Boat towing advice

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Derek Powers

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I've towed alot of boats in my days and some big ones at that. I have never seen anyone use a WDH or similar when towing a boat of any size for that matter. I understand why people towing travel trailers use them but a boat properly loaded on a trailer should not require them.
 

dhay13

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Yep. my understanding is you can' use a WDH on a boat trailer because of the surge breaks. Boats typically have more rear weight anyway so the tongue weight is usually on the lighter side. My 2013 1500 squatted 2" at the most with my 7500lb boat/trailer attached. My 9000lb boat squatted it even less because it had more rear weight. But in most cases, yeah, get yourself a WDH if you are towing heavy
 

gofishn

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Hmm, Weight Distributing Hitch for large boats?

It can do no Harm.
Might actually Help.
Everyone can DO everything, until that "ONE TIME" ...even Russian Roulette.
It's the "One Time"'s that most try to avoid and plan accordingly.


Each his own, what We fail to learn, on Our own, Life has a wonderful of Teaching.

Carry On!

Think I'm going to pop over to Youtube and watch some Boat Launch Follies
 

pacofortacos

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I haven't seen a WDH for boats either.
Also very few boat trailers have electric over hydraulic brakes for the size boat he is looking at - most are just pure surge brakes - either disc or drum.

The boat he is looking at isn't that big or heavy.

IMO if you are going to trailer often OR dunk in salt water definitely go with an aluminum trailer, you will thank yourself in the end.

Also if using in saltwater and if a I/O, I would rec. getting a full closed cooling system installed if it is a new boat - even if using in fresh water and needing winterized, I would still rec. it.
They just make everything last longer and winterizing or flushing so much easier. Really cut down on maintenance costs in the long run.
Full system will only use lake/ocean water to run through the heat exchanger and the manifold risers, the manifolds and the rest of the entire engine will have antifreeze in.

That is the one best thing I ever did to my boat, which turned 23 years old this year.
 

Derek Powers

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Hmm, Weight Distributing Hitch for large boats?

It can do no Harm.
Might actually Help.
Everyone can DO everything, until that "ONE TIME" ...even Russian Roulette.
It's the "One Time"'s that most try to avoid and plan accordingly.


Each his own, what We fail to learn, on Our own, Life has a wonderful of Teaching.

Carry On!

Think I'm going to pop over to Youtube and watch some Boat Launch Follies

I've literally seen thousands of boats anywhere from 16ft to 52ft and have never seen a single one with a WDH, yet you see a WDH on almost every single camper. There must be a reason.
 

crash68

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I've literally seen thousands of boats anywhere from 16ft to 52ft and have never seen a single one with a WDH, yet you see a WDH on almost every single camper. There must be a reason.
Two reasons, one mentioned above about the trailers having surge brakes, you need a specialized WDH to work with them. The other reason is most boat trailers do not have as much tongue weight percentage wise. Usually 8% - 10% verses a TT which are usually around 10% - 15%.
 

Derek Powers

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Two reasons, one mentioned above about the trailers having surge brakes, you need a specialized WDH to work with them. The other reason is most boat trailers do not have as much tongue weight percentage wise. Usually 8% - 10% verses a TT which are usually around 10% - 15%.

I'm well aware of the reasons. Just trying to help others understand that theres no reason for one, especially on a 7k pound boat.
 

crash68

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I'm well aware of the reasons. Just trying to help others understand that theres no reason for one, especially on a 7k pound boat.

If you know reasons why, you should have explained it so people could understand instead of posing a statement implying you didn't know.
Just telling people you've towed a lot of boats and have never seen any ever use a WDH on a boat trailer doesn't help anyone understand anything.
With a 7K lbs boat on the trailer, the tongue weight would be on the heavy side for a boat at 700 lbs. It's probably more like 500 lbs, which is about where Ram suggests that you start using a WDH.
 

gofishn

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Crash68,
Do not bother. Appears his mind is made up.


Derek Powers,
If having a WDH makes a person fell more comfortable pulling the boat, that is Reason enough.
Again, it does no harm.
 

pacofortacos

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So you are saying using a WDH can't or doesn't interfere with surge brakes?
Doesn't it distribute the load, which is what surge brakes use to work?
I don't know if it does, which is why I am asking?
I guess there are only a few WDH that are compatible with surge brakes, many are not.
Also few trailer manufacturers rec. one for boat trailers.

