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 Post subject: Towing your 16
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:55 am 
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Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 8:54 pm
Posts: 37
Location: Orange County, CA
Hey, Everybody :!: Here's a specific question about towing my 16, since I'm thinking of buying a new car :D - Does anybody tow their 16 with a Subaru Forester and, if so, what are their general impressions (good, bad, otherwise :?:)

It's got the guts to do the job, but so do lots of other vehicles and, from my limited towing experience, I know that one car's characteristics vs. another's can make all the difference in how easy it is. Thanks and looking forward to hearing the opinions.


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 Post subject: Re: Towing your 16
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:17 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:56 pm
Posts: 740
Location: Los Angeles
I know of someone that tows a Nacra with a Subaru. I was shocked when I first saw that but he says that he tows it everywhere, not a problem. That's really remarkable, seeing that the boat probably weighs more than the car. (not really, but it's definitely bigger)

Happy trailering,

David


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:54 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 9:57 am
Posts: 1626
Location: Clear Lake Iowa
We have a guy who pulls a 16 with a Honda CRX (not CRV, the little car)


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:24 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:39 am
Posts: 470
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Hey White Cat -
Long time no see - check out this forum.
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... highlight=

Don't know where all the photos are- I can't pull them up. But I used to pull my 16 with a Fiat X-19 (80hp) and load ALL my camping gear (tent, screen tent, grill, 2 bikes, chairs and everything else) on the trailer under the boat.
When my baby girl came along, THINGS REALLY GOT INTERESTING, with a crib and a car seat and all that stuff too! :shock:
Anyway, heres the link -

Happy New Year !

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.


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 Post subject: Towing
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:30 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15027
Location: Oceanside, California
Dan Ketterman (Hobie Engineer) used to tow a Hobie 20 Miracle with his convertible Triumph TR4. He towed from Oceanside to Lake Tahoe... 600 plus Miles one way. He also towed a 16 to Texas event and back.

The cats are light. They are often lighter than a few extra passengers and baggage. Tongue weight is adjustable by moving the boat on the trailer. There is very little drag while towing.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)


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 Post subject: What Matt said!
PostPosted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:51 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:39 am
Posts: 470
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Yeah, one more thing - the route from our home in upstate NY to Assateague is about 500 miles UP and DOWN through the Pocono's.
Come to think of it - I pulled with the X-1/9 before the baby - after the baby I moved up to a GREAT BIG - Nissan Pulsar NX :shock:

We made the trip with that car for over 5 years, no problem. :wink:

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:15 am 
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:43 am
Posts: 779
Location: St. Louis, MO
More recently I towed my H16 with a 2001 VW Passat 1.8T. I now tow my H18 with the same car.

The key is to balance the trailer so that about 100 lbs of tounge weight is on the hitch. This way the the trailer will trail porperly and the car's handling won't be adversely affected.

The 2 things I notice most are I go through brakes faster and my milage (while towing) is awful.

I do, however, reccommend a standard trasmission on the smaller cars. The auto tranny's on small cars don't like the extra weight. On hot days when going uphill, you can boil the tranny fluid. You could always install a tranny cooler.

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Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:05 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:45 am
Posts: 759
Location: Clinton Lake Lawrence, KS
Good point Nick.

We (my boss and I) burned up the automatic transmission in a full size Chevy Van. When you read the owners manual it recommends not using the OD or "fourth" gear while towing "anything", keep it in 3rd. Have done so ever since with no problems and several different vehicles.

I will say larger V6 (over 3.0) or V8 powered vehicles make towing a light weight beach cats a breeze. 8) pun intended.

