tow vehicle Yamaha AR210

[CD_Indy]

I am considering the purchase of a used Yamaha AR210, or possibly an SX230 (the 201 is much more likely)… the tow vehicle is a '11 Jeep Liberty. Will I have any issues pulling either? Wanting to pull on the interstate and at a distance too (for vacationing). Any thoughts?

 

[2kwik4u]

Personal opinion.....that's not enough truck for a 21ft boat.

Quick googling shows a 2k lb tow rating base and a 5k lb tow rating with all the appropriate packages. The 21ft boat is probably under that, but just barely.

Wife's traverse (a significantly larger crossover) did OK with our 19ft until we tried to add people, gear, and air conditioning use. It quickly ran out of power and had to scream near redline to maintain speed on even moderate hills. The chassis and brakes were acceptable but not great. The Liberty is a smaller platform and generally lighter duty in nature.

Personally, it might get you home, but I wouldn't want to do it regularly.

 

[swatski]

I am considering the purchase of a used Yamaha AR210, or possibly an SX230 (the 201 is much more likely)… the tow vehicle is a '11 Jeep Liberty. Will I have any issues pulling either? Wanting to pull on the interstate and at a distance too (for vacationing). Any thoughts?

Please don't take it the wrong way but: hell no. Especially 230, which are solidly built and probably heavier than the new 240s. No way. Even the 19fters need something with solid 5,000 lbs tow rating.

--

 

[haknslash]

Yea have to agree. At most I'd want to pull with a Jeep Liberty is a pair of jet skis.

 

[Billtex2000]

I take my 210 to and from the ramp (about a mile) twice a year with my wife's GMC Acadia (V6 - AWD) - only to get it her in and out of my wet slip. Any longer distances I use my '08 Durango 5.7 Hemi. You want something more substantial for any highway or distance work. Did a quick Google and look what I found: https://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/7-great-suvs-designed-for-towing-heavy-loads-230353

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Yeah, I would have to say upgrade as well, while my Ram has no problems towing it, you know its back there. My tow rating is 9,000lbs. I feel it would extremely dangerous with the Liberty.

 

[Ancient canoe]

No way on 21' and up. You will need a new tow vehicle, but you don't have to break the bank. If it's just going to be used for towing and such you don't need a brand new 40k truck/SUV to go along with your 30k boat. Look used.

 

[AboveTheBest]

I’m going to do a 400 mile (round trip) trip with my wife’s 2016 Ford Explorer pulling an AR-190 and I’m pretty worried that won’t be enough for our boat.
It’s #5,000 rated and the trip is almost entirely flat, so I’m hoping it will be ok.

I would hate to think of doing the trip with a Liberty or Ford Escape sized vehicle (and I have a 19’).

 

[ThatJeepGirl]

We had to buy a truck to pull our 240. We have a Rubicon that pulled our 190 fine, but it does not like the weight of the 240. I don’t advise pulling that size boat with a Liberty.

 

[Rick Rousseau]

The Liberty would be fine for a 190, but not the bigger boats. I’ve ridden in a Liberty pulling a 19 footer and it felt like it was near the limit.

 

[gobecauseyoucan]

Sorry,,, there is no way a Liberty is enough vehicle to tow and control boats of that size. The boat would be driving the Liberty. Very dangerous. Find a good used Tahoe or Yukon, $10k-$12k . These will haul the boat, family and all your gear safely. Good luck and Happy boating and driving!

 

[Matt Phillips]

If you want to stick with a Jeep, you may want to think about a Grand Cherokee. They have a tow rating of about 7,000 pounds and there's likely a lot of used ones out and about you can pick up for s descent price. I tow with a Cayenne Diesel and although I definitely know the boat is back there, I don't feel unsafe doing it for the 2,000 miles or so that I pull each year.

 

[CD_Indy]

Well, the 210 I was looking at sold anyway... maybe I should be eyeballing an SX190. I am just worried we will be too cramped in that size boat.

