Old Truck Towing 30' Sea-Ray

J

Jakeo

New Member
Jan 2, 2009
47
Ohio
Boat Info
'70's Mirrocraft w/t Johnson-REDONE, 21' Sea-ray Seville w/t 165 4cyl CC SOLD w/t over 2000 hours.
Engines
Outboards
((Please forgive my spelling))
To start out I want to say I love this forum for alot of reasons but the main one is that it appears that most get along and are willing to assist each other no matter the size of your boat or wallet.
I have a Uncle that has a heart of gold and has always loved fishing with me. He is like a second Dad.
Well he called me Sunday and told me he bought a "LIL" boat near the Indiana border and wanted me to come with him to follow the hauler as it was being towed home. Well I quickly asked the normal questions....size, make and accessories. He told me and I asked him who was towing it back here to Toledo and he said that the seller was but at $6.00 per mile. It is exactly 70 miles so I volunteered my 1995 Dodge Pick-up with the 360 Magnum V-8. Well the old girl was about to get a work out.
We left Yesterday morning at 6am, stopped for breakfast and remembered I forgot to grab my 2-5/16" hitch. I ran and got it and off we were.
When we got to the boat, I was drooling.....This thing is AWESOME!! It looks like its original and IT IS!
The man has kept it in his barn and only used it as a floating cottage and travel trailer since 1978 and trailered it to mobile home he owns and when he wanted to put it in the water he trailered it to Lake Michigan for the day or weekend. It has never sat in the water for a season. What a find IMO.
Well we got the 2year old trailer attatched to my truck and yes it dropped a bit but this was set up perfectly. We put the wide load sign on my truck(owner gave it to me) and the boat had the banner and flags . I couldnt find a way to put the flags on the front of the truck so I duct tapped then to the bumper. Off we went.
I know back roads that are in pretty good shape and only had to get on the main highway about the last 25 miles. I have the electric brake set up and the trailer has 2 axles (I believe) with brakes so stopping was no problem at all. I could have gone 60mph if I wanted to but kept it at 50 mph all the way with no problems at all. These older pick ups with a trailer towing package can still do the job and the cost is peanuts compared to new prices. He and I both were very impressed.
I would have no problem towing it thru Michigan and Ohio BUT not in any mountains.
BTW....The boat has a pair of 350's Mercruisers and is a inboard set up.
We got to the yard and I backed it in perfectly but pulling it out of a ramp might be a challenge.
My Dad used to tow a 34' Airstream with a Chevy 400 station wagon that sucked fuel but we camped all over with it.
Does anyone else use a older vechicle they trailer with?
 
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I think we'd need pics of the boat before we could comment. :smt001
I had a '94 Ram with the 360. Yours must be better than mine. I had the 3.55 rear end and it had an overly active transmission just pulling a jet ski trailer. It was on tranny #3 when I got rid of it with 105,000 miles, and the last 40,000 miles it never pulled a trailer, and I still had to put a tranny in it during that time. My '03 GMC is old by many people's standards now, and it will pull anything you want to hook up to it. I can't see getting rid of it in the near future. If things are well maintained, they can run a long time, and do what they're meant to do.
 
People helping people is the best part of CSR! Great story but we need pictures... yes the old trucks still do the job. I have a 01 silverado that I have pulled everything with. I had a 82 245srv that I used to make the 80mi trip to Erie with all the time. I have a 30' trailer I haul lawn equipment,4 wheelers, and all kinds of other stuff with. The thing is a tough truck and 390x is spot on... maint is the key...
 
I used to pull with a 1 ton 1973 PowerWagon
440cid 4 speed 4X4
It would not have noticed your boat was back there :grin:

wish I still had that old beast.
 
My Dad had a 1988 Dodge 2500 with the 360 in it. He pulled a 1989 340 Sundancer on a steel trailer. :smt101 That big black truck had 150k miles on it and was bullet proof.
 
Did your dad's truck have a 3-speed by any chance? My tranny rebuilders told me I had so much trouble because the Torque Flite transmission was one of the best ever made..........Until they made it a 4-speed. They said the overdrive was an afterthought, and it didn't cool properly. They claimed if you let it sit and idle in park that the fourth gear got almost no oil and would literally sit and destroy itself. They said tons and tons of fleet vehicles would have failures because the guys would leave the truck running when they'd be on a job and it would just burn up the 4th gear.
 
I cant remember if it was a 3 or 4 speed. My Dad pulled 4 other boats in the boat club every year to and from storage and a trip out to the Mississippi river about 400 miles round trip. The boats ranged from 30 ft - 34 ft. All sea rays :thumbsup:
The truck would get 3-4 miles a gallon...but that's when gas was cheap.
 
Q1: Is your Dodge a half or three quarter ton? Disc brakes on all corners, or discs in front and drums out back? Crew/long, or reg cab shortie? All this stuff makes a BIG difference when towing something twice the weight of the truck pulling it...

