Moving to a 280DA.. Would appreciate feedback on this model.

Jellyfish,
From an economical standpoint,will it make sense to go thru the expenditure of a bigger truck instead of racking it or docking the new boat a marina(over time). Trailering that baby around here in MIA is going to be interesting.
 
my dash..

That correct, Marinas here are very expensive just to keep a boat and a F250 diesel is the way to go..

BTW, I been looking around for 280DA and remenber seeing on the boattrader or boats.com a boat with your name "La Dolce Vita".

Is this you?

Alex
 
Jellyfish,

There is a nice 04 280 on the MM website that carries that name... I was very interested in this boat during my search. I know the price is less than advertised. It's in GA.(Lake Allatoona) The only downfall in your case would be that it doesn't have a trailer.

Now, for the final update on my new to me 280... The deal is done! Everything worked out fine. It will be delivered Weds. the 3rd. It will be splashed on Sat. I have to replace zincs and 1 prop (dinged) before it goes in the water. I'll post up picts. once it arrives. I'm pretty much on pins and needles right now... This waiting stuff sucks!
 
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Congrats on the new boat - where are you keeping it? Can't wait to see it. Saw your old boat on the river.
 
Skolbe, I'm going to be keeping it at Woodland. I got a brand new 40' slip there. There are more of these available. I tried PM'ing you but your mailbox is full. I wanted to tell you about the available slips, possibly for your dad. They have great pricing on these too!
 
RiverRat said:
Jellyfish,

There is a nice 04 280 on the MM website that carries that name... I was very interested in this boat during my search. I know the price is less than advertised. It's in GA.(Lake Allatoona) The only downfall in your case would be that it doesn't have a trailer.

Now, for the final update on my new to me 280... The deal is done! Everything worked out fine. It will be delivered Weds. the 3rd. It will be splashed on Sat. I have to replace zincs and 1 prop (dinged) before it goes in the water. I'll post up picts. once it arrives. I'm pretty much on pins and needles right now... This waiting stuff sucks!
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RiverRat..

Hope all goes well and enjoy your new boat!!!!!!!

Alex
 
You will want to look at the weight of the boat fully loaded including the trailer with a bit of a safety factor and compare that to the towing capacity of the truck as quoted by the vehicle manufacturer. I think something like a Chev 2500 HD would be the minimum acceptable vehicle. All this information is available on vehicle websites.
 
Idaho spud said:
You will want to look at the weight of the boat fully loaded including the trailer with a bit of a safety factor and compare that to the towing capacity of the truck as quoted by the vehicle manufacturer. I think something like a Chev 2500 HD would be the minimum acceptable vehicle. All this information is available on vehicle websites.
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Spud's got it. I'd definitely go for the Diesel and 2500/250 or 3500/350 to give yourself some cushion. Our 300 DA is around 14,000 loaded and ready to go giving us a 2,000 lb cushion. A little more than 80% but not much. Check the hitch recommendation because you may need a weight distribution hitch at those weights. Better yet would be to go with a gooseneck trailer if possible.
 
Quick note on the truck issue and feedback received..........

Pick-up a great deal on a '06 F250 FX4 Supercab diesel his past week. Although my '03 Tundra pulled my 240DA with no issies, this new beast is a different story.. Lots MORE power!!

Thanks for all the feedback received....
 
Sounds like it's time to go boat shopping to me!!!
 
jellyfish said:
Quick note on the truck issue and feedback received..........

Pick-up a great deal on a '06 F250 FX4 Supercab diesel his past week. Although my '03 Tundra pulled my 240DA with no issies, this new beast is a different story.. Lots MORE power!!

Thanks for all the feedback received....
Click to expand...
That'll do! Congrats on the truck! I won't even start a Ford/Chevy/Dodge argument! They all have their issues, past present or future. Diesel is far superior and you will probably never go back to a gas rig. I know I won't! I just wish I could figure out a way to put the Duramax or Cummins in my existing Burbs!! Right away you will notice the power, but stopping is still a concern. Even with brakes on all three (or two?) axles, it's a formidable task. Leave lots of room, let the other A$$holes cut you off or whatever they decide to do. You can't do anything about it. Just drive safe and have fun.

When you launch at a ramp, note where the truck is in relation to the water as the boat slides off. When you pull out, put the truck at the same spot and you should only have to winch it on a foot or so. I've been dragging boats out for 22 years and that simple little trick makes it SOOOO much easier. That also assumes the trailer is adjusted and will center the boat as you pull out.
 
Sundancer said:
That'll do! Congrats on the truck! I won't even start a Ford/Chevy/Dodge argument! They all have their issues, past present or future. Diesel is far superior and you will probably never go back to a gas rig. I know I won't! I just wish I could figure out a way to put the Duramax or Cummins in my existing Burbs!! Right away you will notice the power, but stopping is still a concern. Even with brakes on all three (or two?) axles, it's a formidable task. Leave lots of room, let the other A$$holes cut you off or whatever they decide to do. You can't do anything about it. Just drive safe and have fun.

