Save me some money

[anmut]

Hey Hoosier. Ditto having the Pro's do it as a dialed in setup is a little bit complicated. Remember the rules of thumb are that if your loaded trailer is 50% or more of your tow vehicle, its recommended that you have at least a weight distribution hitch and likely sway protection. Not all weight distribution hitches have sway protection.

If you're a little more cost sensitive and want a less expensive DIY method to dial in your setup, here's what I'm doing. Reference to the original spreadsheet is at the bottom. The best article I've ever been able to find was put out by What is the Best Weight Distribution Hitch for 2021? - Camp Addict Here's a video that demonstrates what a miscalculation will do.

I'm all ears if someone has a better way.

Cool demo!

 

[Bizywk]

Thanks! I think they did a good job of explaining the physics too. It was suprising that such small changes had such a big impact.

 

[NewBoater]

I have a 2020 GMC Sierra Denali 1500 and it tows our 242X with no problems. Also does pretty well with gas mileage.

 

[YamahaForMe]

Remember the rules of thumb are that if your loaded trailer is 50% or more of your tow vehicle, its recommended that you have at least a weight distribution hitch and likely sway protection

My RAM 1500 weighs in at around 5500 pounds. A RAM 3500 weighs around 6700 pounds. Your rule of thumb would require just about every person on this board to have a WD hitch and anti sway. Want to take some bets on how many actually have this?

 

[fatboyroy]

My RAM 1500 weighs in at around 5500 pounds. A RAM 3500 weighs around 6700 pounds. Your rule of thumb would require just about every person on this board to have a WD hitch and anti sway. Want to take some bets on how many actually have this?

It applies more in RV towing since side of the RV act like a sail for crosswind. Boat is a lot easier to tow than similar weight RV or enclosed trailer.

 

[AZMark]

I don’t know what impact covid has had on auto sales but if you’d have to pay anything at all to get out of that lease then I’d stick with the Taco for a year.
I initially towed my 212 with a 4runner and if it were flat here I probably would have stuck with it. Big hills/mountains were the problem.

 

[AZMark]

Honestly my biggest concern is an 8.5' wide boat, and 6' wide mirrors. And extensions look ridiculous, but they are safer.

Not many trucks with regular mirrors are going to see around a boat, especially if you ever do trailer guides. The 3/4 tons seem to come with big towing mirrors but then you’re stuck with them 7 days a week when you only need them for 1.

 

[jocolo21]

Dude you will be alright, if you ask here you will definitly end up buying a new truck, hell my dad use to pull his 16foot glastron with a 225 outboard hanging off the back with a 1980 honda accord, hell he used to smoke in the movie theather too, back then noone gave a shit, and you did with what you had. You are pulling with more truck than most people dare to admit.

 

[Bizywk]

My RAM 1500 weighs in at around 5500 pounds. A RAM 3500 weighs around 6700 pounds. Your rule of thumb would require just about every person on this board to have a WD hitch and anti sway. Want to take some bets on how many actually have this?

You make a good point and I agree with you. It may be a solid argument to say that the rule of thumb is overkill for boats.

The rule of thumb does come out of the RV community. There are a lot of dependent factors - i.e. terrain slope, weather, speed, road conditions, traffic, the need for an unexpected hard stop, etc. I myself went for a couple of decades towing heavier loads very successfully without even giving it a concern because we maintain our toys well, until the night I received a call from the state police asking me to come get my Dad. He was a long time experienced professional driver who fell victim. Thankfully, he didn't suffer any permanent injury and against all odds, there were no secondary crashes on the US465 loop, but the crash completely totaled the truck, trailer and cargo. Thankfully, he wasn't physically hurt. At the time I wondered if it may have been at least in part driver error, falling asleep, being overloaded, etc but his co-driver confirmed that it wasn't. The dashcam showed that the load took on a mind of it's own and couldn't be recovered.

