What do you tow your boat with?
 

Anyone care to their share experience in moving these boats overland?

How about your boat model, estimated loaded weight w/trailer and tow vehicle experience with same, both good and bad?

Thanks--

My worst tow was with a Dodge I barrowed from a buddy of mine. It had plenty of power to tow but the stearing was so bad it was all over the road. I use a Ford F-350 dually.

I have two suburbans, a 2004 - K2500 w/ 8.1L and a 1999 - K1500 w/ 5.7L (3.73 gears).

The 2500 is our primary tow vehicle for our travel trailer which weighs in about 10k lbs loaded up. With family I am right at the GCWR of 17,000 lbs and it tows it around Indiana/Michigan great! Going down the highway you can forget it is back there (Unless you are in a good crosswind, then you know!)

When I bought the 272, I towed it from NJ back to Indiana with the 2500. The 272 should weigh in just under 6000 and I had it on a long steel loadrite roller trailer, no idea how much that weighed in at. I would guess 7500 total. No load levelers, seemed to have a heavy tonque weight. Again, towing it through PA and OH was a breeze, that 8.1L never felt it. Milage wasn't bad either. Truck gets 14mpg on the highway empty, about 8 towing the camper and I got 10 or 11 towing the boat.

Now, when we go camping up in Michigan, we will tow it with the k1500 since the 2500 will have the camper behind it. Indiana and SW Michigan are pretty flat and all the gear, kids and stuff will be in the other burb and camper, so it will not be that bad with the boat and 1500 empty. I will have to report back on how is scales out and how it tows. This is about as big of a boat as I would want to tow with a 1500. I know others pull larger and 38' scarabs around Michigan with a 1500, but not for me! I have pulled 6500 behind my 1994 burb and it handled it fine, really steady.

***Disclaimer note:***
I get a feeling this thread will turn into another tow capacity verse safety thread and dually verse single. Hopefully not. I am tired of seeing post about how this is dangerous because you exceeded some spec that was limited by a piece of equipment that you have improved, but a VW is fine because it has a higher tow rating than my suburban. You are always responsible for your rig regardless of how you have it set up.

You have to know your truck, how you have improved it or degraded it and what condition it is in. what is your experience and what are the conditions in which you will tow. These really do matter. You can take a "in spec" setup and be very dangerous in it, or take a "out of spec" setup and tow fine with it. Towing these things is just as serious as operating a high performance boat.

Thank you, Brian

Oh, as someone else mentioned a hitch, I did get rid of the stock receivers on both burbs and went with heavier Curt brand receivers.

F-350 DRW 7.3 Diesel Stick....2wd 12000 lbs

Tows great!

2004 GMC 2500 HS, lifter and on 35's pulls the 342 like a champ.

'01 F-250 4x4 7.3. I'm about 11,500 - 12,000 lbs on the hitch at the scales. I use a 2.5" receiver, and an appropriately rated hitch, the stock factory hitch is the biggest POS I have ever seen. The truck handles the boat fine, but I do miss my dually.

2007 chevy 2500 HD 4 dr 4wd. Haven't towed the formula yet but have towed my dads 30 scarab sport with twin 300 hpdis. Tows like a dream.

tow baby tow
 

My 2000 BIG WHITEY F-350 4dr, 4x4 8ft bed with 7.3 and lifted 6" and a few aftermarket parts like chip, exhaust, breather.. Set the cruise and pulls like a dream. Sitting on 216000 miles... Hits Jellico mountain in TN at 70 and kicks A_S pulling my 312 fastech and a couple brews......:eekdrop:

04 GMC 1500...5.3 with ported heads, 2.0 intake valves, comp cam, lingenfelter valvetrain, built tranny (only 4L60 i came across that barks the tires when she hits 2nd)

pulls my 26ST just fine

33 Powerplay- Ram 2500 crew SRW 4x4 5.7 guessing boat and trailer weigh 10-11k? No issues pulling and avg 10mpg. Would like a lil more power but usually tow less than a half mile each way to the launch and couldn't justify the added cost of diesel + maintenence.