When you launch at a ramp, note where the truck is in relation to the water as the boat slides off. When you pull out, put the truck at the same spot and you should only have to winch it on a foot or so. I've been dragging boats out for 22 years and that simple little trick makes it SOOOO much easier. That also assumes the trailer is adjusted and will center the boat as you pull out.
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Sundancer..

Thanks for the heads up!! BTW, Do you currently trailer your 300DA?
 
jellyfish said:
Riverat..

This is the beginning. I now have to sell my 240DA which should not be an issue. How long did it take to sell your 240DA?

And how is the new 280DA?

Alex
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It took a couple of months overall to sell the 240, but it was pretty much all word of mouth and I was dragging my feet a bit due to it being boating season and wanted to wait. But, I did sell it to the first couple that looked at it. They also bought the boat lift and took over the lease on the slip... I gave them a pretty good package deal knowing that I would have to upgrade everything anyway going to a 280.

The 280, it's working out great. It's in exellent condition but does need some minor things fixed. Dash lights only half of them work, gen. impeller, and anodes so far. Other than that we've had no other issues with it so far. Spent last weekend aboard and had a ball with it. (except for backing into our slip with a 10-15 mph wind on Sunday evening) But, I didn't hit anything so it's all good.

Good luck on selling your 240 and finding a 280 that fits your needs!
 
jellyfish said:
Sundancer..

Thanks for the heads up!! BTW, Do you currently trailer your 300DA?
Click to expand...

Trailer a 300 DA? Are you kidding? Every weekend! :) In fact, we're headed out to Lake Pend Oreille on Friday and will return Sunday. It's as wide as I can go legally without pilot cars. It has an 11 foot beam and is 30 feet from transom to the end of the fiberglass. If I count the anchor pulpit and swimstep it's probably another 3 feet or so? I haven't measured it because it doesn't really matter! Our truck handles it extremely well. I know it's back there, but it's not that different than towing the 250 DA, just a little wider and a little heavier but still at 75 - 80% of the GCWR of the truck. We add the Oversized Load signs front and back and off we go.

We upgraded trucks last year due to an incident when towing a 26 travel trailer back from the Grand Canyon. Let's just say the Burb with it's trailer had WAY more power than the Durango and small boat that thought it could pass us up the hill. Well, until we threw a rod anyway! Got towed into LaGrande, OR where we bought the D/Max. We had been looking at diesel trucks anyway and the price was right ($29,995 for an 04 Crew Cab Dually with a new motor!)! So, that allowed us to start looking for a larger boat. We had been looking at 280's around here and this 300 DA showed up. It was more money than the rest we'd looked at but it's condition was far superior all around. The survery indicated we got a GREAT deal on it! So that made us feel better about paying more than we've ever spent on any vehicle! Hopefully it will last a long time and depreciate slowly! We bought out 250 DA for $18,000 in 2000 and I think I could easily get $14 - 15,000 for it. Not bad for 8 seasons!

The 300 DA is a great boat. It handles better than our 250 DA, especially getting on plane and cornering. The 250 DA flopped over to one side and sort of skidded through the corner. The 300 DA is like smaller boats I've owned. It banks and turns like an airplane! We haven't found any rough water yet, but I've been looking! I know it will be better than the 250 as well! It's so nice to have all the space and additional sleeping quarters! I think you'll appreciate the 280 as well. More space, handles better and twin engines is a real plus around the dock and limping home! Congrats on the new boat too!
 
Sundancer said:
We bought out 250 DA for $18,000 in 2000 and I think I could easily get $14 - 15,000 for it. Not bad for 8 seasons!
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Good luck on the $15,000....hope you can get it but It took me 8 months to sell my 1995 250 DA with a 2001 engine and a ridiculous amount of upgrades (GPS, A/C, new snap-in and on and on and on). I finally sold it when it wasn't even listed for sale for $19,000.00 to a genleman who showed up on my gas dock looking for brokered boats.. Lucky me.:smt038
 
dpvandy01 said:
Good luck on the $15,000....hope you can get it but It took me 8 months to sell my 1995 250 DA with a 2001 engine and a ridiculous amount of upgrades (GPS, A/C, new snap-in and on and on and on). I finally sold it when it wasn't even listed for sale for $19,000.00 to a genleman who showed up on my gas dock looking for brokered boats.. Lucky me.:smt038
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I guess the market will determine our fate! There are a lot of folks in Seattle that will pay top dollar for a freshwater boat. It's in great shape and I know a broker that sold one just like it last August for 14,000. Ours had fewer hours and from what the broker said ours was in better shape. We'll see!
 
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