joeclay
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- warren, mi
hello all,
this is my first post but I've read the forums for a while and I appreciate the help from all.
I have a 93 sport inline, 4hi/4lo, 5spd. stock gears. Yesterday, my son surprised me with a birthday gift of a 17' ski and fish boat, an '86 galaxie granada with a 4 cyl. 170 horse in/out. my wife is passed so i spend most of my free time pulling perch and this boat is a beaut. the trailer does not have brakes though. I've read some past threads about max towing capacity and from what I've read, it sounds like my xj can pull something like this but that I should get a trailer with brakes. I was a bit worried about the chrysler-rated 3500lb max tow capacity until I read a thread from here about chrysler not installing class 2 hitches because of warrantied clutch replacements. that makes a lot of sense to me and even though i'm not real bright, i've driven sticks since 68. My problem though is I have no idea how much this boat/trailer weighs. It's 17' long, 7' beam but I can't do the displacement math because I don't know where the water line is--i haven't put it in yet to figure the cubic feet of water displacement. the only rating in the boat was that it would hold 7 people or 1200lbs. I pulled it home without any problems, though I did burn the clutch a little backing it into my driveway--it took a few tries because I haven't towed a trailer since I got married in 1974. It fit a 2" ball though.
Sorry, that was probly too much info, but my question is this--i'm confident in being able to pull this amount of weight and until i get a trailer with brakes, i'm pretty sure i can ease the strain on my brakes by driving slow and downshifting. my worry is more about other drivers on the road. if i were to get caught in a traffic jam on a grade, is it safe to put my jeep in 4lo in order to engage the clutch quickly? With 3500lbs+ behind me, switching from brake pedal to gas will still roll me back a foot. I remember in the 60's, you could get a button to put on the shifter that would engage the brakes, but I haven't seen one since. I'm 53 and my legs just don't move as fast as they used to. 4lo would be my best option should that happen, but if it isn't reliable/stable, I'm not going to risk the family behind me and I'll just save up for a year to buy a cheap old pickup.
i'm sorry for the long story, but this is the best present i've ever got and i'm itchin to try her out. i just would like some expert opinions before i go out and do something stupid. is 4lo ok to get her goin on a hill? or do you all know of a place that still installs push button brakes? that would help too.
if not, thanks for looking and have a great 4th.
this is my first post but I've read the forums for a while and I appreciate the help from all.
I have a 93 sport inline, 4hi/4lo, 5spd. stock gears. Yesterday, my son surprised me with a birthday gift of a 17' ski and fish boat, an '86 galaxie granada with a 4 cyl. 170 horse in/out. my wife is passed so i spend most of my free time pulling perch and this boat is a beaut. the trailer does not have brakes though. I've read some past threads about max towing capacity and from what I've read, it sounds like my xj can pull something like this but that I should get a trailer with brakes. I was a bit worried about the chrysler-rated 3500lb max tow capacity until I read a thread from here about chrysler not installing class 2 hitches because of warrantied clutch replacements. that makes a lot of sense to me and even though i'm not real bright, i've driven sticks since 68. My problem though is I have no idea how much this boat/trailer weighs. It's 17' long, 7' beam but I can't do the displacement math because I don't know where the water line is--i haven't put it in yet to figure the cubic feet of water displacement. the only rating in the boat was that it would hold 7 people or 1200lbs. I pulled it home without any problems, though I did burn the clutch a little backing it into my driveway--it took a few tries because I haven't towed a trailer since I got married in 1974. It fit a 2" ball though.
Sorry, that was probly too much info, but my question is this--i'm confident in being able to pull this amount of weight and until i get a trailer with brakes, i'm pretty sure i can ease the strain on my brakes by driving slow and downshifting. my worry is more about other drivers on the road. if i were to get caught in a traffic jam on a grade, is it safe to put my jeep in 4lo in order to engage the clutch quickly? With 3500lbs+ behind me, switching from brake pedal to gas will still roll me back a foot. I remember in the 60's, you could get a button to put on the shifter that would engage the brakes, but I haven't seen one since. I'm 53 and my legs just don't move as fast as they used to. 4lo would be my best option should that happen, but if it isn't reliable/stable, I'm not going to risk the family behind me and I'll just save up for a year to buy a cheap old pickup.
i'm sorry for the long story, but this is the best present i've ever got and i'm itchin to try her out. i just would like some expert opinions before i go out and do something stupid. is 4lo ok to get her goin on a hill? or do you all know of a place that still installs push button brakes? that would help too.
if not, thanks for looking and have a great 4th.