Towing capacity

[stoked 1,039]

Man, "towing capacity" threads pop up like once every 6 months here and everyone gets all up at arms and inevitably one person exclaims that everyone else is unsafe.

 

So to keep the love going here, is anyone here even towing a boat trailer that doesn't have surge or electric over hydro brakes? If you want to talk about stopping power, you have to include them. If the thought process is that they can fail, well so can the brakes on your rig. I have surge and a Jeep Cherokee, and I can tell you from experience of towing over 750 miles a month on 95 through two major cities that the entire setup can stop on a dime as if the boat isn't there.

 

Do your homework, check the tow ratings, check the tongue rating. Too many people get hung up on if you're not driving a massive pickup truck you're going to kill yourself, your family and everyone on the road and its just not true

 

Oh, and I have a 2 million dollar umbrella policy, so bring it on, haha!

 

Now who's turn is it to start the "Deciding between a used SV240 and new S238" thread?

[Cdifranco 463]

 

 

Now who's turn is it to start the "Deciding between a used SV240 and new S238" thread?

 

SV240 with 300+ hours over a new S238 any day of the week.

[Sfb330 11]

Good spirited debate boys! At least we can all agree that Trump would be a super awesome president...

[cjohnson 33]

 

Harold,

 

Sorry bud but you know the MAX stock payload and tow specifications for your truck and you are 2000+ lbs. over when you tow your AF 811 with the 238 in tow.

 

Just so all of you here understand, adding aftermarket leaf springs or air bags DOES NOT EVER IN ANY WAY increase the manufacturers load ratings PERIOD. I have had the two main RV dealers here in Portland try and BS me when we were buying our camper in the past and just recently our fifth wheel. I got the same BS comment from them about adding air bags or springs and when I called them out about the fact that they don't increase the load capacity they backtracked and then started side stepping with the final comment as, "Yes you are correct."

 

For any of you looking to purchase one of these gigantic boats just make sure you are close to or just a bit over the max tow rating on your tow rig. Even a bit over could get you in trouble but a jury might have a problem trying to prove negligence.

 

Please for the love of God let's put this to rest that NO AFTERMARKET SPRINGS OR AIR BAGS in any way will increase the MANUFACTURERES LOAD RATING PERIOD.

 

Thank you and have a good night.

 

OUT

 

I'm of the camp that as long as you stay within the manufacturer spec's (even it's only by 1 lb) I don't think you're being "unsafe". I'm sure liability is a big concern for them with a lot of testing done to ensure that the maximums are still within a "safe" limit.

 

The only thing that I'll add about bags or springs as that while they don't increase capacity they could help with control. The suspension on our Ram half ton is extremely soft and the truck really bounces when going over speed bumps.

 

I've towed our boat with Ram half tons a F150 and a Nissan Armada and non of them had any problems towing our boat (at about 7,500 lbs with fuel and some gear).

 

As far as stopping goes basic physics says that momentum is velocity times mass. That means a heavier truck will take longer to stop than a lighter truck (with all else being equal). The key is to have the proper weighting on all 4 tires to maximize braking ability. I could see a WDH helping here but unfortunately they don't work on boatmate trailers with a swing away tongue. That said, I did have to hit the brakes hard once and it stopped surprisingly fast and the trailer reacted just fine.

[Jake707 171]

C'mon guys jeeeeeez

[Jake707 171]

why use a truck at all......

[Jake707 171]

Or just combine the two, although im not sure how the stock wake would be. But you could always add a suckgate haha

[Shaka 146]

ok last post on this. During normal driving its fine. What im talking about is lock up the breaks emergency stop. We all have our opinions on this so like I said above let's agree to disagree. You will not change my opinion and im not going to change yours. I had a GMC half ton before the upgrade and I can tell you there is no comparison in both towing and stopping

Been there done that with the emergency stop. Between the trailer brakes and my truck breaks everything was just fine.

It's great you have such a find rig but don't act like the rest of us are menaces on wheels.

[daz28iroc 73]

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c5-general/2771242-anybody-tow-small-trailer-w-vette.html

[Nick213 583]

Don't forget to turn your volume on for this one

Edited October 28, 2016 by Nick213

[DrNate 426]

Haha, I haven't posted this one in awhile

 

 

Edited October 28, 2016 by DrNate

[Race City Marine 60]

are you not the same guy who gave us a public service warning about ballast install and overweighting our boats ? now advocating to tow with a receiver not rated for the load and an undersized vehicle you my friend crack me up. Im done with this post I gave my opinion you gave yours we will have to agree to disagree and the op can weight options and make a choice that works for them.

