Towing questions
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Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Troy, NY
Towing questions
I've been towing stuff for a while, an 18' boat, a Sea-Doo, utility trailers, ect, but always with my automatic Jeep with a factory hitch. Now with my '93, the 300 I-6 and a 5spd manual, I'm not entirely sure how to do it. Whenever I tow the boat, the heaviest thing I tow(about 3500lbs) I always engage the OD off on the Jeep, but don't bother with the jetski since it doesn't weigh even half a ton(about 800lbs). I've asked a few of my buddies and some said that staying in 4th with the truck and not going into OD, even on the highway is the way to go and is easier on the clutch. Some said that on the relatively flat Northway(until you hit the Adirondacks) it doesn't really matter and you're just wasting gas in 4th. I don't plan to tow my boat with this truck, but I most likely will pull the jetski with it and the sled in winter. Also, the truck doesn't have a factory hitch, just a hole in the rear bumper that I put a ball in. I assume that this is safe to tow from(otherwise why would they put it there?), just I never see anyone towing from the rear bumper. I don't really want to invest in a bolt-on receiver since I can tow just fine with the Jeep, but it would be nice to have a second tow vehicle. So...
Should I use the OD gear or stay in 4th when towing an 800lb(incl trailer) ski?
Is it safe to tow said ski from the rear bumper?
Should I use the OD gear or stay in 4th when towing an 800lb(incl trailer) ski?
Is it safe to tow said ski from the rear bumper?
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,003
Likes: 27
From: Dover AFB DE / Harrisburg PA
Your ski doo is about the only thing I would tow from the bumper. Have a class III hitch installed for towing the boat. If you ever take your bumper off, you'll see what I mean and why I'd only tow the skidoo from it. Pretty light.
A previous truck dad owned was a cheap '88 F-350 with a blown 351 where he swapped in a 300, the M5OD, and a transfer case to get low range if needed. The trailer at the time fully loaded was 12K+, so your boat is nothing. It wasn't the fastest up the hill, but the mazda held strong for 4 years before a DUI rearended at 50mph turnin the 8 foot flatbed into about 3. Funny thing is that 300 was swapped into a van that is still goin today.
With the 300s torque, you won't even feel the baby trailer back there.
Adrianspeeder
A previous truck dad owned was a cheap '88 F-350 with a blown 351 where he swapped in a 300, the M5OD, and a transfer case to get low range if needed. The trailer at the time fully loaded was 12K+, so your boat is nothing. It wasn't the fastest up the hill, but the mazda held strong for 4 years before a DUI rearended at 50mph turnin the 8 foot flatbed into about 3. Funny thing is that 300 was swapped into a van that is still goin today.
With the 300s torque, you won't even feel the baby trailer back there.
Adrianspeeder