Towing Capacity

Thinking of buying a 2.4 L 170 HP,Mitsubishi Outlander.Rated to Tow 1500 lbs.Wondering how this will preform towing my Hobie 16?

We regularly tow our 16 with a 2001 Honda accord 4 cylinder. I think it has less power than that you're looking at but its also a tad smaller of a car. Also haven't had any problems towing with a 1991 Honda accord station wagon. Even with a galvanized trailer you shouldn't even be close to that 1500 pound rating.
I recently upgraded to an aluminum trailer and towing is a breeze.

My Honda Element has the same size engine and a little lower horse power I believe and I use it to tow my Hobie 17 & 18 all the time (including two or three passengers, the dog, sailing gear, camping gear, etc.) . It's also rated up to 1500LB towing capacity. A little more power might be nice, but overall, it does a fine job. If I had to do it over, the only thing I would change would be a manual transmission rather than an automatic.

sm

My brother used to pull his with a '80 Fiat Strada. Put an EsCargo cartop box on the trailer and cruised from Chicago to the Keys for his honeymoon. The 350 in the El Camino made trailering a whole bunch more fun. My favorite was my 1978 Buick Limited Estate Wagon. 403 V8, woodgrain, leather and plenty of room, Great road trips around Division 10.

The hobie16 and trailer has to be about 800 pounds. Give or take. That's not much. I towed mine with a ford escort zx2. That's only 130 hp. No problem. I saw mileage go down from 31 to about 21. So I guess my foot was in it a bit more but still, not too bad. Used to tow 60 miles each way every weekend. You will be fine.

My 2008 Volvo C70 (~200 HP) has towed all of my boats (14 / 16 / 17) all over the place since it was new. Towed double stacks of the 17/16 and 17/14 to Mississippi (1100 miles each way), Iowa (800 miles) and Delaware (600+ miles) with no problems.

If you have the option, get the factory towing package thrown into the deal because that usually includes adds a transmission cooler that will probably help you over the life of your transmission and keep the temp down on longer hauls. You'll be fine with the Outlander though.

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'95 H16 sail #101148
'89 H18 SX/ sail #1053 w/ Yellow hulls

When I regularly towed mine, I pulled it behind my '86 Jeep CJ 4cyl- a whopping 72 hp and it did OK. A little slow, maybe and mileage sucked! But then again, it was always slow and never did get great mileage ! You should be fine.

Dave

Mike, your Outlander should be just fine in terms of towing a lightweight H16.

If you can upgrade to a towing package, your tranny will run cooler and last longer.
One word of caution, if you have an automatic transmission - when towing, use 3rd gear (not overdrive).
You'll use a little more gas, however you'll save your transmission.

For my first trip, I towed my first H18 back from London ON in my 2002 Accord, no problem in 3rd.
For my second trip, I had the use of a Honda Pilot, wow, in comfort and zoom zoom at 125 km to Des Moines and back.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

My 245 hp (when new) 2004 4Runner tows my 18 just fine. Fuel economy goes from 20-22 mpg to 16 mpg.
My wife's 385 hp 2011 Sequoia tows it better. Sequoia's fuel economy stays at 17 mpg with or without the 18.
The primary fuel consumption issue is drag, not weight, as the hulls' exposed frontal "flat plate" area is greater on the 4runner vs the Sequoia. The faster you pull the boat with a narrow vehicle, the greater the drag force becomes.
My next tow vehicle will be a M35 Multifuel Duece and a Half with the Fording Kit, which gets 6-8 Miles Per Gallon, but about 100 sMiles Per Gallon.

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Jeff
1986 Hobie 18 #13031

I pulled my first Hobie 16 back in '85 with my '81 VW Rabbit. (1.8 liter gas powered engine ?)

I kept my boat at my friend Dave's house at the end of a gravel lane in a deep valley. To get my front wheel drive car to pull my boat up that long hill, I had to tie large un-split firewood over the front bumper. Once I reached the top of his hill, I would untie that firewood and leave it by the side of his driveway............for Dave to haul back down the hill with his tractor..........what a buddy Dave was...............

The VW Rabbit worked OK pulling the boat for 4 years and I did get many funny looks from people who knew more than I about towing boats.........

Does anyone think my '06 VW Jetta TDI would pull my 16 today?
Let me know, maybe I get a trailer hitch for that diesel car...and more odd looks

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Bill 404 21SE

I find towing anything with my Hobie 16 really slows it down and makes it hard to steer ... the towing capacity is very low.

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Sail More. Tinker Less. Enjoy a Hobie Day.
-2013 H16 #1`13780
-2014 Getaway w/wings,spinnaker,& trapeze

I tow my Getaway with my Jetta TDI. No problems at all. The fuel mileage drops down into the high 20's.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Icebirds" - 1974 Skeeter iceboat
Too many canoes and kayaks

Our '03 TDI wagon does awesome. I often find myself pushing 80; I back off a bit to be nice to the car but I'm not sure I need to. Probably racked up about 2500~3000 towing miles last year.

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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages

My old faithful 1971 Ford Pinto Carolina Blue would pull my 16 from Charlotte to Key West about 1000 miles each way at 70 mph
The old car was loaded to the top with camping and dive gear hell I probably had a 100 lbs of beer on ice on the back seat
Those days were so good
Now I pull with my Hummer H2 or the ford F-150 FX4
Former Hobie Admiral Gary