Go back to the dealer, pleasd insanity and swap it for the 4wd!

Failing that invest in some good quality rubber (tyres are everything in the wet, snow and mud)

Think the towing weight of the GV is 750kg.. but you may need to check in the user manual.. a big boat may be heavier than the suggested max weight (and don't forget to add on the weight of the trailer unit too

 

Towing capacity is 3000 pounds, but I'm not sure about the 2wd ability to pull the boat up the ramp, if your have a manual tranny, it will be real hard.

 

on a wet boat ramp you effectively have 1 wheel drive due to the open differential. if you try it make sure you have a plan B to get it out of the water.

 

My boat+motor+trailer is about 2000lbs and I tow it easily with my 2WD GV with manual transmission. The manual is geared to turn more RPM than the automatic but the automatic has a torque converter so I'm not sure which tows best but my manual has no difficulty at all with a 2000 lb boat. My boat is a 17 foot aluminum hull with a wooden floor, walk-through windshield & 70 hp outboard (to give you some idea of what weighs 2000 lbs). I have almost always driven a manual transmission in my 30+ years driving so I am pretty used to driving one. You can burn a clutch up towing but you don't need to. My experience is that Suzuki clutchs are pretty tough.

The manual also says you need brakes on the trailer if it weighs over 1000 lbs. I haven't done that. I figure they are effectively telling me that my stopping distances will increase significantly with a 2000 lb trailer in tow. I kind of knew that. I might put brakes on if I ever take the boat on a long trip but my typical tow is less than 10 miles at speeds no more than 45 mph - not an extreme case.

On a wet ramp I have never spun a tire significantly. I have my rear tires in the water often on some gravel when I take the boat out. I suspect the traction control would prevent you from going wild and digging your tires in. I will avoid unimproved dirt or all gravel ramps with my 2WD GV but for a decent concrete ramp, I think 2WD will work fine.

I would also not recommend going all the way to 3000 lbs if this is your first boat and towing experience. The heavier you are the more you need brakes but that does not totally solve towing. You have to remember the boat is back there and allow more space for turning corners (and you have to turn later or the boat will go over the curb). Any trailer has to be a bit heavy on the hitch, not where you have to push down on the hitch or it is real light, to tow straight. If the weight is in the back it waggles. Backing is a whole other experience. Not sure what you want to do but my wife easily can ski behind our runabout. It will hold 6. This is our third boat. I would not start out with something beyond 18 feet and 16 or 17 would be better IMHO. The GV will handle that size boat fine if you are careful.

Jim

 

Yes I have an automatic. It also has some traffic control so that when one wheel slips, that one gets braked and the other gets the traffic... I tested this by going through a ditch sideways so one wheel came off the ground, and it worked.. So at least I really have true 2wd! LOL

 

Most would argue that an automatic is better for towing. If you will tow at the GV limit or often at high speeds you might want to put brakes on the trailer and invest in a cooler for your automatic transmission fluid. An automatic eliminates the potential issue of a burnt clutch if you feather it too much. The only new issue it creates is overheating the transmission. This will not occur if you briefly struggle getting the boat out. It will occur if you sit there spinning your tires but I do not think this will happen if you stay within the 3000 lb limit and have ~10% of the boat weight on the hitch (300 lbs may be more than the hitch limit for the GV, something else to watch). Most boats are set up to put 10% or so on the hitch so if it hasn't been messed with by a former owner you should not have to worry about the position of the boat on the trailer. You can also judge by how easy (or not) it is to pick up the boat at the hitch. The tongue weight of the boat/motor/trailer helps with traction when you are coming out.

Jim

 

Thanks Jim great help. Adding some weight to the back if needed is a good idea and I thought of that some. I also have some like 50 lbs sub box in the back... So that helps!

 

It's interesting to see the difference in towing limits recommended by Suzuki between North America and Europe.

Here in Europe (with smaller engines) we have a towing limit of
5 Door:
750 kg (1653 lbs) for unbraked trailers
1850 kg (4078 lbs) Manual box - braked
1700 kg (3748 lbs) Auto box - braked

3 Door:
550 kg (1213 lbs) unbraked
1600 kg (3527 lbs) braked

I tow a 16.5 ft boat / 60 HP outboard which weighs in close to the 750 kg limit (it's an unbraked trailer) with a 4 WD GV, never had any problems with towing or slippy slipways yet.
I find the weight of the GV helps to keep it all stable on the road, this will probably be the same for your 2 WD, the engine weight over the front wheels will help to let the wheels get a grip on a slipway.

