Re: Better to put heavy gear in towing vehicle or boat?
There's really no answer to this question without knowing your exact setup. But be aware that most standard trailers that are sold with boats are really darn close to their full carrying capacity right out of the box (by the time you have them full of fuel and a small amount of normal gear). So it's very easy to overload a boat trailer by then filling it with all your additional luggage. In my mind, your trailer's capacity and trailer tire weight rating will likely answer this question alone. Then again a smaller tow vehicle can also be easy to overload beyond it's capacity.<br /><br />So each individual needs to answer this question for themselves. All of the following intertwine and have an effect on each other...so each needs to be considered. Load capacity of the trailer, payload capacity of the tow vehicle, towing capacity of tow vehicle, GVWC of the tow vehicle, load capacity of individual trailer tires and tow vehicle tires, tongue weight of trailer and associated tongue weight capacity of tow vehicle and hitch, trailer capacity of hitch, # of passengers in tow vehicle, weight of your luggage and gear. I'm sure I've missed something.<br /><br />I don't like to think about it too much, so I personally put everything in the bed of my 3/4 ton pickup and leave the boat empty. But I can get away with this because I oversize my tow vehicles so I know I'm nowhere near capacity. Not sure what your setup consists of.<br /><br />I'll share a related personal story...in my youth we went on many family fishing vacations. Dad drove the big Oldsmobile, towing a 16 foot fishing boat, loaded the car up with a family of four, all luggage, food, pop, beer, ice, and coolers for family to survive in the cabin, four bicycles on the roof, camping gear, the list goes on. The car was way overloaded and equipped with air shocks at full pressure to prevent the bumper from dragging, etc. The boat was also filled to the brim with everything that didn't fit in the trunk. No question we were always WAY overloaded, and we actually did break that trailer in half one time....luckly no accident occurred. Before the trailer broke I remember we always burned up a lot of trailer tires...never a flat or blowout but the inner tread wore thin on a regular basis, likely due to axle flex. I'm sure he knew it was too heavy but he used what he had to work with, and highway safety was much less of a consideration 40+ years ago. When money allowed, his next tow vehicle was a 3/4 ton Suburban, and luggage never rode in the boat again.
