Boat on highway- wrong tow vehicle??

Cincy Aquaholic

Cincy Aquaholic

Active Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,329
Cincinnati
Boat Info
290 SS - 2016 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Engines
Twin 5.7 with Bravo 1's
Saw this yesterday! I haven't looked at the numbers but a Land Rover pulling a 33' go fast?? Doesn't sound right to me!

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100701/NEWS01/307010048/1055/NEWS/Boat-wreck-clogs-I-71-N

935bfb23.jpg
 
i've seen worse here. There's a guy with a Tundra pulling a 280DA! In Miami, as long as the vehicle is able to tow the vessel, they will buy it.
 
Never heard of a "Thundercraft." No idea what one weighs. On the other hand, I can make some guesses. Looks like an old model and considering the cheap graphics, a budget model. Thus no expensive high tech weight saving techniques or material would be a safe guess.

A friend had a 35' Sonic with twin 500 EFIs. The Sonic's hull was cored and vacuum bagged. It was pretty light for it's size. I forget the weight, but it was less than Just Ducky and well within the towing weight of his trucks

He was towing it with a GMC 3500 pickup and found that the boat was pushing the rear end around a tiny bit more than he though it should, mostly in low speed sharp cornering, I think. He traded that pickup for a Duramax GMC 3500 dualie, which handled the 35 and his new 38 much better. I would imagine that the Thundercraft is heaver than the Sonic and that the Land Rover less a less able tow vehicle than the single rear wheel 3500. If the probably lighter Sonic had an effect on the more able GMC, then the thunderchief probably had even more effect on the Land Rover. So this guy was an accident waiting to happen.
 
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It's a mid 80's Formula.... (Formula used to be Thunderbird Formula) Don't trust the media!
 
Ouch!! Wonder if he was trying to be like that bass boat commercial where they pull it down the road without the trailer then launch it. Some thing about being the toughest boats around.
 
wish2fish said:
how did he make it up kenwood cut of the hill with that setup? couldn't have been going that fast.
Click to expand...

No kidding. Maybe he was speeding up as it leveled out there to make up for lost time chugging up the hill.
 
That boat has twin engines and i am guessing that they are NOT V4's! I would have to think 10,000 lbs with the trailer. The SUV is rated for 6500 when it was new.
 
That defiantly is a Formula that some one put bad graphics on, according to NADA for a 336 SR1 (33') Formula weight's 8450lbs add fuel and equipment, trailer your looking at 10000lbs + like rkeats said. Could be he had to make a panic stop and the surge brakes didn't work and the boat pushed him off the road plus the short wheel base of the Land Rover doesn’t help. If you look at the picture from the article the skid marks look like he was jack knifing.
 
Daddubo said:
surge brakes didn't work and the boat pushed him off the road plus the short wheel base of the Land Rover doesn’t help. If you look at the picture from the article the skid marks look like he was jack knifing.
Click to expand...

Agree with that! Short wheel base = bad news.
 
Thats a formula 311, it would be around 10K pounds, It really needs a tripple axle trailer with a good brake system. I have a tripple axle under my Formula 357, but noticed the axles on the trailer were only 3K pound axles. There was an exact year and make of Formula as mine on an inadequate trailer, the tires blew and it landed on its top destroying the pull vehicle also. I instantly ordered 6K pound axles and installing a Kodiak electric over hydraulic brake system. I pull with a 3500 Duramax Dually. I also upgraded my bumper hitch to a 16K pound Reese with a 12K pound pintle ball hitch.
 
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