a much more respectable setup.
The truck does handle the boat well, although I wouldn't want to tow much more than this with this engine. It tows like a champ until I hit a hill or a bridge
Hey, it's kinda like when a kid says "hey mom, it hurts when I do this." "Well then stop doing that!" Just avoid hills and bridges
#6
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#9
I'm interested in adding tow mirrors to my truck as well, so it would be nice to see how someone else did it. It seems pretty simple, but I always like to look for help before tackling anything like that. Did you get your mirrors from a dealer? I'm just curious about what kind of price I am looking at. I have found a 'new' pair for 360$ CDN (take offs).
#10
#11
I'm interested in adding tow mirrors to my truck as well, so it would be nice to see how someone else did it. It seems pretty simple, but I always like to look for help before tackling anything like that. Did you get your mirrors from a dealer? I'm just curious about what kind of price I am looking at. I have found a 'new' pair for 360$ CDN (take offs).
#12
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Central Florida
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I'm interested in adding tow mirrors to my truck as well, so it would be nice to see how someone else did it. It seems pretty simple, but I always like to look for help before tackling anything like that. Did you get your mirrors from a dealer? I'm just curious about what kind of price I am looking at. I have found a 'new' pair for 360$ CDN (take offs).
I was VERY skeptical of the V6 at first, almost reluctant, in fact, but it has been good to me so far.
Last edited by JohnBoy88; 03-25-2014 at 02:34 PM.
#14
as iv said before I pull car trailer and campers with me ex cab 3.7. biggest load was a 27 foot 5th wheel that was right on 7000 lbs. was it to much for the truck well rating yes would it pull it and stop fine yes would I pull it though northen ont well **** not. but I have pulled my 5500 24 footer thought northen ont and it was fine.
#15
Join Date: Oct 2005
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as iv said before I pull car trailer and campers with me ex cab 3.7. biggest load was a 27 foot 5th wheel that was right on 7000 lbs. was it to much for the truck well rating yes would it pull it and stop fine yes would I pull it though northen ont well **** not. but I have pulled my 5500 24 footer thought northen ont and it was fine.
Last edited by JohnBoy88; 03-29-2014 at 12:50 AM.