Need Advice - Match the right boat to my vehicle

[rbryn]

OK, the more I read, the more confused I get. It seems most people on the forum are upgrading or changing thier vehicles in order to pull thier boat...

In my case I really wanted a 30' sundancer but wetslips in my area are just toooo expensive, so now I'm back to something I can trailer.

I have a 4wd 2007 Expedition with towing pacakge (towing rated at 9200lbs). The boat ramps in my area are all within 20miles and are concrete ramps. The roads being travelled are well maintained, flat and wide (there isn't a real hill nearby for at least 100 miles). We would be putting in/out of the water almost 2 times a month.

I'm wondeirng what the largest boat I can *Safely* trailer with my Expedition, and that won't take an army to put on/off the trailer (I do have alot of experience trailering smaller boats in the 18'-20' range).

So the magic question, what's the opinion of trailering a 26' sundancer, or 27' sundancer. What trailer is recommended.

More than likely the trailer will be purchased seperatly and I'm not afraid to put more money into a trailer if it means a larger and safer tow.

 

[gerryb]

The biggest you can do is a 280 and with that you'll be right at the limit. The 260 would also be a very good choice - smaller but easier to deal with and has the 8.6' beam. Best thing to do is to check out the searay site regarding weight of the boats in the pocket cruiser category. I have a 280 with a bunk trailer and pull it in the neighborhood with an f150 but I definitely would not try to pull that load up/down a ramp every weekend. It is way too big a boat and too big trailer for ramp use IMO.

 

[rbryn]

I think the 28' is going to be to close to the limits of the vehicle, I've already ruled that one out.

Doing the math on the boat weight and towing capacity is one thing, experienced owners that are putting in/out of the water with similar vehicles - are worth more to me than the math calculations

 

[Lazy Daze]

I'd say a 240DA or an older 250DA would be the limit of what I would feel comfortable recommending as "safe". Taking into account your situation (close ramps, no hills, etc) it does give you a little extra wiggle room. Could you do a 260DA? Well, I think that's pushing it. A 260 is going to be well over your limit (which in all honesty, is inflated to start with - all the manufacturers do it). Don't forget that whatever you put in your truck (other than you) has to be subtracted from your tow rating.

Can it be done? Sort of. But the tranny, driveline, rear end and brakes are not going to be very happy - let alone the engine. 20 miles of slow-speed driving is MUCH worse on a vehicle than 500 miles of highway speeds - a lot of heat is created in the tranny at low speeds.

I would definitely consider adding a secondary tranny cooler - even another engine oil cooler (if you don't already have one). An extra set of springs out back or air bags - you gotta stiffen that back end up. Keep your RPM's up higher - the engine will be more efficient there - do not let it "lug" - it won't last long.

Trailer - go tri-axle with electric over hydraulic brakes. Get an aluminum trailer - it'll save a few hundred pounds.

Or, buy a used 3/4 ton 4-door truck for under $10K and be safe, while at the same time keeping from destroying your Expedition.

You have to plan for the worst. If you happened to be in an emergency stop/swerve situation, it wouldn't be pretty.

 

[mwph]

I read a lot on this site about trailering & decided I would never do it. Don't know what "expensive" is for a slip in your area but vehicle transmissions, additional upkeep, trailer maintenance & extra insurance costs aint cheap either. After you get the weight of the boats, don't forget to add fuel & water weight as well as the "ton of stuff" you'll want to leave on board. I say match the boat to your boating & lifestyle needs, then address the vehicle issue second.

 

[MExcelsior]

Boy.... this is a tough one. Firstly, I'm going to get the abuse by telling you that you won't be able to haul either of those boats. The 4wd Expy has the deluxe trailering package, but these boats 26', 27' DA are going to weigh anywhere from 7,500 to 8,500 lbs dryweight. Put a trailer (~2,000 lbs... Mine is 2,700 lbs for my 280) under those and you are already over the limit. That isn't including anything onboard (~700-800 lbs) + full gas/water/waste (800-1,100 lbs).

