Looking For Input From Experienced Haulers

I'm not a Ford guy, but as others have said that Expedition will pull that boat no problem (I assume it has a V10?). No WD hitch necessary.I assume you do have surge brakes? Those trailer brakes are important. I wouldn't worry so much about pulling the boat up the ramp, that's easy. It's trying to stop the boat when you're doing 50, 60+ mph. You want all the braking power you can get.

And if you have a tow/haul mode on your transmission, use it. I know when I engage that mode on my 2500HD, the Allison transmission turns into a completely different beast and will pretty much do all braking for me with the transmission, automatically. That, with the trailer brakes pulling on the truck to slow down, and you barely have to use the actual tow vehicle brakes!

Great trailer brakes will stop the truck as well as the trailer and load...

I am coming in a little late on this. I had a 240 DA for 8 years and have pulled it all over Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee with a Chev Avalanche. The rating was 8500lbs and it worked pretty well. I always used 4 wheel drive at the ramp. The only problem I had was traveling in the hills of TN where the Avalanche would heat up at highway speeds. I finally broke down and traded the Avalanche for a F250 4x4 diesel which I currently use for a 260 DA in Indiana and Michigan. The expedition should be good for normal use.

The advice on the trailer maintenance is more important. I suggest you keep a 6 ton bottle jack, a couple 4x4 post sections, and a set of fold up wheel chocks in the truck. Make sure to keep the trailer wheel bearings greased and put some bearing buddies on the hubs. the 240 is a great boat and perfect for weekend trips. I only moved up to the 260DA after the 240DA went away in a nasty divorce. But that is a story for another thread!

I agree with most of the above. Check bearings, brakes, tires and take 2 spare tires.

Last week coming back from the Keys I blew the middle tire on the right side, not a big deal but the when the tread separated it took the valve stem off the rear tire. Now I have 1/2 of 14k rolling on one tire, whatever you do don't panic, the most important thing is not too stop but keep going straight as you slow.

Anyway, using blocks and a floor jack I was prepared to change one tire but cant lift whole boat for two. I had just added Boat US trailer support. Well worth the money, 45 minutes later a big ass jack and monster air impact and I was on my way for free.

Lab'n Lager said:

I agree with most of the above. Check bearings, brakes, tires and take 2 spare tires.

Last week coming back from the Keys I blew the middle tire on the right side, not a big deal but the when the tread separated it took the valve stem off the rear tire. Now I have 1/2 of 14k rolling on one tire, whatever you do don't panic, the most important thing is not too stop but keep going straight as you slow.

Anyway, using blocks and a floor jack I was prepared to change one tire but cant lift whole boat for two. I had just added Boat US trailer support. Well worth the money, 45 minutes later a big ass jack and monster air impact and I was on my way for free.

Click to expand...

That is a great report... And YES, Carry two spares...

MM

Typically, if there is a problem, it is not power, it is traction.
I've pulled my 2006 240 DA for 4 years, launched about 40 or 50 times, used about a dozen different ramps, with my 07 Tundra pick up, 2WD and the 5.7 L V8. No prob's on the road at all with this combination. Rarely if ever spin the truck wheels pulling up the ramp, and then just a little. (except for 2 stories-see below).

I grew up trailering various boats since childhood and I can tell you, if you do it long enough, you will accumulate stories of mis-adventures. I have my share, but luckily, no injuries, and only 1 or 2 incidents with minor damage.


Only had 2 problems ever, at boat ramps, with my 240 Sundancer:

1) this really applies to just about any boat/tow vehicle combo: If the ramp is full of loose gravel, sweep it off. It makes no difference if you have 4 WD or 2WD when backing down a ramp if the entire rig and all drive/braking wheels are spinning and sliding on a layer of gravel that is rolling on a concrete ramp. And when you apply the brakes, you just keep sliding down hill until something finally bites some traction. By then you are probably jack-knifed at best. I only had a close call like this, no damage; and swept the ramp before I used it again - once was enough!! Later, after the gravel had accumulated again, I saw several teen-age employees at a resort, launching the company boats using a company 4WD SUV, repeat the scary seen over and over, jack-knifing, sliding backwards down the ramp with their brakes locked when launching, ending up with the boats off the ramp, fully jack-knifed, and the tow vehicle sideways on the ramp. I alerted the resort manager that the ramp needed to be gravel-free before somebody totaled a rig and got hurt. Next thing I knew the crew was out there with brooms & shovels. Ramp had Great traction after that!

2) I launched at a relatively mild-sloped ramp at Lake LBJ in Marble Falls TX. When trying to pull the boat out, I could not do it, my truck wheels could not get quite enough traction! They were just spinning almost silently...no screeching, no smoking, almost like they were on wet ice. Even with the Tundra's automatic anti-spin control turned on. Basically, I ended up offloading a couple hundred pounds of stuff out of the boat and put it in the bed of my truck, let some air out of the rear tires, waited till the ramp dried in the sun, and even after all that, it took the weight of 3 good Samaritans in the bed over my rear wheels (big Samaritans - added about 700 pounds in the bed) to pull my boat up the ramp which didn't even have much of a slope. I couldn't believe it until I took a close look. The concrete ramp surface had a lot of gravel impregnated in the concrete, just protruding from the surface, and the gravels had been polished round and smooth, I guess from years of usage. And whatever traction grooves may have been originally put in the concrete were well worn away and smoothed over too. I've had no trouble on steeper ramps with nothing in the truck bed, same load in the boat, and zero wheel spin.

Other than the 2 examples above- make sure your trailer brakes are WORKING. The Vanguard trailer that came from SeaRay with my 240 had a defective Demco master cylinder - which the cylinder itself was sent to me free, under warranty (my labor to install). If you search my posts you can get all the gory details. Part of the problem is that most people I met, even at the dealership, cannot tell if the surge-brakes are really working or not.

Almost forgot - I had to go to load range E tires on the trailer; the trailer came with C and finally Carlisle got tired of replacing the C's under warranty. And, I found a crack in one of the aluminum trailer wheels - so they replaced that too.

Be careful and good luck!

MV

I have always hated those crummy surge brakes. Last year, I got rid of the surge brake set-up and changed to electric over hydraulic. Instead of bolting the slide, I had it welded. Now, I finally have a way of controlling the trailer brakes and it does make a huge difference. I would highly recommend the set-up to anyone that does a lot of trailering. I only trailer once every other year or so, but, it is an 1,100 mile trip one way. Still, the system is worth every penny to me.