Doug Paton
What is the approx all up towing weight for a sonata? i know this will be approx as trailers will vary…
I am trying to decide what car/4×4 wold be suitable for towing my boat. Can i have an idea of what cars/estates/4×4’s/vans are capable of towing the sonata legally… im looking to purchase a vehicle that will tow the boat but would also prefer if it was not a huge 4×4.
cheers,
Doug Paton
“Rhapsody”
Tim Owen
I had this problem a couple of years ago. I had a suitable trailer with wheels/tyres rated to 1800Kg when I bought my lift keel Sonata, but the trailer weighed about 450Kg and there was no way I could get the boat plus trailer down to that weight, however much I stripped out of the boat. In the end I had to buy new wheels and tyres to push the rating up, and the whole lot with mast and rudder and a couple of small car batteries but ex the outboard just about made it inside 2000Kg. I eventually changed the 2T hitch for a 2600Kg rating so that I could put more gear in the boat. I know the weights are accurate as I made half a dozen visits to a certified weighbridge. I concluded that the bare boat must weight at least 1500 – 1600 Kg, around 300Kg over the advertised weight. It had been out of the water for 8 months so was not saturated. I still find it strange, but be careful and find a weighbridge!
I tow with a big Landcruiser – so from that point of view the weight is OK, and I have an old licence so the 4.5T train weight is not a problem.
Best of luck
Tim
Gareth Martel
Hi doug,
I had this problem last year, think to be honest the only real way of knowing the weight of the boat on trailer is to sitck it on one of those brdge things, everyone seems to have a different idea of what the weight will be, and trailers vary hugely. When I looked for a car I went for that frontera, thinking a small 4×4 was the way to go but was a mistake. Despite what some may say i found that a 2lt petrol wasnt really quite enough to pull the boat. If I was doing it again I wouldnt go for a 4 wheel drive, theres no need. That uni people carrier I borrowed a few times was a 2.2 turbo diesel sharan, and it handled the boat with no problem at all, felt totally comfortable towing her. As well I know from the other times Ive used it that its not too hungry on the fuel side, so if your planning on something to use everyday as well it makes more sense.
Legally is a bit of a nightmare to even untangle. First of all depends on when you got your license, if its a newer one like mine apparently you can tow any weight with a braked trailer, as long as the car is heavier than the tow, and that the total weight is under 3.5 tonnes. This took a fair bit of investigation to find out (once got pulled over by the police as the car was making a lloud screeching noise, they noticed the lidense had no towing bit on it, then I had to explain to them the rule, and it was only after radioing someone alse that they realised I was right!), also this does run very tight as I believe that the weight of a sonata on trailer os around 1.5(VERY approximately), so you have to pick your car carefully. The other option is obviously to get a +e test and get the towing added to your license. Dont think you have this problem with an old license, automatically came with a +e. Also the car manufacterers have recommended maximum towing weights, its been sugested to me that if you want to tow above thi syou should probably make sure its ok with your insurance company, and that your still covered (may depend on your policy).
From my experience Id say that the biggest thing is to make sure that you have a car with good enough brakes. The frontera used to lock up at 10mph if it was wet, really a scary experience, constantly had to use the gears to slow her down. Obviously to have the ability to brake the cars gonna have to be a decent weight, or the boat just keeps pushing it.
Sounds like hassle but to be honest this is the only real hassle with towing the boat, we towed her as far as Dabchicks and Ireland last year and was totally worth it. May be (very very sadly) leaving the class soon (due to lack of time to sail her, lack of crew and lack of money), poor things been sittin unsailed for ages, but last summer was absolutely amazing, and when I get the time and cash I fully plan on getting another snotty in the future and towing it all over the place again!
Good luck with the car hunt!