Tow Vehicles

Lite Tackle

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Age
58
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Model
Seafarer
Bored and wanted to share and view pictures of the Grady White tow vehicles.
What do you use and how does it fare?
Towing the skiff (didn’t even know it was back there)
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The day I picked up the Seafarer
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Getting ready to take her out
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At the ramp
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2009 Chevrolet 2500 Duramax pulls the 7K pound boat very well. I really wouldn’t want any less of a vehicle to tow this boat.
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Been towing with a F350 Powerstroke dually since 2011, a pure pleasure to tow with. Bought a 2019 dually in August of '18, loving it!! Been pulling with a diesel since '99.
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No pic here, but mine is an '07 Dodge Dually Cummins 6.7. Towed my 232 Gulfstream and my 2018 Marlin (once) with no problems. 10-12 MPG depending on terrain and headwinds, or lack thereof.

I would never go back to a gas engine for towing unless I acquired a lighter toy that didn't warrant a diesel.
 
went from a 2000 F250 diesel to a 2018 Ram 2500 diesel.
 

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2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Ecodiesel. My last GMC Sierra 1500 did not have a back-up camera. Guess what my deal breaker was moving forward to this truck?

Plenty of torque and great fuel mileage.

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2004 lb7 duramax crew cab. Is my main tow vehicle. My back up is 1999 f350 with the 7.3l but with 400k on it., it's pure emergency towing now.
 
Pulling smaller boats (22' to 24' in my book) is certainly WELL within the capabilities of a gasser. But certainly, it never hurts to go bigger. I've towed with so many combinations over the years, it's hard to remember... gas Yukons/Suburbans/Pickups, diesel Suburban, diesel pickups both single/dually and more. But currently, I tow the Offshore with an older (2008) Mercedes GL with the 3.0L V6 diesel.

Power is just fine, but towing is much more about the stability of the vehicle during emergency maneuvers and stopping. I was actually pleasantly surprised at this Mercedes, even though it's not a full sized vehicle. I put it through increasingly harder/faster swerving and stopping maneuvers (with the boat in tow)... and I mean HARD. Like stomp on the brakes and do emergency lane changes. More so than most would ever try. But I wanted to see how things felt. I got to the point where the trailer tires were screeching during swerving and the vehicles anti-swerve/skid program stepped in to keep things straight. Had to do it a couple more times as it was that impressive... just for fun!
 
2018 Powerstroke. Doesn't break a sweat and makes towing easy and comfortable. My 2nd Diesel. First was a 2012 crew cab long bed in same color scheme. Liked it so much I went for the same thing when I ordered the new one.

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Tows great stopping is the trouble, boat like to show its weight pushing this little 2500 diesel around.
 
I use my Ram 2500 Mega Cab Diesel to tow my Gulfstream, works great, no issues.
 
My twins the new ( not so new anymore) and the old both 4.5lt twin turbo diesels . I have used Landcruiser diesels for towing since 1991.

The boat still shrink-wrapped when I picked her up from the wharf .
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The boat is gone....soon to be replaced with another 225...but the tow vehicle remains.

'18 F150 Lariat SCREW 4x4 5.0

Candidly, if you don't lock out the 8-10 on the tranny, it's a lousy tow vehicle. Make most of it's power at higher RPM ranges. If you can keep the RPMs up it does just fine though.

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Tows great stopping is the trouble, boat like to show its weight pushing this little 2500 diesel around.
interesting, my is newer model as well so does yours look like a new model. I have the tow package and engine exhaust brake, trailer has surge brakes. when it comes time to stop, my truck takes over and damn near stops my rig on a dime. i was completely taken by surprise the first time i hit the brakes.
 
A lot of nice rigs to match the nice boats. Ky, really nice pull vehicles! wrxhoon & DennisG01, how far do you normally tow and what terrain. You have pretty big boats for relatively small tow vehicles. Just curious.
 
I used to pull my 265 with a F250 V10, she was a real gasaholic and struggled up hills. Replaced her with a 2016 Ram 2500 and barely notice she is back there and enjoying driving the diesel as my daily driver. First pic was the day I received her after a 3k mile tow across country and the second pic was the end of crab season two years ago in Half Moon Bay, CA.

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I used to pull my 265 with a F250 V10, she was a real gasaholic and struggled up hills. Replaced her with a 2016 Ram 2500 and barely notice she is back there and enjoying driving the diesel as my daily driver. First pic was the day I received her after a 3k mile tow across country and the second pic was the end of crab season two years ago in Half Moon Bay, CA.

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I remember that ramp well!!