nolimits

And for your other comment - I got the wealth by asking questions - all questions. Especially the ones guys who only think in black and white get angry about when they hear, but really can't answer. Also, I am sure I am not the first guy to buy the boat and then the tow vehicle.... Oh, for the record I am leaning toward the 2500 GM or F250/350. But, you had nothing to do with the process.

articfriends

iTrader: (1)

Do you have any PICS?

steve1k99

You should do her! But maybe you should post this question in the bildge
Is their a contest on who can run the most people off this board?
Maybe I should ask a towing question once a month just to hear the bitc*y respone for entertainment.

Chris Sunkin

Ask a stupid question...

Chris Sunkin

I'm guessing your thought process is exhibited somewhat in your writing.

Let's dissect your post:

The setup- "It's a safe trailer- I'm REALLY a responsible guy"

Justification 1- "I'm not doing it very often"

Justification 2- "I'm not going very far..."

Justification 3- "...and I'm going to be careful"

Translation: "I really don't want to spring for what I already know I really need to properly do the job."

Translation: "My own personal convenience is more important to me than the law or the safety of others"

Translation: "I don't want the inconvenience or expense of having to own the proper truck nor do I want to have to plan ahead or wait a bit for someone to do it properly for me."

"Translation: "I did the math and came up short. I didn't like the answer though. If I ask the question enough times, maybe I'll get the answer I like, then it will all be OK"

Translation: "I know it's wrong but I want to do it anyway. I don't care if it's illegal and I don't care if I hurt someone else or incur millions of dollars in personal liability."

Translation: "And even though I know it's wrong and dangerous, I'm mostly worried about if MY STUFF is going to be affected."

Translation: "I already found one person willing to tell me what I want to hear- anyone else?"

There you have it- in your own words. That's how your post comes across.

I rant because I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. I had the pleasure of getting beat to Hell in a towing accident- only I was under the tow limit and it was someone else's fault. I still had way too little truck when the time came. I was doing everything you posted about- I was 7 miles from home, I was going 50 in a 65 zone and I had every piece of safety equipment I could possibly have. I was at 90% of my tow limit and I know now that I was an accident waiting to happen. one slip, one small, quick correction, one wheel over the berm and it's off to the races. I now have a much bigger truck.

Take your post and remove "towing". Put "driving drunk" in its place. It doesn't look too good then, does it?

hugetime1

no that was funny

Chris288

I dont want to beat a dead horse,,, but that right there is basically the truth behind these " Can I tow such and such w/ such and such " posts.... sorry nolimits,,, u seem like u wanna do the right thing,, go ahead and do it..

P.S. I have 52K miles on my F-150, I should be due for a tranny within 30K, i'm prepared for it and know it's just a matter of time and I only tow 7K...

nolimits

That's all you had to say the first time. That was part of what I was looking to understand. Once again the INFORMATION GIVEN TO ME FROM THE DEALERS didn't add up. So I came here to see what the people in the know had to say. For that paragraph, a sincere thanks for the help.

For the rest of your stuff - It is pure smarta$$ abuse justified by what appears to be unresolved anger at someone none of us know. Your seeming inability to express yourself like most of the people out here as defined by your slamming people you don't know who simply are asking questions you should be at the head of the line to answer. Unfortunetly you have become such a zealout for a cause as to be unable to communicate without being arrogant and disrespectful. Your behavior is inappropriate and frankly you need to grow up.

Your anology on child abuse, or was it statatory rape is so out there along with drunk driving comments that you need to do a long and deep reality check. Your delivery takes away from your point and your right to judge anyone.

You made your comments and I made mine. I suggest we drop it and I will avoid you in the future and you can do the same with me. Have a good day.

nolimits

The notion that you shouldn't tow with less is what I have always thought and frankly when I have towed I have done it right.

I was looking for clarification and a seal on what I already suspected. Just wanted to be sure. I ask a lot of questions when I don't know something. I'm the guy that ends up doing it right because I did. I just hate heavey handed responses when simple truths will do. If a guy ducks the point after that, then slam him. I also hate generalizing and catorgorizing people I don't know.

By the way, I could take all the points listed and then misrepresented and restate. But what would the point be, everything can be read two different ways and if you are not really interested in communicating it's a pi$$ing contest.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it...

Signed,
Still simmering......

sleeper_dave

My god, you people get your panties in a wad sometimes.

I towed my 27' fountain behind my suburban all last year. The winch post was attached to the frame with two small pieces of angle iron. The boat and trailer all together probably weighs 7200 lbs. Most of the time, the rear of the boat wasn't even tied down (i asked the previous owner why not, he replied "i've towed it all over the state like that and haven't had a problem"). The tires were dry rotted. The breaks were screwed, and underrated. The truck was rated to tow 5500 lbs, the hitch was only rated for 4000 lbs weight carrying, and it was carrying the weight.

I didn't have any problems. Even when i picked it up and towed it 150 miles across the state without so much as inspecting the trailer (i did check tire pressures, though).

So to answer everybody's questions about "will it be okay if i blah blah blah", the answer is yes, probably. If your truck is rated for x lbs, it's rated to handle that at highway speeds, and can probably handle that and more at highway speeds even with a terminally crappy trailer. If you must tow more than your equipment is rated for, yes, you may have liability problems in an accident, yes, your equipment will take a beating. But if you're only going a short distance, and keep the speeds down to 45 or so, you'll most likely be fine. And if the boat's tied down to the trailer properly, i highly doubt you'll have any serious liability problems that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Oh, and for all of you dicks who are about to berate me for my "reckless" towing habits and wish a darwin-esque death upon me, go to hell.

This year, i sold my fast car and crappy truck, and bought a truck rated to tow what i'm towing. I upgraded the hitch, put new tires on the trailer, bought new tie-downs, redid the brakes, replaced the surge brake actuator, installed a larger, over-rated winch post, and i'm even redesigning the front end of the trailer so that the winch post is mounted directly to the tongue, which i am also replacing with a larger, thicker piece. I'll probably be 2 or 3 grand into the trailer by the time i'm done. And that's more money to me than it is to a lot of you people, because i bought my boat and trailer for $30k.

Sometimes necessity and a lack of funds force us to do things that aren't necessarily 100% safe. Oh frickin' well. Just be aware and be careful, and you'll probably be fine.