Trailerable cruiser

Pat57 knows what he's talking about, accurate advise on the weights.
Dry weight is VERY misleading and gas , water and gear adds up way faster than you think.
My boat is allegedly 5880 dry, with very little gear, water tank full and 3/4 tank of gas I was 7100LBS, my trailer is rated for 7300, that's way too close, luckily for me I'm only 3 miles from the boat ramp on lake Keowee that I use.
The suspension on my trailer is bottomed out with the boat on it, it's not pretty, lol. If I had it to do over again I'd get the next heavier trailer up.
For me the scary part was I bought this boat in Minnesota and I live in SC. I pulled an empty trailer up there and trailered back with the boat.
The reason I'm getting to this is, my Amberjack is 9'10" wide and I didn't bother with permits for all those states! I rolled the dice, lol. I never had any problems and went by many (and was passed by many) State troopers, I never got a look. I was going rather slow, never exceeded 55MPH , Towing that thing (8400LBS with trailer weight) with my F150 was a hand full! I was maxed out for sure. That was the hairiest 1100 Mile road trip of my life, lol.
My point is, If you not "blatantly" over width I don't think you'll get stopped, especially if you're going a safe / reasonable speed.
Good luck.
 
Woody said:
My 280DA is 12'3 on an Eagle tri-axle. That's with the Glomax antenna taken off and measurement to the top of the mount it sits on.
Click to expand...

My 2001 280 Sundancer has the following:
LOA w/anchor roller: 32’
Beam: 9’ 3”
Height On-Trailer: 12’3”

I have tri-axle Hi Tech Marine aluminum trailer.
I used two plumb-bobs and measured the actual beam at the widest part of the rub rail on mine to get this true beam.

I have twin V6’s and the Kohler generator and A/C. The previous owner cut a notch in the overhead beam of his garage to fit the boat.
Tows easy from gas station to gas station with a 2019 Ram 2500 4X4 with 6.4Hemi. All within weight specs.
 
Steve255AJ said:
Pat57 knows what he's talking about, accurate advise on the weights.
Dry weight is VERY misleading and gas , water and gear adds up way faster than you think.
My boat is allegedly 5880 dry, with very little gear, water tank full and 3/4 tank of gas I was 7100LBS, my trailer is rated for 7300, that's way too close, luckily for me I'm only 3 miles from the boat ramp on lake Keowee that I use.
The suspension on my trailer is bottomed out with the boat on it, it's not pretty, lol. If I had it to do over again I'd get the next heavier trailer up.
For me the scary part was I bought this boat in Minnesota and I live in SC. I pulled an empty trailer up there and trailered back with the boat.
The reason I'm getting to this is, my Amberjack is 9'10" wide and I didn't bother with permits for all those states! I rolled the dice, lol. I never had any problems and went by many (and was passed by many) State troopers, I never got a look. I was going rather slow, never exceeded 55MPH , Towing that thing (8400LBS with trailer weight) with my F150 was a hand full! I was maxed out for sure. That was the hairiest 1100 Mile road trip of my life, lol.
My point is, If you not "blatantly" over width I don't think you'll get stopped, especially if you're going a safe / reasonable speed.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

My question would be what happens if you were to be involved in an accident on the road? I am clueless here, but what would your insurance say if you were sued? We all take risks, but I a curious.

Bennett
 
bbwhitejr said:
My question would be what happens if you were to be involved in an accident on the road? I am clueless here, but what would your insurance say if you were sued? We all take risks, but I a curious.

Bennett
Click to expand...
Your insurance company would say you were illegal and insurance would be voided. You could also be charged with a criminal offense if someone was injured or killed in an accident. Not a risk worth taking.
 
bbwhitejr said:
My question would be what happens if you were to be involved in an accident on the road? I am clueless here, but what would your insurance say if you were sued? We all take risks, but I a curious.

Bennett
Click to expand...
I doubt they'd say anything. The only thing for sure I see is that he's over width without permit. If he's in an accident how did that contribute would be the question. Insurance companies are paying all the time for errors the insured make without cancellation.
 
