Largest trailerable boat

[OldCat]

John: Trailering

John: Hope you don't mind an answer from someone else. FYI:According to Boat US (link below) you will require trailer brakes over 2000 lbs in Ohio. Else - an expensive ticket. Having towed 4500 lbs behind my F350 with no brakes, I am *sure* that you will want them with a boat that, with trailer, weighs quite a bit more than 4500 lbs - just for your own peace of mind and safety.You can always check into adding brakes to the axles - depending upon what the builder of the trailer used for an axle. Another choice is to get a new axle with hydraulic brakes and add a surge coupling.Try this link for trailer parts: www.etrailerpart.comYou can also check that link, compare their axles and ratings against the axle on the traler to see if the builder used a heavy enough axle. I think a 7klb axle would be about right for a single axle H265 trailer. 4400 lbs boat + 1500 (?) trailer + gear, options on boat, so 7klbs, a 5200 won't cut it. At least you can check the lug pattern against typical 7klb axle to see if it seems right. Also check the tire rating.You can also weigh the whole rig on a trucker's CAT scale - ask at a truck stop near you. A weighing is usually pretty cheap, under $20.

 

[John]

Wise Old Cat

Oldcat...Thanks for your response...this is valuable information. I'm visiting the boat this weekend, so now I'll be armed with the right questions to ask the owner. The owner seems to be a knowledgable person... and being an engineer for the Air Force makes me think that he did a good job in building the trailer. But we'll see.Thanks again.

 

[Clayton]

Trailering a 26.5

John,Sorry for the delay in getting back on the board. I had to work in Los Angeles this week... Arrggghhh...I ended up weighing my boat on the trailer last year at a local certified scale and was suprised to say the least. I had the luxury of disconnecting my truck from the trailer on the scale and the boat/trailer/all my crap combo weighed right at 7700lbs. My trailer does have two axles and electric brakes on one axle only. Braking is not an issue with the brake system functioning properly. Without the brakes working, The boat will push my truck around (my silverado weighs 6600lbs) and at higher speeds (55+ mph) I would worry about a jacknife in an emergency stop condition without brakes on the trailer. Out here, the wind can really push the boat around and I use the trailer brakes to bring it back in line with the truck in crosswind conditions. Keep in mind that I don't move my boat much as we are in a slip during the boating season. One other thing that I would wonder about is the tongue weight of your trailer and if the axle was put in the correct location. I have my rig set-up such that there is about 1500lbs on the tongue which works out to just over 19% of the load on the tongue. This works for me as I don't want to chance the trailer swaying with that big of a load. Is your suburban a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? I did launch our boat once with a 98' Chevy Tahoe and after that, went to a bigger truck. The boat slid the Tahoe down a very steep ramp about 2' on dry pavement. I am very cautious about launching our boat as my wife drives the truck while I handle the strap and launch/retrieve process. That brings up another point, have you considered how you will launch the boat? We don't have travelifts here in CO so we launch off the ramp. Ramp launching requires utilization of a 20' tow strap to keep the truck out of the water. If you haven't done this, make sure you bring someone with you who has as strap launching is a whole additional area of fun on its own. Not a big deal, but sometimes it will make you pucker... Back to towing. With a boat this big, I would recommend a 4.11 gear ratio for the rear end of the tow vehicle and stay out of overdrive as you will fry the transmission. Ample power and torque. Also, I ALWAYS use four wheel drive on the launch ramp, even if the ramp is dry. I don't want to take any chances. One last point, don't even consider using radial tires on the trailer as I haven't seen a radial yet that is load rated for the weight. I'm not a tire guy, but I went with 12ply bias tires on my trailer and I have 4 where your proposed rig only has two. If you want, e-mail me at svwalkabout at hotmail.com and I would be happy to send you some pics. I have upgraded almost every system on the boat and have chased/fixed almost every problem that I have found. Good luck,Claytons/v WalkaboutHunter 26.5

 

[Tractor John]

Catalina 28

I haul and launch a Cat 28 with a Ford Excursion. The boats beam is 10.5 feet, I've hauled through ten western states and never been stopped or even looked at twice even though a permit is required. I step the mast and launch or retrieve with a helper in about 2 1/2 hrs. Boat, gear and trailer weigh in about 12,500lbs. Good luck.

 

[soling42]

Tractor John

Hoo-Rah!! Tractor John is da man!! 28' Catalina trailer boat Way to go John. Are you related to Paul Bunyon? Its all good. Aloha, Michael