Does anyone have any good insights on heavy towing with the early Bronco's. I have a 24' gulf fishing boat that I need to tow. I have always wanted an early bronco but am unsure how well it would tow something like that.
Any and all thoughts on the topic are appreciated.
The Bronco is not designed to tow something that big. A V8 equipped Bronco has more than enough power to move it, but with the short wheelbase it will be a dangerous handling nightmare.
Depending on the weight of your boat, I would recommend a 3/4 ton or larger long wheelbase pickup.
Definitely not a good idea under any circumstances due to the very short wheelbase and other things. I wouldn't use anything less than a LWB 1/2 ton and maybe even a 3/4 ton depending on the weight.
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Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can? They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines?
I kind of disagree, I used to pull a 27ft. camper with mine and the only thing I did was beef up the springs and not try to set any land speed records. The trailer had electric brakes on it so there wasn't any problems stopping. I'm sure your boat being in the 24ft. class has some type (or it should) of self contained brake...
I towed across country ONCE with my 71. Last time I'll ever do that again. It was a tandem axle trailer with brakes, loaded with a medium sized sedan. Bronco had plenty of power, but when I was headed down a long downhill run on an interstate in west virginia, things went downhill fast (sorry for the pun)
Basically at about 60 mph the trailer must have shifted on the axles and became a little light on the tounge. At that point the rig proceded to pick up the ass end of my bronco and bounce it from one side to the other. the rocking and slamming back and forth proceded to get worse and I thought for sure I was going to become a statistic. Only thing I could do was step on the gas to get the rig to straighten out. It was about 80MPH before it came under control, and I was still going down hill. Luckily the grade change to a gradual up hill and I let the whole thing ease off. That was after about 600 Miles of towing that it did that and it didn't do it again for the rest of the trip.
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Oh my God, have we lost our minds? Even a better towing system does not elimate the reasons why it's bad to tow with a relatively primitive vehicle that was never intended to tow a 24' gulf boat.
I will repeat what anyone with common sense will tell you, including aerobb, who has done it himself, in hopes that someone doesn't take this ill-conceived advice: IT IS A BAD IDEA. Remember, banoel asked about "heavy towing" and only a moron would recommend "heavy towing" with an early Bronco.
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Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can? They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines?
Good point. I think I caught this thread somewhere when someone mentioned the side to side movement of his Bronco, which is caused by trailer sway. That's where I put in my two cents. Boats are terrible for towing to begin with. The trailers don't help.
An early Bronc and a 24' boat? Where does this guy live? I'll be over Saturday.
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