Would you tow this boat with your Bronco?

[ky.longshot]

Would you pull my boat with your Bronco? So, my boat/trailer weighs 4,280 lbs. and tongue weight of 360 lbs. That is 780 lbs over gross weight, and 60 lbs over tongue weight for the Bronco's class II tow rating. Would you feel OK with that , considering it's my boat , and your Bronco? a. Short distance ( 10 miles to local boat dock) b. Cross country I have my own bias opinion, but would like to hear from others.

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[Shotsy]

I feel like you already answered your own question by asking folks to tow your boat with their Bronco.

I wouldn't. But you do you. I wouldn't want to need a new transmission (or risk lives) because I did a favor for a complete stranger.

 

[Philly]

Two or four door Bronco? I have towed a 5,000+ pound boat about 15 miles in my JKU and it wasn’t pretty, but I got it done.

I would never have done in in a two door, but that’s just because I would be worried the trailer would throw the Jeep around.

Long story short: can it be done? Probably. Should it be done? Probably not. Totally get it if you’re in a pinch though, and bad things probably won’t happen, but there is always a risk.

As a side note, my transmission completely blew up within a year after doing this. May not be related, but who knows.

 

[ky.longshot]

True

 

[ky.longshot]

True 4 door.

 

[ZackDanger]

Nope.

The weight of your boat exceeds the tow rating of my Bronco by 32%.

 

[NotaVegetarian]

Beat this horse some more please

 

[Shotsy]

Beat this horse some more please

Yeah, I assumed this horse was glue already.

 

[MaverickMan]

I would short distances after I installed a proper hitch. I've towed just under that with a CJ7 before. Also dont be the first one to dunk their Bronco at the ramp.

 

[Dads_bronze_bronco]

I’ve been doing just this since 2010 with my wrangler. I did add air helper springs, larger brakes, and heavier rear springs (when I did the lift). Also changed from drum to disc surge breaks on the trailer. Only had sway issues once (next to a big rig on the highway). Most is to the local lake though. I have avoided pulling it up into the western NC moutains and probably would rent a pickup or full size SUV if I took a trip that way.


Never had it weighed but I think it is between 4000-4500 lbs.

For the Bronco my biggest concern is the hitch itself, and how do you do air helper springs? So I want the 7 pin connector, thus the plan is to remover the wimpy factory receiver for something better, and a load balancing hitch.

Noticed Stage 3 has a rear swaybar kit in their towing mods page too, which I may consider with quick disconnects.

 

[Klink]

Sell your boat to buy an f-150 to tow your....nevermind, that won't work.

 

[Drex]

No, but won't climb a ladder rated at 2/3 my weight up to a second story roof either.

edit; as an aside, do you seriously think anyone is going to advocate you exceeding the manufacturers limit in a public forum? Hell, if I owned the site I would yank that sort of crap down, strictly from a liability standpoint.

 

[ky.longshot]

So I need to scale down my 21 ft. runabout to a jon boat for the life of a bronco. Fair deal. Thanks for the input.

 

[Lakelife36]

a) I believe that's only 10lbs over the max allowable tongue weight, not 60
b) you are definitely over the max allowable gross trailer weight, but depending on your wheelbase, trim, and cargo in the vehicle, you may still be under GVWR and/or GCWR. If you're concerned about the extra weight right at the back of the truck then consider pulling off the spare tire for the trip.
c) the Explorer is rated for 5000lbs towing with the 10R60, and Getrag's first documentation released for the 7M indicates that it's rated for much more than 3500lbs towing. The transmission is most likely not the weak point. Remember it is almost certainly the suspension that's the main culprit in the low GCWR
d) does the boat trailer have surge brakes? Electric over hydraulic? None at all? That's a big part of this if you're pushing the GCWR, which was likely limited by the dynamic testing.

So now it comes to how comfortable are you with overloading the mediocre Class II hitch receiver and any liability associated with exceeding the manufacturer's tow rating. If you're under GVWR, GCWR, and rear GAWR, the trailer is braked, and you have a fairly gentle trip to take, then that component is certainly your weak point. Perhaps you should wait for aftermarket Class III recievers to come out and then take the trip?

 

[crashmtb]

What a stupid question.

buy the right tool for the job, or a lighter boat & trailer combo.

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