Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

The 20 year old F150 had to go. Found a deal on a 02 Nissan Frontier that I couldn't pass up. It's 2 WD long bed crew cab with a 3.3 V6 (I think). Just made a 3000 mile trip with it after owning for 2 weeks and it seems like a great little truck. My concern is if it will tow the toon. It has a tow rating of 5000 lbs, which seems a bit unbelieveable to me, being such a small truck. If my estimates are correct the boat and trailer should weigh in at about 2200 lbs. Any one tow with a similar vehicle, and how did it do. I don't want to overtax the thing, It has to last me a while.

I just looked it my self and 6300 is what it shows for a 2 wd , I would say it will handle it just fine. I drug my 2500 lb toon around for several years with a S 10 rated for 3500.

Having owned the exact truck in question only ours was a 5speed I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that it will FAIL miserably at towing your pontoon.

Ours was a solid truck but the little 2v 3.3 v6 left over from the 80's was a thirsty gutless turd. In fact I got rid of a v8 tundra because it struggled too much on the interstate with my 20' toon for the diesel in my sig. Remember its not the weight that gets us when towing its the massive amounts of drag our barges generate on the trailer.

180hp and 202 ft lbs isn't much grunt to work with

I would think you'll be just fine... I tow ours with a 2010 Toyota 4 Runner and I believe the standard towing pkg on that vehicle is 5000 lbs also ( without adding an oil cooler )..... not sure how big your boat is but my 20 footer with the trailer weighs approx. 2800 lbs not including any gear on the boat.... our tow vehicle pulls it just fine....

I have to agree that it wont be enough power. Fine if your pond jumping not very far, but it you want to explore your area and go to lakes 2 and 3 hours from home then it wont hold up. I had a v6 Chevy Silverado and it hit the rev limiter alot. So I up graded. I found a 07 Chevy Sliverado Z71 EXT cab 4x4 with only 19k on it at a car max. I personnaly like car max if you have one in your area. Good luck...

Guess I'll just have to give it a try. The lake I frequent is 1 hour away, no highway travel. The old F150 did OK with the straight six but right about 50 mph it feels like I deployed a drag chute. The wind resistance on these boats on the road is crazy.

Toons pull like they're 1500 pounds heavier than they are. And the long, long trailers produce lateral forces and yaw. It's just how they are.

But pontoon boats and motors are really not at all heavy for their length and width.

The biggest thing I have found on my 720 mile pulls to Lake of the Ozarks and back is to: #1, pull the bimini completely off, to the frame. Even with it in down on the trailering arms, in the cover, it drags like crazy. Plus its alot easier on the bimini cover. #2, pull it naked, with the front and rear gates open let the wind rip right through it. Pull everything that ain't nailed down off and stow it in the back of the truck or in the Ski locker, if you have one. Trailering covers are good for short tows. But on the highway, they make the truck suck alot of gas, even though they are designed for towing by being heavy duty, they are not by any means aerodynamic by any means. I went from 6 mpg to 11 in the old GMC, by towing this way, before I added the blower and engine mods to that truck. New truck has'nt pulled it yet. Soon, I hope! With the pontoon boats, its not the weight at all. Its the shape.
Good luck with it!

You may pull it fine on the flats but in the hills it will kill you. Also another thing, if your trailer don't have brakes, stopping could get pretty hairy! It could push you over another car in a second. I've pulled smaller, lighter boats without breaks and been in situations where I had to stop quickly and it didn't happen. I felt like I didn't have any brakes at all.

Are brakes even available for a single axle with those tiny wheels?

trktrd wrote:Are brakes even available for a single axle with those tiny wheels?

Probably not on a store bought trailer, but they make them, and you can add them yourself. Not a hard job at all, (maybe 3 hours) and all parts can be had for under $400.

I added brakes to my dual axle trailer, and they work perfectly!

trktrd wrote:Are brakes even available for a single axle with those tiny wheels?

You'd need to replace the tires with 13"ers.