Boat Size and Trailering Opinions

[DuffyB]

Living where I do, I trail my boat a LOT (9 to 10k per season). I currently have a 20' boat and once I put a heavy duty trailer under it consider it easy to trail and launch. I am thinking about moving up in size to maybe a 22' and am wondering about trailing that size boat a lot. I figure it will be adding 1300 additional pounds to what I am doing now. I have a Ford Explorer with a V8.

I am curious, for you experienced boaters who trail a lot, how large a boat can trail easily and launch by yourself? By the way, all the ramps I use are deep enough and have docks.

Thanks in advance for help.

DuffyB

[FireFly]

I went from a 19ft cc with a roller trailer to a 24ft express style with a bunk trailer. Although I do not trailer it back and forth it does remain on the trailer at the launch ramp and I launch solo quite often.

I found the bunk trailer is a bit easier than the roller trailer for retrieving and launching the boat because you can get the trailer deeper in the water without worrying about the boat not lining up properly on retrieve.

2 things which have made an enormous difference would be the electric over hydraulic brakes which keep the boat and trailer from pulling my Jeep Wrangler down the ramp at low tide when launching AND the electric winch with wireless remote and spotlight (Model RC23 by power winch). Just this past weekend I watched people sweat through their shirt winching their boat up the trailer. I connected the cable and sat back and watched as the winch pulled the boat up the trailer.

I don't think you'll notice much of a difference boat wise but you will notice a difference when pulling such a big boat with your explorer. You need to ask yourself what kind of wear and tear you'll be putting on your vehicle doing 10k per year with a boat behind you.

[Mooncusser]

You trailer a 24' Express with a Jeep Wrangler?! Please let us all know which roads you take so we can avoid them.

[FireFly]

Where in my post did I say I trailer a boat with a Jeep wrangler? But for the record, I do take the boat from the marina to the nearest gas station to fill up now and then. I go at 5:00 am so there are not many cars on the road but in all honesty, the jeep has no problem pulling the boat and has more torque than most trucks.

The electric over hydraulic brakes will stop the rig on a dime and I'd bet it stops better than any F350 trailering a boat without a similar brake package.

I understand your comment and would never think of trailering it down the highway or backroads. The weight (4000#) by far exceeds the rating of the Jeep and the short wheelbase would not be ideal.

Disclaimer: Don't try this at home. The above scenario was performed by a professional stunt driver. :rolleyes:

[gf2020]

I am a friend of FireFly's and keep my boat at the same marina. I will confirm that he does not tow his Scout 242 with his Jeep Wrangler on the main roads. His aluminum trailer with electric brakes and electric winch is one of the slickest set-ups I have ever seen.

As for the original post above, I don't think you will find much difference in towing a 22' boat versus a 20' boat over the open road, if you have the right tow vehicle. However, a V8 Ford Explorer is not the right tow vehicle for a 22' boat that will probably weigh over 5000 pounds including the trailer, fuel, etc., regardless of what the Explorer's tow rating may be.

[Mooncusser]

...which keep the boat and trailer from pulling my Jeep Wrangler down the ramp at low tide when launching ...

Sorry. I did not see the first part of your post where you stated you kept it on the trailer at the ramp. Despite a Wrangler producing adequate torque from the 4.0 straight 6, the wheelbase alone is reason enough to never try to tow a big boat with it.

[kcoulouris]

I upgraded an 18.5' Striper dual console to a 23' walk around with hardtop last summer and was very surprised at how much more difficult towing and launching/retrieving is with the new boat.

I calculated the towed weight of the 18.5' at about 3,800lbs and the new boat at just over 6,000lbs. Since my F150 was rated to pull 7,600lbs, I thought it would be fine. The F150 was really straining with pulling the new 23ft. boat. I was so concerned about burning up the tranny that I traded in the F150 for a Nissan Titan with a tow rating of 9,500lbs. With over 300hp and nearly 400ft/lbs of torque, the Titan pulls the boat with no trouble at all. The difference was amazing. I don't think I'll tow any bigger boat though, even with the Titan. My revised rule is no more than 70% of the tow rating of the vehicle. I really believe the manufacturers over-rate trucks substantially.

I believe the hardtop contributes significantly to the load on the highway when you're trying to move along at 65mph. The hardtop is 10+ feet high and catches a lot of air, and bugs.

Launching and retrieving is possible solo. It's just a lot of work and if things start going wrong, it's tough to muscle a 5,000 boat around against wind and tide alone.

To sum it up, I would pull my 18.5' boat anywhere and didn't worry about distance too much, even with the less capable truck. Now I give a lot of thought to my towing plans and try to be as efficient as possible. Both trucks get 16-17 mpg non-towing during all around driving, highway & city combined. The Ford got 14mpg towing the old boat and 8mpg with the bigger one. I can squeeze 9mpg with the new truck/boat combo.

IMHO - I wouldn't tow a 22 foot boat with an explorer, especially 10K miles per season.

[ArthurB]

I trailer my 23 ft center console about 5k miles/year. The boat, a Dorado, weighs 1900 lb, engine @450 lb plus 300 assorted lb of other stuff. I have no idea what the trailer weighs. The gas tank holds 660 lb of gas but I try not to trailer with a full tank. I tow with a Tahoe easily. It has hydraulic brakes on both axels. When they are working, it makes a huge difference braking. Launching solo is no problem.

As far as strain on the truck, as long as i don't try to climb winding back roads, driving is pretty effortless. Its not the length of the rig, its the weight.

[JoeJ]

Duffy, I'm in a similar situation I live about 2hs form the nearest salt. I am currently towing a 23' Regulator (aprox. 7200lb) with a 06 Ford f150 and feel the truck does just fine. The trailer has surge brakes on both axles and I also use a weight-distributing hitch. As for launching and retrieving solo so far I have had no problem however the ramp I use allows power loading. In anticipation of a few trips to the Cape I installed a Powerwich with remote. I will say that the best thing I ever did was get the weight-distributing hitch there is no sway or bounce at all and every thing sit perfectly level. It takes about an extra 2min to hook and unhook the trailer.

[Go Fish]

Once you get the hang of it, launching and retrieving boats in the size range you are looking is pretty easy. My 22 footer goes on and off the roller trailer with ease.

IMOH: If you have a choice, over do it with the tow vehicle. I went from towing my ~7000 lb 22' package with a half ton Chevy pick-up to towing it with a 3/4 ton diesel Chevy pick-up. The old truck did fine but got squirly at speeds over 65 and had down hill stopping issues. I don't even notice the boat behind the new truck. It is over kill but it makes towing (and fishing trips) MUCH more enjoyable.

[iluvgear]

Your initial questin seemd to be about launching solo with the bigger boat. Once you have the basics down the biggest isseus seem to be tide and wind. For me the single greatest aid to solo launching and recovery is a set of long side bunks. All you have to do is get close and the boat will self center and stay centered while you winch it up. I have long side bunks on my trailer and have had no problems launching/recovering solo on the Kennebec River with a ripping tide.