Towing Limits?

[Bender]

Edit: Mods can delete this post. I found a ton of info on my VW boards about towing, turbo wear, trans, etc. Thanks!

I have a small 11.5' aluminum boat that I got about a month ago, did a bunch of work on it, and it has been good. But there are a lot of larger lakes around here so I need a bigger boat. One of my friends has a 16' Sylvan with a 40HP Johnson for sale and he will give me a really good deal on it.
The question I have is I am not sure how much longer our company truck will live (230k+ hard miles on the old GMC) so I am thinking about towing with my car. VW does not suggest any towing and voids your warranty if you screw something up from towing, so I want to weigh the risks. I don't plan on towing long distances and the boat weighs about 1000 lbs.
What can happen from towing something? Premature brake wear? What else?

The car is a 2005 VW turbo diesel, 1.9l. 100HP and 177 lb/ft with elec. diff lock, traction, all that so getting it out of the water shouldn't be too bad. Also a nice galv. roller trailer is included.

[ddc_5114]

dude,

your gmc is just gettin broke in!!

[lizardsrule]

First off that light of boat shouldn't be much of an issue, but there are lots of things that can go wrong, starting with the transmission being ripped apart or replaced. You should have a transmission cooler for any towing IMO. I would keep using the truck, it won't affect it much at all. And when it does go, is it not going to be replaced? I have a 2000 Blazer that I tow my little boat with, and it did not have a towing package, including a transmission cooler. I had to have the transmission rebuilt about 70k ago, and then had to have the transmission replaced with a factory rebuild about 30k ago. I have a boat and trailer that maybe weigh 1500lbs, plus my stuff probably takes it up to 2000lbs. I have been told by a dealer mechanic that it wouldn't hurt it one bit ot tow this boat with it, but thwe repairs tell me differently. There is a reason the warranty will be void if used for towing. Not the smallest thing is that your brakes will not only wear out quicker, they may not be good enought to stop you in an emergency.

Lizards