I know my Chevy Equinox can tow a PONTOON BOAT from point a to b, does anyone know...

[Annony]

...if it can pull out of H2O? The Equinox supposedly has 3500 lbs of towing cap. I understand that we have to take in consideration the cargo of the car. The pontoon is a 20 ft pontoon and from what we can find online it appears that the combined weight of the pontoon, trailer, and motor is ruffly 2500. So with all that in mind, we know it can tow the pontoon from point a to point b, but can it pull it out of the water? How much weight do you take in consideration when pulling something out of the water? The Equinox is AWD full time. The boat trailer is a single axle trailer. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Boatin' in VA!]

I'll probably be proven wrong on this answer but for years we trailered our first two boats. In both cases I never even thought about the weight of the water or the force that it would put on the tow vehicle. We were towing, at largest, a 25' cuddy cabin that boat, motor, trailer and gear came in at about 5500 - 6000 lbs with an old Bronco. Only once did I have to put the truck in 4WD to pull it out of the water and that was due to the ramp being extremely slick.

Remember too that to your 2500 lbs you also have to add the weight of the fuel and toys that are aboard.

My thought is you should be okay...but let's see what others have to say.

[David C]

You should be OK - the 3500# towing capacity of the vehicle is for highway use as well - meaning you will be driving in the higher gears - overdrive or top gear. Pulling boats out of the water will not create any problems for you, since you will ahve the vehicle shifted (either manually or automatically) into 1st gear - lots of torque on the wheels and not too much strain on the engine.

Don't worry - you'll be fine with that vehicle and the pontoon

[jason s]

I would agree with almost everything everybody has posted with one concern, but it's a biggie; There is NO WAY that the boat/motor and trailer is weighing 2500 lbs. I'm not saying that you are exceeding the 3500 lb towing capacity, but you are VERY close, and towing/pulling right at capacity for extended periods is never a good idea.

I have a 26' Bennington, so I looked at their website as a reference; I am attaching a link to their basic 20 footers without a ton of options or other equipment; those weights are all over 2100 lbs WITHOUT motor, fuel, gear, OR trailer!! If you have larger pontoons such as 25 diameter the weight gets up near 2500 lbs.

http://www.benningtonmarine.com/Page.aspx/pageId/372/pmId/145037/Bennington-G-Series-2075GSi.aspx

Now, add equipment and a motor 500-700lbs, EASY

Now add a trailer;
http://www.pontoonstuff.com/pontoon-boat/220-heavy-duty-pontoon-trailer-single-axle.asp
700 lbs

See where I'm heading?.?.?

So, as i said earlier, you might not be over the 3500 lbs recommended max...but don't think you are well under the max either.
As those posted earlier, I think on a dry ramp, for occassional use such as putting in and taking out at the beginning/end of the season, you should be fine...but you might think about it a little if you plan on being in/out of a lake twice every weekend.

(Maybe head over to the local dump/recycling center, or whatever and weigh your rig...first with just your car, then with the boat/trailer)