Gernby

BTW, I'm really not concerned about submerging the exhaust pipes.

nyanko

in my opinion, it should be fine. For experience, I used to tow a small single-axle flatbed trailer with a 93 civic coupe. I had a small hitch that was mounted below the bumper, but mounted directly to the frame. absolutely beautiful kit. couldn't even tell the hitch was there. But, you knew it was there was you saw me coming down the street puling a flat bed with 3 Quad ATVs, 3 ice chests, 1 GasBBQ range, and an assortment of spare tires, full tool boxes, tent, stove, and other misc. camping supplies. I used to tow this from LA to Glamis at 70 MPH on the freeway.

not to mention, having a 110% stuffed trunk and 2 passengers. Sure, it went 0-60 in 4 minutes, but I didn't burn out my transmission, clutch or twist my frame. It was fine. the only scary thing, was slowing down. the brakes on the civic were not designed to stop that kind of moving mass. I learned this the hardway, when I pulled off the freeway and overshot the signal and ran straight through the intersection. I did this only once! 2nd time i needed to stop, i remembered to give plenty of distance.

With trailers it is all about tounge weight and how you drive.

People talk about breaking things. it is not like you are pulling stumps out of the ground. a trailer has wheels and is designed to be pulled. Pulled gently.

As for submerging the exhaust pipes, as long as you keep the engine running you should be fine. but even if you shut the engine off. the water isn't going to run uphill into your engine.

Lastly, I would say it is fine, especially if you only pulling from the dock to the parking lot or something like that. But I would make sure that you find a trailer hitch kit that mounts to the frame and don't rely on the bumper.

sorry for the long post, but thought i'd share my experience.

exceltoexcel

Good luck have fun send us some pics!

ruexp67

I realize that things are over designed and there are margins of safety built into every standard, but you are talking about

1. Exceeding the GVWR for the car.
2. Exceeding the towing capacity of the car.
3. Exceeding the towing capacity of the hitch.

I'm not going to tell you it won't work, or that it can't work. What I am saying is that it's pretty risky. If you really think pulling the boat out of the water can't twist the frame then there is nothing I can say that will change your mind. However, don't be surprised if the door gaps start to not look so good after a while.

Gernby

nyanko,

I apreciate your response. The only problem is that all of the trailer hitches that I've seen attach to the in one way or another. They all have other attachment points too in varrying locations.

I have already stated this, but my ONLY concern is that the force on the mounts will be too great when pulling up the ramp. I figure the boat will probably be PULLING backwards on the hitch with about 700 lbs of force while sitting completely still on the ramp. Accellerating up that ramp will increase that force quite a bit depending on how quickly I try to pull it out.

wing

I think traction might be a bigger issue, I think it might just slip before you get pulling out of the water.

The TL is FWD so the tires are somewhat dry the rear will be a lot wetter. Not sure how steep this launch is, but usually they are steep, I'm guessing yours isn't too steep??

TubeDriver

It should be easy to calculate the force (all you need to know is the weight of the boast/trailer, degree incline, estimate friction). Not sure how well a sheet metal attached hitch would do but I have no practical experience towing boats. Watch out when slipping the clutch because steep incline + a heavy boat attached= fried, slipping clutch. I think that might be the biggest problem in this scenerio.

Gernby

Well, I think I've decided that the bumper would probably not be able to withstand pulling the boat up the ramp. Based on the weight of the trailer and incline, I think the force pulling back on the bumper (not down on the bumper) would be over 1000 lbs while accellerating up the ramp. If not for the ramp, I think it would do at least as well as my wife's TL if not better. The reason I say that is because my S2000 has a much stiffer suspension, better tires and brakes, and is rear wheel drive.

NFRs2000NYC

Quick question....why did you ask us, if you so sure about it, and not listening anyway....

Anywho, let me answer your question directly,

What are you attaching the hitch to? The tow hook? or rear bumper beam?

Towhook will rip right out, and the bumper support will kink in half.

2800lbs of pull (hill) on the s2000 rear beams will def "warp" them at LEAST a few degrees.

Dont do it, its just not worth it.

I will put $$$ down on you breaking something.

CrazyPhuD

Ok so I had a great response all prepared and I get to the bottom and see that you guessed it to. I agree the biggest issue is that ramp and the associated forces there. It's the incline that kills you and the degree of incline. Depending upon the boat ramp it may be considerably more than what you'd see on normal highways.

Now one concern I have about even the TL towing it, since you are significantly exceeding the load requirements of the hitch, are you sure that the bolts that attach the hitch to the car are going to survive long term? I'd be concerned that they could shear off under the stress. Something that you might want to periodically inspect for signs of wear/stress.