Can't see my boat

[Carmen258]

When towing my boat it fills the view of the whole back window of my car and I can't keep an eye on the tires and wheels of the trailer. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Without knowing what kind of tow vehicle, boat and trailer you have, it's a bit of a guessing game for us, isn't it?

I would suggest adding towing mirrors to your side view mirrors, but without knowing what you have, it's hard to know if that will be sufficient.

 

[GA_Boater]

You should be using the side mirrors. Blindspot mirrors might help. What are you towing with? We need more info.

 

[Scott Danforth]

are you towing the titanic with a smart car?
a rubber raft with an F450?

 

[briangcc]

Tilt your side mirrors out and a bit down if need be to see your trailer tires. Been there, done that with almost every one of my vehicles and boats I've owned. If you can't see around the end of the trailer, try adding towing mirrors to your side mirrors.

Only exception is the Ram in my signature because....it's under 500 miles yet so no towing.

Forget about the rear view mirror....it'll only tell ya if the boat is suddenly trying to sit in your back seat at which point you have other problems (ie. you didn't use transom tie downs). This from towing with...in no particular order....'95 Pathfinder, Pontiac Montana, (2) GMC Sierra 1500s, (3) Toyota Tundras, GMC Acadia SLE 2, Toyota 4Runner, and Ram 1500 classic.

 

[Carmen258]

You should be using the side mirrors. Blindspot mirrors might help. What are you towing with? We need more info.

Towing a 2001 Monterey deck boat, 22', Merc 5.7, tandem axel trailer, with a 2012 Buick Enclave with towing package.

 

[Carmen258]

are you towing the titanic with a smart car?
a rubber raft with an F450?

Towing a 2001 Monterey deck boat, 22', Merc 5.7, tandem axel trailer, with a 2012 Buick Enclave with towing package.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Towing a 2001 Monterey deck boat, 22', Merc 5.7, tandem axel trailer, with a 2012 Buick Enclave with towing package.

your Buick Enclave has a 2000# towing capacity as standard, and up to 4500# hauling capacity if properly equipped. (with a caveat - total capacity)

your 2001 Monterey Explorer 220 weighs 3600# dry weight. it has a 60 gallon fuel tank, so full of fuel and gear you are at 4000#. your tandem trailer weighs 1200-1250#

you are over-weight for your towing capacity.

 

[poconojoe]

Ouch!

 

[KD4UPL]

I use the side mirrors to see my boat sides, tires, fenders, etc. If your mirrors don't allow for that you need to upgrade them or get some slip on extensions.
However, if Scott's math is correct then you probably need a new tow vehicle. Have you run your rig, fully loaded, across a scale? I used to have a 21' Larson with a 40 gallon tank and 2 batteries on a single axle trailer. It weighed 4,500 pounds.

 

[444]

I believe the tow package pushes you up to 4500lbs however your boat is not light and loaded you are probably overweight. However as for your question, you can get clamp-on towing mirrors on ebay for pretty cheap and they will help.

 

[roscoe]

I doubt you will ever see your tires, unless you use a remote back up camera placed under your trailer.

Thats why it important to make sure your tires and brakes are in perfect running condition, and that they are properly inflated, and replaced before they get too old, or suffer dry rot cracking or wear issues.

Welcome to the world of driving a semi.

 

[briangcc]

OP....you're looking at a better mid-sized SUV - Durango and Pathfinder are two that when configured properly will tow over 6k OR a mid-sized pickup - Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado/Canyon.

None of these will get you over the "rear view mirror blocked by boat" syndrome. None of these will let you see the 2nd set of wheels on your tandem trailer. If you want a better option for monitoring your trailer tires, you might look at something like this:

Minder Research Tpms 4 Transmitters & Booster

With a large, beautiful display, the TireMinder® A1A tire pressure monitoring system is engineered to be a simple, yet powerful tool for monitoring tire conditions. The A1A features straightforward visual alerts, as well as powerful audible alerts, with easy to understand icons to know exactly...

www.iboats.com

 

[lprizman]

Get a Rav 4

 

[racerone]

Are you towing long distances or 20 / 30 miles at a time ?

 

[JASinIL2006]

With tow mirrors attached to your side-views, you should get a good look at your tires. I try to check them our regularly when I'm towing, just to make sure everything is OK back there.

 

[Nashville]

With tow mirrors attached to your side-views, you should get a good look at your tires. I try to check them our regularly when I'm towing, just to make sure everything is OK back there.

Something I did on the triaxle (for the boat) since there was zero visibility of the six tires at night was add a diffuse down light (LED) on both sides. Played with it a good bit to get the angle and lens right to ensure no bleed-off to the sides that would distract those sharing the road (okay, they are mostly passing some 55 + feet of me as I hover near the posted). Interestingly, bought a new 18.0-foot equipment trailer this summer. Picked it up in Somerset, Kentucky where built. It has two features I’ve not seen on prior trailers that are helpful. Side lights similar to what I added to the boat trailer, and all the market lights are cone shaped with rubber boots. Thus, if you catch one there’s some flexibility instead of being snapped. Certainly better to not catch one though.

 

[Captain Caveman]

Yeah, that Buick is too small to tow that load safely. I would be shocked if the brakes are equipped to slow down that rig in an emergency. Know that in an accident, you will pay dearly for being overloaded.

If you are towing very short distances and at slow speeds, you might be able to get by with tow mirror extensions. They sell them all over the web.

Assuming that you are towing further on the highway, you need to upgrade. Best would be a full sized truck or SUV. Next best are the vehicles that briangcc recommended.

I used to tow with a Ranger but my 16ft boat filled up the whole mirror and a lot of the side mirrors. Once I eventually went to a full size, I don't sweat the 500 mile round trip that I tow every few weeks.

 

[Kardar2]

Wireless camera mounted down low on bumper problem solved

 

[poconojoe]

Get some clip-on mirror extensions.

I too would be concerned with the load being pulled by that suv. The braking would be a big concern.
I hope that trailer has functioning brakes of it's own. Normally a rig with that kind of weight would be equipped with it's own brakes. I think 3,000 pounds is a normal threshold for requiring brakes in most States.