Don’t forget these when towing and you are concerned what will happen to you when you wreck.
49BD1DC0-FDE2-45EF-9121-5A49C52C9D67.jpeg


40E86BB1-297E-4ED7-8151-E5741B37FDED.jpeg


They’re on your door jam.
The other guy’s attorneys won’t forget about them.
 
Woody said:
I doubt they'd say anything. The only thing for sure I see is that he's over width without permit. If he's in an accident how did that contribute would be the question. Insurance companies are paying all the time for errors the insured make without cancellation.
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I agree. I doubt the insurance company could just drop you for an administrative violation. Not a lawyer, though. Max width and length are arbitrary figures set by some bureaucrat. My proof is the towing regs vary state by state but the roads and trucks are all the same. How can you claim anything but some administrative decision based on personal preference of some human, government employee that thinks they know better than anyone else. (Sorry - just a Libertarian rant!)

How many people are drunk, driving excessively fast, run a red light and cause a crash but insurance still has to pay? The driver made conscious decisions to disregard rules and laws. Your risk as a driver is embedded in your rates. That is why all these control freak, profit driven insurance companies want you to stick that little monitoring device in your car. If my policy said, “If you are found to have violated any state or local ordinance, law or regulation, this policy is null and void.” That would be pretty significant. Please tell me what page it’s on if that clause is in there.

As far as staying within weight and load limits of the manufacturer, I completely agree with that. Overloading your vehicle or hitch system is just asking for big problems. Not just damaging your truck, but losing control at the most important time. Stopping is always the part that is overlooked. Pulling can be controlled. When you are overloaded, the truck’s braking system is not sized to stop the load quickly enough. Then the side to side roll on curves because the suspension and frame aren’t stiff enough. On and on…
This topic is a very common discussion over at the RV forums. Always some dude saying they pulled their 34-foot triple slide out weighing 12,000 over Mt Everest with a Nissan Pathfinder and had no problems.
 
Depending on what state you live in and which automobile insurance company issued your policy, negligent actions will lead to a number of insurance-related problems -- ranging from having your policy canceled to the insurance company denying coverage of any personal injury or property damage claims made against you. The guaranteed consequence is that your premiums will increase substantially.

A liability vehicle insurance policy may provide coverage for any accident in which the insured drives in a negligent manner and causes an accident. However, NO car insurance policy covers car accidents caused by intentional conduct, such as knowingly coupling up an undersized trailer to an undersized truck.

Some automobile insurers will also argue that drinking and driving is intentional conduct, since that argument (if accepted) will allow the company to disclaim coverage for damages resulting from a DUI. The insurer's argument here is that the driver intentionally put him or herself in a position to cause the accident -- i.e., intentionally got drunk, intentionally drove after getting drunk, and knew (or at the very least should have known) that drinking and driving is extremely dangerous. The same is true for negligence when planning to tow - you must know the laws and regulations. You are expected to know that towing can place additional demands on the vehicle and add risks to your driving. If you cause an accident, your auto insurer will at least investigate the circumstances of your crash before it agrees to accept any liability for damages.

If the insurer takes the position that your intentional actions contributed to the accident, it may refuse to defend you and may deny all coverage for damages relating to your accident. This is especially true if you're trying to get coverage for injuries to other drivers and passengers.
 
Juliery said:
Depending on what state you live in and which automobile insurance company issued your policy, negligent actions will lead to a number of insurance-related problems -- ranging from having your policy canceled to the insurance company denying coverage of any personal injury or property damage claims made against you. The guaranteed consequence is that your premiums will increase substantially.

A liability vehicle insurance policy may provide coverage for any accident in which the insured drives in a negligent manner and causes an accident. However, NO car insurance policy covers car accidents caused by intentional conduct, such as knowingly coupling up an undersized trailer to an undersized truck.

Some automobile insurers will also argue that drinking and driving is intentional conduct, since that argument (if accepted) will allow the company to disclaim coverage for damages resulting from a DUI. The insurer's argument here is that the driver intentionally put him or herself in a position to cause the accident -- i.e., intentionally got drunk, intentionally drove after getting drunk, and knew (or at the very least should have known) that drinking and driving is extremely dangerous. The same is true for negligence when planning to tow - you must know the laws and regulations. You are expected to know that towing can place additional demands on the vehicle and add risks to your driving. If you cause an accident, your auto insurer will at least investigate the circumstances of your crash before it agrees to accept any liability for damages.

