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Towing question

newtooners

newtooners

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We bought our Bennington 24' SSLX with a Yamaha 150 motor last year and have been towing it with a pickup but would like to be able to tow it with our GMC Acadia if possible.

We would like to know what the weight is and or the tongue weight including trailer, boat , and motor.

The specs on the Acadia says 5200 and afraid it would be close and just too much for it. Any feedback from Acadia owners would be appreciated as well.

Thanks for your help!
 
I have a 24SSL with a Mercury 150 and boat and trailer and motor and gas/gear weigh 5100 lbs if I remember right. I had it weighed on a truck scale. I tow it with my Envoy Denali on the interstate just fine, but towing capacity is 6000 lbs. Acadia replaced the Envoy.

You are right at the limit. Be sure not to add a bunch of people and cargo inside your Acadia while towing your boat or you will go way over the limit.
 
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newtooners said:
We bought our Bennington 24' SSLX with a Yamaha 150 motor last year and have been towing it with a pickup but would like to be able to tow it with our GMC Acadia if possible.

We would like to know what the weight is and or the tongue weight including trailer, boat , and motor.

The specs on the Acadia says 5200 and afraid it would be close and just too much for it. Any feedback from Acadia owners would be appreciated as well.

Thanks for your help!
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This is the same situation I had last year.  Had a 2011 GMC Acadia with HD trailering pkg and only 5000 miles on the vehicle.  My boat was a 2013 South Bay model 522 tritoon, 55 gallon fuel tank and Yamaha F150 outboard.   Trailer was dual axle with brakes on all 4 wheels.  Figured boat, motor, fuel and gear was about 4200 lbs.  Trailer was around 1000 lbs making for a total of 5200 lbs.  We trailer to 2 different lakes -- one about 25 miles away and the other about 35 miles away.   I was very surprised at how much the Acadia struggled in trailering the boat --- constantly up/down shifting, extremely poor mileage, and engine screaming with the tach always over 3000 rpms.  IIRC, the Acadia has about 300 HP and it's trailering performance was a big let down.  

So, I traded the 2011 GMC Acadia for a 2014 GMC Yukon Denali which made a world of difference.   Also, recently got a new 2014 Bennington RL 2375 with ESP pkg, 55 gal fuel tank, Evinrude E-tec 225HO outboard and dual axle trailer, all of which is a little heavier than the South Bay rig.  The Yukon with over 400 HP has no problem towing the new Bennington rig.

If you are only trailering couple times a year, the Acadia is okay.  If you are trailering a lot, I'd tow with a full size pickup or SUV.  That's been my experience.

EDIT/ADD:  With the Acadia, it was difficult to go 65/70 mph on the interstate.  All the semi trucks passed me especially going up grades.  Never any other passengers in the Acadia except my wife.
 
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We had a leased 2011 Acadia as well and towed a 22 sslx. It towed ok but as mentioned above shifted all over the place in some minor hills. Turned that vehicle in so we are on the hunt for a new tow vehicle. We picked up an envoy for now but looking for something with a v8.
 
Newtooners:

It all depends on how far you're towing and the terrain you're going to be going through.  If you were pulling 200 miles in Colorado, you'd be in a more marginal situation than if you were pulling the boat 20 miles in Arkansas.

Pontoon boats are not at all aerodynamic with their square front ends.  And they're very, very long which can jerk a relatively short wheelbase vehicle around, despite the horsepower.  Simply put, they pull like they weigh substantially more than they do.

All I can say is that if you don't like the way your boat pulls, go for a EcoBoost or V-8 powered pickup or SUV with towing package.  I've got a crewcab 3/4 ton diesel pickup, and even it feels my 24SSLX back there.  Thankfully, I don't often tow my boat anywhere.
 
1. Drive truck and boat to truck scale

2. Weight combined

3. Disconnect boat trailer and weight truck

Drive acadia to truck scale and weigh it

Difference in truck axle loads with and without boat attached is hitch weight

Difference between combined weight and truck weight is boat weight

Boat weight plus acadia wgt is combined weight of acadia towing boat

Dont forget to check towing guide for gvwr and gcwr for acadia
 
newtooners said:
We would like to know what the weight is and or the tongue weight including trailer, boat , and motor.
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Here is a link to info for measuring your tongue weight using bathroom scales (use Figure B ).  I've used this method many times over the years.  Tongue weight of my current Bennington/trailer is 410 lbs using this method.  Tongue weight on my previous South Bay/trailer was 285 lbs using this method.  I had to adjust the tongue weight of the South Bay/trailer to make it work by adjusting the winch stop and boat position on the trailer.

