T&T: Trailer trawlers

[Richard Cook]

I tow an unusually big and heavy 26 foot cruiser (13' high, 8.5' wide, 
33' long, 12,000 lb on the trailer) with a Dodge/Cummins 2500 pickup. 
In the last ten years I've pulled it nearly 50,000 miles, in almost 
entirely mountainous country all over the western US and British 
Columbia, with no particular problems (although plenty of regular 
maintenance on both truck and trailer).

I get 10-11 mpg at 60-65 mph, depending mostly on the amount of 
headwind.  I can climb all but the very steepest interstate grades 
easily at 50-55 mph in 4th gear (of 5), as long as I don't get slowed 
down into a lower gear by other vehicles.

If this boat really weighs only 7,000 dry and empty, and it's not too 
tall, you should be able to tow it with a big long-bed diesel pickup. 
Some think you shouldn't try this w/o a dually, but my SRW works just 
fine, even in a heavy cross-wind.  I tend to think long wheel base and 
heavy springs are much more important than dual rear wheels.

If you're towing in mountains, I'd strongly recommend a manual 
transmission.  I'd certainly recommend 4-wheel disk brakes, 4-wheel 
drive (for the launch ramp), and the most robust rear spring package 
available (called "Camper Option" in my case).

I'd also suggest a very sound triple-axle trailer.  If you go with only 
2 axles, you may wind up with tongue weight so heavy that you want a 
dually.  Adjusting axle position so that you have plenty of tongue 
weight (900+ lbs in my case) is important for stability.

I'm legal in the western US without any permit.  I've heard that towing 
over 10,000 lbs requires something special in British Columbia, but have 
lots of experience there without any issue coming up.

Richard Cook
New Moon (Bounty 257)



Roger Bingham wrote:
> I have just been looking at the North Pacific Yachts 28 Trailer Trawler.
> 
> http://www.northpacificyachts.com/npy28.pdf
> 
> LOA 28ft
> Beam 8' 6"
> Dry weight 7000lbs
> 
> I have never considered this type of boat before.
> 
> What vehicle would be necessary to tow this rig?
> What special authorisation/permission (if any) would be required?
> Would there be different requirements in different states?