My current tow vehicle died the other night right on the boat launch. Luckily I was the last one off the lake. It's not worth fixing anymore so it's time for something new(er). I just fish out of a 14ft aluminum boat which doesn't weigh much. Sometime in the near future I would like to get a fiberglass bass boat. My question is what size motor etc. should I have for pulling a bass boat?

Also, what specific vehicles are you guys using?

my buddy has a 17' fiberglass stratos and pulls it with a chevy blazer. It's a 4.3 liter I think.

Unless your getting a 19' or larger boat, I would say you be fine with a 1/2 ton pick-up. I have a buddy with a 19' ranger and he went with a diesel. I don't know if you would need that much or not, but it sure pulls nice. His is a V hull also, I'm guessing a bass boat wouldn't be as heavy. Unless you go huge, there probably isn't much you can't handle with a full size V-8.

V8 would be best. If you dont't tow very far or often a 6 cylinder would work. One thing to think about with the bigger boat is stopping power. If the boat trailer does not have brakes you will want your tow vehicle to have large brakes.

the newer chevys have 5.3 liter v-8s in em and i have a 2007 silverado classic 4 door and at times when the tranny shifts into 3rd it feels kinda boggy but i'm pulling a 15'3" cajun fiberglass bass boat . 5 27 batteries 18 gallons of fuel and some times one of the live wells are full for a cooler. I have installed bigger break system for my truck(aftermarket) but can't say the name on here . just watch the distances infront of you. the heavier "you" are the more time "distance" will be needed to stop.

Thanks for the info. It pretty much goes with what I was thinking. The plan is for a smaller boat, 17 or 18' max.

I've been towing my 17'Sylvan Backtroller for 6 years now using my 97' GMC Jimmy. She's got a little over 177,000 miles on her. I used to store it out in Big Stone,SD until last year so she's travel worthy....it's been a good tow vehicle, although if my boat was any bigger...the v-6 probably couldn't hang. 4 wheel drive has been a savior several times over at those tricky launches too.

I tow a Ranger Z20 with a Chevy Tahoe and you can barely tell it's behind the vehicle. Lats year I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. I wouldn't recommend that at all. Had a lot of sway on the highway and I bet I didn't get more than 7 miles per gallon towing.

The new Tahoe is nice as well because of the active fuel management system that gives you much improved gas mileage when you aren't towing. It basically uses 8 cylinders when it needs the power and then drops to 4 when i doesn't. Really a great feature.

I dunno... I'm piloting a Dodge CTD makin' about 300 HP and well over 600 ft lbs of torque but I can still tell when the 619 is hitched up.

I pull a 17ft bass tracker with a Nissan Murano (v6). In my opinion it pull smoother than my 4.6L v8 F150 did. The nice thing is it gets 5mpg more on gas, and has more hp...

An suv will pull smoother than it's pickup counterpart.

Are you sure? With a shorter wheel base I thought that an SUV would not ride as well as a truck?

I pull a 19.5 Ft Charger Bass Boat with a Nissan Pathfinder 3.3V6. I get 17 on the 2 lane roads and 11 mpg on the interstate when pulling the boat. I can haul at 75mph with not much problem but loose about 5 to 10 mph on big hills.

I have had a supprisingly good experience pulling with my pathfinder and will probably sick with a midsize suv for my tow vehicle in the future.

I tow with a 02 Ford power strke, I have 1750 crestliner.Its a bit of a over kill, but, I tow a 34 ft. 5th whl to. My buddy has a 94 Chev suburban with a 350, and tows a 21 ft.Champion bass boat. He has no problem towing.

my brother pulls a 17' mr pike with his 05 grand cherokee 3.7 liter and it seems to pull just fine the hills make it shift in to third sometimes. if he catches it right it has an autostick and he can go over most hills in fourth and tow on the straights in OD. we just back from a trip of 600 some miles and he managed 15.5 mpg's

I pull the same boat with a dakota 5.2 liter (stick) and never know its pullin anything till its time to stop. I have achieved 19 MPG going to milac and back.