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx
 
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We had the same problem but on a smaller scale.Towing our benny 20' slx,boat,motor,26 gal. gas and trailer 3100+lbs towing with Toyota venza v6 265hp hills do strain motor and no upshift in tranny but our biggest concern was the amount of braking available so much so that we just purchased a 2014 dodge ram 1500 big horn edition but with the pentastar v6,304 hp,8 speed towing capacity 7350 lbs.The reason for the v6 is it gets 25 mpg on highway when not towing so is a good compromise,and we don't tow more than 25 miles at a time usually.GOOD LUCK
 
This pickup will tow it ...... My dream truck !!!!!


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Semper, If that's the Navistar, my neighbor actually has one of those. Just one of his many toys...
 
There is a guy down from us with a similar one as well. I'd hate to have the fuel bill.
 
When we do tow our boat (not often) we do so with our 2003 Dodge Ram truck (full sized) which has a 5.7L Hemi in it.  You would think that would be just fine to pull this boat but let me tell you.....that boat is all that Hemi can handle.  I would have never thought that.  I have a 2009 Saturn Outlook with a V-6 and would not even think about hooking that thing up to that boat....for anything....even down to the boat launch which is a mere 1/4 mile from our house. 

When I sell the truck I'm going with a GMC Yukon XL....I believe they have a 6.2L gas engine or something like that.  5.7L just doesn't do it on my boat with that heavy I/O engine.
 
KeithKZ: 

I too was looking at the prices and specifications on the Tahoe/Suburbans, as the completely new model is shortly coming out.  They should be "in style" for a long, long time since Chevy seldom redesigns their SUV's.  And they're vehicles you could get 250K or more miles out of.

But the leather seat model Suburban with two wheel drive would be $55K and almost $60K in 4x4.  That's getting a little pricey for a retired guy like myself.  I think we'll just hold on to our old F250 crewcab diesel and play with the stock market a little longer with the $.
 
The 2015 models are coming soon.  One article I read said you can get the Cadillac Escalade  with the corvette engine.  I was looking to update our 2009 model but they don't make a 2500 series in the current model. Will have to wait to see the offering in the 2015 model. 
 
Remediation said:
The 2015 models are coming soon.  One article I read said you can get the Cadillac Escalade  with the corvette engine.  I was looking to update our 2009 model but they don't make a 2500 series in the current model. Will have to wait to see the offering in the 2015 model. 
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The 2015 Tahoes and Yukons are now available at the dealers.
 
Went to the car show last month and nobody had one yet.  Going by a Chevy Dealer in a few minutes, might have to drop in!
 
Remediation said:
Went to the car show last month and nobody had one yet.  Going by a Chevy Dealer in a few minutes, might have to drop in!
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May be available by region right now.  They just recently became available here in central Pennsylvania.  Dealers inventory shows several at both Chevy and GMC dealers.
 
The dealer had a Tahoe.  Said it would be a couple of weeks to get the Suburban on the showroom floor.  The third seat is terrible.  I can not believe GM spent the money to redesign the interior and they made it worse.  They must not have talked to anybody that used their Suburban to haul something beside people.  I have had Suburbans since 1986 and this is the stupidest seat layout I have seen.  My 2004 had a flat 8ft floor with the 3rd seat removed and the 2nd seat folded. The liftover height is higher because the 3rd row doesn't fold into the floor , is not removable, has the seat thickness of an Airtran seat, no footwell so your knees will be in your ears and there is a stupid little storage area behind the 3rd row that the lid was already broken in a model in the showroom with 0 miles on it. The exterior looks great and the front area is different and nice.  They also are not making a 3/4 ton version.  This really sucks.
 
Perk of living near Detroit we see all the new big three models long before the rest of the country. GM proving grounds are about 20 minutes from my house. We also have automobile magazine, motor trend based out of Ann Arbor. They use to drive and test cars out by my parents place. An Astin Martin vanquish looked pretty sweet under full throttle on a country road.
 
Keith,

You'd be amazed at what potential the HEMI has left hidden in the computer. Get one of these, http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001W4SSVQ you won't be sorry. It has different modes you can load, towing, performance, economy .....

I use the "reg fuel" performance and was amazed. This spring I'm going to 93 fuel and loading the 91 performance tune. Also, if you have stock exhaust, it's holding it back.

Flowmaster 40 or 50 and lose the resonator if you have them.
 
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