 

[ThatJeepGuy]

Well, the 210 I was looking at sold anyway... maybe I should be eyeballing an SX190. I am just worried we will be too cramped in that size boat.

I’d change tow vehicles before I’d change boats. Then again I’ve had 4 brand new boats but my cars have all been over 8 years old

 

[Billtex2000]

So we just traded our 2015 Acadia in on a 2018 model because our lease was up. The 2018 is beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't think I needed to chack the spec's, same truck, right? Well the tow rating dropped from 5000 to 4000lbs.!!! Aparently they lightened the truck and made it slightly smaller by a few inches all around. I still got the factory tow package but now I'm worried about even using it to launch/recover the SX210 twice a year (once in and once out). Pretty sure I'm close to the weight of the boat/trailer. We mosly use it to tow a single Waverunner which will be fine. I I'm thinking I'll use my Durango to handle the 210. We lost some cargo room too, which sucks, but overall I think we'll be OK. Just need to travel a little lighter! lol

 

[Goved1981]

So we just traded our 2015 Acadia in on a 2018 model because our lease was up. The 2018 is beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't think I needed to chack the spec's, same truck, right? Well the tow rating dropped from 5000 to 4000lbs.!!! Aparently they lightened the truck and made it slightly smaller by a few inches all around. I still got the factory tow package but now I'm worried about even using it to launch/recover the SX210 twice a year (once in and once out). Pretty sure I'm close to the weight of the boat/trailer. We mosly use it to tow a single Waverunner which will be fine. I I'm thinking I'll use my Durango to handle the 210. We lost some cargo room too, which sucks, but overall I think we'll be OK. Just need to travel a little lighter! lol

lool. thank you for the review. i wouldn't have ever thought that a 2018 would lead to such problems to be honest! but as a conclusion, in the end, are you happy with the switch?

 

[Billtex2000]

Well, in all truth;
The 2015 that we turned in didn't have a factory tow package, only a dealer installed hitch, So I was never 100% confident in it's towing ability.
The 2018 has the factory tow package and all that goes with it so I'm sure it will be fine getting the 210 to and from the ramp twice a year (or I have the Durango).
99% of my towing is the single Waverunner on the trailer, about 1 mile to and from the ramp, maybe 18 times during the Summer. The remaining is a two hour trip, from home to the lake house and back with the Waverunner twice a year, and bringing the SX210 the 1 mile to and from the ramp/slip at the beginning and end of the season.
(I know - it's nothing compared to what most of you guys probably do!)

2015 - 280hp - AWD
2018 - 310hp - actual selectable AWD with "tow mode" (fwd/awd/sport mode/off-rode mode/tow mode)
2018 is 700lbs lighter as well - I always thought the "15 was a bit underpowered.

We've been leasing from the same dealer and actually turned the 2015 in a few months early to take advantage of current deals and what they had in stock (why the 2015 didn't have factory tow - we couldn't find one so equipped later in the year last time and had to settle for the "dealer hitch" - I was pissed). They've been giving us great deals and switching literally cost us no money down at signing with the same payment as the 2015. We pretty much just exchanged keys. Any other vehicle in the class that I looked at in comparison would have been out of our budget and would have meant "negotiating" which I detest.

I'm mildly concerned about the interior being a little more cramped, but again, 95% of it's use is my wife's commute. We rarely use the third row of seats or haul a ton of stuff (one trip to the Jersey Shore in summer and I use a cargo box on the roof), and the 2018 has a much nicer interior than the 15 had. It's clearly more "carlike" and obvious that GMC is looking to compete more with the foreign manufacturers. All in all I think the 2015 was "truckish" and the 2018 is definitely "family". Lots of ammenities like cupholders, storage, tech stuff, etc, more geard toward everyday life. Overall better as a daily driver.

 

[GoVols01]

Our '17 Nissan Pathfinder 4WD does a good job towing our '17 212X. Has 3 rows of seating and gets better FE than my old V8 Titan when pulling the boat too. It's my wife's favorite vehicle she's ever owned.