By: Olivia Hudak on April 14th, 2022

Can My Vehicle Tow a Boat? (Calculate the Tow Capacity)

After spending the last few summers on dry land, you and your family have decided it’s time to get a boat. Everyone is super excited about it so you plan early in the fall to start looking at boats. You want to check everything out in plenty of time so you can be sure you pick the right one for you and your family.

You start shopping and learn everything you can about different kinds of boats and boater’s safety. You finally decided a Barletta pontoon is perfect for you and your family. The question now is, will my vehicle be able to tow this boat?

If this is a deal-breaker for you, you’re not alone. It’s something that is easily overlooked before the purchase of a new boat. This is your reminder to make sure your vehicle can tow the weight of the boat plus the trailer. You should be sure of this if you plan on trailering your boat anywhere. 

Figuring out exactly how much weight your vehicle can tow is not always easy information to find. This article will go over the steps you can take to check the towing capacity of your vehicle and how to relate it to the weight of the boat plus the trailer. 

Towing Terms

First, it would be in your best interest to figure out what your vehicle's towing capacity is. Let’s begin by going over the different terms you will see and what they mean. These terms all relate back to the towing ability of your vehicle.

You’ll want to understand the term towing capacity. Towing capacity is the total amount of weight your vehicle can haul safely. 

A common acronym you will come across is GVWR. GVWR stands for gross vehicle weight rating. This is the total amount of weight your vehicle can carry plus the weight of the vehicle itself. You can often find this information on the sticker inside the driver's side door jam. You can also get this information from the vehicle’s manufacturer or the owner’s manual. 

A trailer will have its own GVWR separate from the vehicle. This is the maximum amount of weight that can be put on the trailer plus the weight of the trailer itself. 

GCVWR is another acronym you will want to be familiar with. It stands for Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. This refers to the total maximum weight of the vehicle plus the total maximum weight of the trailer. GCVWR is the vehicle’s GVWR plus the trailer's GVWR. 

Another concept that is important to understand is the tongue weight of a trailer. Tongue weight is referred to as the amount of force that’s pushing down on the hitch. Depending on how the weight is distributed, the tongue weight can change.

Payload is a term used to define the amount of weight you can put in the bed of a pickup truck. If your tow vehicle is a truck, this is good to know when loading your truck up to head to the water with your boat. You don't want to overload the bed of the truck so be sure to check out the payload. 

Dry weight refers to a boat without anything else in it on board besides what it comes equipped with from the manufacturer. This weight doesn’t include gas, tubes, coolers, or anything else that you may store in your boat. If you plan on traveling with all of your storage compartments full, take into account the extra weight of everything stored. 

Total Boat Weight

In order to find the total weight that you will potentially be towing, I recommend seeking out the dry weight of the boat you’re interested in purchasing. Most manufacturers will post that information on the specifications page of their website.

Some will even offer a trailer and lift guide that will give you this information along with the measurements needed to order the right size trailer or boat lift for the boat you want to buy.  When determining the dry weight of the boat, keep in mind, that the engine may or may not be factored in.

Outboard Motors

For instance, if you’re purchasing a boat with an outboard motor, most of the time the weight of the motor will not be included in the dry weight. The weight of the engine will make a big difference in the total weight of the boat. It is very important to account for this weight when figuring out the total towing weight. 

An outboard engine can weigh anywhere between 30lbs-1300lbs depending on how much horsepower it has. That is a really big range which is why it is necessary to research the motor on your boat to figure out how much it weighs. The weight of your motor will contribute to the overall weight of the boat and trailer.

Inboard Motors

Most boats that have an I/O or inboard will include the weight of the engine in the dry weight that’s given for the boat. These types of engines are more integrated within the boat itself so they’re seen as one instead of separate components. Be sure to check with the boat manufacturer if you think there’s a chance the dry weight doesn’t include the inboard engine.

Trailer Weight

Knowing the total dry weight of the boat is just as important as knowing the total weight of the boat trailer. Determine the trailer weight by locating the weight listed on the trailer itself. Most trailers will list this information on the tongue along with the trailer’s GVWR.

If you can’t locate this information directly on the trailer itself, talk to your dealer or contact the trailer manufacturer to find this information. Once you know the trailer dry weight, the boat dry weight, and the engine weight, combine all three and you will get a good idea of the total weight you will be towing.  

Problems With Hauling Too Heavy

Why is it so important to have a vehicle that is fully capable of hauling the trailer? Hauling a trailer that is too heavy for your vehicle can not only cause major problems for your vehicle but it can also be extremely unsafe for you and others on the road. 

Towing anything that is too heavy for your vehicle can ruin the vehicle itself. It could ruin the transmission, the suspension, or the frame along with other things. The vehicle may not have the strength to accelerate nor will it have the strength to stop. 

Not being able to stop the trailer can be extremely dangerous for you and those around you. If you have to suddenly decelerate, you could be in big trouble. This could lead to rear-ending someone or blowing through a red light. 

Launching the boat could also be very dangerous if your vehicle doesn’t have the ability to hold the weight of the boat on the steep incline of the ramp. The weight of the trailer and boat could pull the entire vehicle into the water. This would be a very dangerous situation that you will want to avoid.

Another reason to never haul a trailer that’s too heavy for the tow vehicle is that it can begin to sway as you speed up. When a trailer sways, it often causes the vehicle to swerve as well. I’m sure you can see how this can become extremely dangerous. It is also scary for other drivers that are nearby. 

For these reasons, you should never try to pull a trailer that is too heavy for your tow vehicle. It could put you in a lot of danger or cause costly repairs. Always be sure your vehicle is rated to haul the total amount of weight of the trailer plus the boat. 

Do Your Research

It is so important to do your research before purchasing a boat or trailer. If you plan on hauling your boat to different bodies of water, you want to be sure you’re safe about it. It will not only save you money, but it will also save you the hassle of dealing with under-equipped vehicles that don’t have the ability to haul heavy boats. 

Before buying a boat and trailer, talk with your local boat dealer. They will be able to help you figure out how much weight there is in total between the trailer and boat. That way you will know in advance if your tow vehicle has enough capacity to safely pull both. 

There are also lots of websites that offer calculators to help you determine how much your vehicle can tow. These can be extremely helpful when trying to figure out what kind of weight you are able to haul. That will help you determine if you can buy the boat you’re interested in or if you’ll need to upgrade your tow vehicle. 

Options if You Can’t Haul the Boat

What happens if you’re absolutely set on purchasing a certain boat but you do not have a vehicle capable of towing it? Talk with your boat dealer, many offer delivery, pickup, and storage service. 

With this service, the dealer will transport your boat to your dock. Then when you are ready to have it stored for the winter, they will come to pick it up and put it into their storage facility. Some will even use their own trailer so you don’t even need to purchase one. Be sure to check with your dealer to see if they offer this service if you don’t plan on transporting the boat yourself. 

If your dealer doesn’t offer this service, you may want to ask a friend to help you out. Maybe one of your friends has a truck capable of hauling the trailer. If so, it wouldn’t hurt to ask if they’d be willing to help you transport your boat. 

There are also private companies that are able to transport boats. This could be something you look into if you need a boat delivered to you. These companies are typically equipped with heavy-duty trucks that are more than capable of towing your boat.

The moral of the story is that if you can’t transport your boat safely, ask around for help. More likely than not, there will be someone willing to get your boat from point A to point B. It is so important to be safe about hauling a trailer of any kind and this is not a place where you want to take a shortcut.