R 29 owners who trailer... what do you tow with?

[Eastside3]

While I’m aware of the wide load permits required for towing an R29 CB, I’m curious what some of you use to tow. Do you have your boat simply shipped somewhere without having to have a vehicle robust enough to tow such a beast?
I have a GMC 2500 Diesel which was fine for by other boat, which amounted to about 6000 lbs, but I’m thinking its more boat than this truck will handle.
I’m curious what some of you use and how far you travel.

 

[Irish Mist]

I have a 2013 Dodge Ram diesel 3/4 ton 4X4. I have had it since new it pulls fine. Towed our R29 from Ontario to Florida a couple times and Ontario to Anacorties WA a couple times through the mountains in BC Canada.. We just finished a trip with a fifth wheel camping trailer from Ontario to Florida, then across to Texas, Arizona, California and up to Vancouver and across to Victoria BC. I couldn’t be more happier with the truck. It is not fancy inside but I ordered it with all the towing features. The Diesel engine braking works wonderfully in the mountains.. I am no speed demon and cruise around 60 MPH.
I have been told a dually would tow better but I have not had any issues or complaints.

 

[Thorolson]

Dan,
We tow our 2012 R29 with a 2016 Ford F-250 Diesel. We’ve towed her a few times with no problems other than the difficulty in getting a permit in Ohio. Furthest trip being about 850 miles... Buffalo, NY to Green Turtle Bay Kentucky, via West Virginia to avoid Ohio. No problems in the hills of Appalachia. We take our time at about 60 mph and average around 8 mpg. Permits initially were pulled through J. J. Keller. They did a nice job, but it adds up. I just recently pulled a permit for the state of Alabama. Very easy to do. I’ve put together a spreadsheet with the necessary information you may need to pull permits. I’d be happy to share it with you if you like.

Best regards,
Tom

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Like Mark and Tom we use a 3/4 ton. Ours is a GMC 2500 4x4 with the Duramax deisel and HD trailer package. We’ve trailered from PNW to Florida, up to the Great Lakes and most recently to Florida. The truck does a great job and often times seems like normal driving. 11mpg +|-. Deisel exhaust brakes have enabled me to still have the original brakes at 95000 miles, which I plan on changing this summer.

Jim

 

[Scottfree]

As long as what your towing weighs less than the rated towing capacity of your vehicle your fine. Some vehicles have this rating displayed on a sticker inside the drivers door jamb. A quick search on Google shows a 2015 GMC 2500 has a towing capacity of 17,900 pounds. My Ranger 29 with a very heavy custom hardtop and a lot of accessories weighed just over 14,000 pounds on a triple axle trailer. Your truck, assuming I found the correct rating, would pull my boat without issue. Towing does require the driver to have the skills to safely do so but the truck is not the limiting factor. I tow with a Dodge Diesel 3500 Dual wheel truck with a rated towing capacity of over 22,000 pounds and I am Commercially licensed. Once your rig is properly set up and within the rated capacity of your truck all that is left is getting comfortable towing.

Good luck and happy boating, Leon

 

[Kenaithab]

We use a 2016 Chevy Silverado 3500HD diesel crew cab long bed 4x4 and it does a fantastic job. Never had a diesel previously. Up and over mountain passes with no problem and can accelerate going uphill. Exhaust brake is incredible.

 

[ripp]

We have a 2015 Chev Duramax, 3500 crew cab,4x4, standard box, single rear wheel. Our boat is a 2017 R29CB outfitted with a 25 hp kicker including 12 gal fuel. The total wet weight of the boat and gear (for doing the Great Loop is 13,350 lbs) plus the trailer weight of 3500 for 16,850 lbs.. Of course we are typically about 1000 lbs less with minimal fuel and water. The rating for our truck is 13,000 lbs with a standard pull trailer and 17,200 lbs with a gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer (perhaps different in US?) This is very model specific and info is available on the Chev website. Because of the lower rating for a pull trailer we ended up spending the extra money for the gooseneck trailer (Tuff Trailers in Wash State) and installed the gooseneck hitch in the box. The hitch is flush with box deck when not in use and the trailer pulls and handles very well and is easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces. The Tuff trailer is very heavy duty with top quality components. Having said that, the extra cost versus a new conventional trailer totaled around $4000 US and had we not already had the Chev truck we probably would selected a dodge 3500 diesel because of the higher capacity for a conventional boat trailer and lower overall cost. The overall length of our truck and trailer is 60 feet and it handled very well when we hauled the boat from Vancouver Island British Columbia to Ontario.

Good Luck.

Peter