Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

[CT sailor]

The boat is 33' long and with the trailer weighs under 6,000. The trailer is a dual axle with electric surge brakes (brand new).

What's the smallest vehicle you'd tow this rig with - Interstate kind of tows not local around town stuff?

4Runner?
LandCruiser?
Tahoe?
Suburban?

Apologies on the redundant newbie question - a lot of other's have posted but for smaller lighter boats.

Thanks for your thoughts-

 

[Bondo]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,...

I'd like something with a capacity Atleast 20% Higher than your expected loads.....

How High,+ How Wide is this 33' boat,..??

 

[jlinder]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

I would add it is important to know the real weight. A common error is to take the dry weight as given by the manufacturer and add the trailer weight.

Does the just unger 6000# come from a weighing on truck scales or is it estimated? Does it include gas, water, your cooler, etc.? That can add up.

 

[dave11]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

I would get an actual weight. 6000# total weight seems to be light for a 33' boat.

 

[slasmith1]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

for a boat that size that sounds like bare hull weight. my 32' boat is 12800 dry

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Go check the restoration section of the forum, just today a guy posted pics of his newly aquired Donzai F33 with tri axle trailer being towed with his F-150 Go FORD.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

What's the smallest vehicle you'd tow this rig with - Interstate kind of tows not local around town stuff?

4Runner?
LandCruiser?
Tahoe?
Suburban?-

Out of the 4 choices I would pic the Suburban...but would rather have at least a 2500 series truck.

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

i tow my 32.5 foot donzi with a ext cab f150 with tow package can run about 70 miles on the interstate. i had trip axles. pulled like a dream

 

[legoman67]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

i tried to tow my 30' with 15000lbs dry on a tripple axle trailer with a 03' dodge ram 1500, rear bumper was pretty much on the ground.

Depending on the travel distince i wouldnt tow it with anything less then a 1 ton. if your just moving accouple blocks then a half or 3/4 ton might do it.

6000 seems light for a 32'

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

i tried to tow my 30' with 15000lbs dry on a tripple axle trailer with a 03' dodge ram 1500, rear bumper was pretty much on the ground.

Depending on the travel distince i wouldnt tow it with anything less then a 1 ton. if your just moving accouple blocks then a half or 3/4 ton might do it.

6000 seems light for a 32'

6k is way too light, you didnt have the boat on the trailer correctly. or dodge makes a weak truck.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Something wrong with your weight. My 22' weighed in at #6350.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

The trailer is a dual axle with electric surge brakes (brand new).

Electric surge brakes? There's no such thing. Possible braking systems are:

Hydraulic surge brakes - A master cylinder is located in the trailer coupler and is actuated whenever the trailer pushes on the tow vehicle. This generates hydraulic pressure which is used to apply the brakes. The brakes operate in a manner similar to those on your tow vehicle can be either drum or disc type.

Electric drum brakes - These use a magnet attached to a cam arm to actuate the brakes. The drum has a machined inner face which the magnet sticks to when energised. The resulting drag moves the cam arm and forces the shoes against the outside of the drum. Power is provided by a brake controller in the tow vehicle.

Electric over hydraulic - This system uses hydraulic brake hardware, but the brakes are actuated by an electric master cylinder powered by a brake controller.

Hydraulic surge brakes are the most common on boat trailers as the magnets and wiring connections on electric brakes are prone to corrosion, especially when launching in saltwater. They also require no equipment in the tow vehicle and are self-regulating - they harder the tow vehicle tries to stop, the harder the trailer brakes are applied. The trailer, however, still needs to push on the tow vehicle to apply the brakes. The braking system makes the trailer seem much lighter than it actually is, but braking performance will still be somewhat worse than without the trailer. The loss of stopping power is usually modest, but if you are pushing the limits of your tow vehicle it may become significant.

Electrically actuated braking systems do not require the trailer to push on the tow vehicle to generate maximum braking effort. With a good brake controller, these systems are better suited to heavy trailer / light tow vehicle combinations. They can also be manually actuated to stop trailers from swaying.

Electric over hydraulic systems combine the corrosion resistance/tolerance of hydraulic brakes with the control of electric, but cost more.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

i tow my 32.5 foot donzi with a ext cab f150 with tow package can run about 70 miles on the interstate. i had trip axles. pulled like a dream

Do you happen to know the weight of the boat/trailer set up? I know anything short of a new F150 max's in the 7000-8000 lb range. Sure the motor can tow it, thats NEVER the issue with heavy trailers. It's the stopping that makes the rating. If your towing over 10K lbs, which it sounds like you are, you are overloading that truck a lot. I'm not saying don't do it at all, just wondering what your set up is, and the weight?

A 15K set up behind a half ton truck as stated with the Dodge is asking for trouble. I would probably be looking into a 1 ton if I had a 15K load.

If this 33' boat is wood, there is a chance it could weigh that, but that number does sound low. My 27'er has a dry weight of 6000 lbs. Add in all the supplys, fuel and trailer and I am closing in on 10K lbs. Before you go ahead and pick a vehicle, find the trailer and boats actual weight.

