It was relatively stable for the size and weight of the entire rig, but you will for sure feel semis passing you by. My truck is lifted on 35s so it's probably much more pronounced for me, but I bet you will still feel it, especially with the 11' beam. Someone above said that you should travel in off-peak hours. I want to add to that advice. In my experience, it's definitely doable to tow a large load like this, BUT what I've realized the more I tow mine, is that it is no doubt inherently more risky than towing non-oversized loads. As I said before, I bought mine 2400 miles away, drove there, picked her up and had no choice but to just go for it. In retrospect, it was a minor miracle that I made it back with zero problems. Between 30 mph cross wind in ND, three mountain ranges and Chicago construction, there was a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong. Now I just tow it between my house and ramp a few times a year, which are 15 miles apart.

One of the reasons I wanted it on the trailer was so that I could expand where I boat, but I made a personal decision to limit how much I tow her around. I don't wan't to discourage you from your plan, but rather stress the fact that every time you hook up, you will be putting yourself in an inherently risky situation. You are obviously doing all the right things to mitigate those risks, but nevertheless, the increased risk is still there. Just don''t wing it, any of it.

Every trip you have to think through beyond the typical prep. Think of things like road construction, where you'll pull of the highway for fuel, weather, etc. All of that makes towing a big load like that exponentially more challenging and stressful.

 

Scorpio,

I FINALLY have some number and I apologize for the delay. I didn't get the fly home Thursday and came home yesterday instead. So I have a few things piled up. I just finished the measurements and here they are:

Center of the ball to the center fo the first axle: 21' 6"
Center of the first axle to the center of the third axle: 66"
Center of the third axle to the BOTTOM of the transom: 69 inches

I'm in the process of adding bunk #3 and bunk #4 to the bottom center to match where the middle engine stringers. That will happen this winter.

 

UPDATE: I hauled the boat out yesterday on the travel lift and had it washed and set on the trailer. Bunk fit was spot on. I had to adjust the winch post as I figured since I needed to see her on the trailer to know where to place it. The boat sits nice and level and the trailer also sits nice and level when hitched to the truck. I measured tongue weight today and it was 600 lbs. I don't know what the boat/trailer combo weighs so I'm only guessing at between 12,500 to 13,000. The consensus of opinion seems to say 5 to 7 percent of total weight on the tongue. Sine I'm only guessing at total weight right now, I'm thinking of shifting a few items to the forward part of the cabin to see if I can get a little more tongue weight. I left my anchors and rode on the boat, was going to remove them but figured they'd help with the tongue weight. I have removed almost everything else from the boat to reduce towed load. Only the cushions, microwave and canvas were left on, all our 'stuff', tools, spares, etc have been removed.
What do you guys thing about towing her with 600-650 lbs on the tongue? I don't want to start adding ballast, especially if it isn't needed. I can't really move the wheels at this point and moving the boat forward would be all but impossible without relaunching and pulling her forward. Tried a little bit with the winch but remembered a warning somebody mentioned about pulling the bow eye out so I didn't force it. The best part is the boat sits a bit lower than I thought so my arch top is 11'6" and my GPS antenna is another 9 " for a total height of 12'3". At least I don't have to worry about vertical clearance.

Forgot to mention, bunks are approx 1" beyond transom so she is loaded fully on the trailer, no overhang.

Also, base of arch is centered over the center axle and the trailer sits very level when hitched to the truck.

 

The length of your tongue will reduce your tongue weight substantially. I think you will be OK, but then again you never know. Take it slow at first and check by wiggling the steering wheel at progressively higher speeds. If it wiggles but stabilizes quickly, you should be OK to try it slightly faster. I had a tiny boat with a long tongue that had virtually no tongue weight, but it towed very well. Granted it was very light, but still it wasn't unstable at any speed back there in the wind or when trucks passed it. It tracked very well. You'll know very soon once you leave the parking lot!

 

Talked to the thec guy at Venture, Dennis I think it was, and he said 600 is right on the lower end of what he felt the weight should be. I'm going to try to winch the boat forward a few inches and see what that does and/or add some weight in the anchor locker to add tongue weight. He also said that the ball height for that particular trailer needs to be 27 inches. I'm getting a taller ball mount today as I was at 24". Will raising the tongue increase or decrease the tongue weight? I would think it should raise it to the extent that the trailer isn't getting tongue high. After passing level, I'd expect weight to shift to the rear axles and lower tongue weight. Am I on the right track or am I off base here?
Thanks guys.

 

Scorpio, I'd suggest you head back to the lift and have them set the boat a few inches further forward then adjust your winch stand to accommodate the changed position. That's the way to do it right if you want to increase your tongue weight. You won't have to move the axles if you just move the boat forward a few inches.

That also will save you from unloading and reloading all your junk every time you want to trailer her. Having the correct tongue weight is a critical part of a successful tow. Why not take the time to set things up right, then you won't have to worry about it. There are enough things to worry about without adding one of your own to the mix.

 

raising the tongue height will reduce tongue weight, and vice-versa

 

Got the SS WIDELOAD home today! Left at 4 AM, got to boat yard by 7:30, had boat adjusted on trailer, flagged and ready to go by 9:45. Managed just shy of 1000 lbs on the tongue. Boat trailed like a dream behind my 2011 F250 PSD. Only time I knew it was back there was when pulling away from red lights and the coupler slack took up. I had too many opportunities to feel that thanks to the routing the DOT made me take. First they ran me through a section of I-95 around Wilmington, DE that is under extensive construction. Poor signage and construction and I missed my exit and wound up on 495. Went to the Port of Wilmington to turn around and get back on route. That route took me through an urban shopping district, three lanes wide, red light every block for about ten miles and heavy traffic. Whoever at the DOT thought that an oversized load belonged in that mess is an idiot! I submitted a route that would have taken me through a much smaller area, with less traffic, fewer lights and a more direct route home and they denied that and instead sent me 35 miles out of my way and through a rats nest of stop lights. GRRRR!
Anyway, got home safely and boat is tucked into my shop for the winter.
I stopped at a truck stop and went over the CAT scales, total rig less my BIL who had to use the head, weighed 22480. So boat was around 11,500lbs on the trailer with a half fuel load and no excess gear.
Thanks to everyone for your advise, help and words of warning and encouragement, they were all taken note of and used to make my trip a success.
I was very surprised at how well mannered the boat/trailer were, no sway and easy towing. It really didn't feel that much wider than my old 260 SXL with an 8' beam. I need to ante up and I'll post some pics of the rig.
Thanks again!

 

Nice work. Sounds like it went well enough.

 

Good job. Now that you have your first tow successfully under your belt I'm betting you'll be ready to tow again in the near future, and not be worried about it.

 

Yes, actually looking forward to the tow back in the spring. This was a proof of concept type of trip, I learned a lot about how my boat, trailer, truck and my self and now feel comfortable that I have the right set up to do these kinds of trips safely and comfortably. Thanks for all the help guys!

 

A few pics of the boat and trailer and my tow rig.

My dad wanted to be in that last pic to give scale to the pic. He was fairly impressed with the size of the boat on the trailer and that it actually fit in my shop. Only had inches to spare on the vertical clearance but I measured it many times and was sure she'd fit.