Biggest boat to trailer

[frankthomas]

Generally speaking, in the cuddy or cruiser class, what is the longest boat that trailers and puts in relatively easily? Distance to travel is less than an hour. Pulling with a Silverado 1500 5.3L. I have an 18 ft bowrider and I am itching for a bigger boat. Been checking out the 23-25 ft cruisers.

 

[Starcraft5834]

your truck will tow 23 footer ok.... might need a duelly beyond that... it's not how much can you tow, it's how fast can you stop it... sounds like you are trailering all the time...

 

[briangcc]

I'd start by verifying how much your Silverado can tow from the factory with all your current options. The amount you can trailer can vary greatly depending on options you do/don't have. Then look at the terrain you're pulling over as that'll dictate what weight you can tow....and stop safely.

The terrain will make a big difference as on flat land you can probably get away with coming close to your max limit (take into account you do have to retrieve the boat so leave yourself some wiggle room). On the hills, you may want to increase your margin as the last thing you want to be is "that guy" who can't maintain speed going up a hill. Unsafe for you and unsafe for the traffic passing you.

Also make sure you are aware of any applicable state/government rules on trailer width. In my state, anything over 8' technically needs an overwide permit. Generally speaking, again in my state, I can get away with 8'6" as the cops aren't really going to notice a difference between the two. Go over that though and its pretty obvious that you need an overwide permit.

 

[Tassie 1]

" we " have a heavy 23ft 70's model cabin cruiser that weighs somewhere in the 3-3.5 T. ( 3000- 3500kg metric ) range,

The current tow hack is a. 2005 Range Rover Vogue which is ' rated ' at 3500 kg,
The trailer has
HD tandem axles ( new 2 ish yrs ago )

We find that quite capable of travelling the block. ( 45 secs? ) to the ramp,
Sorry...love to mention that everywhere

Anywho,
All the points raised in the above posts are much more relevant.
We would more than a little cautious if we had to tow it through the mountains to our south to other fishing grounds, despite driving semis for many years.

 

[eric102]

I tow a 27' (8 1/2' beam) cruiser with a 5.7L Tundra about 60 miles each way a few times a year, no issues other than sucking down a lot of gas going up the hills. Loaded boat and trailer probably weigh in at around 9k and truck is rated at 10k. No problem at the ramp as I usually put it in 4 wheel drive and low range just to be safe.

 

[frankthomas]

So currently I am towing a 2900 lb boat on a 600 lb trailer with hydraulic brakes . My 1500 has the trailer package and handles that load beautifully. It's mostly freeway to the lake. Lake Michigan by Muskegon, Michigan. 45 minute drive now but next year I plan to move to Muskegon which is right on Lake Michigan. So my drive will be considerably shorter. I am doing the drive 1-2 times a week during the season. Not bad at all. I've been tempted to do a put in service. Might make sense if I go over 23 ft.

 

[cptbill]

I tow my wellcraft 270 Coastal, with fuel, water and twin Yamaha 250s its just under 10,000lbs. I have a 12,500 aluminum trailer and I pull it with my GMC sierra 1500 V8 4WD but I put airbags in the rear suspension and larger stabilizers all the way around, 10,000 lbs hitch. I will also say that there's no way I'd travel it A couple hundred miles but for what I need it to do it's just fine, no real problem with sway or stopping you just half to be concuss of what behind you

 

[Scott Danforth]

Generally speaking, in the cuddy or cruiser class, what is the longest boat that trailers and puts in relatively easily? Distance to travel is less than an hour. Pulling with a Silverado 1500 5.3L. I have an 18 ft bowrider and I am itching for a bigger boat. Been checking out the 23-25 ft cruisers.

what year..... what package

2014 and later trucks have a 9600# towing or 11600# towing. earlier trucks were a bit lighter on the tow capacity.

then you have to look at the beam of the boat and if you need permits or not. for example, my cuddy has just over an 8' beam to be towed across the country anywhere. at a full on towed weight of about 5300# right now, it tows like a dream and I can load the truck up too. fuel economy drops from 22mpg to about 8, however thats the price to pay.

many of the 25-28 foot express cruisers have a 9' or greater beam and you can have a towed weight of up to 10k and in many states you need a permit.

 

[Chris1956]

I think the real question is how hard is the larger boat to launch and retrieve. You can legally trailer a 30 footer (8 foot beam), but it is a PIA to launch and retrieve.

