271 - Raptor towing
 

Anyone think that my 14' Raptor can comfortably and safely tow a 271 Fastech?

Family has a couple of Cigarette boats and I would like to start getting into the poker runs with them.

How far are you towing? The main thing to consider when towing is braking. As far as can the truck pull it? Absolutely. Is the gvrw rated for the combined weight of the boat and trailer? That coupled with your braking situation should determine whether or not you decide to tow with it.

you will be fine, may sag because of suspension setup however

Towing distance will be from a hour to 9 hours depending on the poker run with the majority being to Lake Travis about 3.5 hours

Actual truck towing capacity from the factory is 8,000lbs

Pros:
Upgraded springs
Big Brake Kit

Cons:
Have 37" BFG's

We have a nice Myco trailer but I'm pretty sure it's in the 2,000 plus pound range. I can always downgrade trailers but seems the Myco is worth it

The original plan was to purchase a 292 but that's 7,000 + 2,000 trailer = 9,000 so I would already be over the limit

Is the 271 a twin engine boat? If so I bet it's over 8000lbs on a steel trailer. What is the gvw on the trailer?

It is listed at 5250 dry weight and with 600 pounds of fuel and gear will be over 6000. If a steel trailer, it will probably weigh in at 8000 pounds or so. It should tow fine if setup right, but you'll know its there especially with hills.

My 6.2 max tow Silverado does not even know it's there . The boat holds 105 gallons of fuel . On a steel trailer with gear and people you will be every bit of 8000-8500 lbs. Jeff wurl

As long as your trailer has good brakes I would think you will be just fine. That is the very most important part of towing. I cant say that enough. I feel you'll be fine to drag it with the raptor. Like said above, I hope your fuel card is happy lol

Just make sure you have enough drop on the ball mount to tow it level. Also you will want 500#~600# of tongue weight (roughly 10% of towed weight) to keep it stable on the road.

I was in the same position a few years ago. I was between a raptor and a 6.7 f250. For too many reasons I would not tow with a raptor. It's not what it's designed for. And buying a boat around a truck isn't fun. You'll always want a bigger boat.

6.2 with max tow is rated near or at 12000lbs. Which is really cool for a 1/2 ton truck, but I hope you wouldn't feel it. I had a 1500 5.3L 6 speed with 3.42 rear. Rated for 9600lbs, used that to tow my 292 she would remind you every now and then something was back there. I knew I was close to the maxing her out but figured I had some room to spare. It wasn't really that much of a shock to me when I finally went across the scales and did the math to find out I was using all 9600lbs. Helped me make my decision to upgrade to the 2500HD 6.6 Duramax I'm using now to tow the 292. I don't know she's there now.

Look into a weight distributing hitch. That will help give a more solid ride transferring some of the tongue weight to the front axle and not just on the rear. Make sure its compatible with your braking system, surge or EOH.

I have a friend that towed his 32' enclosed trailer with 2 side by sides and 3 atvs in it with his '14 model raptor. It had factory gearing, a lift and 37" nittos on it. I would imagine that load is near what you will be pulling and in a comparable tow rig. He never complained about power, just fuel economy. No sense in having a $65k diesel if you only tow long distance with it a few times a year if you have a gas engine that will do the job.

as said electric brakes for the stop

I have towed my 28 footer with 8-9000 lb. load. The truck is the shorter quad cab, a 2012. I assume brakes on the trailer are good. The main issue was
the soft suspension on the truck riding nose high. Definitely invest in the load distribution hitch to level the load and truck.. And yes, have plenty of gas cards.

This thread is comical.
12,000 lbs. behind a 1/2-ton truck? And "not even feeling it" back there?
If you can't tell 12,000 is behind a 1-ton you are comatose, and probably shouldn't be driving. Much less a 1/2-ton

You don't want to be anywhere close to your max tow rating. I would not be towing more than a pair of PWCs or 4-wheelers with any Raptor. That's not what it's designed for and you will have the tail wagging the dog at anything like a boat at 7000-9000 lbs. with a boat given the way the weight is situated in a boat/trailer setup. Ever notice when they do the tow tests and comparatives? They have a heavy equipment trailer with lead or concrete evenly placed on the trailer. That's nothing like towing a boat with the majority of the weight way aft of the rear axles, regardless of how much tongue weight or whatever WD setup you have.

I agree to a extent, I tow my 303 with a 1/2ton crew, its maxed for sure, but most of my towing is within 5 miles, I do a few trips a year and its really pulls great, but its back there for sure, I can comfortably set the cruise @ 64 and relax. it will do more 68/70 is good if needed but you are "driving" it more, to be honest I don't have to nor want to tow that fast. This is a camping trip this year with gear in the box for 4 days, 9.9 mpg one way, boat and gear was empty on way back and ran about 12.8

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...pskrnoxka0.jpg

my 05, definitely not as good, but it did it.

http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...psf8ef0199.jpg

my 271
http://i495.photobucket.com/albums/r...in87ss/054.jpg

I towed my 25OL with my old F150 3 hours each way from La. to Al. 35" tires.. Made it... then rearend took a dump a few days after I got home. And that was basically flat ground.. 37s will kill that rearend at the very least.