Frankly, my SX210 pulls like a dream on short trips without the WDH on great boating weather days and country highways, and I really don't know if it really needs one in sub-optimal conditions or not, but I know I'm better prepared if anything should happen.

 

[2kwik4u]

Neighbor just brought home a new Nissan Titan Pro4X. Went over and hung out and talked shop over a frosty barely pop.

That's a damn nice truck. Way nicer than. I would have thought considering I was very underwhelmed with the Titan XD when I sat in one a few years ago.

Sticker says $60k, but dealership has it listed for $52k.

His '19 Silverado is in the shop again. This time it blew an oil cooler line, dumped all 8qts on the undercarriage while on the interstate in the snow. Said it was knocking pretty bad by the time he was able to get slowed down and across 3 lanes of traffic.

 

[Bizywk]

Ouch! That had to have really gushered to start knocking in that short amount of time. Any indication yet on whether he suffered any cylinder damage in that short amount of time?

 

[drewkaree]

This thing still has to fit in the garage that has low overhead, as the garage is under the house. I believe it is a normal door opening, but the garage door opener sits lower and I required a special kit to install it all.

If we find the right deal, and can get out of our lease, we might pull the trigger this weekend. If it doesn't feel right, we wont buy yet. I have heard of many people pulling large loads with their Tacoma, and I only have a year left on the lease. So worst case scenario I make it work for 1 year. My biggest concern is not power, or payload, or even the weight of the truck. Honestly my biggest concern is an 8.5' wide boat, and 6' wide mirrors. And extensions look ridiculous, but they are safer.

Your garage door opener. Sucks that you had to buy a special kit for it. What's REALLY gonna suck is when you have to remove it completely to install your new jackshaft garage door opener. No opener trolley to worry about.

As for your vehicle, since it's a lease, I wouldn't even consider getting anything until you tested it out with the Tacoma, like @Ronnie suggested.

You're gonna find that mirror extensions are a lot cheaper than buying a whole new truck. If you really want something less ridiculous looking, consider a wireless license plate camera as your "rearview mirror", You can always take it from vehicle to vehicle, and even if you decide to get a new truck, you'll still like the view. Just make sure to take into account that you'll drop it in the water with the boat. Maybe a GoPro with waterproof case, mounted to the rear of the trailer, using a tablet or old unused smartphone as a display for it might work in this instance as well.

 

[drewkaree]

Thanks! I think they did a good job of explaining the physics too. It was suprising that such small changes had such a big impact.

The only problem I have with their demo is that their setup, with the trailer wheels smack in the middle of the box, doesn't seem like any of our setups with a boat. That's more like a utility trailer setup, or a too-long trailer used for hauling around a UTV. The wheels of their demo trailer are nowhere near as close to the entire center of the trailers, and the way your boat sits means that the engines are at the rear of the trailer. I get that they want to give the impression that tongue weight is THE most important thing in your trailer setup, given that's the business they're in, but the example seems somewhat disingenuous in that it doesn't take into account trailer geometry, setup, or anything else other than "tongue weight".

I very much like their hitches. I personally own this one. I have multiple trailers that I end up towing, and I needed the ability to switch out for different sizes and not lose them. If they offered that type with a scale, I have no idea how astronomical the price would be. The type with the pull-a-pin-swap-the-ball and a scale would have run me another EIGHTY!! bucks, plus I'd have to deal with some dumbass buddy or my wife, or even the idiot typing this out possbly losing one of the balls, and me needing it at the worst possible moment, all for a tongue weight scale. I very much appreciate the robustness of their products, and the concept of the scale in the hitch. I just don't like seeing it marketed like that.