As Jim said the main thing is to keep the boat balanced on the trailer (not too much weight on the ball), this will stop the pressure on the back of the GV and help keep the front wheels on the ground.

Damien

 

Damien,

I agree the differences are interesting, thanks for reporting them. Having a higher limit for the manual is also interesting to me. I abused the clutch in my 1997 on at least one occasion and it still worked fine. Maybe in some vehicles the manual is an issue with towing but my experience is good with Suzuki.

My somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment on the higher unbraked limit for Ireland is a possible difference in liability law. In the States companies have to worry about silly lawsuits where any reasonable person would say that the driver of the tow vehicle was significantly at fault for not compensating for the increased stopping distance but the jury decides the manufacturer has deep pockets so they can pay for everything if there is an accident. I leave extra space whenever possible with something in tow but I do that even if I am towing less than 1000 lbs (I also have a little utility trailer that only weights about 300 lbs). With a little common sense, I don't see why the GV cannot safely tow 2000 lbs without brakes.

Jim

 

My somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment on the higher unbraked limit for Ireland is a possible difference in liability law. In the States companies have to worry about silly lawsuits

You could be right there Jim.

I also have a small trailer which I use for moving anything from beds to building blocks, there sure is a big difference when towing this behind the GV compared to the boat it's so light.

I agree that once you are careful and leave plenty of stopping distance between you and the vehicle in front the upper towing weights are no problem. As I said above the main thing to make sure is that you do not have too much weight on the tow ball as this can cause damage to the structure of the GV (I'm sure that's what caused rear tracking problems on my previous Volvo S40)

Damien

 

As I said above the main thing to make sure is that you do not have too much weight on the tow ball as this can cause damage to the structure of the GV (I'm sure that's what caused rear tracking problems on my previous Volvo S40)

Damien

How can too much weight cause problems? I know a car should not be on the ground But never knew it can do something to the structure..

 

The easiest way to make sure you do not get too much weight on the hitch is to buy a hitch made for your vehicle and observe the limit from the hitch manufacturer. My hitch for my 2006 GV attaches with 4 bolts into nuts in the frame of the vehicle. If you put too much weight on the hitch, you are trying to break the rearward two bolts and you are putting too much load on the frame as well as the hitch itself. The GV with a frame incorporated into the body looks like there is some margin but 3000 lbs on a 3500 lb vehicle is also about as much as makes sense to me. The vehicle has to be able to control the weight you are towing.

You want ~10% of the weight of what you are towing on the hitch, however, to keep the load tracking correctly. I once towed a small demo for work that consisted of a "recloser", a device that closes into an electrical fault several times to try and get a fuse to blow so it does not have to turn off the whole line, on a very light trailer. The total weight was maybe 1000 lbs. I was just moving it from location to location since my company vehicle (a monte carlo) had a hitch. After 30 minutes or so of having the rear end of the car waggle from side to side, I stopped beside a cut on the interstate where there was exposed sandstone. I picked up a large piece and put it on the front of the trailer - problem solved. Whoever welded the axle in place or located the recloser on the finished trailer (I'm not sure what order the thing was made) had obviously not done much towing. A heavier trailer or a lighter vehicle could have made this significantly unsafe. If the weight is not forward biased, the trailer is unstable and will try to move the towing vehicle from side to side as you go down the road.

Bottom line is there must be a forward bias to the way the trailer is loaded but you must also limit the weight on the hitch to what the hitch and vehicle can take without damage. My experience is that the amount of weight on the hitch is not critical, just that the bar of the trailer must want to go down and not up when you are not connected to the GV. If you have to struggle to lift it, you might want to dig out an old bathroom scale and see how much weight is on the tongue. For my boat, I moved the axle to reduce the weight. I had over 300 lbs which is excessive for a 2000 lb trailer and also more than my older Suzuki was rated to carry on the hitch.

Jim

 

With a car having a unibody construction, there is no doubt that you can cause damage, the GV with its integrated frame should be ok, but too much weight on the back is not too good as you loose weight on the front and impair your driving.

Last summer I did around 2000 miles from Montreal to the US NJ east cost with a tent-trailer, we were really loaded inside the GV, the tent-trailer was around 2200 lbs, unbraked. Braking power was enough. The GV had enough power going through the Adirondacks and Cat Skills mountains. Most of the time it remained in 5th gear with some few times in 4th and very few times in 3rd at the top (2 or 3 times). Gas consumption with the V6 was impressive with an average of 12.5 l/100km at around 115 km/h with AC on all the time.

My guess is having a 3000 lbs trailer would probably have been painful for the engine.