If the insurer takes the position that your intentional actions contributed to the accident, it may refuse to defend you and may deny all coverage for damages relating to your accident. This is especially true if you're trying to get coverage for injuries to other drivers and passengers.
Click to expand...

So, making sure I understand, if you are negligent by grossly overloading your truck which caused an accident, the insurance would have to pay on the liability side, but would try to cancel the comprehensive/collision and policy holder medical payments. Am I understanding correctly?
 
DWABoat said:
So, making sure I understand, if you are negligent by grossly overloading your truck which caused an accident, the insurance would have to pay on the liability side, but would try to cancel the comprehensive/collision and policy holder medical payments. Am I understanding correctly?
Click to expand...
They may deny all coverage because you are in breach of conditions. ..."the insurance company may deny coverage of any personal injury or property damage claims made against you." ..."it may refuse to defend you and may deny all coverage for damages relating to your accident. This is especially true if you're trying to get coverage for injuries to other drivers and passengers."
In other words, you're on your own.
 
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After a brief diversion looking into larger cruisers, seems I'm back to trailerable cruisers. Found there seems to be a lot more 270's out there with out arches than the other lengths. I've found one on a trailer locally and measured total length. It's within one foot of being the same length as my current boat, so it should fit into the shop no problem.

A/C and a generator is a must for me.
How well do the A/C's work on the 270's? From prev experience I've found pretty much any A/C will work well at night or if in the shade, but how well does the factory A/C work in 100 deg heat and full sun? How many BTU's are the factory A/C units rated for?
 
No factory AC is going to cool down any boat when it's 100° outside in direct heat and full sun. If I recall directly they're designed for 20 plus or minus degrees.
 
That's kinda what I expected. Anyone ever try a shade for the bow? Something that would temporarily attach across the bow rails would help with the sun I suspect. Like a tarp but nicer..
 
zz28zz said:
After a brief diversion looking into larger cruisers, seems I'm back to trailerable cruisers. Found there seems to be a lot more 270's out there with out arches than the other lengths. I've found one on a trailer locally and measured total length. It's within one foot of being the same length as my current boat, so it should fit into the shop no problem.

A/C and a generator is a must for me.
How well do the A/C's work on the 270's? From prev experience I've found pretty much any A/C will work well at night or if in the shade, but how well does the factory A/C work in 100 deg heat and full sun? How many BTU's are the factory A/C units rated for?
Click to expand...

I had my 280 anchored off Ship Island off Gulfport in the middle of the day in the summer last year and the ac kept the galley chilly. I don’t recall the temps outside but it was at least in the upper 80’s-lower 90’s.
 
That's a good idea with the water cooled foredeck as long as there were no leaks into the cabin. I bet the shade idea would work too but would get in the way and look kinda odd.
Were you able to wet the entire foredeck? I'm trying to picture how the water could be evenly distributed.

I had an idea many years ago to pump cold water from the deep thru an insulated hose to a heat exchanger and blow air across it. Red-neck A/C... ;) Never got around to trying it out.
 
I have a Taylor Made square umbrella for the cockpit of my current go-fast boat. It works pretty good at noon, but as the sun dips in the afternoon, it's hard to find shade. At that point, you pretty much have to jump in the water if you're hot.

I was envisioning something that looks similar to a trampoline and attaches to the bow rails with bungie cords or something similar. It would only be installed when anchored in the cove.
 
Our 2006 260DA had the gen option and an 8k BTU AC I think. Here in the south, 90-95* afternoons in August are very frequent. We never had an issue keeping the cabin in the low 70s. Water temp can typically be 88-90* that time of year. Dropping the temp 20+ degrees cooler than the water temp is very doable. It feels wonderful to take a cool shower after a hot day and enjoy the AC. Current 420DA has had both units replaced with slightly larger ones and it will run you out.

Bennett
 
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