I got myself a tongue weight scale like this one here, and I use that if I'm hauling bigger stuff. We can move some things on our trailers. Some things are more complicated, such as the tires/axles, but it might be needed if the dealer setup was crap, or if you purchased your own trailer separately. The winch stand may or may not be able to be moved. You can redistribute weight within the boat...it'll all be guesstimation if you aren't going to a registered scale, but that little tongue weight scale lets me do it right in my driveway, and gets me pretty dang close without all the hassle. I'm sure Weigh Safe's hitches with a scale in them will be pretty good too, but I'm pretty happy that I bought that scale, since it's an easy and cheap take-along for your peace of mind for longer trips. My two doorknob BIL's have used it for their campers when they finally made it up by our place, and they ended up buying one recently to prepare BEFORE they take off on longer trips. I got a thumbs-up from them for the product, but go figure, I got a middle finger for not letting them borrow mine that's 150 miles away (and trusting them to return it before I needed it again).

 

[drewkaree]

 

[TimW451]

Run out the lease, sell the wife’s car, then the house and you can buy this:

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[2kwik4u]

Ouch! That had to have really gushered to start knocking in that short amount of time. Any indication yet on whether he suffered any cylinder damage in that short amount of time?

Not yet. left the house on a rollback yesterday. Supposed to go into the shop on Monday for new oil lines and engine checkout.

Same dealership had the Pro4X on the lot and gave him that as a loaner. This is the 6th time in as many months that the Silverado has been in the shop.

 

[2kwik4u]

@drewkaree

Have a read through this article. They talk about trailer size and shape as well as weight distribution on that trailer.

Towball Weight and Trailer Stability

Why do the Aussies and Yanks insist on 10-15-percent towball weight, while the Europeans are content with around six percent? Towing speed is the main reason for the difference and that makes the Australian practice something of a misfit, Allan Whiting from Outback Travel Australia reports.

outbacktravelaustralia.com.au

I had a really good article saved awhile back that talked about the dynamics of trailer length and ball weight in terms of stability while also factoring in vehicle weight and wheelbase. I'll keep looking for it, but I can't find it right this moment.

*edit* still looking for the PDF

SAE MOBILUS

 

[jamesk]

Just a thought....I went from a Toyota 4runner to an F-150.
F-150 tows better and feels more stable hands down....but the 4runner because of smaller width and length was much easier to see the boat/trailer and much easier to make turns with the trailer at low speeds....I would say it was a give and take comparison.
I have 1-2" clearance on the side of my garage and it is much trickier now with the bigger truck.

 

[dels]

I went through a lot of research in Nov/Dec as we were making the plunge ourselves... we didn't have a vehicle that could tow at all so it was an easy decision if we had to upgrade or not... but just the same, I had to look at all the different trucks and research every little thing (sigh so many options!).

I ended up deciding on a RAM 1500 with 3.92 back axle ratio, 4x4 and 5.7L Hemi and man do I love that beast! It is rated for 11k lbs tow and I can't even feel the boat behind. I went with a Weigh Safe hitch with tongue weight scale and 4" up/down adjustment and the whole thing is just perfect, imho.

The main reasons I chose the RAM were that it has praises from everyone that owns one, won awards multiple years in a row, has amazing technology inside and they are just super reliable in general. The fact that I found a 2020 night edition that was considered used after being on the road for less than a month and saved me 12k on it... may have helped too

Good luck with your quest!

 

[Yambers]

Here is what we decided..

After finding a baddass white and black ford online we went to look at it. Less than 10 miles away.

Disappointment #1 - 2.7 V6 and towing capacity was only 1100lbs more than my Tacoma.
Disappointment #2 - Their advertised price was not being honored if we leased. Only to purchase.
Disappointment #3 - They advertised 1 mile on truck. It was actually being used as a demo and had 5600 miles and it was FILTHY inside and out.
Disappointment #4 - They wanted to super low ball me on my truck.
Disappointment #4 - Either type of deal would have cost me 200-300 more per month than I pay now.

Needless to say, I told the salesman and the blonde bimbo sales manager that we weren't morons and we left.. We will keep what we have and deal with it. I will probably white knuckle it, but it is flat terrain and only 100 miles. I will be fine as long as I am careful and drive defensively.