Do I Need brakes on my boat trailer?

[Rookster]

Yup, it comes with a tranny cooler - if it didn't, they can be bought. But I'm thinking maybe I should have bought a Tacoma, Navara, or Colorado truck who all tow up to 6,000lbs. Think I will rent a truck to get boat to the lake and then only use the Santa Fe for launching, pulling out of water, and taking boat to the nearby marina for service. Wife really loves the Santa Fe.

True, no controller needed for surge brakes, but - surge breaks don't help when backing down the slope of a boat launch, holding in place on a hill, or manually applying trailer brakes. With my trailer, the cost of tongue modification for surge breaks, is the cost of electric brakes with a controller.

 

[bruceb58]

I agree..if you keep your present trailer, I would do electric. If you bought a new one...surge with disk brakes.

Never had an issue backing a boat down a ramp with surge brakes but then again I have never done it with a small Korean car.

 

[Rookster]

Never had an issue backing a boat down a ramp with surge brakes but then again I have never done it with a small Korean car.

Few folks realize the leaps and bounds made by Hyundai over the last two decades...brand recognition and respect is more of an issue than quality and capability. It's come a long way from the Pony of old.

Think of the GMC Terrain or Ford Edge, when seeking an understanding of Santa Fe capability.

 

[bruceb58]

I was basically talking about its weight.

 

[Rookster]

Yup - same comparison works...more meat to them now than from before - what concerns me the ability of the the turbo 4cylinder vs. the V6, but apparently it puts out just as much torque if not more than many V6 motors. Time will tell.

 

[H20Rat]

Few folks realize the leaps and bounds made by Hyundai over the last two decades...brand recognition and respect is more of an issue than quality and capability. It's come a long way from the Pony of old.

My tow vehicle is a 'small' korean suv... It is a kia Borrego SUV with a 350hp V8 and 7500# towing. (Kia and Hyundai are essentially one company now) The vehicle is roughly similar to a fully equipped Trailblazer/Explorer, but the interior build quality is about 5 notches above either of those. (have family with both trailblazers and exploders) Both of those have horrible suspension, lots of wind noise, poorly fitting and cheap interior panels, and lots of creeks and rattles.

Anyway though, back on topic. I don't like extending towing with a turbo vehicle that isn't specifically made for towing. (Ford truck ecoboost) Running a turbo at high boost for extended periods of time isn't doing anything good for the engine. My turbo 4 cylinder car has almost the exact same torque and horsepower as the v8 suv, yet I rarely if ever tow with the car.

 

[Rookster]

While we are on the topic of boat trailers - the trailer in question here is by Heritage, Year 2000, Capacity 2900lbs, GVWR 1700lbs, GAWR 1318lbs, Model KB18S0-29, carries a 2200lb 18ft boat. Would anyone happen to be familiar enough with this trailer (I don't thing the specs have changes on this model for a couple decades) to know what it weighs? My calculations say it weighs over 800lbs, but that's about 200lbs heavier than the average weight for this size boat trailer: https://www.glen-l.com/designs/trailer/trailer-wts.html

Any takers?

 

[wrench 3]

Get a bathroom scale (don't let the wife find out) and move it from under the tongue jack to under each of the wheels and add up the readings. however you will have to unload the boat first.
BTW your numbers don't add up.

 

[bruceb58]

You really don't care how much the trailer weighs by itself...just weigh the whole rig.

I saw a Santa Fe the other day. No way in hell I would be towing a 3500# boat with that small of a vehicle!.

 

[Rookster]

You really don't care how much the trailer weighs by itself...just weigh the whole rig.

I saw a Santa Fe the other day. No way in hell I would be towing a 3500# boat with that small of a vehicle!.

The boat is 2,200lbs. I'm trying to figure out the weight of the trailer, so I can determine the full weight of the boat and trailer - I'm guessing it will be no more than about 3,000lbs, but I want to be exact. Vehicle is rated to tow 3,500lbs. I may rent a truck to get the boat to the lake, then just use the Santa Fe for launching and pulling the boat from the water...and taking to local Marina for servicing, which should be just fine. As for size of load vs. vehicle, its weight that matters most isn't it? Just thinking of how many F-150s out there are towing enormous travel trailers or boats that are literally twice their size...

 

[redneck joe]

And tounge weight.

 

[Rookster]

Get a bathroom scale (don't let the wife find out) and move it from under the tongue jack to under each of the wheels and add up the readings. however you will have to unload the boat first.
BTW your numbers don't add up.

How do my numbers not add up?

 

[wrench 3]

How do my numbers not add up?

You say that you can put a 2200 lb boat on a trailer with a gross vehicle rating of 1700 lbs and an axle rating of only 1318 lbs. I don't know were the 2900 came from.
The 1700 and the 1318 make sense if you put 382 lbs on the hitch but the other numbers don't.

 

[Maranvin]

Borrow/rent a truck for the 200 mile trip. To and from the ramp should be ok

 

[Rookster]

You say that you can put a 2200 lb boat on a trailer with a gross vehicle rating of 1700 lbs and an axle rating of only 1318 lbs. I don't know were the 2900 came from.
The 1700 and the 1318 make sense if you put 382 lbs on the hitch but the other numbers don't.

Ah - yes, my mistake. It's actually 1700kgs (3748lbs) and 1318kgs (2906lbs)...make sense now?

And - any idea how I calculate tongue weight from all that?

Lastly - doesn't that mean my trailer weighs 842lbs? If yes, yikes! Heavy for a trailer carrying an 18ft boat, right!?

 

[wrench 3]

In theory it would weigh 848 lbs but they may have left some leeway when they rated it.
The only way that I know to get tongue weight is to put a scale under it.
BTW most places with a vehicle scale, such as garbage dumps, scrap metal yards or gravel pits, will weigh your vehicle/s for a small fee.

 

[roscoe]

Ah - yes, my mistake. It's actually 1700kgs (3748lbs) and 1318kgs (2906lbs)...make sense now?

And - any idea how I calculate tongue weight from all that?

Lastly - doesn't that mean my trailer weighs 842lbs? If yes, yikes! Heavy for a trailer carrying an 18ft boat, right!?

If thats right, then shouldn't that trailer already have brakes on it?

 

[Rookster]

I think the law is brakes on any package over 3,000lbs, and this would be about 3,050 - so...

 

[Rookster]

And that said, how much weight can/does a boat realistically gain over the years from water soaking into the wood and foam under the deck?? I've heard various extremes on that. Thoughts?

 

[roscoe]

If made right and taken care of, no weight gain.

Or .... it could be holding several hundred#.

If the trailer GVWR is 1700kg (3748#) then the trailer should have had brakes when new.
Did someone take them off?