Challenger 180SE Towing Cap.

[Young Again]

:hurray:
Hello all from the guy grinning ear to ear (translate - new owner of a New 2009 Challenger 180SE - 255 HP)

Of course the cheap part is the actual boat itself, so my question before my kids overload on the concept of towables (previous boat was a 30' Searay, so not much towing going on there) is, any idea what the towing capacity of a 180SE with the 255HP is?

Considering a 3 or 4 person towable, luckily, I won't be the one on it.....

Thanks in advance.

Ian

 

[kustomkarl]

Typically you shouldn't load or pull than the "capacity" label say's in the vessel. This way if you have everyone in the boat after having fun, your not over loaded.

Karl

 

[Young Again]

Tow Capacity

That is pretty much a given, as legally, I have to have 1 spotter in the boat in addition to the driver, so with my boat being an 8 person boat, theoretically I could be towing 6 people on the raft or what have you.
I guess the question really is, can you actually tow (towable) up to the rated loading capacity of the boat?
So if I want to get a 4 person towable, put 4 people on it (likely the kiddies) and 4 people in the boat, I'm theoretically not overloading the boat....

Tx,

Ian

 

[kustomkarl]

That's possible as you really shouldn't tow at full speed to endanger anybody. It shouldn't be a problem.

Karl

 

[Young Again]

Towing

Thanks Karl, but can you clarify the full speed thing if the Mother in Law is on the towable?........:rofl:

 

[seadoosnipe]

Specs?...

Your boat (which is a nice one I might add), has a capacity of 8 people or 1383 lbs., which ever comes first. That total weight is based on calm seas and it includes all additional gear; ice chests, skis, boards, etc....

As for the mother-in-law, I don't think rules apply... Like mine, it's full speed ahead and dodging the crab traps.:rofl:

 

[Young Again]

Specs

Thanks for the info and comments. I'm pretty clear now on the towing (loading) capacity - sold the big boat and bought this one mostly to get the teenagers more involved so I'm not too too worried about maxing out load wise. Guaranteed to be at least 2 or 3 kids that are lightweights (unfortunately I don't fall into that classification)
The real debate is whether to lose the Ford Escape and trade up (just got rid of my Explorer 1 1/2 years ago!!)
I'm not so worried about it being able to tow the boat (V6), but more concerned if I end up on a steep ramp with only a FWD. Most of the ramps we have are pretty good, but you never know.

I'm on serious toy watch, so the Admiral will likely not look favorably on a new F150 sitting in the driveway. (can't use the garage, motorcycle is in there.......)

Thanks again guys.

 

[seadoosnipe]

Towing...?

I don't think you'll have a hard time with the Escape. Front wheel drives are actually better at towing or holding an incline than a rear wheel drive vehicle because of the way the weight is displayed over the front axle. So, don't worry about the F-150 (though I have one towing my Challenger..LOL) just yet. Let the bills cool down and surprise the wifey by telling her you bought her a new truck for her birthday.....:rofl:

 

[CypherAZ]

:hurray:
Hello all from the guy grinning ear to ear (translate - new owner of a New 2009 Challenger 180SE - 255 HP)

Of course the cheap part is the actual boat itself, so my question before my kids overload on the concept of towables (previous boat was a 30' Searay, so not much towing going on there) is, any idea what the towing capacity of a 180SE with the 255HP is?

Considering a 3 or 4 person towable, luckily, I won't be the one on it.....

Thanks in advance.

Ian

Careful with the larger 4 person tubes, the added drag of having a bigger tube in the water can really effect the performance of your boat. We bought a big 4 person at Costco last season, and returned it after one trip to the lake. Couldn't get the boat over 20mph pulling that beast. Our buddy with the same boat picked up an HO Sports Molecule, and that thing is a freaking blast. Plus it has less drag than a regular big tube. We loved it so much we are going to be buying one this season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqDliCuuKe0&feature=player_embedded#

 

[Craigmri]

The escape will pull the Challenger 180 no problem. We pull our Challenger 180 with a V6 Hyundai Veracruz and its effortless. Never once slipped going up a wet boat ramp.

