Ever use a Transport service to trailer your Tug?

[Someday*]

Has anyone used one of these services to have their Tug towed (by land) to another location?
If we do get the R29 this may be an option for us at some point?
Reliable? I imagine it's pretty expensive.

 

[fishheadbarandgrill]

We used a reputable hauler (contract hauler for Beneteau) to move our newly purchased R29 from Portland ME to Wilmington, NC. Cost was about 5K. We could have hired some Bubba with an F250/350 off of Uship to haul her for less but I felt better knowing our new baby was on a flatbed designed to haul boats. The flatbed made sense to us because the boat didn't come with a trailer. If it had, I would probably would have used a Bubba 😀

 

[Diatom]

I paid a pro outfit CAD $2500 for 500km tow upon purchase (Vernon BC to Richmond BC, mid-December). Snow on the Coquihalla & Okanagan Connector, would have been my first time towing a twin axle.

/Diatom

 

[Heronboy]

We had a boat similar in size/weight to an R29 towed a couple years ago from MN to SW FL. Professional crew, flat bed, marina to marina. I seem to remember the price was between 5 and 6K. Boat arrived on time and in perfect shape.

 

[gwishon]

Had a service tow our new-to-us R29S, on our trailer, from Northport, Michigan to Bradenton, FL in 2018. Cost was $3500, insured and bonded. Boat and trailer arrived in excellent shape.

 

[Someday*]

Thanks all...I'm imagining a day where we would have the boat towed to some northern port (we live in SW FL) and we make the trek back from there on the boat.

 

[Dubs]

Beware. In a move with a prior boat, I took a low bid to move our 21’ from the Midwest to Seattle, something like $700 or $1200, cheap. I beat the USHIP hauler across the country by over 2 weeks. The outfit must have felt less obligated to be prompt with the low rate. He detoured via Arizona and must have done a few more hauls while he parked our boat en route. All worked out in the end but...you get what you pay for!

 

[Someday*]

Beware. In a move with a prior boat, I took a low bid to move our 21’ from the Midwest to Seattle, something like $700 or $1200, cheap. I beat the USHIP hauler across the country by over 2 weeks. The outfit must have felt less obligated to be prompt with the low rate. He detoured via Arizona and must have done a few more hauls while he parked our boat en route. All worked out in the end but...you get what you pay for!

🙁

 

[Hydraulicjump]

We move our R29CB somewhere every year. We have a relationship with a shipper in the Seattle area (Cory Gracey of Sharpe Yachts). We have never had a problem of damage in the four-plus years we have used him, but the prices have definitely gone up. He trailers Ranger Tugs a bunch and has the right rig. I think he has trucks going all over the country.

We are having him ship the boat to the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers and then pick it up 3 weeks later at the mouth of the Columbia.

Three caveats. First, the odds are high your schedule will need flexibility. No shipper wants an idle truck, so you have to be prepared to adjust your timing. Second, they usually are averse to launching or retrievIng at a salt water boat ramp due to worries about the trailer (we paid extra one year to cover costs of bearing repacking). Finally, check your insurance. There are usually restrictions on coverage if the boat is towed somewhere, and requirements for coverage by the shipper, including proof.

It is not cheap, but time is money. Or in this case, money turns into time on new water.

Jeff

 

[Someday*]

We move our R29CB somewhere every year. We have a relationship with a shipper in the Seattle area (Cory Gracey of Sharpe Yachts). We have never had a problem of damage in the four-plus years we have used him, but the prices have definitely gone up. He trailers Ranger Tugs a bunch and has the right rig. I think he has trucks going all over the country.

We are having him ship the boat to the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers and then pick it up 3 weeks later at the mouth of the Columbia.

Three caveats. First, the odds are high your schedule will need flexibility. No shipper wants an idle truck, so you have to be prepared to adjust your timing. Second, they usually are averse to launching or retrievIng at a salt water boat ramp due to worries about the trailer (we paid extra one year to cover costs of bearing repacking). Finally, check your insurance. There are usually restrictions on coverage if the boat is towed somewhere, and requirements for coverage by the shipper, including proof.

It is not cheap, but time is money. Or in this case, money turns into time on new water.

Jeff

Thank you...good advice!