Cost of hauling a boat

After getting ha;f way threw the gas price post this question came to mind. What kind of milage are you guys getting hauling your boats? What are some good tow vehicles for milage and performance? Or any thing else along these lines. Mite be time to look into that slip at the marina rather than hauling the boat back and forth. One thing for sure is that spending lees time on the water is still just out of the question.

My boat is not that big and only cuts a mile or 2 per gallon on my silvarado 1500. Still gets around 15 to 16 mpg hauling.

Was thinking about getting into a bigger boat next spring. The way things are going I might keep that money and put it into something else.

What year is your silverado, and what do you pull for a boat? I pull a Crestliner fishhawk with a 00 silverado and get 13mpg, which I considered good til I read your post.

Mine is a 16′ jon with a 25hp on it. Most likely a third of the weight of the fishhawk.

The truck is a 99, 1500. Would guess the larger truck would get less millage also.

My work vans are 3/4 and 1 tons. About 4 to 5 mpg difference between them.

97 Astro Mini Van AWD Crestliner 1850 Sportfish, 12 MPG going 70 on the HWY.

About 13mpg for my truck to haul my boat, Ford f-150, 5.4L, what can a guy do, I doubt a slip would be cost effective, I bet it would allow you to be on the water much more and much easier. I know between gas and such I have not been on the st.croix all year, gas is a certain factor for me.

This comming week I put the hitch on my car, and then I get to see how that pulls my boat

This really isnt an “economy ” post but I have a 03 Sierra Crew cab 2500HD with an 8.1 L and Allison. I get 10 MPG empty , 10 mpg pulling my 1750 Tyee ( round trip to Canada too , 10 MPG hauling a Buick Le Sabre on my car trailer……….It really sucks , but I love the truck and figure if I only drive it 1/2 as much as I did before , I can still afford to have it ! I guess the lake 8 miles fom my home will get a lot more attention than it used too.

Mike, if you are thinking about buying a bigger boat is there anyway you can hang on to your older boat instead of trading it in? Reason being is then you could use the jon boat for fishing close to home on week nights and small waters and use the bigger boat on weekends. Saves wear and tear on the bigger boat which means it will last you longer and cheaper on gas using the jon boat with a 25 hp on it. I have a Lund Mr. Pike 16 [16 1/2 ft] with a 90 hp on it and also bought last Nov a 14 ft jon boat with a 9.9 on it. If you choose to trade in the jon then make sure you get a kicker motor on the new one. I had a 6 hp kicker [just traded for an 8 hp] on the Mr. Pike and could troll all day using only 2-3 gals of gas. That really cuts the boat gas down. I toll with a Chevy Astro AWD Mini Van and have not checked the mileage towing but when I tow the jon boat I can’t even feel it behind the van as the jon boat is so light. Also I can sleep in the van if I want which is nice. I have gone back to fishing Lake Zumbro which is only 12.5 miles from my house on week nights and even some weekends and then will fish the Mississipi River on alot of the weekends. Get to have my cake and eat it too [fish more often for the same buck.] Keep us posted on the route you choose to go.
Thanks, Bill

We were talking about our Deer Hunting plans and how we should car pool to mitigate the high cost of gas. Somewhere a long the line we started thinking about what gas used to cost compared to what we used to make. In the early 70’s we headed up to the shack and paid $.49/ gallon. At the time we were all making about $4.00 an hour. So a gallon of gas cost 12% of what we made in an hour. Now we make around $20.00 an hour. If you do the math, 12% of $20.00/hr equates to $2.45/gallon gasoline.

I’m not saying the gas compnies aren’t exploiting a bad situation (Katrina) and that they aren’t sticking it to us. I am saying I’m going to put the boat on the back of the truck and go fishing.

Rootski

Ford F-350 7.3 liter Diesel. Towing 19.5 ft. bass boat. 15-16 pulling boat.

