JohnnyG

Ok, so I'm getting excited here. We're about to put our order in for a 32SS. Details and options are worked out, financing is approved and we send a deposit on Monday.

Anyway, I've got a Chevy 2500HD to tow it and I'm trying to figure out what height the hitch ball will need to be for a 32SS on aluminum trailer. I want to have the right towing equipment all setup and ready for delivery. I've already installed a Putnam XDR hitch and have a 10,000lb hitch mount and ball. I may add some air springs as well.

Also, anyone know what a 32SS on aluminum trailer with the usual stuff in it weighs roughly? I know the dry weight without trailer is around 7100, but it seems these things end up a lot heavier than you'd expect once you add trailer, fuel, equipment, etc. I'm banking on 9500+ with everything.

Thanks,
John

Mentalpause

My guess is 9500 to 10K fully loaded will be about right. You may want to call the factory, they may know the weight. But I think you are in the ballpark.

Ca$hed Out

John-

Get Joe to get you the dimension when they hook it up and tow it to Mitch for paint. I used a 2" drop on my Dodge dually 4x4 however, I also ordered a custom Manning trailer which has a different tongue setup.

Regarding weight, take a look at a few notes that I used to calculate;
-The SS is listed as 7100 lbs. with twin SMALL blocks. BBC over SBC adds another 708 lbs. per the Mercury Website (assuming you went with 496's).
-145 gallons of fuel at 6 lbs./gallon is 870 lbs.
That puts you at 8678 lbs. before you add tools, anchors, coolers, fresh water tank, etc as you mention. Sunsation uses Phoenix trailers and I believe they rate their 32SS trailers at 8900 lbs capacity. Finally, you need to add the trailer weight which my guess is around 1800lbs. Thus, if you assume worse case scenario (and this is what you should do), you are probably closer to 10,700 lbs full. I would suggest calling Phoenix and getting these details....

Aside from the hitch, make sure you get a solid sleeve and a 2-5/16" ball that are both rated correctly as well. I almost overlooked this myself.

What are the details of your order? I remember you were thinking along the lines of mine - did you change anything?

Shawn

JohnnyG

Shawn,

Thanks for the pointers. I didn't realize the dry weight from the Sunsation site is for small blocks, but that makes sense since those are the base motors. It looks like your estimates are pretty close, and as you pointed out, it is best to be on the safe side with these things. Maybe I should count on 11,000 worst case scenario.

I think I've got the hitch and rig pretty much ironed out. I have the Putnam XDR with grade 8 bolts, solid sleeve and heavy duty ball (both rated to 12,000 pounds now that I looked at them). Also, I upgraded the brakes on the trailer to electric over hydraulic. I still need to buy a controller for my truck though. I may as well just install the air springs for the truck while I'm waiting for the boat too. They're only a couple hundred bucks I think. Sounds like cheap insurance and probably a better ride too from what I've read. I'll probably call the trailer manufacturer this week, as Joe provided me with the contact info. They can probably answer some of these remaining questions for me regarding the trailer.

As far as the boat goes, we're sending in a deposit tomorrow and then we should be in line for a build. I ordered the 496 HO's in mine with an upgrade to XR drives (maybe some whipples down the road ). The only thing we haven't finalized yet are the colors, although we know it will be base white with red / silver bolsters (just like yours) and chrome / red gauges. I really like your carbon fiber gauges, but I'm not sure I can justify that last bit of cost for them. Your paint is awesome, but we may stick to something a little more standard like a Signature 7 paint job in red and silver. I really wish there were some graphics on the deck though. I wonder how much that will cost me.

I can't wait to start seeing pics from the production line. This is going to be a long 4 months or so. Have you got yours fully broke in yet? I saw your post (over on Sunsation forums I think?) where you were working on the break-in. What did the factory recommend as far as break-in? 10 hours or so?

John

JohnnyG

By the way, the more I look at those carbon fiber gauges on your boat, the more I like them! I asked about adding them to the order today. They look awesome!

John

Quality Time

John,

I've got a 2500 HD 4X4 w/6" RCD. No need for bags or anything else for that matter. When I bought mine I was told ball height is 21" from the ground. I have an aluminmum Nextrail triple.

You will be fine pulling your new rig with tthe HD

Jupiter Sunsation

I tow my 32 MCOB on a Nextrail triple and my 03 2WD 2500 HD Crew Duramax tows great. Truck has 93K and has been easily the best truck I have ever owned. I have towed the boat up to 800 miles in a single weekend and truck does great. To date the truck still has original brake pads, 2nd set of tires and 2nd set of batteries (warranty) with no other stops for maintenance other than fluids/filters.

chevyzq8

I tow our 32' with a 2500HD and a standard 2" drop is perfect. Don't waste your money on the airbags, A. You won't need them, B. They will likely make the ride worse as the tongue weight on these boats with a triple axle trailer is fairly light. From my experience you don't need airbags/springs on a 2500 til you get in the 15,000lb. +range.

JohnnyG

Thanks for the advice everyone. Based on the input, I'll probably leave the air bags off for now. I can always add them later if I think they'll help.

Ca$hed Out

BTW John...before I went to my dually diesel, I had a 2500 HD with gas engine (do you have diesel or gas?). You won't have any trouble at all with the 32....especially if you have a diesel. If gas, with 4.10's you will be fine.