Jeep Cherokee Towing ability???

[John Poole]

Hi,
I am in the market for a new boat. I am really interested in the Cape Dorys. I have my eye on either a 25 or a 25D. Maybe even a 27.
What I need to know is what the towing demands of these boats are.
I have a Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 liter I-6. Would my vehicle be able to tow any of these sailboats safely? I would greatly appreciate any and all advice I can get on this question.
Thankyou in advance for responding,
John Poole



john_poole@ndsu.nodak.edu

[Keith]

Hi,
I am in the market for a new boat. I am really interested in the Cape Dorys. I have my eye on either a 25 or a 25D. Maybe even a 27.
What I need to know is what the towing demands of these boats are.
I have a Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 liter I-6. Would my vehicle be able to tow any of these sailboats safely? I would greatly appreciate any and all advice I can get on this question.
Thankyou in advance for responding,
John Poole

I have a 25-D which I towed 800+ miles with GMC 1/2 ton, 305c.i. with 5 speed transmission. W/O the 5 speed I think I would have been in trouble, as I spent a great deal of time in 3rd gear. Another 50 h.p. would have made it practical, and I will not attempt another trip of much distance without more power.



kwoodlaw@arkansas.net

[Harvey Wilson]

Hi John...

I'd look into the towing capacity of your Cherokee. I looked at an Exploter with 4L engine and towing package (3.93 rear end, 5 sp auto tranny) and it might have done for a CD-25, but not the 25D at 5200 lbs plus trailer, or the even heavier CD-27.

The car salesman, (also a sailor) suggested that I rent a suitable tow truck for the annual pullout and spring launch that I wanted the big truck for.

'Course, if you want to have a large trailer sailor, get a good tow vehicle capable of pulling the close to 10,000 lbs. that the cd-27, trailer and gear will weigh.

Regards,

Harvey/Ga
s/v Stargazer



HarveyWilson@compuserve.com

[Ryan Turner]

I towed a previous boat with my Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 4.0L engine and didn't like it. My boat weighed about 3000 lbs and it was not a stable tow. I also towed the boat with a Ford F250 pick up with a diesel engine and that worked great. I think the Jeep is not a very good towing machine. Better think about upsizing.



rturnertec@aol.com

[Neil Gordon]

What sort of sailing will you be doing? These are heavy boats and not easily towed/launched/etc. Is this a once a season thing or every weekend?

I have two Jeep Grand Cherokees... both with the 6 cyl engine. It won't tow a CD... maybe with the 8.


Regards, Neil
s/v LIQUIDITY
Cape Dory 28 #167



neil@nrgordon.com

[Bill Smith]

I towed a CD25 from Maryland to Oklahoma with Chevy 1/2 ton with the 350 vortex engine. We went through the hills of Virgina,Tenn, and northern Ark. It was a very easy tow. The trailer makes a lot of difference when towing.



RWSmth@aol.com

[Ray Ross]

Hi,
I am in the market for a new boat. I am really interested in the Cape Dorys. I have my eye on either a 25 or a 25D. Maybe even a 27.
What I need to know is what the towing demands of these boats are.
I have a Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 liter I-6. Would my vehicle be able to tow any of these sailboats safely? I would greatly appreciate any and all advice I can get on this question.
Thankyou in advance for responding,
John Poole

John,
Depends what kind of trailering you are going to do. I towed a 22 ft aluminum boat (3300# incl trailer) with my Cherokee for 5 yrs weekends "on the flat" 7 miles to the marina, and once a yr over 4400 ft hills to the Colorado River. Never had any problems with anything under 4000#.
I had a heavy duty radiator and tranny cooler, ran at 55mph in 3rd (gear is straight thru the tranny) and don't tow in OD (4th). The limiting factor is brakes - never happened to us, but you could easily jackknife slowing on an offramp or going down any grade.
Really think you should opt for a clean used 3/4 ton with ABS and a 350 V8 (smaller V8s lack the torque.)
Ray



ray.ross@lmco.com