My 2001 trailblaze got 18-19 and with my boat 17.

The 2004 get 17 and 15 with the boat.

If I had the room…I would have a john boat and a full size windsheild boat for the wife…

I have an 05 z71 that i get 18 with pulling a 20ft boat

I have a 98 Z71 pulling a 17 foot boat I average about 16-17 mpg.

Ron

98 jeep grand cherokee pulling a crestliner 1850 sprotfish went to the medium grade gas istead of the lowest octane. got another 2-3 miles per gallon! just a thought Cruise set at 65

05 Silverado Z71, Alumacraft Trophy 175, 15 mpg towing with a lead foot and A/C.

’91 GMC Jimmy
350 EFI
13mpg no mater if i’m pulling or not

2004 Dodge 3500 5.9L Cummins Diesel. I get 16-17MPG pulling 18.5′ Nitro. Put on 2500lbs pick-up camper and still get around 14MPG with boat.

Real trucks rattle, get a diesel.

Don’t know yet Still breaking it in!
Man, these new Fords are quiet! I am not trying to start a “Who’s truck is better” post. But the new metal Ford uses delivers on their claim big time! I seriously have to watch the speedo because you can creep way over the speed limit quickly because you hear very little noise from either the motor or wind! I loved my ’02, but this “06 is something else!
OK, back to gas mileage…..Sorry!

Tuck, if yours is set up like mine, you won’t get much more than 12-13 mpg loaded and pulling a boat. It’s a little less than I expected but it has gone up some as it is breaking in (16m so far).

Tuck,
First let me tell you that I am a chevy guy.

With that said, I have been in a few new ford trucks and you are right. They are whisper quiet, maybe the chevy designers need to take a ride also.
It really is hard not to buy a good truck these days. They both will make the occasional lemon though.

Ron

Absolutely! I used to have a ton of Chevy’s, and loved them all! I used to run Fords before that and went away because I could either get all the power in the world, and no mileage, or mileage and no power. These newer Fords with the Triton motors fit the bill. Putz, my ’02 FX-4 got 16.5 religiously, and dropped to 14 when pulling. The sticker on this one says 14-18. We’ll see. If you want something that will throw you back in the seat, test drive the Hemi! Wow!

I got a new Dodge 1500 4×4 Hemi powered truck in May. It has just 6000 miles on it, and at this time I’m getting better mileage than I did with my 2002 Dodge with the 360 engine. 13.9-v-12.7 mpg. I hope it gets better once I get it totally broke in. All my driving to date has been either city driving (very little) or short trips from Twin Bay into Isle and back. I pull a Yarcraft 1895 Storm with a 175 EFI on it, approx. 2800-3000lbs. for boat, motor, and trailer, and that is usually hooked to the back of my truck 5-6 days at a time without being disconnected.

I have a 2005 GMC Canyon with the I-5. I get around 20mpg on regular hwy miles. I’ve pulled my 145 ProSeries Princecraft, w/25 hp motor and a 16′ Lund Explorer, w/75hp motor. I get right around 16-17. Not bad for a little truck. If you start pulling a lot of hills it goes down 1-2 gallons more.

I have been using my Jeep Wrangler 4.0 Liter/5 spd for towing as mom doesn’t want a hitch on her minivan . Works rather well for 17 ft Alumacraft 60hp Merc, 16-17 mostly, bluffs around Miss. down to 15. It gets 20 to 22 w/o towing, so towing is about what I would get in Winter ice and snow.

dave

96 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 litre 6 cyl pulling an Alumacraft Trophy 175…borderline powered. Get around 13 mpg pulling boat. With out boat I get around 17. I also have a 14 foot jon boat with a 18hp go devil for the rivers. Works out Great! Closest Lake to me is half our drive, with most of the water I fish being close to an hour. It hurts but what you going to do. When I use the wifes 2000 Grand Cherokee gas mileage seems a little better but I never checked it so I can’t say for sure.