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What is your tow rig?

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IDoSeaDoo said:
Nice!!! I would love to know what your fuel economy is at 65mph on the hwy with that. I get about 26-28mpg doing 70-75 on hwy with 4ppl, full tanks in both seadoos and all our stuff.
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Yea, me too, I know it's not going to get the normal 52 mpg I normally average. Probably won't load down like you talked about as I don't want to over-tax the hybrid driveline components, but if all goes well will do 2ppl, 1 ski & gear.

I know one thing I really liked on my trial run was backing. I can barely see the ski with my van and people must think I'm an idiot at the dock as I keep weaving it side to side until I can see it in my outside mirrors. It was a breeze backing with the Prius!
 
Yea, I wouldn't want to tempt the fates with any more load back there. I have a 5spd and would never think to do what I do with an automatic. The fact that mine's a diesel helps. Because of the extra torque, the factory builds everything much stronger than for gas cars. I still expect to kill my clutch, but w/e. Cheaper to tow with my daily driver and replace a clutch every now and then, than to buy an SUV :)
 
VW diesels are awesome, had a diesel Rabbit for years and loved it.

I know they say you shouldn't tow with a manual but I've always had good luck. I think it depends on your driving style and ensuring you don't slip the clutch or over rev going up hills. I had about 180K on a GMC pick-up truck with a manual and never needed a clutch. Pulled my 18' bowrider for years with it. Truck & clutch was running great until a 16-wheeler ran a red light in the fog and killed it! Luckily I had my seat belt on and walked away with only a torn bicep!
 
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Shouldn't tow with manuals? That's seems funny... They're more stout that auto's, which tend to overheat when you put them under such loads. People have to get additional oil coolers to keep it from happening. Aren't all 18-wheelers manual? Yea, my clutch is hanging in there for 170K miles now (as I knock on wood). I guess when it goes, I'll pull it in for a timing belt and a few other things. (if it goes out in the next 30K miles or so, otherwise timing belt may change earlier)
 
What seadoo said, manuals are better for towing because they dont get as hot and slip don't slip constantly. When a manual is in gear there is no slippage anywhere unless your clutch is slipping, and if thats the case it's bad and needs to be replaced.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
suke said:
Yup Cherokee's came with a manual tranny, they're rare though. Talking the XJ's(boxy ones) not the ZJ's, WJ's, etc. FYI I'm a jeep person, sold my Cherokee almost 2 years ago. :(
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Zj did come with a 5 speed but only with the inline 6 in 93 and 94 only tho. They are extremely rare I want one badly
 
Many vehicles don't even come in manuals anymore, for instance I don't believe you can buy a full-size pick-up with a manual. Manual's can be great based on your driving skill and size of your vehicle. One reason I believe many experts say to use automatics is because you are always in gear which gives the driver more control rather than hunting gears in decel and other sudden/unexpected situations.
 
get_real said:
Many vehicles don't even come in manuals anymore, for instance I don't believe you can buy a full-size pick-up with a manual. Manual's can be great based on your driving skill and size of your vehicle. One reason I believe many experts say to use automatics is because you are always in gear which gives the driver more control rather than hunting gears in decel and other sudden/unexpected situations.
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That's merely because most people don't want to shift gears anymore, but when it comes to reliability manuals are much more reliable. How many automatic trannies have you heard of people replacing? Now how many manuals have you heard of going out? When it comes to towing, automatics build up A LOT of heat, causing them to slip and create more heat and damage. Unless you have an automatic that was designed to tow, as in a truck, then I wouldnt tow with it, theyre designed with high gear ratios for gas mileage, not low gears for torque.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
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hey guys im new here, im looking at a few skis in the next week, im dying to buy one. Ive owned two boats previously and have been raised on the water. Heres my tow rig, I dont have any pictures hooked up to anything though. Its a 97 Ford F-350 Powerstroke with some performance mods. Shes my baby lol
IMG_0328.jpg
 
Got my monster tow rig ready for a trip to Florida this weekend to attend the St Petersburg Jetski Bash. Just got the wiring installed tonight. Could of bought a $80 wiring kit with connectors, but went old school and just tapped into the wires coming out of the taillight. Cost, about $3 for 4 quick-disconnect taps. Already had a 4-way jack and yellow/brown wire laying around.

Will be interesting to see how it pulls for the 5 hour ride down I-75, but I'm committed now. Will let you know how it went when I get back on Sunday.

Prius_xp.jpeg
 
Aw man, you're tempting me to go now! Lol I went to the keys in Nov. Not sure I'm ready for another 13hr haul so soon, besides, I have to save my vacay time. Sucks being grownup sometimes
 
here is mine... just pulled my Seadoo GTX a couple of time... 1.- when i bought it... 2.- last week to re-fuel the tank to perform a tune up... (y)

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Just saw one of those in Tampa last weekend, very nice. Didn't see the guy unload, but it was cool that way you drive it on and the bow locks by itself and you can walk above water to get in/out.

Also wanted to report back with the mileage results using the Prius to tow my XP. First thing, it pulled great. The Prius had plenty of power and it easily pulled it with no adverse affects on handling. I could cruise at any speed I wanted but did go easy and ran around 65-75 for most of the trip. Mileage did suffer though, averaged around 36 mpg going to the Bash as I was in more of a hurry, but slowed a little coming back and was able to average 42 mpg. Thats compared to my normal freeway average with a normal load of around 48-50. Still saved a ton of money compared to the 14 mpg of my van, and it's much easier to back and park the smaller rig. Very happy with the results.

The only downside so far was I couldn't get the brake lights to work with the car wiring. I assumed the Prius was like other cars where the brake and turn are on the same circuit. They are not, and I could not find a wire in the car that had 12 volts for the brake light. Very weird. Looks like I'll have to breakdown and get the $80 connector kit for the wiring. But overall am happy and think the Prius is a good tow vehicle for a small ski on relatively flat terrain.

Prius_xp.jpeg
 
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I had read that before. I do believe you could damage the Prius by towing if you overdo it, but I'm fairly confident with a small ski and cognizant driver no harm was done.
 
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you!! I'm sure you had no trouble at the ramp too, those electric motors are super torquey at low RPMs. Just what you need to yank a ski out. Thanks for saving fuel, it'll leave more for our toys in the future :)
 
IDoSeaDoo said:
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you!! I'm sure you had no trouble at the ramp too, those electric motors are super torquey at low RPMs. Just what you need to yank a ski out. Thanks for saving fuel, it'll leave more for our toys in the future :)
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Yea it did great on the ramp. Like the fact it's front wheel drive for those slippery moss covered ramps.
 
get_real said:
Yea it did great on the ramp. Like the fact it's front wheel drive for those slippery moss covered ramps.
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Yea, I share your feelings on the FWD. I have this electronic traction control on my TDI that brakes the free spinning wheel and diverts power to the one with more traction. I've only had to use it once, but its a nice reassurance regardless. Comes in REAL handy when it snows.
 
P1060663.jpg

There's my MK4 Jetta TDI hauling the 97 Challenger 110. Kills the fuel economy, but still better than anything gas-powered :) Except maybe the prius/X4 combo.
 
Nope, just have to give it some RPMs and slowly let go of the clutch. Once it catches though, the idle RPMs are enough to keep it moving. I wouldn't try this if the car was an auto though, it would cook the tranny in no time! Diesel Jetta's (esp after 2004) are an impressive car. I got it for the fuel economy, being able to tow stuff was an added bonus :)
 
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