and Bearings!! When I bought my 33ol last spring from Va to La. (1100 miles 1 way) I had all 6 wheels and bearings changed and added 2 spares! Best money I spent! Uneventful long ride home other than posting pics on OSO, etc. when my Dad shared the driving :-)

I had to swap an entire axle out on the side of the road when i bought mine. That salt water sure is hell on steel trailers haha.

Yep, cant beat having the correct spare bearings in the glove box. I towed a few hundred miles each way to Boyme Thunder. GReased all the bearings brfore I left and before I returned. Stopped freq. and checked bearing temps with a laser thermometer. Trip went fine. 2 days later I towed the boat 1 mile down the road to the local ramp and lost a bearing. You never know.

+1 on the tires.
3 boats before my current was a Baja I picked up in OH about 6 hours away. No spare, got a flat after an hour on the road. It was Sunday and only place I could get a tire was Walmart and it cost double what it should've.

I can't think of a 38' offshore boat to big for a 3500 ram. I've done 10's of thousands of miles with a srw one ton, and a few 2500's. Just drive normal, pay attention and enjoy the ride. I just got into Florida last night 1500 miles, towing a 38 zrc on a beautiful manning trailer with an f350 crew cab dually. To me that was dangerous. I forgot the boat was there a couple times lol

You can't assume on the Internet. There are too many imbeciles. Remember, the least common thing on this planet is 'common sense'.

Not all Dodge 1-tons pass through DRW purgatory and go to Cummins heaven.

For example:
2012 Dodge 3500 tow ratings go from 9,650 lbs. to 18,910 lbs. as noted here:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/t...-thread-2.html
Older trucks, pre-Hemi; can have the 5.9L Magnum motor which is a challenge to carry itself up a hill.

All of the other posts on here are standard things to check on any trailer road trip, especially when taking new ownership of a trailer.

And BTW:
38 Powerplay on a steel trailer: ~15,000 lbs.
38 Donzi ZX on a steel trailer: ~15,000 lbs.
38 Top Gun (straight bottom) on a steel trailer: ~15,000 lbs.

Thanks for all the info. I was just curious, as I have seen numerous big boats being hauled by those F450's and 650's. If a 1 ton is sufficient for a 38, then maybe some of those guys just like a bigger truck. The guy that is looking, has plenty of boating experience and I'm sure he will check the brakes, bearings and tires before he heads back.

I suggested having it shipped down and delivered. Seems to me that it would be at the very least, close to the same amount of money than if you drove up, motels, food, fuel, vehicle wear and tear and time. Now, if you just wanted to see some country and have a nice road trip, that's a different story. I know when I bought my boat in 2009, I had it shipped from Michigan to Texas for around $1300 and I couldn't have driven up and back for that.

Thanks again.

Last word of advice. Double check the ball size and make sure it's secure. When I bought my new nordic I dropped off my old Baja that I was trading in to the dealer and I had the dealer hook up my brand new Nordic still shrink wrapped from the factory while I finished the paperwork inside. Needless to say the old Baja had a 2" ball and the new Nordic required a 2 5/16" ball. Nobody looked to see that it was secure including myself. After the paperwork was finished I was so excited and tired from driving 1200miles that I just wanted to get back on the road headed home. We towed my still shrink wrapped 0 hours from the factory boat about 300 miles until we needed gas. We stopped and noticed a nail in my new trailer tire so we decided to get a hotel room since it was getting late and stop at Les Shwab in the morning. Good thing we did because when the guy at Les Shwab jacked up the trailer to change the tire the entire boat popped off the trailer ball and almost dented the tailgate. We all crapped our pants when we realized the mistake. The Shwab guy got a new ball for us and installed it for me. That's my Les Shwab story. Saved my hide! The difference between success and total failure can be as little as 5/16".

You were a very lucky man.. You are correct about the 5/16". Many years ago, I was in Austin, TX with some friends. Another friend pulled his flatbottom drag boat up. As usual, it wouldn't start, but a couple of us decided that we didn't want to stay. He asked me if we would tow it back to Houston, as he wanted to stay and party. We left Austin around 10:00pm headed for H town. Made a turn and accelerated to enter highway when I realized that the boat was not behind me anymore. It passed me on the left side of the car and proceeded to head up the entrance ramp and then off the highway. Believe it or not, it came to rest in the grass on the side of the road like it had been parked there. No damage except for a bunch of grass in the boat. I backed up to it and realized that the trailer had a 2" coupler and he had a 1 7/8" ball on it. Hooked it back up, secured it as best I could and crawled back to Houston.

Hard to believe that such little increments have the potential for so much destruction and damage. Thanks for the reminder.

Yes it was a diesel and he picked up a 38 Outerlimits and made it back to houston with that beautiful thing safe and sound...well nothing is really sound about him but the trip went well even with the snow they encountered! Good looking out thou!