CONTINUOUSWAVE

Hello--I do not have access to a highway road scale.

What is the weight of a Montauk 150 boat, with motor and trailer?

Boston Whalers lists the 150 with a weight of 1,390 lbs for hull, motor, fuel. Would 300-lbs be a safe bet for a single axle trailer for a 15-foot boat?

I am returning our lease vehicle, a HIGHLANDER, and I am not trying to lease another car to save money. That leaves me with a Mazda CX-7 with 1,500-lb tow rating to trailer the boat two times a week to the ramp under 1 mile away and once a summer 100-miles on a road trip on flat ground. The ramp is all new and not very steep.

I am just not sure if the CX-7 is the best idea.

B

As a Highlander owner with a Montauk 150, I would NOT recommend the great Mazda CX7 as the towing weight is a lot more than the 1,500-lbs you expect. It is like going with a RAV4 instead of the Highlander. Even though you don't pull much you might ruin the leased Mazda.

I [used a scale to weight] my 2008 Montauk 150 and the total weight with the 60-HP engine, full tanks, empty cooler, six PFD's, some tools, anchor, etc. was 1,798 lbs. I do have an extra spare wheel mounted on the standard steel Karavan trailer.

Put some drinks, ice, towels, and so on, and you will be over 1,850 lbs. The boat does not have the live well which would add more weight.

Thanks Dutchman. Sounds like we have the same set-up. The Mazda is owned but I am still not looking to beat up on it; it is a daily driver.

Also I am not looking for another lease payment just to tow a boat. I guess I am back to the drawing board.

The joys of boat ownership never cease to stop.

IF the boat is totally empty as is the vehicle, you could do the run to the local ramp at low speeds BUT you need to be very careful with braking.

Make sure the trailer is level when hooked up. You may need to do some measurements with a level to figure out the correct rise of the ball mount.

Long distance is highly discouraged.

Thanks. I’m thinking to the local ramp I should be fine as long as I take it really slow. When we take the boat on vacation over the summer, I guess I can rent a larger SUV to tow it. I suppose a rental car for for a week is cheaper than a three year lease.

Thanks.

I think the MAZDA has an automatic transmission with actual gears, not a constant velocity transmission. If you can keep the transmission out of overdrive or even out of normal drive, you might be better able to tolerate towing at the vehicle limit. How many speeds in the transmission?

The one-mile to the ramp probably won't be harmful. One-hundred miles of highway towing could be a concern. Automatic transmission fluid likes to stay below 200-degrees. Does the MAZDA have a transmission temperature gauge?

At risk of being called overly cautious, I would also make sure knowingly towing something over the recommended capacity doesn't void any warranty you may have on the vehicle and in the unfortunate event of an accident void your auto insurance as well. Your liability in such situations is something that should be considered. I know that my insurance agent carefully reviewed with me the weights of my 160 Dauntless, trailer, motor, etc. to make sure they were within the manufacturer's recommended towing limits (for an Audi Q5) when I added boat insurance to my policy. Sorry, call me Negative Nancy.

Bc55 wrote:Thanks Dutchman. Sounds like we have the same set-up. The Mazda is owned but I am still not looking to beat up on it; it is a daily driver.

Also I am not looking for another lease payment just to tow a boat. I guess I am back to the drawing board.

The joys of boat ownership never cease to stop.

Yes, Yes, and yes.

You mentioned renting a SUV to tow. (Great idea, I love to do that also) Let me know which company does rent out such vehicles as I've been told every time when renting a SUV or even a pick-up from a car rental company (Hertz, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, etc.) they specifically say not to tow with them and they don't even have receivers.
Now the big box stores(Home Depot, Menards, ect.) offer pickups that do have a hitch on them and lots of advertisement, like you can rent a U-haul but a panel van with U-Haul written all over it is not my vacation automobile.

There is a local scrap metal yard within two miles of my home that has a 10,000 pound scale. I stopped in yesterday to ask if they would weigh my boat and trailer for a fee and the charge is $10.00. I had to dispose of a bunch of concrete debris a while back and they had a "small" scale there also.

If you do want to weigh your boat and trailer look locally for this type of small scale instead of a commercial large truck scale. I wouldn't know where to start around here since an interstate highway with a public scale is many miles away.

Rich

Re the trailer weight: since a trailer travels on state highways, most states required them to carry license plates. Usually the registration has a weight for a vehicle with a license plate. The trailer license plate registration should give you the trailer weight.

Also, most trailers when sold new come with a manufacturer's certificate of origin or MCO. In a state where a trailer is registered as a vehicle and has license plates, the MCO must be given to the registration agency at the initial registration of the trailer in order to verify the weight. You may have retained a copy of the MCO. If so, the weight would be on the MCO. If not, the weight may be on the registration, if the state recorded the actual weight from the MCO. Sometimes they just use a weight class designator.

If your state registration does not give the weight and you do not have the MCO or a copy, look on the frame of the trailer itself. Most vehicles sold to be used on highways will have a permanent sticker adhered to their frame that gives a great deal of information about the vehicle weight and capacities.

If your state registration does not give the weight and you do not have the MCO or a copy and there is no label on the trailer itself, contact the trailer manufacturer to get their specifications for the trailer.

According to the literature from KARAVAN TRAILERS, they make a single-axle trailer with a capacity of 1,390-lbs--exactly what is reported to be Boston Whaler's specified weight for a 150 MONTAUK--as their model KDB-1500-71. The weight of that trailer is 410-lbs.

Would 300-lbs be a safe bet for a single axle trailer for a 15-foot boat?

I think there is a good possibility that a trailer from Boston Whaler for a 150 MONTAUK that is a KARAVAN trailer might be the model KDB-1500-71 that weighs 410-lbs. If that is the actual trailer you have, then to bet that the trailer weighs only 300-lbs would be a losing bet.

Thanks for all the replies. I have decided that it is not the best idea to use the cx7.

I am going to look into another highlander or the 2019 RAV4 adventure has a tow limit of 3500lbs which would be sufficient for the 150 Montauk. The only concern is it is so new Toyota/Curtis/U-Haul don’t have trailer hitches for sale yet. I am going to call Curtis tomorrow and see if they have a ETA as well as Toyota.

Thanks.