The weight on the tongue was around 250 lbs, and on our way back we had at one point cross winds with peak up to 80km/h. To keep good stability on the front wheels and direction, 250 lbs on the tongue was near the limit, more than this would have been almost dangerous. I would suggest that if you think that you’re going to put more than 250 lbs on the tongue (and having people sitting in the back with some stuff in the trunk) to go with a weight distribution kit, which I will most probably get next summer, for a more level ride, greater steering, and help in braking control.

Compare with my previous Jeep Cherokee (XJ model), power and torque was almost comparable, a little advantage to the Jeep, gas consumption was better on the GV, comfort was better on the GV, braking power was more powerful on the GV, steering was better on the GV. I did add a leaf spring on the rear suspension of the Jeep, which I cannot do on the GV, this is why I will probably go with a weight distribution kit.

 

I as well have hitch weight issues! It is something to watch out for when thinking of towing with the GV. From what I can remember, our tent trailer has a stated dry hitch weight of 255 lbs, add to this a battery and 2 - 20 lb propane tanks and when I was able to measure it, came in about 350 lbs.

Hitch weight is supposed to be 10% of trailer weight so this trailer is hitch heavy (trailer weighs 1700 lbs) but also to be considered is the weight capacity and distribution of the cabin weight. So what I have done to alleviate as best as I can the hitch weight is to pack all heavy items in rear of trailer (also included are some sand bags and a large brick), store blankets, cloths in front of trailer, pack pillows, dry food etc in rear of truck.


New considerations are to purchase smaller propane tanks (10 lbs) thus cutting the weight in half or unhook both tanks, keep a rather full one in the trailer (we don't go through that much propane). Trailer cannot accept a weight distribution hitch or I would have installed one.

I did have the hitched trailer analysed by the hitch installation company and they said it looked OK as well I have an instrument to see how much the front is riding up, it's a stick that when the trailer is not hooked up goes from the inner tread to the top of the wheel well. I then hook up the trailer and use the measurement and can just get my finger between the stick and wheel well so I figure this isn't to bad,

Good Luck, Dave

 

I looked at the hitch I have to get capacities. I bought a Hidden Hitch class III/IV rated 3500 lbs and 350 lbs on the tongue. Resse and others sell similar models. My theory is my limit on the tongue is 350 (per the hitch limit) and my limit on the trailer is 3000 (per the Suzuki manual). I could be forgetting a tongue weight limit from the Suzuki manual. I believe they would include the tongue weight in the gross vehicle weight limit (the weight of the vehicle and all occupants) in any event.

I've never looked seriously into a weight distributing hitch but I don't understand Dave's comments that his trailer won't accept one. They seem like pretty simple clamp on arrangements for the trailer. They cost more than a hitch, however (~$200-300).

Jim

 

My towing experience with the GV has been very positive so far. My trailer tent weighs 1600 lbs but fully loaded it must reach 2000lbs.
I read of few of you comparing automatic versus manual transmission. What i hate about a manual transmission is when backing up with the trailer tent on an upward slope. I have to make the clutch slip or else I stall it quite often. It's not so bad when I nail the trailer tent in the right spot the first time. It's when my wife changes her mind about the camping spot all the time that I go nuts.
Other than that, the GV has more than enough power for my towing purposes. I had the electric brakes installed for more safety.
Good judgement behing the wheel is the key factor.

 

What hitch brand would you all say is better for me to get and maybe better looking and hidden more,,, Reese or Hidden Hitch?? Thanks

 

The Hidden Hitch hangs down some and requires a little cutting around the license plate. You are just cutting the plastic, you can do it with a utility knife but a fine tooth saw blade is better. I like the fact that it covers the muffler up but others may prefer a hitch that tucks up higher. The only one I am sure would do that is the one Suzuki offers (for a lot more).

Jim

 

Do you know how the one reese has would look? Are they about the same maybe?

 

I have installed the Hidden Hitch as well (same class III as JimD) and also like the fact that it covers the muffler, I saw the one from Reese and it's almost identical, it requires the same cut behind the plate bezel.

 

Jim[/quote]
I've never looked seriously into a weight distributing hitch but I don't understand Dave's comments that his trailer won't accept one. They seem like pretty simple clamp on arrangements for the trailer. They cost more than a hitch, however (~$200-300).


The Trailer Manual, the Dealer and even a contact from Forest River stated that the Rockwood 1907 cannot be hooked up to a weight distribution hitch. Something to do with the way the frame is structured (I think). Dave

 

Yes, the Rockwood 1907 has the crank to lift the roof in front, plus side mountings where you put the bars to secure the front bed, plus the jack, not a cleaver design.