Quote:
Originally Posted by Belmont Resident
Another consideration is the wheelbase of the tow vehicle. Many small-medium SUV vehicles have a significantly shorter wheelbase. When you encounter wind they tend to get pushed all over the road by what they are towing as well as by the wind.
We travel a lot and see a lot of people towing things with vehicles that should not be towing that big or long a trailer. The bottom line is the manufacturers can state anything they want as far as what the vehicle will move in a straight line over flat roads on a calm day. Common sense should be used on the owner’s part to determine what is truly safe. Unfortunately if you have not spent much time towing with different vehicles you don’t have anything to base a decision on except for the vehicles sticker.
Personally I wouldn’t tow any boat over 17’ with anything less than a full size PU or SUV. Remember if you do get involved in an accident they will look into weather the tow vehicles is qualified to be towing a load of that size. They will also look at the length as well as the weight and weather it has stabilizer bars. In most cases you be ok towing just about anything unless you using a vehicle with a business name on it and as long as you don’t have a problem on the road.
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I'm not convinced on the wheelbase thing. Tractor trailers disprove it. I think most trailer instability problems are caused by too little tongue weight for the trailer, too much tongue weight for the tow vehicle, lack of a weight distributing hitch and or stabilizer when required, defective equipment, and and poor driving. I've also read my insurance policy and there's nothing in it about tow capacity.