Question about towing a bigger boat

[66tracys]

I was looking at to get bigger boat 26ft it weighs about 5000lbs
I was wondering if my f150 could tow it . Truck is a two wheel drive 4door short bed with 5.4 and has tow package
ThankT

 

[tpenfield]

What does the owners manual say for towing capacity? Figure that the boat and trailer plus fuel/gear will come in at 6500-7000 lbs.

I would think that you will be fine, but the manufactures specs are what you should go by.

 

[ahicks]

Are we talking about cross country towing, or a 15 minute trip across town to the boat ramp?

If local, and the ramp conditions aren't too bad, I'd go for it. A steep ramp, a wet ramp covered with sand, a shallow ramp that requires you to back into the water, etc, and you may want to invite a buddy with a 4x4 to go along - just in case?

Note that as the boat is rolling off the trailer, there is a point where it's weight is actually trying to lift the back of the truck up. If conditions aren't just right, that could leave you in a world of hurt.

 

[dennis461]

Are we talking about cross country towing, or a 15 minute trip across town to the boat ramp?

If local, and the ramp conditions aren't too bad, I'd go for it. A steep ramp, a wet ramp covered with sand, a shallow ramp that requires you to back into the water, etc, and you may want to invite a buddy with a 4x4 to go along - just in case?

Note that as the boat is rolling off the trailer, there is a point where it's weight is actually trying to lift the back of the truck up. If conditions aren't just right, that could leave you in a world of hurt.

Agree with above, and some more comments...
OP, what model year, what axle ratio (needed to find the right towing capacity) most data I've looked at show around 8000 for trailer, combined weight around 14000.

If you do not upgrade to a 4x4 rig, then at least install a front mount receiver and wiring for a portable winch, say around 3500Lb capacity, if stuck on the ramp, you'll need a good Samaritan to let you use their vehicle as a winch anchor.

I pull a 20 foot cuddy cabin with a Ford Ranger and occasionally need 4-wheel drive to come back up ramps.
My I/O and engine are out past the trailer axle, so not much tongue weight to provide traction on steeper ramps.
As for highway driving, I tend to turn off the automatic overdrive feature, and plan ahead for uphill sections.

Good luck, see you on the water.

 

[R055]

A 26ft boat that only weighs 5000?

 

[briangcc]

A 26ft boat that only weighs 5000?

Not sure on the OP's planned purchase but the Chap 257 SSX tips the scales at 4700 with engine(s) dry per their published specs. This is a 25'6" boat. So I would think, in my feeble mind, that a 5000lb boat at 26' isn't out of the realm of possibilities. But I do believe that's the boat itself, not the trailer weight which you're lugging around along with no batteries, gas, or other equipment. All that stuff adds up so you could be tipping the scales north of 7000lbs.

As for towing it....well it probably could be done IF the right gearing were in the truck. Not so sure retrieving it at a ramp is going to be fun, at least not the ones around here. May be accomplished but it may leave a couple stripes on the ramp as its lugging its way up. Around here 4x4 with that load is almost a must have...but then again I'm in snow country too so not having 4x4 on a tail light vehicle is just asking for trouble.

 

[tpenfield]

I had an old-style Formula 242 that was 26' with the swim platform, so pretty comparable to today's 26 footer integrated platform models and it was 4750 lbs. dry.

 

[boatman37]

my 25' Sea Ray is around 4700 dry but i figure with a tri-axle trailer and loaded up i am closer to 7500-8000. my 2013 ram 1500 hemi 4x4 pulls it no problem. the 2WD might be your issue though. like said, my ramp the back wheels never get wet so no issue. i have not needed 4WD with it but if you have to back in deeper or have a slick ramp you may have trouble getting back out. also, i talked to a guy the other day that had an F150 with a 6 cyl and pulled a 1986 Sea Ray 268. he made it in the water fine but couldn't get it back out. not enough power so had to be pulled out. he then bought an F250 with a V8. but anyway, yes, read the tow ratings on your truck but you should be legal. then be careful on the ramp and have a backup plan in case you need it (a friend to help pull you back up the ramp)

 

[Sprig]

If you are sure of the dry weight of the boat, add about 3000lbs to the weight for the trailer, fuel and misc equipment. Then simply consult your owners manual, you will know the max tow weight. Also check if your truck has limited slip. That can make a big difference on slippery or steep ramps.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Note that as the boat is rolling off the trailer, there is a point where it's weight is actually trying to lift the back of the truck up. If conditions aren't just right, that could leave you in a world of hurt.

Respectfully-- the only time this would ever be a factor is if you're offloading the boat onto dry land... Once the trailer and boat are in the water, buoyancy takes over, even with the trailer, which will weigh minus the weight of the water it's displacing...

