Marty and Welder - Thanks for the comments - I knew there would be a lot of questions about the trailer/towing setup. An enormous amount of work went into dealing with the trailering aspect of this project. Most boat and truck dealers don't know Sh*t about towing or any of the components that make up the tow ratings and the complete towing package. I talked to many people and manufactures all over country in determining what to use. Cequent Manufacturing, the parent company to Reese and Draw Tite were very helpful. I'm no expert but I'm way ahead of most folks.Ironwoodtuna wrote:Sharkbait,
1st off, Congrats on getting her home! She looks like a DREAM CATCH for sure. You gotta be touting wood as you were pull'in into home port! HA!!!
2ndly,I'll bet!? Is she ready to fish or do you now have a bunch of rigging to do on her?
3rdly, Is that a F150/250/35 or 1500/2500/3500 in gas of diesel?
4thly, Is the weight of the total trailer and boat under 10K or over?
5thly, What class hitch and tounge weight rating are you using?
We are all waiting for the action photos! Standing By! Marty
1. Absolutely
2. She is almost ready to fish - still waiting on the Shrimp Pot Puller which is waiting on the motor. The boat was designed as a comfortable multi-day cruiser as well as a serious fishing boat.
3. The truck is an Ex Cab, SWB, Chevy 2500 HD, 4 WD, rear locking diff, with an 8.1L gas engine and the Allison. I have replaced the Allison's pan with the larger Allison steel pan from their medium duty trucks. I then replaced the transmission fluid with Schaeffer's 204 SAT synthetic transmission fluid and replaced the factory transmission cooler with a much larger cooler made specifically for the big GM trucks by Inglewood Transmission in Calif. As a point of reference when I was on the flatland the trans temperature was 140F and the max I saw after pulling the 6 mile mountain grade was 165F. It has no problem pulling this load.
4. Weight - you want to know weight? I must be one of the only guys around who has ever weighed his rig to include all of the axles. The boat and trailer weigh 15,000#. Now before you S**t a brick I will let you know that none of the weight limits have been exceeded and that includes, Ft axle, Rear axle, GCVWR, tounge weight or trailer weight - but it is very near the GCVWR maximum of the truck which is 22,000#.
4A. Some comments on the trailer. Danny Gallagher, and his late father Dan, of Rolls Axle designed and built the trailer specifically for this boat from CAD drawings supplied by Daigle Welding and Marine, for use in Alaska. The trailer has a GVWR of 18,000#, the main frame rails are 8" X 5" aluminum I beams, there are 13" Kodiak Stainless Steel discs on each of the six wheels, they are actuated by an Active Technology Second Generation, fully proportional, electric over hydraulic actuator which is controlled by a BrakeSmart controller which measures the hydraulic pressure in the trucks braking system to determine how much braking to apply to the trailer. I have pulled a lot of trailers in my day and this is by far the best towing trailer I have ever towed. OBTW the trailer brakes are so good you don't need the trucks brakes - just hit the controller and she stops.
5. If you own a GM truck you already know the GM receiver is a real POS. I replaced mine with a Putnum XDR, Class V unit which has a weight carrying limit of 15,000# and a weight distributing limit of 16,000#. Since I was using electric over hydraulic brakes I added a Reese Titan 17,000# weight distributing hitch set up. The trailer is level to within 1/8" when hooked up. Tongue weigh was set at 1050# (per Rolls recommendation) using a Sherline Tongue Weight Gage. This is the first time I have used a load equalizing hitch on a boat and I have to say it was a very, very smart move. No pitching, swaying or bucking on wash-board roads, tows and stops straight as an arrow. Thats not to say you don't know the boat is behind you, but it is very comfortable towing it.
I knew this was going to be a big, heavy boat and since it was designed to be as large as possible and still be trailerable a lot of effort was put into the trailer/brake/hitch system to provide the highest level of safety when towing. I think I hit it!
I hope I have answered your technical questions.
SB
"IRONWOODTUNA" the Alloy Sportfisherman Battleship!