06 3500 DRW 4X4 crew cab Duramax/Allison LBZ This is not really what I need for the 242's but I got this truck to cover moving up in boat size.

Before, I had an 04 6.0L 4:10 gear GMC Sierra 2500HD. It did well with my 242 on a steel trailer. The aluminum trailer has torsion axles which pulls so much smoother but I noticed the "bucking" difference of torsion vs springs.

05 2500HD Silverado Crew 4X4 Cab, Duramax/Allison. Upgraded the hitch to a Putnam XDR Class 5. I guess my boat/trailer weighs around 9500 lbs loaded and this truck tows it great. This is my first diesel and I will never go back to gas for towing.

I tow my 271 with my 05 1500, does just fine, truck is maxed out, pending changes may require stretching my truck pass the maxed out point for a year or two, but I only tow 1.5 miles, 5 if I need gas, anything else I'll borrow Dads Powerstroke

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...in87ss/054.jpg

2003 Silverado 5.3 1500 Quadrasteer tows the 242 with no problem. Quadrasteer is a cool option!!!!!!

I towed our 357 with a 2001 ford F-350 drw 7.3 diesel. 285,000 miles .
20000 gcvw over 70 mph no problem

Just purchased 2012 ford f-350 drw 6.7 diesel. Can't wait to tow the boat!!!!:evilb::evilb:

You will be blown away at the way the 12's tow

2007 Ford FX4, 5.4, 3.73 gears and LT tires pulling a 2008 Formula 260SS on a Eagle Custom trailer. Boat and trailer combined approx 8000 lbs.. Truck does a great job towing, even in hilly terrain. Thanks to the crappy surge brakes, braking could be a lot better, though. Fuel mileage 11- 12 mpg. Pulling the boat out of the water I use 4 Low. A lot easier on the drivetrain.

I have a '07 F-150 4 x 4 with 5.4, towing package with 3.73 limited slip.

I tow my Formula 255 Liberator with twin SBC's the weighs in at 7500 lbs with trailer, gear and 125 gals of fuel. The trailer is a twin torsion axle aluminum bunk with 4 wheel 12,500 # disc brakes. Trailer is rated at 10,500# Gross.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/DSC_0252.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...9/DSC_0615.jpg[/IMG]

This rig tows like a dream...very stable at 65~70 on Interstate/Turnpike. I use 4 wheel drive on the ramps...especially at low tide.

I am planing trips to NW Florida and North Alabama with this rig with no hesitation.

Tow a 79' 233 with twin SBC with a 96' 3/4 ton suburban diesel. Boat weighs around 5300 w/ light fuel and trailer is 1250# , so 6550# total.

Oh there's a big boat behind me? No problem...
Oh there's a red light in front of me...oh sh**
Damn drum brakes!

2000 Chevy 3500 DRW 2WD Quad Cab 8' Box 7.4L Vortex. 19,700 total GVW.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/b05e7191.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/73135ff8.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/b9c2b346.jpg

Dave

Here's one of the front.

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/a936d164.jpg

Dave

found a pic of my new set up.
I weigh in at the CAT scales on the way home from picking up the new boat.

2004 GMC 2500 HD, 6 inch lift, and 35's, pulling baja 342.

19,600 lbs. 10,300 was on the trailer axcels. rest was truck/tung

http://hsvracing.com/phpBB2/files/small2_178.jpg

Toyota Tundra Crew Max 5.7L limited, air bags on leafs. I have owned a 1998 Chevy 3500 7.4l crew, 2001 Dodge 2500 cummins, 2002 2500HD crew dmax, 2005 Ford f350 SRW 6.0l diesel, 2009 Ford F250 5.4l (for 2 days pos!) and this. All 4WD. This is the best ALL AROUND truck I have ever owned, hands down. Tows the fountain like nothing, however the myco trailer has a lot to do with that. Getting 17 mpg unloaded and the truck is a rocket ship. I am sure people on here will flame me, but do some research first. The brakes and diffs on this truck exceed all 2500 series trucks, just amazing.

