R25 classic true weight?

[Gig Harbor boats]

We’re ready to make an offer on a 2010 R25 with Yanmar 150 diesel. However, one of our prime questions has an elusive answer: How much does it weigh in the real world? The factory brochure says 5600 pounds which seems very light. Add the aluminum trailer a about 1100#, plus another 500 for liquids and gear would be very doable at 7300# (almost to good to be true) +-. We would like to occasionally tow it behind our GMC 1500 which has the trailer tow package rated at 9500 pounds…. But I dont want to tow at or near the vehicles’ maximum. Does anyone have the same boat / trailer package with a scale weight? Thanks!

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Our R25 with a Merc/Cummins 150 weighs about 8,500. lbs. on a Venture 2-axle aluminum trailer. The tongue weight is 1,012 lbs. This is with almost no water or black water and weight of a half tank of fuel (275 lbs.). It is almost impossible to plan a trip so you always return with a low fuel tank. With one half tank of water and one half tank of black water and add another 290 lbs. Then there is the essential "stuff". 😛
Many think the weight published is probably less the engine.
Take these figures and draw your own conclusions about the vehicle. If your definition of "occasionally" is not a lot of highway travel and not over the mountains, you may be OK.
Note: IMHO be sure you have or install Load Range E tires (preferably Goodyear Endurance) on the trailer, and be sure the wheels are rated for the correct psi (80 psi minimum) and weight. My trailer had stock wheels rated 1,300 lbs. BELOW the trailer rating with a max of 65 psi. I can't speak to all trailer manufacturers, but I do know that this is not too unusual and it is legal to not match the wheels and tires to the trailer for both boats and RVs, even new builds.
Check the RV forums on this and also on your truck in the real world.
You are looking at a great boat; hope this all turns out well.

 

[glider4]

The published dry weight for FM boats are so low as to be a joke. NEVER, NEVER rely on them!!!
I had a 2009 Yanmar 4BY2-150 powered R-25 Classic with a Tuff tandem axle trailer. We towed it over 13,000 miles in the 7 years we owned it.
It was set up for long duration cruising so it had spare parts, spare anchor and rode, tools, books, a dinghy with Suzuki 2.5 OB, a big solar panel, Yakima cargo box, a propane grill on the transom, Bimini with side curtains, full galley equipment, v-berth bedding, etc., etc.
In the time we owned it, I had it on government or commercial scales more than 15 times. With minimal freshwater, a fully pumped out black water tank and no more than 25 gallons of diesel, boat and trailer never came in under 9,600 pounds. It was never over 9,850 pounds. The average weight was close to 9,750 pounds. Those weights are corrected to include the tongue weight on the truck, not just the weight of the trailer axles on the scales.
I should mention that the empty weight of our Tuff trailer was just under 2,000 pounds. I absolutely can not imagine towing the R-25 with a flimsy 1,100 pound trailer! Having a trailer that light would scare the crap out of me!
I towed it with a highly modified 4x4 Toyota Tundra V-8 that was rated for 10,500 max towing capacity. We were under that weight and all the other weights associated with max truck+towed weight limits.
I have about 50 years experience towing recreational and commercial trailers of up to 15,000 pounds and up to 35 ft in length. Probably about 150,000 miles towing in total. I felt comfortable towing our R-25 with the Tundra. For someone with less experience I would not recommend using the 10,500 pound limited Tundra as a tow vehicle.
We have a C-28 now that has a 12,600 pound total towed weight. I now have a Ram 2500 rated at 15,000 pounds towing weight.

 

[Gig Harbor boats]

Thanks for the replies, highly appreciated. PanaCea, when you mentioned 8600 on the trailer is that the total weight, or plus the tongue weight for a total of 9600+- ? I’ll be towing 50 miles from marina to home a few times a year with a few hills not more than a couple hundred feet high. I have done plenty of towing various boats and rv’s so know what to watch out for. The trailer is a brand new Venture aluminum with torsion springs and electro-hydraulic disc brakes.

 

[PanaSeaAh]

Total weight including trailer. I also tow with a Tundra rated at 10,400 load. I did put air bags on the back springs, but only use them on trips when there is "stuff" in the back of the truck. I carry about 300 lbs. of tools and jacks, parts, etc. when I travel, and often dinghy and outboard in the back of the truck. Glider4, I started trailering in 1974. You must have started when you were 12 also :lol:

 

[glider4]

12 Ha Ha! Got serious about towing at 18. My parents were commercial real estate developers who had projects in Northern CA and AZ. Lots of moving construction equipment back and forth for six summers until I finished grad school. Plus vacations all over west of Mississippi River towing travel trailers 25-30 ft with the family for 20 years. Didn’t start towing boats until 2004. All added up.