Boat launching

[NJBob]

I worry about the shorter wheelbase. My 2011 F150 has to back in pretty far up to the exhaust. Also being able to see being narrower than the F150. It's a 20foot pontoon boat. I will find out come the spring.

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[RadMan]

Posted a similar comment on another thread:

I pull my 17 foot Reinell with my XLT Hybrid with the boat weighing in at 1650 lbs. empty. Add the trailer, gas, and equipment and I know I am over 2k. The lake in Sacramento that I frequent is about a 10 mile ride. Boat ramps are paved and never slimly or mosey. XLT pulls the boat out of the lake without any problems or tire spin. Love my truck.

 

[molash]

I tow and launch a bass tracker twice a week.You find ramps at tidal waters steeper then lake ramps.

 

[gte105u]

It works great until it doesn't. Boat launch with a FWD seems a bit too high a risk IMO.

 

[MrCigar]

Posted a similar comment on another thread:

I pull my 17 foot Reinell with my XLT Hybrid with the boat weighing in at 1650 lbs. empty. Add the trailer, gas, and equipment and I know I am over 2k. The lake in Sacramento that I frequent is about a 10 mile ride. Boat ramps are paved and never slimly or mosey. XLT pulls the boat out of the lake without any problems or tire spin. Love my truck.

Folsom I assume? I will be launching at Berryessa....if it gets enough water back to use the ramps LOL.

 

[710-oil-614]

Hybrid v. AWD really doesn't matter for pulling your boat out on the ramp unless you experience wheel spin.

All non-tremor Mavericks are FWD only until the wheels slip and the PTU clutch engages diverting power to the rear wheels. AWD cannot be locked so every single Maverick pulling boats out of the water from a ramp is just a FWD maverick until you start to experience wheel slip.

Pull it with the confidence of an AWD maverick...because it's the exact same!

 

[GPSMan]

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Probably a good idea to NOT try the steepest ramp on your first time out, but the hybrids are more capable then most people give them credit for. You will be pleasantly surprised.

For added traction in slippery conditions, load up the cab with passengers or cargo.
And don't unload it until you've done your trailer first.

You can also let some air out of the front tires and add extra air to the rear tires. Just bring a pump and balance them out before getting on the highway. Add 10 psi to the rear and let 10 psi out of the fronts.

But only do this if absolutely necessary. In most cases it will not be necessary.

 

[Automate]

Even if you are at the 2000 lb limit and 15% incline, which is a pretty steep ramp, your are only adding 300 lb of force pulling backwards.

 

[sprcoop]

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Probably a good idea to NOT try the steepest ramp on your first time out, but the hybrids are more capable then most people give them credit for. You will be pleasantly surprised.

For added traction in slippery conditions, load up the cab with passengers or cargo.
And don't unload it until you've done your trailer first.

You can also let some air out of the front tires and add extra air to the rear tires. Just bring a pump and balance them out before getting on the highway. Add 10 psi to the rear and let 10 psi out of the fronts.

But only do this if absolutely necessary. In most cases it will not be necessary.

A little weight over the wheels goes a long way. Short story.

Working for a hotel at the Snowbird UT ski area had perks. If available I could just get the keys to a dirty room, grab sheets and towels and get a free room. This came in handy on nights it was going to snow and the road up Little Cottonwood Canyon was going to be closed in the morning. That meant only folks a the ski area would have the fresh powder skiing to themselves for a while.

It had already started snowing hard one night so I knew I needed to get up the canyon before they closed the road. Quite often folks would park at the bottom of the canyon then hitch hike to the ski area to keep wear and tear off their vehicles. I have done this hundreds of times. On my way to the canyon I was praying there would be a hitch hiker.

The snow was about 10" deep on the road by the time I got to the bottom of the canyon so I was thrilled to see a hitch hiker. He got in and away we went. My 72' Volvo station wagon with snow tires was amazing (four wheel like almost) in the snow but this was going to be a challenge. I hadn't put on chains in 5 years of ski bumming and I wasn't going to start now.

We got to the first sharp turn so I carried speed (no substitute for momentum) into the corner getting a little sideways on purpose. My passenger looked a little worried, which was my intention. I suggested he climb over the back seat and sit in the cargo area to get weight over the back wheels and he practicly flew back there.

No problem the rest of the way up like it was dry road. Good times!

 

[GPSMan]

In Colorado, in my 1988 RWD Dodge Dakota, a couple sand bags in the rear, just 100 lbs was a big help. And hey, you had traction sand to put under the wheels if necessary also. I don't think I ever split a bag open and actually used the sand on the road in 15 years.

 

[MavDave]

Hybrid v. AWD really doesn't matter for pulling your boat out on the ramp unless you experience wheel spin.

All non-tremor Mavericks are FWD only until the wheels slip and the PTU clutch engages diverting power to the rear wheels. AWD cannot be locked so every single Maverick pulling boats out of the water from a ramp is just a FWD maverick until you start to experience wheel slip.

Pull it with the confidence of an AWD maverick...because it's the exact same!

Not true, I was curious about this and I changed the display to show the intelligent AWD. I was surprised to see that under hard acceleration a good majority of the power is sent to the rear wheels. Also in low traction situations it transfered power before I noticed any slippage

 

[RadMan]

Folsom I assume? I will be launching at Berryessa....if it gets enough water back to use the ramps LOL.

Yes, Folsom Lake is where I typically take the boat. I've had 5 people in the cab while towing and the truck performs excellent. I wouldn't want to try this set up to tow up to Lake Tahoe, but for for my local lakes, it works great.

 

[710-oil-614]

Not true, I was curious about this and I changed the display to show the intelligent AWD. I was surprised to see that under hard acceleration a good majority of the power is sent to the rear wheels. Also in low traction situations it transfered power before I noticed any slippage

Have you looked at the the itelligent AWD screen when pulling a boat out of water? It very well may decide you need AWD based on incline and potentially being in Tow/Haul mode but there is no way to lock AWD on the standard AWD system so by default it is FWD unless it detects slippage or anticipates that your vehicle needs additional traction.

The Maverick is incapable of splitting and locking power to all wheels.

 

[MavDave]

Have you looked at the the itelligent AWD screen when pulling a boat out of water? It very well may decide you need AWD based on incline and potentially being in Tow/Haul mode but there is no way to lock AWD on the standard AWD system so by default it is FWD unless it detects slippage or anticipates that your vehicle needs additional traction.

The Maverick is incapable of splitting and locking power to all wheels.

It dosen't lock (equal power to all wheels) but it does add power to the wheels that can get more traction. I have not watched it while pulling a boat up a ramp, but I have watched it in several other situations; towing a heavy trailer under normal and heavy acceleration, very limited traction off road 25-30 degree incline with wet leaves, wet grass and a slight hill, and normal driving. Almost the only time I see all the power at the front wheels is maintaining speed and light acceleration.

 

[710-oil-614]

It dosen't lock (equal power to all wheels) but it does add power to the wheels that can get more traction. I have not watched it while pulling a boat up a ramp, but I have watched it in several other situations; towing a heavy trailer under normal and heavy acceleration, very limited traction off road 25-30 degree incline with wet leaves, wet grass and a slight hill, and normal driving. Almost the only time I see all the power at the front wheels is maintaining speed and light acceleration.

Here's a great video of the standard AWD in action, with some different drive modes engaged and how it impacts the system. (Note this Mav has BFG KO3s on it):

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