 

One could potentially overweight the boat with my ballast setup and extra people, but that is done at the users risk. My tow vehicle IS rated for the load and tows it awesome. Plus there hasn't been a logical case made that the 3/4 ton would stop any quicker and it's possible that it will stop slower.

 

Quick math...spend $45,000 on a new 3/4 ton vehicle. 500/year avg taxes, 100/year registration 1200/year repairs and maintenance, 600/year for offsite storage if you don't have a place to park a second vehicle. Say a 30 year old buys this and let's use a long term growth rate of 8% for what the money otherwise could be used for. Retire at 65. Works out to $1,078,900. That's only if the truck lasts 35 years.

 

Will I sacrifice $1.1+ Million at the normal "retirement" age in order to say I have a vehicle that under certain hypothetical circumstances has a possibility that it could potentially stop quicker if certain hypothetical untested assumptions prove to be true. No, I'll drive the vehicle I have that's fully rated to tow the load and keep the million bucks. That's all I'm saying. LOL

Edited October 28, 2016 by Race City Marine

[Race City Marine 60]

Good spirited debate boys! At least we can all agree that Trump would be a super awesome president...

 

He would tow his boat to the lake under his helicopter. Find the towing specs on that!

[DjOM21 59]

I think a tow boat are a relativity easy pull as they are fairly aerodynamic, have dual axles and have good brakes. But they are starting to get much bigger and sit much higher on their trailers.

 

Modern 1/2 Ton trucks produce the same amount of power as the diesel from 10 - 15 years ago and a Eco Boost engine is similar to a small diesel power plant. So I guess the difference goes to Payload, Transmission, Suspension and Brakes. Obviously a HD vehicle will have all those in spades.

 

During the summer I trailer around 6000KM back and forth to the lakes with a lot of those runs through mountains, windy single lane roads etc. So for me it a 1 ton Diesel, overkill, maybe a bit - but love that 400hp and 800 ft/lb of torque at half the RPM range of a Gasser. The towing is amazing. Plus with the costs of these new 1/2 tons, why not step into a used Diesel for similar or less money? I have had them both and diesel = real truck. Plus I think these bigger trucks just look better hooked up to these big boats.

 

The other benefit of these big trucks is that as these boats get bigger and heavier and we get lucky enough to maybe afford them - you will need the extra grunt - especially if you have mountains to contend with.

[chenige 84]

Friction= coefficient of friction x normal force(weight)

 

The heavier the weight pushing down on the tire the more it can slow down the vehicle without locking up. That is why the heavier duty trucks have huge brakes.

 

At one time I lab validated chevy truck brake systems. They get huge on the HDs.

[Copenglenn 44]

On another note, does anyone own a BMW X5d? I've often looked at them and wondered if they would be up to the task. I know what the BMW guys say, but does it match up with what the boat guys say....

[1HELLUVALIFE 6]

So a 1500 or SUV will out stop/handle a 7000 + lb load over a 2500? Not in my experience.

Most boats tow well bc the load on the trailer is well balanced, not saying you need a 3/4 ton diesel if the heaviest thing you pull is a boat. However the power, suspension, and braking is a huge plus for people that tow often (not 5 miles to the ramp twice a year) and up steep grades.

 

Also resale on a diesel right now is ridiculously high.

Edited October 31, 2016 by 1HELLUVALIFE

[Shaka 146]

So a 1500 or SUV will out stop/handle a 7000 + lb load over a 2500? Not in my experience.

Most boats tow well bc the load on the trailer is well balanced, not saying you need a 3/4 ton diesel if the heaviest thing you pull is a boat. However the power, suspension, and braking is a huge plus for people that tow often (not 5 miles to the ramp twice a year) and up steep grades.

 

Also resale on a diesel right now is ridiculously high.

No one said this. Of course a larger truck will tow better. The question is whether it's unsafe to tow with a smaller vehicle. The answer is that a 1/2 ton will tow safely if the driver doesn't drive like an idiot.

[Stretch 409]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CO Surfer 289]

THAT ^^^^ has to be one of the top 5 posts I've seen on this site!*

 

*From a comical perspective.

Edited November 1, 2016 by CO Surfer