Trailered to Fla and back to Charlotte.

islandhopper00

islandhopper00

Active Member
Jan 4, 2007
2,670
Lake Norman (Denver) NC
Boat Info
240 Sundancer
Engines
5.0L 260hp, BIII outdrive
I recently pulled my 240 DA to West Palm Bch and back home with out incident. I guess it is around 1000 miles round trip, maybe more. My trailer is a EZ Loader 7900 lb unit. My truck is a Dodge Ram 2500 24 valve turbo diesel, They did a great job. Boy hwy 95 thru SC and Georgia is treacherous.
 
islandhopper00 said:
I recently pulled my 240 DA to West Palm Bch and back home with out incident. I guess it is around 1000 miles round trip, maybe more. My trailer is a EZ Loader 7900 lb unit. My truck is a Dodge Ram 2500 24 valve turbo diesel, They did a great job. Boy hwy 95 thru SC and Georgia is treacherous.
Click to expand...

:smt038 I'd like to trailer from Tampa, FL to Mt. Gilead, NC (Lake Tillery) where family is. Just gotta work up the nerve and my boat is smaller then yours but my truck is too.

How long did it take and how many stops did you make?
 
It took me 12 1/2 hours to get to West Palm, pretty much non stop. I stopped to get fuel and food. I haven't done my trip tally yet but I,d guess I burned Four tanks of diesel. maybe more or less. There were some storms that popped up along the way that slowed me down. I run between 65 and 70 mph most times. Preperation is the key. If you have spares and plan for trouble then it seems like it never pops up. If you have trouble then you have what it takes to fix your problem and then your on your way again. The biggest problem I see is over loading the trailer. Check you weights carefully, and don't load the boat like it is a spare trunk. :grin:
 
islandhopper00 said:
It took me 12 1/2 hours to get to West Palm, pretty much non stop. I stopped to get fuel and food. I haven't done my trip tally yet but I,d guess I burned Four tanks of diesel. maybe more or less. There were some storms that popped up along the way that slowed me down. I run between 65 and 70 mph most times. Preperation is the key. If you have spares and plan for trouble then it seems like it never pops up. If you have trouble then you have what it takes to fix your problem and then your on your way again. The biggest problem I see is over loading the trailer. Check you weights carefully, and don't load the boat like it is a spare trunk. :grin:
Click to expand...

12 1/2 that seems quick but maybe right. Last time I drove from Tampa to Mt. Gilead, NC it took us 13 hours in a Infiniti G35 and 3 tanks of Premium gas.

So now to figure out how much in the truck with the boat and then maybe we will do that next year.
 
islandhopper,

what was so bad about I-95? I used to drive that route from cincy to Jacksonville and felt once I got to South Carolina is was smooth sailing straight roads.
 
Mike does not like to waste time when he is driving. Mr Cummins gets a work out at speed. Traffic is heavy and the road is only two lanes thru that area.
 
Your mileage will improve if you stay closer to 65... I know... it's difficult! We take our 230 DA north and south every fall and winter. Count on losing a tire (carry a floor jack) and, for us, it takes 100 gal. of gas.

For us Charlotte is halfway to St. Pete, FL (1040 miles)

Truck is '02 F-150, 5.7 gasser
Boat and trailer is 5700 lbs. on load range C tires - that explains why we blow tires!
 
gstanton,

I noticed Deep Creek, Md. in your profile. I tow my 210BR to Deep Creek a couple times a year with a Chevy Z71 with a 350 in it, some of those mountains can be brutal on a gas motor, can't imagine pulling anything bigger............was just up there last weekend.

John
 
Yes mpg is much better if I could keep it under 65mph but I like to run with traffic, It feels better for me to not be getting run over by cars and bogged down when you catch a slow guy in the right lane. If I stay with traffic I just roll along with them. Heck I some times find myself leading the pack. Disclaimer, I have a over rated trailer and truck is set up to handle this weight. Trailer has four wheel disc brakes to. I have the 3:55 gear in my truck also that means 2000 rpms at 70 mph. Power band. Believe it or not sometimes a rv or another big boat will fly past me! I try to balance safety and travel time. :grin:
 
I agree with Island hopper, preperation is the key

One thing Id like to add, wheel bearings.

