towing a boat trailer to Florida.

skip1744

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I purchased a 16' Boston Whaler on a galvanized trailer. After I got the rig home and the wheels off all I saw was rust on the hubs , axel and springs. So I replaced the axel, hubs w/new bearings, new springs and new wheels and new spare. All this in preparation to tow the rig to florida from Delaware. Now to my question: The tires that were on the trailer and the new ones are 13" and each is rated for 1350 lbs load @50 psi times 2 = 2700 lbs. the axel ,hubs and springs are rated for over 3000 lbs. I had the rig weighed at a local feed mill and to my surprise the rig weighes 2700 lbs stripped as much as possible. Am I crazy for planning to tow the rig 850 miles, most of which would be at 60 mph on I-95?. I have towed the rig for about 20 miles at 50-60 mph to be sure it towed well which it did. The hubs were cool but the tires were slightly warm but didn't get hot.
 

oldjeep

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My .02 - buy a new set of tires/wheels that are the next load rating up. Keep the existing ones for spares on your trip.
 

smokeonthewater

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Disagree... your load is 2700 lbs and your tires are rated for 2700... You are absolutely fine for as many thousands of miles you care to go... IF you plan to add more stuff to the boat then you either need to get more tire OR put enough (within reason) tongue weight on the tow rig to get the axle weight to 2700 or less.

As long as you stay within spec there is absolutely nothing to gain except a harsher ride by upping the tire... especially since you have NEW tires and it sounds like you have multiple spares.
 

bruceb58

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Does the weight of your boat/trailer weigh 2700# total or is that just the weight on the axle?
 

Scott Danforth

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if you are only going to drive at 60mph, you may get rear-ended by an OTR truck. most of the traffic I have seen on both I-75 and I-95 is pushing well over the 70mph speed limit
 

oldjeep

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Disagree... your load is 2700 lbs and your tires are rated for 2700... You are absolutely fine for as many thousands of miles you care to go... IF you plan to add more stuff to the boat then you either need to get more tire OR put enough (within reason) tongue weight on the tow rig to get the axle weight to 2700 or less.

As long as you stay within spec there is absolutely nothing to gain except a harsher ride by upping the tire... especially since you have NEW tires and it sounds like you have multiple spares.

He said "stripped as much as possible" So at some point he's going to actually use the boat and be over the limit, so why not just put the tires on before a big trip rather than running on the hairy limit of the load capacity??
 

smokeonthewater

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I addressed your concerns in the very post you quoted..... IF he plans to increase the AXLE weight beyond 2700 lbs I would suggest more tire but if not then there is NOTHING hairy about being AT the limit of load rating..... That number isn't the point that the tires suddenly explode that is the weight that the tire is designed to carry day in and day out.... I have in the past (20+ years ago) pulled a trailer with at least 10 year old tires over inflated by about 30 lbs carrying nearly twice their rated capacity for close to 1000 miles. I made it without incident but would absolutely not recommend anyone do that. THAT was "hairy" what the O/P has proposed certainly is not.
 

UncleWillie

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The tire are running at 2700 minus ~10% tongue weight or ~2430 lbs.
If you replace the tire with 1600# ratings. The 3000# axel will need to be replace again to support the new tires.
If the tires and hubs are warm, but cool enough to touch with your hand, they are fine and completely normal.
Keep the tires at full pressure. check the temperature after 30 minutes on the road, and you will be fine at 60 mph.
 

bruceb58

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If you replace the tire with 1600# ratings. The 3000# axel will need to be replace again to support the new tires.
He said he was rated for OVER 3000#. Even if you change tires to a capacity that is over 3000#, you only need to change the axle when the load exceeds the axle capacity. There is nothing inherently wrong in adding capacity to the tires as long as you don't exceed the capacity of the weakest link on the trailer.
 

WrenchHead

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I would add to the OP -- keep a check on the tire pressure and maintain the max PSI indicated on the sidewall. Overall I think you are good to go based on all your prep.
 

skip1744

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Just to clarify how I got the weight of the boat and trailer. I went to a local feed mill and weighed the rig on a Fairbanks truck weigh scale. My rig was on the scale while my vehicle was off the scale. The printed result was 2700 lbs. I assume that is how one would get the weight of the rig. By the way, the tongue weight is less than 75 lbs because I can lift it with a bit of effort. Every thing I have done to the trailer has been to replace what was there before I bought it. Everything works fine for a local trip but again my question is if the rig is satisfactory for an 850 mile trip at 60 mph. Everybodys' opinion is valuable to me. thanks all
 

smokeonthewater

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It still isn't completely clear... IF your trailer was still hooked to the tow vehicle then you were measuring AXLE weight but if you dropped the trailer with the tongue jack on the scale then you were measuring gross trailer weight.

That said you don't have near enough tongue weight... you need to be closer to 300 lbs....

IF I assume that your current gross weight is 2775 then 300 lbs tongue weight (barely over 10%) brings your axle weight down to 2475 which is well within the rating of your tires. You would THEN have the ability to even add another 225 lbs of gear centered over the axle and still be absolutely fine for your road trip at 60 mph or 70 or 80.....
 

funk6294

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I am with old Jeep on this one. I would get the next load size up. Why try and run it at that little margin for that far. Not sure how old the tires are that are on it or if you already have a spare but starting with some fresh rubber that is more than up to to the task will help ensure you have a fun trip with no flats and give you two spares in the unlikely event you do have an issue.
 

smokeonthewater

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As he said in his first post, his tires are brand new with 60 miles on them and unless he threw them out he now has 3 spares.... He doesn't NEED to buy new tires again till these wear out unless he plans to increase the axle load to more than 2700 lbs PLUS his tongue weight is currently dangerously low... once that is corrected he will have room to add even more weight without any issue whatsoever.

The current tires are the PERFECT tires for the load
 

funk6294

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Sorry missed that they were new! In that case run em. If you loose one or find you keeping a ton of stuff in the boat correct it when it happens. I realize that from a load standpoint they fit the bill, I just usually prefer a bit of overkill for piece of mind. Personal preference.
 
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bruceb58

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Keep what you have and get some more tongue weight.. That will give you more margin. Next set of tires should get bumped a ply rating or size.
 
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