Also to note I wouldn't trust ANY 33' boat behind a 4runner. Even if the weight is low enough, that truck will get tossed around with that set up behind it.

 

[CT sailor]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Hey you guys are great, thanks for all of the responses. Here are a few more details:
- Yes, it really is that light. The boat is 4,200lbs dry, figure another 300ish for the gear that we travel with.
- The trailer is a brand new Road King aluminum - under 1,500lbs. So I'm working on 6,000 total.

The brakes - I guess you can tell I'm new to trailering... they plug in and are hydraulic disks - I guess that just means they're modern surge brakes.

Bottom line though from everyone's comments, I don't want to cheat and take a 2,000 mile trip with anything small like a 4Runner (rated tow load of 7,000).

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

I'm not sure how those advertized rating figures are calculated... but I'm sure there is a very comfortable buffer, they have to figure that in to cover the idiots out there who will hook up a rig like that and drive like it's not even there.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Hey you guys are great, thanks for all of the responses. Here are a few more details:
- Yes, it really is that light. The boat is 4,200lbs dry, figure another 300ish for the gear that we travel with.

Are you sure about the 300 lbs? Remember the dry weight doesn't include anything not permanently attached to the hull. You need to count food, water, auxillary motor, fuel, batteries, etc. to find total weight. You'll still want to verify by actually weighing it.

The brakes - I guess you can tell I'm new to trailering... they plug in and are hydraulic disks - I guess that just means they're modern surge brakes.

Do you have a 6 or 7 pole trailer wiring connector with heavy gauge wiring leading to the hydraulic system? If so, you probably have electric over hydraulic brakes.

Bottom line though from everyone's comments, I don't want to cheat and take a 2,000 mile trip with anything small like a 4Runner (rated tow load of 7,000).

If you verify the weight really is under 7000 lb and you have electric over hydraulic brakes you should be OK with the 4WD, 4.7L V8 4Runner. Use a weight distributing hitch and don't cheap out on the brake controller and associated wiring. Don't get a 2WD, unless you like spinning your wheels on the launch ramp.

 

[peacekeeper6]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Do you happen to know the weight of the boat/trailer set up? I know anything short of a new F150 max's in the 7000-8000 lb range. Sure the motor can tow it, thats NEVER the issue with heavy trailers. It's the stopping that makes the rating. If your towing over 10K lbs, which it sounds like you are, you are overloading that truck a lot. I'm not saying don't do it at all, just wondering what your set up is, and the weight?

A 15K set up behind a half ton truck as stated with the Dodge is asking for trouble. I would probably be looking into a 1 ton if I had a 15K load.

If this 33' boat is wood, there is a chance it could weigh that, but that number does sound low. My 27'er has a dry weight of 6000 lbs. Add in all the supplys, fuel and trailer and I am closing in on 10K lbs. Before you go ahead and pick a vehicle, find the trailer and boats actual weight.

Also to note I wouldn't trust ANY 33' boat behind a 4runner. Even if the weight is low enough, that truck will get tossed around with that set up behind it.

My trailer had surge brakes on all axles. I think my Donzi weighs in near 10k.

 

[daman4469]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Don't let weight fool you completely. remember its not dead weight but rolling weight. the problem really is getting it stopped....and you have the trailer brakes. However, use the largest vehicle you can. I have a 17'6" bayliner, weighs in around 2500 lbs total, and my envoy with a 4.2L and towing capacity of 6000 can definitely feel it. I don't think I'd pull that boat with my envoy, thats for sure!

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Also take into account the weight of the truck makes a difference. A 4000 lb truck towing a 6K boat is a lot different than a 6500 lb truck towing the same boat.

Flat, level towing on the highway on a nice clear day is a bunch different than hills, bad weather, traffic etc etc...

I guess in the end the only true way to decide is to weight the boat/trailer/gear set up. Make sure your trucks tow rating is right (make sure you have the tow package, tranny cooler etc...) and then put the combo together and try it out. Take the truck and trailer set up somewhere to see how it brakes, handles, turns.

I would think if it truly weighs 6K lbs, any of the half ton trucks will tow and stop it. I again would avoid the Toyota, just for piece of mind.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: Another newbie question - need advice to tow a 33' boat, 6,000# tow

Another thing to consider is what you'll be doing with the tow vehicle when you're not towing the boat. The smaller trucks are more convenient and will get better fuel economy on their own, but they will all be equally hard to maneuver and will guzzle similar amounts of fuel when you hook up a 33 foot, 6000+ lb boat.
There's no point trying to find the smallest possible tow vehicle if it's just going to sit in your driveway or the boat launch parking lot most of the time. Get something bigger for the extra margin of safety. A smaller vehicle makes more sense if it will be regularly driven on its own, but you will need to be more careful with things like tongue weight, weight distributing hitch setup and brake setup. A smaller tow vehicle will be less forgiving is something isn't quite right.