I actually find a slightly heavier tongue weight to help with the braking on a boat trailer, esp. with disc brakes.

The OP's boat isn't anywhere near 7000#. IF he gets a very heavy steel tandem trailer he might get close to 7k total boat and trailer.
 
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crash68

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So you are saying using a WDH can't or doesn't interfere with surge brakes?
Doesn't it distribute the load, which is what surge brakes use to work?
I don't know if it does, which is why I am asking?
I guess there are only a few WDH that are compatible with surge brakes, many are not.
Also few trailer manufacturers rec. one for boat trailers.

I actually find a slightly heavier tongue weight to help with the braking on a boat trailer, esp. with disc brakes.

Your assumption of very few WDH are designed to work with surge brakes. Most WDH inhibit the forward/backward movement of the trailer hitch that actuates the brakes.
Running more tongue weight will help with better braking provided it's distributed properly on the tow vehicle. If there is too little weight on the front axle of the tow vehicle, braking can be reduced.
Adding more tongue weight is done to help with trailer stability usually due in part to where the weight on the trailer is at in relation to the axles. Most boats have a majority of their weight set right on the axles with very little behind (percentage wise).
 

crash68

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Crash68,
Do not bother. Appears his mind is made
Don't really care if I change his mind. People come on a forum mostly for two reasons, to complain and find out infromation.
Saying that someone don't need a WDH because you don't see anyone else using them isn't an explanation.
Put the facts, figures and numbers out there so others are better informed. There is a lot of people that get the impression that you don't need a WDH on a 2500/3500 truck which is a far cry from the truth.
 

pacofortacos

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I could find only 2 WDH that are designed to be used with surge brakes on boat trailers. I guess ones that use chains cannot be used with boat surge brakes systems.

Also many trailer manufacturers (boat trailers), do not rec. the use of them due to extra tongue stress as well as the braking issue. Not all though, so it depends on the trailer manufacturer as using one will void the warranty if it is not recommended.

"Running more tongue weight will help with better braking provided it's distributed properly on the tow vehicle. If there is too little weight on the front axle of the tow vehicle, braking can be reduced.
Adding more tongue weight is done to help with trailer stability usually due in part to where the weight on the trailer is at in relation to the axles. Most boats have a majority of their weight set right on the axles with very little behind (percentage wise)."

I agree with this.
I have a #6000 capacity single axle aluminum trailer with big Kodiak disc brakes and moving the boat forward a bit helps with the surge brakes but even then I wish the braking was better - esp. at slow speed. Sway has never been an issue.
Part of the problem may be the trailer has much more capacity than I am using - too heavy for a #3500 but not near the #6000 and I was tired of tandem axles.
I will probably go electric over hydraulic in the end since their prices have come down the past few years.
 

Andler2008

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I bought a 2008 Four Winns SL262 from a dealer in Islip, NY. We live in Cincinnati, OH. The dry weight for the boat and trailer is about 7500 lbs. 5500 lbs for the boat and 2000 lbs for the trailer. 75 gallons of gas (give or take) is just under 500 lbs. So all total, almost 8000 lbs, 12 hours one way.

I used my 2014 Ram 1500, 5.7/8hp70, 3.21 gears. For the vast majority of the trip, I was traveling around 80mph without an issue. I installed the Timber Grove airbags in the rear prior to the trip, which improved towing performance ten fold.

I tow this boat every weekend down to our campground (40 min one way) and back up. The hill we have to go up and down on is fairly steep, I don't know what incline percentage is. I'm extremely surprised at the capability of this little half ton, but most definitely need a diesel very soon. I've developed a whine at speed which is not a wheel bearing or anything obvious, but still concerning, and likely due to what I'm pulling and the speed at which I'm pulling. None of my temps ever got out of control, trans 195 at its highest, oil around 240 and coolant hit 230 a few times, but nothing I'd say is bad for some of the inclines we had to deal with coming from NY.

Boat.jpg
 
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