As for the tow-able tube.......Can I assume your going to be pulling with the boats tow hook? If so I would be very uncomfortable with four people in a huge tube yanking on that thing. I'd do it with our OEM wake tower but not the tow hook on the stern.

Craig

 

[Young Again]

Towing

Thanks for the infor on the Escape.

The Tow Eye was/is a big part of my concern, unfortunately nobody was unloading 2009's with tower at reasonable pricing.

Might be OK for the young kids, as we won't be going all that fast with them on it anyway, and if I'm lounging out back - the key will be in my pocket (too much payback waiting out there for me with my kids!!)

Either way I'll look into what Seadoo recommends for max on the tow eye.

Tx.

 

[Craigmri]

When I had my Utopia 205 I used the tow hook all the time with two people on a two person tube...No problems.....As I said......Four? I'd check on that one.

Craig

 

[rotinaj]

Not to get off topic but does anyone know what the current rebate is on the boats (challenger)? I am wondering what up to 5000 means.

And congrats on the new boat I am trying to find one myself!

 

[Young Again]

Up to 5,000

In Canada, for the 255HP SE, what it means is $25,000 (+ taxes) to get it on the water. Unfortunately we don't get the great deals that the US gets, and you don't want to know what "+ taxes" means!

 

[James.Moon]

Tow hook or Tower best for tubes?

The escape will pull the Challenger 180 no problem. We pull our Challenger 180 with a V6 Hyundai Veracruz and its effortless. Never once slipped going up a wet boat ramp.

As for the tow-able tube.......Can I assume your going to be pulling with the boats tow hook? If so I would be very uncomfortable with four people in a huge tube yanking on that thing. I'd do it with our OEM wake tower but not the tow hook on the stern.

Craig

I have a new 180SE 255HP with Tower. Recently bought a Seadoo 3 person tube from Costco but haven't used it yet. I would expect either hook strength wise will handle the capacity, but which of the two is best for performance pulling a large tube? The manual almost implies you use the tow hook for tube toys and the tower hook for wakeboards & skis. I would think the lift from the tower will help to avoid plowing but may adversely affect boat turning performance. Does anyone have experience with both to share?

 

[RFoster130]

Do what the book says. Using the tower for towables is frowned upon. The extra drag really can be damaging to the tower and fiberglass on the boat both. With skis and wakeboards, there isnt nearly the drag on the water compared to a tube.

 

[WOOSAB]

I have a 2010 180 challenger 215. I am 6'5 250 pounds normally the driver and my 3 boys are all over 6feet and all over 200 pounds and my 215 didnt have a problem puling them. I was more worried about the eye in the back pulling out then having problems towing. But both held up fine. I tow ball helps a lot though it keeps the line out of the wake that made a big difference in towing.

 

[timhood]

...I tow ball helps a lot though it keeps the line out of the wake that made a big difference in towing.

Not sure what that means??

 

[WOOSAB]

Tow ball...Sorry.. My tow line runs through a ball that floats so it keeps the line out of the wake. It makes a big difference when i pull more then 1 tube. I'll take a picture tomorrow when i am out on the lake and post it to show what exactly i am talking about..

 

[timhood]

Oh, ok. I think I've seen those online.

Before I was thinking that you were talking about one of those pop-up pylons.

I'll look into getting one of those.

 

[James.Moon]

I have the same boat (except it is 2009) and the same Seadoo 3 person tube. I have only had two on it so far, but no problems pulling it. I use the tow hook as recommended and have no intention of using the tower hook. I expect it will be fine with 3 persons as it has lots of throttle to spare with two pulling at max tube tow recommended speed. I expect the hook can handle it.

 

[timhood]

I ended up getting the tow ball later last year. I didn't notice any real difference in the towing, but the kids said they didn't get as much water splashed in their faces. Compared to getting the rope by itself, it's not much more to get the ball, so I'd recommend it for anyone getting a tube/towable setup.