I guess GMC shouldn't show this terrain towing 2 skis because that's the max a raptor should tow
http://media.gm.com/content/Pages/ne...6662438660.jpg

or this canyon towing this ski boat
http://www.gmc.com/content/dam/GMC/g...320x200-08.jpg

Tow capacities are determined by engineers who know way more than me. They've determined this is the max capacity I can haul safely with this vehicle so I'll take their word on it. I know that by being at or over the max I'm putting more wear on my trucks engine, trans, brakes, wheel bearings, axles, etc... So it would behoove you to be within your trucks limits. If you think every trailer, whether boat, car, commercial, etc is loaded to be perfectly balanced your off your rocker. I don't see them breaking out scales or levels at job sites. I have seen the commercials where they drop a load of bricks or stone into the bed of a truck and it just drives off. I highly recommend you be within your trucks tow capacity, and if you are pushing the limits to please proceed safely and carefully and let us know when and where your going so those that are worried can be sure to stay clear.

I guess GMC shouldn't show this terrain towing 2 skis because that's the max a raptor should tow
http://media.gm.com/content/Pages/ne...6662438660.jpg

or this canyon towing this ski boat
http://www.gmc.com/content/dam/GMC/g...320x200-08.jpg

Tow capacities are determined by engineers who know way more than me. They've determined this is the max capacity I can haul safely with this vehicle so I'll take their word on it. I know that by being at or over the max I'm putting more wear on my trucks engine, trans, brakes, wheel bearings, axles, etc... So it would behoove you to be within your trucks limits. If you think every trailer, whether boat, car, commercial, etc is loaded to be perfectly balanced your off your rocker. I don't see them breaking out scales or levels at job sites. I have seen the commercials where they drop a load of bricks or stone into the bed of a truck and it just drives off. I highly recommend you be within your trucks tow capacity, and if you are pushing the limits to please proceed safely and carefully and let us know when and where your going so those that are worried can be sure to stay clear.

Just to clear up my previous post for some. My 6.2 max tow Silverado 1500 comes with a 2500 rear end and 2500 brakes and a 425 horse motor. Plus I am referring to towing a 8000 lb 271 and not a 12000 boat . I would assume a raptor with a 6.2 would have pretty equal power. Jeff wurl

correct.... and I was just pointing out that the tow capacity of a 1500 Silverado with max tow is 12000lbs. so with your 8000lb 271 you are well within your vehicles tow capacity and it isn't a surprise that it feels like nothing is back there.

My Silverado did not like pulling the 27
[IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6aa611e9.jpg[/IMG]

The gmc 1500 did not like pulling the 33
[IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...ps486d19da.jpg[/IMG]

Only pulled back and forth to the ramp 2 times a year and was not fun.

Now I have no problem with my new truck . Was rolling down the highway at 75 with no problem [IMG]http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...psagmohqqn.jpg[/IMG]

I towed my 28zx with a half ton 5.3 pulled it fine for the short distance I pulled it about 12 miles.

Much further or much heavier, not a good idea. A raptor is set up as a wanna be off road racer with longer travel suspension is going to cause you problems. Engine will pull like Mother... just not the right suspension for a 3.5 hour tow... IMO

I have the 6.2 in a 3/4 ton works great.

While most boats have a lot of weight in the engines at the back of the boat, most of our boats have the fore/aft COG about the helm, which is usually on top of or in front of the trailer axles.

Boat trailers tend to have their axles further back than most other trailers, except for semi's. Because of that, there is less tail wagging the dog with a boat trailer than with most other types.

The above two points help explain why boat trailers tend to be the easiest trailers to pull (in my experience, and I personally own 7 different trailers, in addition to all the trailers registered to the farm). Regardless, you don't want to be light on tongue weight; that's just bad.

It's not the going, its the stopping. Remids me of this great old school thread.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...h2-hummer.html

Your 1500 has 8 bolt wheels? and a dana 60

Actually the 2500 series gm uses a corporate 14bolt. Not a d60. And yes I can say the tow max comes with a 14 bolt. A coworker has an 05 gmc 1500hd we researched till blue in the face to determine the difference in it and the 2500. The rear frame rails are slightly differnt. Other than that they share engine, trans, tcase, front and rear differential. The regular 1500 gm trucks that have the 6.2 max engine are 6 lug. The tow max I have seen have been 8 lug.

^^ I learn something everyday. too bad I can't remember it

I tow my 38 Top Gun with a Raptor...no issues. Tows fantastic. Tow several hours. Key is electric over hydraulic brakes on the trailer. The towing technology on the truck in tow mode is spot on. Plus stock tranny cooler never overheats. Anyone that tells you different has no idea what they're talking about and probably haven't ridden in one...I almost switched to a F250 or F350 and would have regretted it....especially the times that I am not towing the boat. Good luck!!!

+1 to the above. Like I said in the beginning of this thread. My friend dave snatched his loaded enclosed trailer all over the south east with his raptor.

Wow. :helmet: