Towing an R27 with twin Yamaha 150s

Wondering if anyone has experience towing an R27 on the factory trailer with a half ton pickup. I have a 2025 F150 King Ranch Hybrid with the max tow package putting it's max at 11,200 lbs. Not planning on going cross country but I live in upstate NY and after a rough crossing of Lake Ontario on my way home from Alexandria Bay I'd much rather tow the boat the 1.5 hour drive each way than the 12 hours by water. Thanks in advance for any tips...

NewTuggerNY said:

Wondering if anyone has experience towing an R27 on the factory trailer with a half ton pickup. I have a 2025 F150 King Ranch Hybrid with the max tow package putting it's max at 11,200 lbs. Not planning on going cross country but I live in upstate NY and after a rough crossing of Lake Ontario on my way home from Alexandria Bay I'd much rather tow the boat the 1.5 hour drive each way than the 12 hours by water. Thanks in advance for any tips...

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I've towed Channel Surfing with my 1/2 ton pickup (rated to 10,500lbs, as I have the heavy duty towing package).
It's a big boat on wheels. I've towed her twice, about 45 miles each way, across mostly flat ground (no mountains or steep hills).
I made sure the fuel tank was low, freshwater was empty, black water tank was empty. Tried to lighten the load as best I could. Even so, I was towing at the max capacity.

If I were towing her regularly, I'd upgrade to a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup.

I say NOPE! Even with empty fuel, f/w and b/w tanks plus taking out all of your bedding, cruising gear, fishing gear your boat’s weight is probably close to 9,000 pounds. I’m thinking that’s a bit low but at least 9,000 pounds. You need to get it weighed to get an exact number before doing anything else!
Now to the trailer. My double axle Tuff trailer for my R-25 was exactly 2,000 pounds. My triple axle EZLoader for our C-28 is 3,050 pounds. It’s easy to get your trailers weight - just call the manufacturer!
So, if you have a super light weight triple axle and assuming at least 9,000 pounds for the boat you are at 11,500 to 12,000 pounds towed weight.
You have at best ZERO safety margin. If you don’t mind wrecking your boat and truck go for it. But don’t expect either of your boat or trucks insurance to cover any loss.
Get a 3/4 ton or 1 ton rated for at least 14,000 pounds to be safe. Or rent a truck like that to do the towing. Enterprise Truck rentals is a good start.

I would agree. I tow my boat with an F250 and it honestly feels like it is pushing it to the max, especially going over mountain passes. If you were going to just tow it a few miles from the harbor to home it would probably be fine, but a long run like that sounds pretty dodgy. I also agree with Scross on renting a truck. The prices on these new trucks are so outrageous it makes the rental fees seem relatively cheap.

Towing your boat is not the problem , its stopping when that idiot pulls out in front of you and you have to stop fast and the boat pushes the truck!
Bottom line, if you have to ask if your truck is big enough for the load, it’s probably not!
Bob’s 2-cents

As others have said if you were towing a couple of miles to a ramp that's one thing. But an hour and a half each way is a different risk equation. Towing capacity isn't the only thing to consider. How the tow vehicle handles and ability to stop are something to think about. An F250 weighs about 1500lbs more than and F150. The additional weight means the boat doesn't push you around as much. And the disk brakes are larger with more stopping capacity and less likelihood of over heating. When everything is going well on a flat, straight road isn't an issue. When things get marginal is when a more robust tow vehicle will make a world of difference.

As others have pointed out, the bigger the truck, the bigger the tow rating, the bigger the brakes are. There's been several owners reporting "sling weights" of their R27's in excess of 11k lbs, then add the trailer weight into the equation. My own personal comfort level would start at a 1-ton truck.

@NewTuggerNY

I should have probably also added, I don't personally own a trailer. Channel Surfing was purchased to be on the water, not on a trailer.
But I have several friends who own trailers which I can borrow on the rare occasion I need one.

In 6.5 years, I've towed Channel Surfing twice. Both were to a shop for work. Distance was less than 45 miles, flat ground (no hills or mountains). I picked the time of day with the least amount of traffic.

The R27 really needs a 3/4 or 1 ton truck to be trailered.

Twin engines is what you specifically asked about. That adds 400lbs more to the stern of the of the boat over the single F300/F350.

NewTuggerNY said:

Wondering if anyone has experience towing an R27 on the factory trailer with a half ton pickup. I have a 2025 F150 King Ranch Hybrid with the max tow package putting it's max at 11,200 lbs. Not planning on going cross country but I live in upstate NY and after a rough crossing of Lake Ontario on my way home from Alexandria Bay I'd much rather tow the boat the 1.5 hour drive each way than the 12 hours by water. Thanks in advance for any tips...

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There are a lot of nuances regarding the "can my truck tow this?" question but it really just boils down to simple math. Compare the towing specifications (GVWR, GCWR, tongue weight rating, tow-load weight rating) for your specific vehicle to your proposed towing load and if your load exceeds any of your trucks specs, I'd say it's a no-go.

Most "maximum towing capacity" marketing specs are for a weight distributing hitch. Most aluminum i-beam trailer manufacture do not recommend using a weight-distributing hitch with their trailers, with leaves you with a "bumper pull" setup. The quick specs I saw for a 2025 F-150 limits bumper-pull towing to 5000 pounds. It's also possible you may be at or above the combination weight for your truck and trailer (GCWR).

For context, our '21 R27OB on the EZ Loader triple-axle trailer weighs about 11,700 pounds. I have a weight gauge on my hitch that's probably not highly accurate but usually indicates the tongue weight is around 950-1050 pounds.

When we bought the boat, we owned a diesel 1996 Ram 2500. It's a capable tow vehicle but the boat tongue weight would have exceeded the Class 4 hitch's weight rating, GVWR of the truck (which is already heavily loaded), and the GCWR of the two combined. So, we paid the "truck tax" and bought a '19 diesel Ram 3500. It's a world of difference and we've never regretted that.

Martin seems to have made it work! I have the same boat and have towed it from California where I bought back to Wisconsin as well as two trips to Florida with a one ton diesel ram with tow package. No problems even when the brakes failed on my trailer last summer. I am surprised that Marin's bumper isn't dragging on the ground. One time I was just going to tow my boat across the parking lot with my 1/2 ton Ford 150 and gave up hitching up as the bumper kept getting lower and lower to the ground. I would recomend a minimium 3/4 ton and get the diesel if it is available. So much more power! With 1/2 ton you will have trouble stopping it and your front end will float all over the road.