Realistically, for a day trip, I would think a 23 footer would be max comfortable to launch/retrieve.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... I'm pretty Sure that 8'6", 102" has been legal on federal highways for quite a few years now,......

Any wider requires permits in most States,.....

I think the real question is how hard is the larger boat to launch and retrieve. You can legally trailer a 30 footer (8 foot beam), but it is a PIA to launch and retrieve.

I too,.... think This, ^^^, is the real question,.....

 

[cptbill]

I have always pulled and launched my 270 myself but I have the benefit of time so I can wait for a non busy time or do it on crappy days. I don't think it's a big deal but then our local ramp is real a gentile sloop with nice floating docks so as long as you don't have to hurry it's not a big issue

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'd start by verifying how much your Silverado can tow from the factory with all your current options. The amount you can trailer can vary greatly depending on options you do/don't have. Then look at the terrain you're pulling over as that'll dictate what weight you can tow....and stop safely.

This is the key. Your truck should have a sticker on the doorjamb that says what the max payload and max towing weight are for that specific vehicle as it came equipped from the factory. Published specifications for your class of truck are meaningless, you really have to look at what your specific truck is rated to carry and pull.

 

[jumpjets]

I was curious about this myself, so I went and weighed my rig to get exact data:
I have a 26' rinker cuddy cabin. It weighs 5500lbs
My 2015 F-150 FX4 weighs 5520lbs. It is rated to tow 8000lbs
My venter aluminum trailer weighs 1320lbs.
All together, my tow rig weighs 12,400 lbs.

My trucks tiny little 2.7L turbo v6 pulls the load just fine. With my foot halfway down on the floor, the engine revs to 3500rpm while I'm accelerating on highway on-ramp. Some old-school truck dudes might find that unacceptable, but it's fine with me. It's a turbo motor. They're supposed to rev high.

I put powerstop Z36 HD brakes on my truck, and Kodiak 4-wheel disc brakes on my trailer. The rig stops OK. I wouldn't want to drive it through Dallas TX rush hour traffic though.

I use 4WD low to yank the boat out of the water. I barely tap the gas pedal to get the truck moving and pull the wet boat up the ramp. It can almost idle up the ramp.

Wrangling a 26' 5500lbs boat onto the trailer isn't super easy, but totally doable. I'm a 37 year old 6' 200lb average joe. Not a body builder, nor an obese diabetic. I generally break a little sweat cranking the boat onto the trailer. Powerloading is illegal in my area, and it's bad for the environment.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Powerloading is illegal in my area, and it's bad for the environment.

Not to mention dangerous to your health from other boaters......

 

[frankthomas]

Thanks everyone for the great input. Helping me make an informed decision.

 

[RobertHan]

I suggest u the Intrepid 375 Nomad Boat with the performence: Power:Triple Mercury 400R outboards Load: 274 gal. fuel, two crew Top Speed: 61 mph 6,850 rpm Time to 30 MPH: 7 sec. Best MPG: 1.06 35 mph (4,000 rpm)

 

[GA_Boater]

I suggest u the Intrepid 375 Nomad Boat with the performence: Power:Triple Mercury 400R outboards Load: 274 gal. fuel, two crew Top Speed: 61 mph 6,850 rpm Time to 30 MPH: 7 sec. Best MPG: 1.06 35 mph (4,000 rpm)

Too bad you didn't read the question.

 

[Sprig]

It all has to do with the max tow capacity of your tow vehicle. You don’t want to tow the max for many reasons. Consider the most you want to tow is about 3/4 of your max. That includes boat, trailer, full fuel tank and other on board equipment. So if your tow capacity max is for sample 10,000lbs consider a boat trailer etc not exceeding about 7500 lbs. You can tow more weight but the more you tow the less pleasant the tow experience is, the more hassle and the more potential problems arise. So if your tow capacity for example is 10,000lbs look for boats/trailers that don’t exceed 7500 to 8000lbs. Your owners manual will give you your tow capacity max.

 

[Lilacvita]

Generally speaking, in the cuddy or cruiser class, what is the longest boat that trailers and puts in relatively easily? Distance to travel is less than an hour. Pulling with a Silverado 1500 5.3L. I have an 18 ft bowrider and I am itching for a bigger boat. Been checking out the 23-25 ft cruisers.

I pulled a sea ray 240 sun dancer with my F150 np problem. Boat and steel trailer were just under 8,000 lbs. Put 270,000 miles on truck.