Nice rig!

Gorgeous truck.
I always liked that body style and the white with the bright grille and wheels is beautiful. Excellent job with that. I would feel great driving that around.
Perfect rig !!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys. Here's what I used to tow it with! It was a real classic, but no room for anything else, now...no problem!

Dave

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/70f507cb.jpg

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/...l/0e32dc77.jpg

Nothing but classics here!!

84' crew cab dually lowered 5/6 with bags in the rear. Brand new 454/400 auto. Really tows nice!!

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4...c/7544d358.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4...c/e763ab4b.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i4...c/bd5aaaa7.jpg

2002 f550 crew cab 4x4 pickup conversion with 7.3L 270k miles rear air ride suspension, 3" Reese super Titan receiver, tows my 400ss.......was 31,000 lbs. GCW on the aluminum Myco tag trailer, then 32,500 lbs GCW on the Manning steel gooseneck, and now 34,000 lbs GCW on the 53 ft Broward gooseneck.

fixx
 

well it depends,,1992 2500 BBC suburban with the c6p pkg(1 ton) and other goodies..and my future project will be a 6500 series topkick with a mint 94 suburban body instead of a single cab,then the wheel wells will be molded in along with the tailgate..then it will have a standard 8' chevt dually box behind the suburban body..i have a cummins 6bt with some work done to it and dont know if im going to install a allison,or a 6 speed but i kinda had a idea for a 10 speed but think it may be over kill..im also thinking 6x6 but we will see..

goodlooking truck!!

Currently tow the boat with my 2010 GMC Sierra Denali which does real well thr boat with trailer is around 10k lbs. The fulltime awd is awesome in all conditions and awesome at ramp.

https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._5867050_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._7076423_n.jpg

Before I bought the Denali in 2010 I used my 1995 GMC Burb 2500. I have a Whippled 454 in it and lots of other fun stuff, she had gobs of torque and power but you really cant compare power and technology (although the Denali has 403hp and is also tuned).

https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._2023656_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._3817974_n.jpg

That denali is just what i want for my next one hows the mileage for everyday driving

2005 Chevy 2500 HD Crew Cab Duramax Allison towing a 357 SR1. Tows awsome.

Before Hypertech tuning I got 18 mpg highway and about 15 city. After reflash it gets 20 mpg hwy and 16-17 town. Really cant beat it. Towing the boat before was only getting 8mpg and now its 9. The rig will be heading south from Jersey to Captiva Island in a few days for some fun. I also have the equilizer hitch setup by Lindon Hitch company and it makes a world of difference with handling and overall ride of the towing ride.

Nice rides..here's my classic..part of my obsession with vintage cars..state of the art tow package in 1972 :eek:- 402BB, TH400, tilt wheel, factory air, Custom Camper package with 4.10 rear.
Boat weighs 5000 lbs..anything bigger would likely mean a new rig (always thought a custom late 40's/50's COE would be a great tow rig)...been through the mountains to Tahoe and over the grapevine to LA many times over the last 15yrs with these two...

Lane

http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_2202-1.jpg

http://i919.photobucket.com/albums/a...IMG_2199-1.jpg

The match up looks great.

I have towed my 400SS with a F450 a Sportchassis and a Peterbilt.
Even though the F450 was rated to tow the weight it never felt very comfortable.
With the Peterbilt it was a piece of cake to tow but not very practical for bringing more than one person.
Overall the Sportchassis was the hot ticket, towed fine, plenty of room. when unhooked its just as easy to drive around as a pickup

Would you say towing a 400SS with a 3500 is probably a white knuckle ride or maybe just not comfortable?
Also can you elaborate on the "not comfortable" of the F450 pulling the 400SS?

If I had a 400 SS I wouldn't be trailering it enough to have this discussion LOL