Shouldnt be too big of a deal for you, I am assuming a 1 year old boat has a 1 year old trailer, in which case the bearings are prolly still ok. But it is a good practice to have them packed every year.

Even still, it woudnt hurt to have 1 or 2 in your tool kit, it may keep you from having to leave your boat on the side of the road while you hunt down parts!!! Trust me on this one!!!!
 
wadebmadden, yes you are right about the bearings. My trailer is a new,07. I up graded to a heavier model. Actually it's a custom job I speced out for a 240 da specifically. It also has the oil bath bearings hubs. No greasy repacks for me anymore. I also have the spare hub, bearing, and tire spare. Because what do you do when the bearings wipe out the hub. :thumbsup:
 
Mike/islandhopper00
Not quite as long as you, but just got back from the MM Golden Isles trip on the GA/FL coast. It was about 8 & 1/2 hour run for us. (75/16/95) Yes 95 is rough in south GA, but sure liked that "El-Cheap-O" gas price :thumbsup:
 
islandhopper00 said:
It took me 12 1/2 hours to get to West Palm, pretty much non stop. I stopped to get fuel and food. I haven't done my trip tally yet but I,d guess I burned Four tanks of diesel. maybe more or less. There were some storms that popped up along the way that slowed me down. I run between 65 and 70 mph most times. Preperation is the key. If you have spares and plan for trouble then it seems like it never pops up. If you have trouble then you have what it takes to fix your problem and then your on your way again. The biggest problem I see is over loading the trailer. Check you weights carefully, and don't load the boat like it is a spare trunk. :grin:
Click to expand...

I wish I was that close to FL. When I tow my 240DA from NJ it takes me 23-24 hours. I agree with islandhopper00, proper prep is the main thing. I have a list of 3 pages long that includes everything I need for the trip. On my single axle trailer for my 175BR I would always loose a tire on the way back, so I carried two spares all the time. Now, with tendem axle I had no issue, although I still have 2 spares installed.

Alex
 
Hey Chuck, glad to hear you had a good time and no troubles. Yea, hwy 95 is always under construction and I guess that hwy gets so much traffic the road bed gets wavy. My truck trailer combo just pitch poles for miles thru there. Sometimes it'll make a man angry, then we all wonder why were all ready to kill one another. :lol: :smt017
Yes I to like the fuel prices thru Ga. I even try to time it so that I have to fuel up at exit 6 just before crossing the Fla. border. I say exit 6, because exit 1 will make you mad there's so many people trying to get gas. I seem to see a recuring theme here. :lol:

Thanks Alex. Mike
 
gstanton said:
Your mileage will improve if you stay closer to 65... I know... it's difficult! We take our 230 DA north and south every fall and winter. Count on losing a tire (carry a floor jack) and, for us, it takes 100 gal. of gas.

For us Charlotte is halfway to St. Pete, FL (1040 miles)

Truck is '02 F-150, 5.7 gasser
Boat and trailer is 5700 lbs. on load range C tires - that explains why we blow tires!
Click to expand...

Feel better, thought it was me travelling local roads getting 10.2 to 10.4 mpg. I have a 2006 Lincoln F-150 (LT) 4x4 with the 5.4 liter with tow package. I get a little better (13 mpg) if I am not stopping every 10 miles for a light or slowing down through a small town.
 
You gotta love those Cummins. My 04 4x4 full size Cummins pulls my car in a 20ft enclosed trailer and the 21 ft Sea Ray, even though the Cummins is a little much for this small boat. It pulls both without any problems.

What type of mileage did you get? I usually get around 12mpg with the stock size tires when I pull the car. Throw the 315's on there and the mileage suffers. :smt009 , but it does look much better :thumbsup:

I also like to run up there in the 65-75 mph range with the 20ft enclosed trailer. The truck does fine at those speeds and the mileage doesn't change a whole lot until I hit the grades. I have a 3.73 gear and a 6 speed. If I did slow down in the 60 mph range, my mileage would probibly go up, but time is money also :grin: I gotta get to those car shows as quick as possible!
 
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