So I recently purchased a 19' Bayliner "cuddy cabin" boat if you haven't seen it on the non-car discussion...It's about the biggest boat you would want to have on a single axle trailer and weighs a little over 2k lbs.
My Forester is rated for 2400 lbs...the entire rig is more than likely over that. While my bumper to bumper warranty is now expired due to mileage it's A LOT for a vehicle based on a small car platform
. It's very stable and braking is great (trailer does not have brakes) but I've burned my clutch too many times maneuvering and pulling the boat out of the water. Forester has enough power to tow it with its 4.11 diffs but nevertheless being maxed out its a lot of strain on everything else, clutch included.
I've been thinking of getting a cheap vehicle to tow it. Fuel economy is not really an issue because I usually keep the boat at our cottage in northern MI and don't have to tow it far to the lakes I like going to. I will be able to store this vehicle inside, so I won't feel bad if it's semi-collectible. It should have a fairly torquey motor along with a good trans, axles, brakes, etc.
Oh, and when it's done I don't want more than $1500 invested. I prefer manuals but I'll take an auto. AWD/4WD is not required but wouldn't be bad to have since most the boat ramps I go to are paved and wouldn't require a low-range.
Any issues with these vehicles? I think they all should be able to get the job done:
-Ford Explorer/Ranger, F150, F250 if I can find one cheap enough (Ex/Ranger would be a good choice to me since I'm still pretty familiar with them and the 4.0L)
-Jeep Cherokee (4 door), Grand Wagoneer
-B body (Roadmaster, Fleetwood, Caprice, Custom Cruiser)
-GM 1/2-3/4 ton pickup
-Ram or Dakota
-AMC Eagle! (for some reason this is my favorite choice so far)
-some bare chassis vehicle...I had the idea of getting one and building rails on it to carry the Jet Skis and tow the boat at the same time