Fishing Q&A - Can i put a fishing hitch on a 98 grand am to pull a small bass boat?

Can i put a fishing hitch on a 98 grand am to pull a small bass boat?

any know on cost would be great to

Public Comments

yes how small
Cars are not designed for towing. Get an SUV or truck.
you could put a hitch on a grand am. i wouldn't though. i would go and buy a beater small truck(if your not going too far) for hauling your small boat. i used to haul my 12ft aluminum with a 89 Nissan 4 banger. but i have seen people towing boats with small cars. cant be very safe.
You can put a hitch on any car, it will probably run about 50 dollars if you do it yourself. If the grand am is your everyday car, it might be a bad idea to use it for towing a boat. Im assuming your boat and trailer weigh over 1000#s and i have seen no sedan rated to tow more than a 1000#s. You will end up dramatically shortening your transmission and engine life. And your brakes will wear fast, your rotors may warp and you may blow your head gasket. Or shred your gears up. If the grand am isnt your everyday car, sell it and get a ford ranger or some other cheap truck. I forgot to mention, your rear suspension may not even be able to support the weight of the trailer and boat.
You can two a small boat with a car. I have an '01 Chevy Malibu with a hitch on it. I pull a small 12' aluminium boat. I' ve towed the boat on a few 8 hour trips. I've never had a problem with it in the last 4 years. I think I paid about $150 to have it installed. The weight limit is 1000lbs, as mentioned before, but I've had no problem keeping under that. Aluminum boat - aprox 90lbs Trailer - aprox 90 lbs Motor - 20 lbs Gear - 50 lbs. Total 250 lbs. I've even put a trolling motor and 2 50lb batteries on the boat and still been well under the weight limit.
It is possible, but i wouldn't advise it, like every one else has said attach it to a bigger vehicle, and the towing will be easier as well as launching the boat.
Yes, it can be done but, first ya' have to look at the size Bass boat you'd be pullin' (feet and dry weight of it), also how many times you'd be doin' it. Whats a little more practical would be what others have mentioned ie., truck, SUV, or ? Buttttt, seein' how we're specifically talkin' bout' the Grand Am, to reiterate, "yes it can be done". Link is for ebay. Hope this helps ya' ;)... Trailer Hitch ("Buy Now" option): http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Grand-Am-Trailer-Hitch-92-98_W0QQitemZ270196972084QQcmdZViewItem Installation procedures for this particular hitch but, basically they be all the same, with some slight variations (this link be in the PDF format): http://www.hitchsource.com/docs/cu/12073.pdf Note: This is just one place that I checked out, so ya' may want to search internet for a better price...
Sure go for it! I have a 97 Grand Prix I tow a 16' older aluminum Lund. Been pulling it for two years without a problem (yeah a SUV is probably coming sometime soon, but for now I have to stick to what I got.) I wouldn't go any bigger than I have, this is about the limit of what the car can handle. Just be careful that you don't use a boat landing where your front wheels go off the concrete. I almost got stuck once when the water level was low and my front wheels had to go off onto the sand. I did have a problem once after driving 3+ hours straight where the transmission fluid viscosity started to give out so I had to stop for a while for it to cool down ( tranny fluid was overheating, it was changed shortly after though and no serious problems developed) Just keep it to short trips of 1 hour or less and it should be fine.