Hello all.....I am looking to possibly buy my first bass boat within the next year or so. I am wondering if my truck will be capable of towing. I have a 2004 Dodge Dakota with a V6.....two wheel drive. I am interested in a smaller sized bass boat like 16-18 foot. Just wondering if it would be able to pull a boat this size up a wet boat ramp. Any info is much appreciated.

Thanks!

You shouldn't have any trouble with that rig. It's not ideal, but will work just fine. Some good all terrain tires will help a lot too.

1/2 the rated tow weight is what you want to stay under, and trailer brakes will be VERY helpful on wet streets. You don't want that boat pushing you through a red light.

stick with an aluminum boat and you will be fine, glass and it will weigh almost as much as the truck

the seal kit I posted above should work but to be sure get your model number off the plate on the engine and go here to double check.


http://www.boats.net/parts/search/BRP/JOHNSON/1991/parts.html

Sup?

If you will travel distance to fish then its not enough. If you fish locally I wouldn't hesitate. Take care of your tow vehicle or it will leave you stranded.

I laugh every time I think about the camero pulling a 17ft Bass Tracker out of the water at Alan Henry. This guy was inventive. Had to get the outboard in forward, going full blast so he could pull everything up the ramp. The trick was that he had rope and a bucket, with about 10ft of slack, off of the back of the boat tied to the kill switch, then to the boat. Was hilarious but it worked.

I pulled my 19 ft bay oat with. A sienna van for two years no problems as long as it's not winter and the water is low. And ramp is slick

I towed an 18.5 foot Nitro with an XR6 150 Merc with a 1994 V6 Pontiac Grand Am GT 4 door, I eventually bought a xcab Z71 GMC with a 5.7 V8. I just left the boat parked when it was hot weather and had zero issues with the car. I too have owned the V6 Dakota pickup and wouldn't be afraid to tackle an 18 footer with it. I try to avoid hot weather city driving no matter what my combination of tow vehicle and boat are. It's about the harshest conditions you can expose a vehicle to in my opinion.

My Uncle has a Dakota and tows his 18 ft Skeeter all the time.

Dakota is fine. I used to pull an 18+ ft. Nitro fish and ski with a Nissan and 4 banger no issues except long hills. Trick to a wet ramp 2WD is using your emergency brake to keep tires from slipping and a steady foot about 1500 to 1800 rpm on the gas. I love watching the dummies at the ramp smoking that 1 rear tire with other idiots jumping up and down on the bumper.

I pull a 18 1/2 Triton every week with a front wheel drive crossover Mazda. It gets close sometimes but a light foot on the ramp gets it done.

I used to pull 17 and 18 foot boats with a 1986 Toyota one ton. The one ton was a regular long bed little truck with exceptionally heavy springs, a heavier rear end and a slightly lower geared 5 speed transmission with the 2.4 (22REC) fuel injected engine. Jumping up and down on the rear bumper would result in it moving an inch or so.

I put 13 squares of shingles in it. Eight 16X7 garage doors on the rack. Towed my 17 foot Skeeter, a Ranger 350 and R80 for many years. I retired it after 240k miles and almost half of that towing. It did fine if you can deal with everyone saying it was too small.
In the summer turning off the AC added a little oomph. You could tell it gained a little power. It got around 26 mpg highway while the regular Toyota trucks were getting around 30 mpg.

Loved that truck. I replaced it with a Dodge diesel.

I see a lot of people basing their acceptance criteria for a tow vehicle solely on weather or not it can pull your boat up the ramp. Do yourself, your family and everybody else on the road a favor and base it on load rating and stopping/handling ability in adverse weather conditions. I cringe every time I see a clearly undersized tow vehicle going down the highway getting manhandled by either road conditions, head wind or rain knowing that there is little chance of being able to control the load if any type of evasive maneuvering is required. Just because your able to coerce your boat up a wet ramp in no way automatically makes it safe to tow down the highway.