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I’m curious to see how my new 2020 GX tows my pontoon boat. Weight wise, I’m well within the limits, but anyone with pontoon boat experience knows towing them is like having a giant parachute behind the vehicle. Fortunately, I keep my boat in a wet slip year round and only tow it to my house and back once or twice per year to clean it.
Here are the weights:
21ft pontoon: 1,680lbs
Trailer: 1,000lbs (total guess here)
Motor (60hp): 260lbs (dry)
Fuel: 26gallons x 6lbs/g = 144lbs
Misc (anchor, life vests, etc): 400lbs (again, just a guess)
Total comes in at: 3,484
How is the sag on the GX? I don’t have rear air. I’m guessing I’ll probably need timbrens.
For reference, here is the boat behind my Tundra I traded in. The angle from which the picture was taken makes the boat seem larger than it is, but being a pontoon, it does sit high on the trailer.
Thanks Acrad. Which model you fits? I couldn’t find Lexus any year going back to 2012, and for Toyota only saw Sienna and Sequioa and FJ for 2013 and older
Not entirely sure of exact model... more of an example ....might want to look at ones that state they will work with 4R. I can't remember offhand what I have heard some use on GXOR.
Prior to buying my 2020 Premium GX, I search the forums looking for information regarding towing a boat. I didn’t find any threads that answered what I was looking for. I was curious how a non air suspension equipped GX handled the weight in regards to rear end sag. I considered getting a Luxury trim solely for the air suspension, but ultimately decided against it in case I decided to lift the GX down the road.
Today was the first time I towed our boat back to the lake to put it in its wet slip for the boating season. Here are my observations
Boat specs:
18ft Bayliner e18 deckboat (approx weight is 2750 with standard 90hp motor)
Mercury 115 4 stroke
Total approx weight: 3100lbs. (With my bigger motor and gear, fuel, etc.)
...if interested, top speed (per GPS) with just me and the Mrs. is 41mph
GX specs:
2020 Premium w/ factory tow package
Here is a pic of the boat the day I bought it
I took a measurement from the ground to the top of the rear wheel with and without the boat hooked up:
...stock height rear wheel well to the ground is: 36.25”
...with the boat hooked up, measuring in the same spot resulted in 35.25”.
This is only 1” of sag. Granted, my trailer tongue weight should be in the 300-320lbs range, so it is not heavy. I wasn’t expecting a lot of sag, but I didn’t know how much until today. I’m glad no suspension modification (timbrens, air bags, etc) will be required. Due to the low ride height of the GX, I did have to flip with factory Lexus hitch upside down to give myself a little more clearance. Even upside down, the trailer jack had to be lowered almost all the way before there was enough clearance for it to swing up into its stowed position.
Here is a picture in my driveway with the trailer hooked up
Cruising down the interstate at 70mpg, the GX was stable and stayed right around 1800rpms. No gear hunting and still just as quiet and comfortable as it is when not towing. According to the dash computer, I averaged 12.6mpg on the 18 mile trip from my house to the boat ramp while towing. I still have the OEM 265/60/18, so I’m assuming the computer is somewhat accurate.
My boat is only ½ of the GX’s tow rating, so I expected it to handle this duty with ease, but again, I was kind of going into it on a hunch based on weights and tow ratings. I would’ve like to know some of this information prior to my GX purchase and I hope this thread will help someone in the future.
You appear to be in good shape for enjoying this boat. I towed a boat for years as a fishing guide in Everglades National Park. If the boat's fuel tank is in the bow area, a full tank of fuel puts a lot of weight on the tongue plus a lot of excess weight to tow which reduces fuel economy. One hint is to tow the boat home after use and don't refill the tank until you are close to your next boating location. Another hint is carry your loaded cooler closer to the trailer axle vs all the way forward. You can also get a higher/taller hitch. Even two inches taller will make life easier. Very inexpensive at Walmart. Just be sure that the rear hatch of the GX clears the ball and hitch so you can open it with trailer attached. Many people put a spare tire and carrier on the front of trailer (cable locked for theft deterrent), it adds weight but beats leaving your boat unattended on the roadside with a flat while you drive to town to buy a new wheel. Sure looks like a fun time.
If you'll be towing frequently I'd invest in the oem tranny cooler and the redarc brake controller (if the trailer has brakes), slee offroad sells the redarc kit I think where you just see the ****, pretty stealthy install.
Adding aftermarket airbags inside the OEM coils is a relatively inexpensive mod as well... the OEM coils will eventually sag if you tow a lot and having the bags would keep the OEM ride quality as near new as possible when not towing and not highly inflated. However it sounds like you have the tongue weight dialed in and trailer weight properly distributed.
This is a very light load for your vehicle. I had a similar weight boat/trailer and my RX330 (no tow package) towed it 45 minutes each way on level ground 200 times a year in Fl heat for four years. Never a problem with overheating. I believe that GA terrain and heat are similar, so no need for extra transmission cooler and that trailer is unlikely to have brakes nor need them with your tow vehicle. But if your were to get a 5000 lb load, travel mountains, etc, brakes and cooler would be appropriate. BTW your vehicle is rated to tow 6500 lbs. when properly equipped. Enjoy.
Based on the pics, wouldn't most of the weight with a single axle trailer with outboard motor be more toward the rear anyway? With that weight distribution and appx. 50% of the tow limits, I wouldn't think there would be any issues.
I don't think there would be any problems with this setup. In hindsight, there's no need to move cooler around to help with weight distribution. Towing the boat with fuel tank less than full is just a simple way to decrease fuel consumed towing extra weight. I still think like a pro who tows often. A typical boater might tow 4 times a month for 6-8 months out of the year (no winters). Probably not worth thinking twice about extra weight with this setup. If the trailer is set up properly by the dealer, tongue weight is 7-10% of total/gross weight. If the fuel tank is in the bow, gas weighs 6 lb per gallon. A 24 gallon tank would be 144 lbs, even half empty, that's about 72 lb less weight being hauled.
I'm looking to buy a 2016 CPO GX460. In the near future, I'm moving from Ohio to Mississippi. Have any of you guys towed a car with GX460 on a uhaul auto transporter? The total weight being towed would be about 6,000 lbs (3500 car, and 2200 uhaul auto transporter).
Previous posts that I've read are mixed - some say that the GX460 is great to tow with and some say it's borderline near the max weight capacity (6500).
It would be my first time towing and would be a 10-12 hour drive. Not sure if I should attempt this.
The car being towed is an older mint condition BMW M3, so I am a little anxious about any damage to the car.
Putting it in an enclosed truck would cost 1100. Renting the uhaul trailer would cost about 250.
I'm looking to buy a 2016 CPO GX460. In the near future, I'm moving from Ohio to Mississippi. Have any of you guys towed a car with GX460 on a uhaul auto transporter? The total weight being towed would be about 6,000 lbs (3500 car, and 2200 uhaul auto transporter).
Previous posts that I've read are mixed - some say that the GX460 is great to tow with and some say it's borderline near the max weight capacity (6500).
It would be my first time towing and would be a 10-12 hour drive. Not sure if I should attempt this.
The car being towed is an older mint condition BMW M3, so I am a little anxious about any damage to the car.
Putting it in an enclosed truck would cost 1100. Renting the uhaul trailer would cost about 250.
The towing option will decrease gas mileage ... so do the math ... the difference in cost is not as significant as the numbers above ... plus factor in the towing risks and wear and tear. Also, any vehicle in a towing position will take on road debris ... so if your M3 is really "mint" some stretch wrap designed for the purpose would be prudent to protect the front-end paintwork.
03-25-20, 01:58 PM
