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I see this question more often than you may think, and no offense to your friend, but he's thinking about the wrong thing. I've got a Chevy Cavalier that I could pull my 27 ft camper with. Pulling is not the issue. Two key factors that are almost always an afterthought are handling and BRAKING. I stress braking because that is the most important function of a tow vehicle. Lives depend on it, and if it is less than adequate, someone's life is at risk.
If this is a 400 lb jon boat, and the whole rig weighs less than a thousand pounds, he will probably be fine. Anything bigger, and I would recommend a vehicle suitable for towing. Remember, being able to pull it makes no difference if you can't stop it.
I doubt the car has enough brakes to handle the extra 1000 lbs for any length of time on hils and such. The tougne weight will lighten the front end making steering dicey.
My son inlaw has a nice toyota tacoma 4wd truck he bought a 20+' toy hauler. I told him the truck was undersized, and he needed either a bigger truck, sway control, and electric brakes. Apparently old guys don't know much. Especially of the inlaw variaty. He jacknifed the thing going down one of the windy roads near Taho! Now both are in the shop.
I doubt the car has enough brakes to handle the extra 1000 lbs for any length of time on hils and such. The tougne weight will lighten the front end making steering dicey.
My son inlaw has a nice toyota tacoma 4wd truck he bought a 20+' toy hauler. I told him the truck was undersized, and he needed either a bigger truck, sway control, and electric brakes. Apparently old guys don't know much. Especially of the inlaw variaty. He jacknifed the thing going down one of the windy roads near Taho! Now both are in the shop.
Excellent point. I've always been the type to say, "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it". That's why I don't like to see anything behind a car, or even a 1/2 ton pickup. I like the 3/4 ton and up range.
I see people pull horse trailers behind Caddilac Escalades, mostly when it is laying on it's side causing a traffic jam. Cars are not the best tow vehicles, not designed for it.
If he invites me to go fishing I will bring my 3/4 ton diesel truck over and we can hook up the Honda and boat and off we go.
The big problem for him would be a panic stop. Probably would end up like the Caddilac and horse trailer, and I hate traffic jams.
I have a Pontiac Sunfire, which has the same engine size as the 4 cyl Accord. I never even THOUGHT about towing ANYTHING with it (and I have a manual transmission). However, if I was going to tow anything, it wouldn't be anything more than MAYBE (and that's a BIG MAYBE) a single jet ski on a single trailer...and I think that would still be pushing it.
Youre not serious, right? I personally wouldnt pull anything with a car, only with a truck. The suspension and gear ratios are more suitable. But, one persons opinion...
I have towed a Coleman folding camper (medium size) and a 17ft. Bass Tracker aluminum bassboat (w 60hp engine) with 1986 and 1990 4-cylinder, 4-speed automatic Honda Accords, from Missouri to Ohio to Canada. Never a problem taking off or stopping. 65mph and 28mpg economy. Both trailers were superbly balanced and, once moving, required no lower gears to stay at freeway speeds on flat roads. I'm thinking our 2003 V-6 Accord, with 120-140 more hp should be able to haul a bit more.
Most any car can handle 1000lbs or less. You just have to drive carefully and not go very fast, or get in a situation where you over heat your brakes coming down a steep grade. Like people have said, its not the power that's a problem, its stopping and handling.
A friend towed his 21" ski boat with a Mazda Protege 4 cyl auto. The only real problem he had was getting the boat back out of the water. Between the wet ramp, weight, drag from the water and being front wheel drive, it would spin and then slide backwards. Finally two of us got on the hood, and his wife drove. I think we shortened that car's lifespan about 10K miles in the hour it took to get the boat out of the water.
Bottom line is that it may work, but there's a huge potential for problems, and the car is taking a beating.
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(and I have a manual transmission). However, if I was going to tow anything, it wouldn't be anything more than MAYBE (and that's a BIG MAYBE) a single jet ski on a single trailer...and I think that would still be pushing it.