Remember, a Expy is basically a 1/2 ton+.

 

[mwph]

Great post Lazy Daze.
I should have just kept quiet & waited on the pros!

 

[rbryn]

Thanks for the replies... it's just what I was looking for.

A 30' slip runs from $300-$800 in our area, the $300 is 18 nautical miles from the nearest inlet. The waterways are narrow and we would be spending most of our time in coastal waters so being close to the inlet would be important.

Let me make sure I'm on track -So far I've heard...
27' & 28' are out - too much weight-too much hassle
26' sundancer - need at least a 3/4ton 4x4 (to be safe)
24'/25' sundancer is inline with the Expedition

 

[ghuskin]

get the 30', keep her in a slip. You will use her more, even for "just hanging out".

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

$800 for a 30 foot slip?? Where can I get this deal. Ours are $2,860! For reference, I have an '04 Expy w/ 5.4 and towed a 5250lb bowrider ('06 Four Winns 260) plus 1500lb trailer plus gear and fuel for total of around 7500 and felt that was close to the upper range of what I'd want to tow. Short distances would have been ok with a little more but not much.

 

[rbryn]

$800 for a 30 foot slip?? Where can I get this deal. Ours are $2,860!

Sorry, that was $300 - $800 per month assuming a 1yr term. if it was $300-$800 per year I'de already have the 30' in the water!

 

[Nehalennia]

I agree with Lazy Daze. The 260DA should not be pulled by the Expedition. My 260DA is on a Galvanized trailer and with the boat on the hitch, truck off the scale my boat weighs 8440LBS. My Truck, with the boat on the hitch, but boat off the scale is 6400.
I have a 3/4 ton Chev Silverado 2500HD. I removed the stock hitch and added a Class 5 hitch which is rated up to 12K, but that doesn't mean the truck is. I think the 240DA or older 250DA like Lazy Daze recommends with still even be close to your towing limit, but is much closer than anything bigger.

Good Luck.

 

[Tail Chaser 661]

Getting the boat on/off the trl is easy.
My 26' floats to within 4' of the bow rollor.
Winch's up pretty easy from there.
The higher freeboard of the bigger trl boats with the wind blowing the wrong direction. Can be a hassle while boating solo.

Full of fuel/water my boat scaled at 9k sitting on a three axle trl when I bought it. Has 4 drum surge brakes
My rear drum braked 3/4ton diesel 4x4 has some pucker factor if I need to get wowed down in a hurry.
Lucky I have a manual trans for added engine braking.

I'm guessing that just the cost of 1 year slip fee cost about the price of a new trl. Not to mention the boat sitting in a wet corrosive environment 24/7
It would not hurt checking out if your even comfortable with pulling a heavy trl

 

[Newbie]

Sorry, that was $300 - $800 per month assuming a 1yr term. if it was $300-$800 per year I'de already have the 30' in the water!

Slips are much cheaper in carolina beach or further north in sneads ferry. Both are only minutes from inlets even though their conditions are usually questionable. I'm paying 3k for the year in CB for a 45' slip which includes power and cable. I can ask about a 30-35' slip this weekend if you'd like, should be a good bit cheaper. When I first started looking for a 260-280, Old Ferry marina in Sneads Ferry was only about 1800 a year fro dry stacking. I really liked the owners of the marina + they live on site, site member Gmathes is up there w/ a 340 and likes it a lot also. I decided against a slip and went the trailerable route, for 6 months till we became tired of launching the 260 every other weekend and decided we wanted something bigger anyhow . Don't make the same mistake, if you want the 300, find a slip for it, you won't regret it.

I towed my 260 over 3k miles in those short 6 months behind a crew cab F250 4x4 diesel. Even behind that truck, it was a load. I moved it 10 miles with my 5.4l F-150 to my brothers field for a hurricane threat, that 5.4 was SCREAMING at me for doing so. If I could do it all over again, I would have started with a 300 and a trailer but a wet slip to keep it in for day to day use. I do miss being able to take the boat up north in august or s. fl in Feb easily and cheaply.