Q2: Wasn't clear from your post if it was a dual or triple axle trailer? If only a dual, even if they were 8K# axles, that would be marginal when you add boat weight + trailer weight + fuel/gear load.

You were smart to keep your speed down. Big boats are like pulling parachutes; its not just the weight, its the wind resistance that goes up exponentially with ground speed. There is a HUGE difference between 55 and 65mph...both for keeping transmissions happy, and for safe braking.

A 30'r SeaRay optimal trailer/tow rig would be triple 6K# axles with brakes on all three, towed by a 2500 series diesel. Go any distance, anywhere there are four lanes, at 65mph in any summer temps. Less truck than that? Then less terrain, lower towing temps, less speed and less distance are required.

As I always say to people that ask if they 'have enough truck'...if you are only going across town, you could probably move it safely with your lawn tractor at 3mph. :grin:
 
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Been busy.....Sorry about delay on answering some questions.
The truck is only 1/2 ton with 360 Magnum and TT package. The trailer is tandem and I did not check out the axle rating as it was my Uncles and I know he would have done his homework on that.
Well he contacted me this week and because we have no snow here he has been tinkering inside and asked me if WE should plan on taking the boat to Lake Michigan where the PO launched and do the "shake down cruise". My answer was simple........"Sure if you buy me a HD Pick-up". I am NOT towing that thing that far with my truck 200 plus miles when Lake Erie is 10 minutes away. A shake down cruise is just that.Period.
I believe he has second thoughts on the size and wants the PO to take us out but I told him I know enough people here to assist if need be. I have driven my buddies 34' Wellcraft Gran Sport and was able to dock it and will ask him to go with us.
Now if I see a NEW truck in my drive......I'll take it wherever he desires.LOL
OH.....SS.....I wish I had taken pics but forgot completely.
 
i would like to see pics as well, What make & model of boat? (maybe i missed it)

LK
 
Sounds like a good response. Depending on the axles, the GWR of the heaviest conceivable dual axle trailer will be about 14K#. Most will come in about 10-12K#, which means you need to get the entire trailer weight transferred to the truck to legally (not to mention safely) haul that boat on that trailer.

Now...on to the tow rig. You put that boat/trailer behind a diesel dually and you mitigate alot of risk (larger brakes, more tires on the ground, heavy suspension to carry more tongue weight, etc.) Most 2500seriesHDs are gonna get the job done, over shorter distances.

However....there isn't a 1500 series made that is intended for the weight and braking requirements of a 30'r SeaRay on a dual axle trailer. Period. But you already knew that. ;)

So, without being judgemental, you made the right choice to beg off on the Michigan trip. Smart move! Get a late model dually diesel powered anything and try it out with that load behind. You'll be AMAZED at the acceleration, stability, and stopping power.

Last comment - please check that there are brakes on all four hubs of that trailer, and that they are in good working order. Also the boat should be secured with beefy rachet-style transom straps, and also strapped on each side from the bow cleats angled rearward. One last strap to cinch the bow eye downward will stop all bow bounce.

Conceptually, its all about keeping the trailer strapped to the bottom of the boat in case of a major accident, and also keeping the boat off the truck in the case of a VERY sudden, unanticipated stop.

All the best.
 
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I'm still using my 1992 F250 XLT with a 351 automatic to pull my 92 sea ray
270 sundancer on a tandem axle trailer.

It does a great job as I avoid the steep hills. We use low range to pull it up the ramp but that's the only time we use it.

Other than raw HP the truck does a fine job handling the weight.
It has 159,000 miles on it. You don't need a new truck just a well maintained properly outfitted one.
 
You are comparing towing at 270 with a 3/4 ton, to a 300 with a 1/2 ton. Agreed its not the age of the truck, but matching the load to the right tow unit (with some margin of safety to spare) is paramount.

Any of these boats could be towed with a lawn tractor. Good luck stopping.
 
I will try and get pics as I am a PIC LOVER also....LOL
One pic I wont get is my truck hitched to that boat....no more.
 
I pull my 270 with tri axle aluminum trailer behind a 00"z71 1500 5.3. It squats a little not bad. Has plenty of power to pull locally.i will map out best way though not to big of hills.The trailer has good brakes and I use them.I figured if I can pull 7-8k of green oak on dual axle trailer all the time.Once in a while won't hurt with the boat.Are speed limit is only 55 here anyway pulling no matter what size of trailer.O ya I have 205k on truck.
 
duckmnn said:
I pull my 270 with tri axle aluminum trailer behind a 00"z71 1500 5.3. It squats a little not bad. Has plenty of power to pull locally.i will map out best way though not to big of hills.The trailer has good brakes and I use them.I figured if I can pull 7-8k of green oak on dual axle trailer all the time.Once in a while won't hurt with the boat.Are speed limit is only 55 here anyway pulling no matter what size of trailer.O ya I have 205k on truck.
Click to expand...

Have you ever weighed your boat & trailer? Just curious - I eventually want to get a bigger boat and like to keep track of what the 1500's will pull.

LK
 
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