XC70 - Boat towing - boat ramps - trouble?

[YankeeBoater]

Hi people - I am currently a happy owner of a Volvo S70... but, I just bought a boat. The boat, motor, and trailer are 2278lb - add a little in for gas, battery and a few sundry items and call it 2500lb. The S70 is not a good tow vehicle for that.

My question is, would the XC70 do it (reasonably well)? I know it wouldn't be the absolute best choice for towing, but the problem is, 95%+ of the time, I won't be towing. Good tow vehicles typically are extremely thirsty, uncomfortable, and poor in accidents.

From what I've seen in past posts, about half the people would say I'd be okay with towing on the road, the other half not. The real question that comes in is... how about pulling the loaded trailer up a wet, slippery ramp that may have holes for trailer tires to drop into???

Has anyone on the board towed a similar size boat from the XC70, including plenty of launchings and retrievals?

The XC70 has the 4-wheel-discs/ABS, good ground clearance, 4WD and a fair amount of torque - most things actually roughly comparable to the other car I am considering, a Jeep Liberty with 4-wheel-discs/ABS/4WD/V6. The XC70 actually has a few 1/10ths of an inch more clearance, although it looks like the Liberty has shorter overhangs at nose and tail. The Liberty is actually rated to pull 5500lb with the tow package though, and no reports about wimpy tongue weights. From reports I've read on the boating forums, the Liberty would be just fine, but noone seems to be towing boats there with XC70s. Are they actually fairly comparable, or not in the same ballpark???

Based on my S70 experience, I really would like to stick with Volvo, but if my application is just inappropriate for it, I'll get the Liberty.

[Pasi]

I have no experience in towing a boat but some of towing a caravan http://www2.polarvagnen.se/index.asp...006_screen.pdf. Its 3800 lbs and I've been towing it with the speed of 50 mph without problems.

I think it's quite easy to tow with XC70 since it has automatic transmission and good torque in the motor.

[John@CdnRockies]

I have lots of experience towing boats, including retrieving them from ramps. We have a 26 foot McGregor sailboat weighing 3,000 lbs (including trailer/motor) dry and 4,300+ lbs as it comes up the ramp filled with water ballast. This boat and a large U-Hual trailer have both been towed across the Rocky Mountains (there are 3 series of 7,500 foot ranges spread over 500 miles between Calgary and our country place in BC).

No problems to report. The Haldex AWD works fine, even one memorable time that I dropped both side wheels off the ramp and into gravel on a rising tide (don't want to try that trick again). Highway driving has been excellent with lots of power to pass. My only concern would be the tongue weight, which as you seem to know is suggested at 180 pounds. I always balance the boat's contents, checking tongue weight using a bathroom scale if a long journey is in store. That hasn't been a problem thus far and no incidences of fish tailing while driving have occurred.

I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee Ltd and must admit that it is a better towing vehicle (towed my boat right across Canada twice). While the Jeep is in great shape, I always use the Volvo so that certainly indicates my ultimate preference. Given the harsh ride of a Liberty, you will face a major disappointment compared to the XC70. The Liberty is a chruncher! I was highly dubious that the Volvo could do the job, but I'm very happy with its performance thus far. In fact, I just returned from doing the annual haulout last night!

John

[Art]

It appears that Boating Magazine also feels the XC is a good choice for a tow vehicle.

[al_roethlisberger]

...that is impressive, as even my old 1/2 ton(1500 Series) Suburban was sometimes a bear with a 3500lb camper.

It is good to know that the XC70 can handle a reasonable tow if necessary

[YankeeBoater]

Hey, sounds promising! One more thing - does anyone know what the deal is with "skidplates" on these guys? I am used to thinking of a skidplate as a heavy metal plate that is bolted on the vehicle underbelly to protect critical drive components from failure due to, e.g., a heavy strike on a protruding boulder... so far the ones I have seen for the XC70 look like a more cosmetic sheet of aluminum screwed on to protect the bumper from scratches? Are there are "real" skidplates made for these guys?
Thanks!
Barry

[Art]

You could always accessorize the undercarriage of your XC with a beefier skid plate similar to the one below.

http://volvo.autowebaccessories.com/...6_172_3523.php

[David Eady]

My 2002 is quite happy to pull my Dusky 17 and boat motor and trailer are probably about 2200 lbs. Ramps don't seem to be any problem. The only issue is visibility backing up. The mirrors just don't do the job and any helper has to stand a couple of feet to the side to be visible.

[HeadXC]

Have an 04 and works better than the 02, did. I would strongly suggest that you look at the new ones with the load leveler in it, as 2,000 should have some siginificant tongue wait and the model that i have gad and have without the load leveler suspension droop siginicanly on the back end without it.

[v70+xc70]

Its the starting from stopped position on the ramp that does a number on the automatic transmission.
You may be fine, but wont know until you try it. If you get nasty oily smells from the car during or after, then I wouldn't do it again, as the stress on the transmission is too much