 

[ahicks]

Respectfully-- the only time this would ever be a factor is if you're offloading the boat onto dry land... Once the trailer and boat are in the water, buoyancy takes over, even with the trailer, which will weigh minus the weight of the water it's displacing...

From a practical perspective, I'd agree, IF you could guarantee that you could float the boat up past the trailer axle on every ramp you were to visit. Unfortunately, there is no such guarantee. There's a good reason that winch cable needs to reach the back of the trailer for the conditions I'm thinking of. Is it the ideal scenario? Nope. Does it happen? It does in my experience...

 

[tpenfield]

Well, I think 66tracys should go ahead and get the boat, take some youtube of the trailering and launching and we can all see how it goes :noidea:

 

[66tracys]

I think I'll pass on bigger boat don't want be on you tube don't want that guy lol
I have seen to many people with to big of boats with a small truck get stuck and say what hell were they thinking about

Thanks for all of the advice

 

[JoLin]

You might be okay weight-wise, BUT that depends on tow distance and speed. The kicker for me would be that the truck is a short bed model with 2 wheel drive. I towed a 24' Chris Craft express (5200 lbs dry) with a Ram 2500 hemi, standard length truck. It always went okay, but there were occasions when I could feel a bit of 'tail wagging the dog' action from the rig. Never got bad, but you could feel it all back there pushing. A long wheelbase model would've been more stable. I wouldn't have wanted to haul that rig up the ramp without 4-wheel drive, either.

My .02

 

[Mischief Managed]

I've been towing my 7400 lb rig all over the north east for 12 years. I've use dozens of paved and unpaved launch ramps in salt water with big tides, brackish water with small tides, and freshwater; and while my two tow vehicles have part-time 4 wheel drive, I have never needed 4 wheel drive to haul my boat out. If you have inadequate traction and find yourself stuck with 2 wheel drive, take some air out of the driven tires.

If your rig is within a ton of the tow capacity of the F150, I say go for it. If the truck struggles, put smaller diameter tires on it and that will help tremendously. Alternatively, you could sell the 150 and buy a 4x4 250. Being a 5.4-equipped truck, it's already pretty old, so replacing it with a similarly-old 250 would not be a huge expense.

 

[bruceb58]

Respectfully-- the only time this would ever be a factor is if you're offloading the boat onto dry land... Once the trailer and boat are in the water, buoyancy takes over, even with the trailer, which will weigh minus the weight of the water it's displacing...

Totally agree. We had a 27' boat on a roller trailer and this is never an issue. The stern floats way before there would be any tipping of the trailer.

 

[ahicks]

See my response in post # 11

It's not about the stern floating. It's the bow. You're fine on a deep launch site, but unfortunately, there are no guarantees. There WILL be times where you cannot back in far enough to float the boat on/off the trailer with any assurance the weight of the bow will remain ahead of the axle. If the weight of the bow is not ahead of the axle, you're lifting weight off the tow vehicle's rear axle. Geez, this is not that difficult. When I was pulling a 26' sailboat all over the place, this was a VERY apparent problem, as I was doing it with an El Camino. It had plenty of power and the handling to go anywhere, but it was definitely light in the butt and very sensitive to this issue.

You haven't lived if you haven't dropped one or both of the trailer axles off the deep end of a boat ramp....

I suppose if it were a 3/4 ton 4x4 and used exclusively on perfect ramps at high tide, I may have never noticed.

 

[dennis461]

From a practical perspective, I'd agree, IF you could guarantee that you could float the boat up past the trailer axle on every ramp you were to visit. Unfortunately, there is no such guarantee. There's a good reason that winch cable needs to reach the back of the trailer for the conditions I'm thinking of. Is it the ideal scenario? Nope. Does it happen? It does in my experience...

I've got to agree with ahicks.
We have a ramp in NJ with a curb at the end: at low tide, the trailer can only go far enough out such that trailer tires are in 8" water. The boat bow hits my trailer farthest back rollers and starts to raise up putting half the boat weight on the very back of the trailer. I'll bet the trailer tongue is pulling up at that point.

I cannot use this ramp to LAUNCH at low tide.

 

[bruceb58]

If the OP's boat ,which is a 26' and 5000#, and hits the rear roller on the trailer first, good luck with getting it on the trailer at all.

There are MANY people that tow boats this size with 2WD pickups like this with ZERO issues. OP will also not likely have an issue. Are there 0.01% of launch ramps that he may have an issue? Possibly....just not likely.

 

[Kelsonj]

I have five trailer total (4 for work one for boat) and 3 tow vehicles. We launched a 20 footer out of Hatteras and the option for 4x4 has been used in a 3500 dually more than once. Not to mention my 26 which I wouldn't try. You'll have to much invested for the odds. I'll play poker with you any day though