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Fleet 297


Last edited by John Eaton on Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Izusu Truck
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:47 pm 
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Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:27 am
Posts: 538
Location: League City, TX
Does anyone have any experience with an Izusu truck? :o I am getting a 95 5 speed. I know, but cheap. :roll: Don't know the Horsepower, but I think it is 125. I will be pulling a Hobie 17. Should I stay out of 5th gear when pulling it? :?:

Doug


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:01 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2003 9:57 am
Posts: 1626
Location: Clear Lake Iowa
I spent 2 DAYS in Memphis, coming back from MWE at Pensacola in '04 getting my full size chevy van's tranny replaced because I pulled my double stacked trailer down and half way back in OD. Never again, always Drive, not Overdrive. The frackin' trailer and boats only weighed about 900lbs total. BIG mistake, take Eaton's advice and NO OD!!
:x On the plus side, I did get to go to the Hard Rock on Beale Street and catch a voodoo shop and drink a bunch of beer and eat a ton of some of the best BBQ I have ever had. AND the tranny was $400 cheaper to get replaced in Memphis that it would have been here at home, so I'm good. If I would have had someway to tow the boats, there is a huge lake with some Hobie guys on it south of Memphis on the MS side.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:19 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:45 am
Posts: 759
Location: Clinton Lake Lawrence, KS
Doug,

We have a S10 Blazer with 2.8L V6 and it does not like going up hills in 5th gear pulling the 16 (approx. same weight as 17). The gear ratio of nearly all 5 speed manual transmissions is actually overdrive, like 0.85 to 1, and fourth gear is 1 to 1. We try to carry speed down the hills (in 5th) and downshift when going up when she starts to bog down.
You cant really hurt a manual transmission by leaving it in 5th (OD) but you wont have the horsepower in the small engine to carry the load up a long incline without noticing you're loosing speed. Downshifting to 4th will allow you to at least maintain a constant speed up the hill.

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hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297


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 Post subject: agreed with John
PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:07 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:39 am
Posts: 470
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
I can't tell you how many times I hear of people burning up a tranny because they tow'd in OD.

I always thought that the P stood for "park", the L stood for "let's go", the D stood for "drag" - but found out the hard way that the R doesn't stand for "race" :shock:

Most people don't read their manuals that the OD is for cruising fairly level roads. The manual says stuff about: Not for driving around town. Do not use if you notice a lot of speed changes. Best not to use if roads are wet or slick. In newer GM the D is actually the OD and you should be driving around in 3 if you're not on the highway or if you are towing something.

My Nissan was a 2.8 l 5speed (and weighs a lot less than an S-10) I had to drop it to 3 for many uphills, got along quite well in 4 and when I hit the flats we cruised nicely in 5. Never had a problem with front wheel drive pulling up even the steepest of ramps either :wink:

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:21 am 
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:43 am
Posts: 779
Location: St. Louis, MO
I had an old S-10 2.8 before my VW. It was a 5 speed also. You drive the manual tranny the same way towing as you do normally. You can tell if you need to downshift or not.

My advice for manuals on smaller cars and trucks, start and stop more gradually. And shift at a higher rpm than normal. Engines have a certain rpm that the power curve starts to flatten out (it is producing at or near the rated power). You want to keep the engine at or above this rpm when accelerating.

The time when you will cause the most harm to your manual is when the clutch is slipping during acceleration. Try not to let it slip to "get more power".

In an auto, there are 2 reasons why you burn it up in OD. One is because there is not a hard connection between the engine and the drive wheels. You use the tranny fluid to make the connection. In OD when you start to loose speed while trying to maintain it, you are loosing energy into the tranny fluid, therefore it heats up and breaks down which then can damage your transmission.

Two, most auto will downshift on thier own when they need more power. Especially if you floor the throttle and press the downshift switch. When driving aroudn in OD, the transmission will constantly shift back and forth between OD and the next lowest gear. This happends often when driving around town or when the car is loaded up near it max load rating. The higher than normal amount of shifting wears out the tranny.

I hope this makes sense.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO


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 Post subject: Go Nick!
PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:09 am 
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Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:39 am
Posts: 470
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Maybe we should call you Dr.Nick - :wink:

Great post! This should be in the FAQ's.

I never knew all the mechanics of that stuff. Thanks

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:33 am 
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Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2004 8:28 am
Posts: 192
O.K. I win! In the old days I pulled my mono hull with a VW Glof diesel (54HP). My Hobie is now pulled by a VW vanagon with just a few horses more than the Golf. The towing seems not to have a neg. impact on the life span on the engine or tansmission - the vanagon will reach the 300 k later this year.

Patrick


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