I'm thinking about buying a jetski or a smaller jetboat. Can my FWD RX330 pull it? I have a picture in my head of my poor lex sliding down the ramp. If anyone have any expirience with RX and pulling boats or a PWC please give me whatever info you can. THANKS

 

I don't own a boat. I tow two ATVs with a flatbed trailer about 1,500 lbs. I have AWD with factory tow package.

Your FWD should be able to pull up to 2,000 lbs. So make sure the combined weight of the jetski and its trailer is less than 2,000 lbs. If the ramp is paved, you should be able to pull the jetski out without a problem. Dirt or muddy ramp could be a problem.

 

An AWD RX should be ideal for dragging a PWC up a boat ramp. There's a secret to recovering a boat that most people have never learned. I trailered boats of all sizes for over 40 years and was never stuck or stranded. I've posted this before, but it's spring, and a man's thoughts lightly turn to thoughts of water sports . . . among other things.

The secret is an automatic transmission, or more properly, the torque converter. I recovered a 7000# boat (and trailer) regularly for years, often singlehandedly, on steep, slippery, even icy ramps by letting the torque converter do the work.

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This technique was taught me by a swamp buggy builder who put himself through engineering school at FSU by pulling idiots out of the Everglades. An automatic transmission has tremendous tractive power if you don't let it all go up in wheelspin. When the drive wheels slip, you're done. Stop and start over - more carefully this time.

As my Florida friend taught me, don't get in a hurry, let the transmission do the work - with power applied to one end and no wheelspin on the other you will either move or twist something off. You'll be surprised how much power you can get to the ground with even an ordinary passenger car using this procedure.

If I were a betting man I could have purchased a pretty reasonable yacht by now with the winnings from disbelieving ramp rats all those times when I pulled a BIG boat up a wet ramp with a small 2WD SUV - especially after a big motor pickup with a manual tranny burned 2 tires and one clutch on a hard launch. Halfway up the ramp he stalled . . . pulling an 1200# bass boat/trailer combination. I just had to show off by chaining his truck on behind my trailer and pulling his truck and both boats the rest of the way up the ramp.

Hint: SUV's are ideal for this kind of thing, pickups don't have enough weight in the rear end to properly load the back wheels. By the same reasoning, pulling a boat up a ramp with a FWD is possible, but you will have to be a LOT more careful on a steep ramp.

One additional tip for trailering a watercraft of any kind. Don't submerge the trailer wheel hubs when launching or recovering.Those seals on your trailer wheels are designed to keep grease in, not keep water out. When you arrive at the water those hubs will be warm and submerging them in cool water will cause them to suck water into the bearings. Use a tilt trailer and a winch (power winches are great!) Wet hubs will give you lots of practice replacing and repacking bearings (use Lubriplate or other waterproof grease) - if you're lucky . . . or worse, you could be chasing after an errant wheel that has overheated, run its bearings and snapped off the spindle.

 

ok guys thanks for the info. so I'm thinking I can handle a smaller jet boat thats around 2000lbs Maybe I'll actually use that snow mode button for the tranny. Yay for summer! YAY 69 posts

 

Hold your horse buddy. Do not use the snow mode. It will leave your tranny in 2nd gear.

You can always ask those Ford or Chevy guys to pull your boat out. They love to help a sissy Japanese SUV.

 

I was fishing with my buddy and some guy was loading his boat on his trailer when he had everything strapped on he started to drive his chevy van which then made loud creeking noises which sounded like his tranny breaking. Like a rock my ***. No more domestics for me.

 

I was totally thinking that. Towing the boat on land and giving someone with a dualie or something a 6 pack at the ramp to give me a hand.

 

He had emergency brake on. It keeps the van from rolling backward. Some people do it that way.

 

Never knew that. Maybe 2wd only is that why. Sounded extremely loud. I plan to get a boat someday.

Just a simple fishing boat.

 

is that true? snow mode prevents the transm from going beyond 2nd? i used snow mode while romping through mammoth and bishop, ca in a huge snowstorm, and i don't recall turning it off right away when the roads got better, and it defin went beyond 2nd...

 

What I meant was the snow mode button will start the RX in 2nd gear instead of the 1st gear. Not a good thing for towing boat out of water as you can imagine.

 

ok I've decided on a larger jetski its only like 1000lbs with the trailer. I think my FWD will handle it