Can I safely tow a R-23 w/OB?

B

Blair White

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Joined
Jan 5, 2019
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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Catalina Sail - Willard Rib
Still trying to figure this one out, and i would really appreciate some help.

I have a Chevy 3500 van with max tow capacity of 8500.

Here is the best i can figure out:

Boat dry - 5000
Trailer - 1500 I have heard 1200-1800. not sure of the discrepancy.
Fuel - 473
Water - 185
Me - 180
Stuff - 500-750

It appears I come in at under 8500, but I may have missed something.
Maximum distance i will be towing is 60 miles flat terrain.

Do we have any R-23 w/OB owners here who may have weighed a fully loaded boat and trailer?

I appreciate all input.
 
It looks like you gave yourself a pretty good cushion for "stuff". But take you out of the sum. You'll be in the truck. 🙂

You also need to consider the tongue load capacity for the vehicle vs that of the loaded trailer. I suspect tongue capacity would be slightly lower for a van vs a truck. And also gross vehicle weight with the trailer. Sometimes it seems like they've made it as confusing as possible to determine exactly what the limiting factor is on towing a given trailer.
 
You need to be sure you have a receiver that is rated for a minimum of 10,000 pounds (Class 4) as well as the same for the draw bar and trailer ball. A Class 5 (12,000 pounds weight carrying) receiver would be best.
You should be aiming for a tongue weight of between 550 and 800 pounds. You probably need substantial rear springs (for an aluminum I-beam frame trailer) or a weight distribution hitch (for a non I-beam aluminum or steel frame trailer) to ensure your van stays level with the tongue weight applied.
Keep boat weight down by towing with water tank near empty and heavy gear in van if your GVW rating allows.
PS: Corrected Class V to 12,000 pounds weight carrying. Don’t guess on weights. Weigh each axle of your van without trailer then all van axles and trailer axles with rig connected. Make sure you are within your GCWR limits as well.
 
Weight seems to be ok. One other thing I would consider is how the van will pull it out of the water and up the ramp. Vans are generally light in the rear. If the ramp is steep or has a slippery surface you may have an issue. Might want to keep a few bags of sand in the back.
 
I towed my R-23 from MD to NJ with an F-150 sporting a 5.0 V-8, without issue. I tow from home to marina, marina to home with a Chev 1500 running a 5.3 V-8. In the later the boat is fully loaded. No issues. Gas mileage sucks, but I get there!
Both trucks have 4WD.
 
I read some where on site that they weighed thier 23 and it came in at 8400 fully loaded. I agree with Matty that the ramp may be your biggest challenge.
 
The question should be (can you safely stop that load with your tow vehicle) !
 
Ramp may be pretty iffy. if your 3500 was in truck 4 wheel drive config you would be fine. better load up 500 lbs of sandbags in the back of the van.
 
My short answer would be No with some caveats.

I weighed my 23 on the trailer and computed the axle weights. Details in this thread here viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10112

It would seem that you would make it but towing at the limit of your vehicles capacity is iffy at best. Others have talked about hitches etc so I won't belabor that point. It seems that there is some consensus around safe towing being at 85% of a vehicles max capacity but I am thinking that the amount of towing is the question here.

If you are simply towing from home to the ramp once a season and it is a short way. That is very different from towing hundreds of miles up and down hills, through traffic, on a regular basis. The first one I might attempt, the second one no way.

I tow with my F-150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost with a rated capacity of 10.7k with a weight distributing hitch or 5k normal. As the trailer cannot accept a weight distributing hitch and the Ford reciever is rated to 10.7k, and my truck and trailer are perfectly level with the boat attached, and the tongue weight is about 500 lbs, I feel that I am ok. There are others on here that might disagree and there are probably situations that I would not want to face with this setup, but a new truck, after a new boat is not in the cards ;-)

Ultimately you will have to decide based on your situation but towing at the maximum rating of your vehicle leaves no wiggle room for anything to go wrong or differ. Probably not a good situation.

Have fun boating, enjoy your boat and I hope to see you on the water.
 
I agree with other posts, the ramp is going to be a challenge, I tow an R23 with a F150, pulling out I've had to put it in 4 wheel drive...
 
One thing to keep in mind is that, while you may get away with towing over your limits for a short distance to the ramp occasionally, you would have some serious insurance issues if an accident did happen; even if it was not your fault.
 
It sounds like even with 4WD, the best answer to my question would be no.

Thanks Dan for informing me that since I would be in the towing vehicle, I can take myself out of the overall trailer weight. :lol: :lol:
Jim, thanks for the link to your research on the separate thread. Very informative.

I was a little disappointed at first when I realized I couldn't safely tow this boat.
The good news is that I have now decided to buy a bigger boat, and just keep it in the water.

Now I just need to figure out the difference between a Ranger Tug and a Cutwater. :roll:

Thanks again for everyone's useful input.
 
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