Anyone who trailers a 26'-28' Dancer - What do you pull it with?

Well, One of the problems is that they don't make a 2500 Avalanche anymore (or even recently) - I love my Avalanche. Would like to eventually upgrade to a bigger boat but this is throwing a wrench in my plans. :(

LK
 
another duramax owner here, trucks a beast and in between towing your boat you can tow your house!!!
truckandboat.jpg

By soup0027 at 2011-04-01
 
2500 Suburban pulling 11,000 lbs tri-ax with monster disks on all 3 axels powered by an electdrolic master cylinder. GREAT BRAKING! The trailer stops the truck after a slight time lag for it to come to life. My Suburban brakes have lasted 100k, and still going, including boat and RV towing miles. My Tahoe brakes lasted 18K, much lighter truck for regular use. MM
 
2500 Ram Hemi here. Would have liked the diesel but for $1000 more and 100k more miles on the truck, no thanks.

It's my daily driver, kind of a pain to drive that big truck everywhere but you get used to it. Does a great job towing 10k lbs on a tandem axle.
 
I bought an '04 6.0L Powerstroke to tow my 268 but don't have any experience yet. I can tell you that we pulled the boat with my dad's 04 Silverado 1500 5.3 4wd and it towed fine (neither boat or truck had gear though). And yes, by the books you shouldn't do so but just wanted to share my experience with you.
 
i bought my boat in the midwest and borrowed a f250 gasser to bring it back east. Terrible mileage and not an easy task. diesel is the way to go. better to be safe.
 
i have a 2000 excursion V10 gas and a 268 Sundancer, i took it from Charleston SC to Jax FL about 312 miles with no trailer brakes. no real issues except much longer stopping distances, just take it easy, be patient, you don't need to do 70.
i agree with everyone that the best has to be a 3/4ton, and a diesel with an Allison is the cream of the crop. who cares about mileage when its the boat and safety we are talking about. and in todays market i bet you can just about get someone to give you a 3/4 ton. just dont go and find a good deal on a 350 King Ranch lol, I'm looking for one the day my divorce is final :)
 
I wouldn't want anything less than my F-350 diesel to pull our 2006 260 DA. The dually just makes the tracking perfect...no sway no issues. Having the crew cab is really nice too for taking all the family and gear.

I would assume an F-250 would work fine too. My 4:10 gear hurts gas mileage a little as I only get 14 not towing and average around 10 - 10.5 towing our 260.
 
My DA250 has a dry weight of about 5500 lbs, I figure the trailer is about 1700, add gas, water, people, & equipment, and I'm towing anywhere from 7900 - 8500 lbs.
My 2006 Durango LTD w/tow pkg has a tow capacity of 9300lbs using a WD hitch, which I use for longer trips.
Even without the WD hitch, my rig sits fairly level, I think the independent leveling suspension helps with that.

It's about 15 miles from my house to the ramp, with some hills, and it pulls & stops like a dream!
I always use the "Tow" setting, i.e., turn overdrive off, and usually stay in AWD, top speed 50-55 mph.
For steeper ramps, I've used 4WD Low, just to be safe.

As long as you're not doing a lot of long hauls, and stay within your rated capacity, which may mean using a WD hitch, I think you should be fine.
 
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I have an 06 Avalanche 4wd 1500 that pulls with no problem, but I prefer my 99 dodge 3500 dually diesel.
 
I tow my 290 with a 4x4 V10 Excursion. I only tow a few times a year. If I get to the point I'm towing more, I might consider a diesel for better mpg, but except for the 7-8 mpg, I'm happy with the Excursion.

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I use my daughters F350 Diesel. Since its only 2 or 3 times a year (Depending on the hurricanes), I have a hard time justifying buying that big of a truck as long as one is available. After pulling it with that, I could never imagine attempting to use my half ton to do it. It makes me nervous just using it to move it around the yard. My $.02.
Mike
 
I use a 2003 Excursion 4x4 V10 to tow my 12,000lb 1990 270 w steel trailer. I use trailers to haul stone, wood, etc so I don't need a pickup. The 3/4 ton Excursion is registered as a station wagon so in PA it costs less a year ($100 less) for tags and no weight sticker! Towing a few ton of goods is better than multiple 3/4 ton loads for me so the EX is a no brainer and I can haul 7 people for fun road trips to Bass Pro. Last fall I hauled 7 people and the 7500lbs GVW loaded cargo trailer through the mountains of PA, Mike.

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I use a 2008 Tahoe 1/2 ton 2wd to pull my 26' on the interstate and to put it in and out of the water. The interstate is a little winding but does find. I dont even spin a tire when pulling it out.
 
Though I keep my boat at the marina during the summer and store it inside a building on the Marina's grounds, I do two my boat home at least once (50 miles) to clean and wax her up. I use either my F150 4x4 or our Tahoe. Both do fine, but I don't go too fast either. I have 10 ply tires on the Ford and that really helps while towing. I know I"m stretching the limits of towing with these vehicles, but I'ved towed lots over the years and they do fine. A 3/4 ton would be better...that'll be my next truck. :grin:
 
When towing the 290 with my Excursion I get about 8.5 at 60 mph. No load I get 20. It's the 7.3 diesel 4x4. I feel confident towing or stopping with this setup.
 
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