R29S Trailering....First Impressions

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Even after almost 6 years of trailering our R27 I still felt nervous before departing Des Moines Washington for our inaugural cross country trailering of Kismet R29S. I have to say trailering the R29S, with its 10' beam, was not as problematic in the end as I envisioned it would be. Once I got passed learning the permit systems and rules the trailering was somewhat second nature for me with the added caveat of paying closer attention to the width at all times, as it related to being centered in our lane. Here are the numbers and facts after 6 days of open road, city congestion, high wind, rain and mountain driving conditions.

We traveled 2,460 miles to Ohio (storage) and traveled thru 9 States. I obtained 7 "oversize permits" on my own and paid a company to obtain 2 I had problems getting on my own. Most weigh stations were closed but we did check in to the ones that were open. Some state weigh stations stated it was not necessary, some did so we just made it practice to check in. We got pulled over once to have our papers checked and had to check in once for an "invasive species inspection". We traveled 2,460 miles, averaging 410 miles per day over 6 days. Our GMC got 10.2 average mpg, using 241 gallons of diesel fuel for a cost of $668.00. We had the truck and trailered boat weighed upon entry to Wyoming and found out the combo. with all gear weighed in at 22,920 lbs.,including Lisa and I. Take away the gear, fuel, us and the weight of the truck and that puts the boat and trailer at roughly 13,000 lbs. I seem to recall the trailer weighing 2,400 lbs so that puts a rough number on the boat at 10,500 lbs. I'll get a better number at another time. Worst roads were Indiana and the best roads were everywhere else.

Hope this information is helpful for those looking to trailer an R29S.

Jim F

 

[Bosn Mate]

Jim:

Thanks for the post; very informative!!!

Kathy and I are currently on the west coast and will be conducting the Factory Delivery Experience with our R29S tomorrow. As we have discussed in the past, a big learning curve for us is not operating the boat, or even towing, but the wide load permitting process. It will take time to getting used to not hooking up the boat and going.

I am interested to know if you had some type of job aid which listed all the boat and truck info needed to request a wide load permit; if so, could you share? Also, what permit company did you use for the states that were hard to get from?

Hope to see you on the water in the near future.

Mike

 

[Jon]

Mike,
I have trailered my R29 back and forth from Southern California to Bellingham Washington several times. I get permits from Oregon, Washington and California. It's very easy. Just call or go on line to the DOT oversized load permit site and fill out the permit request form and fax it to them. I usually get the permit in a day or two. On the Washington web site there is a way that you can self issue your own permit. Very convenient! Oregon and California will only issue via fax. Very inconvenient! Good luck.
Jon
Onze Tug

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Mike:

As Jon mentioned Oregon and California have different rules for permitting then Washington and so the story goes for almost any state, each is somewhat different. With that said you need, depending on the state and only from the 9 states I permitted in varying items, including: Truck serial number and plate info, same for the trailer, insurance company info including liability coverage....most want at least $500,000 but one wanted a $1,000,000. Height, length of trailer, overhang from trailers end, total length of truck and trailer and overhang and width. Some states wanted distance between all axles and number of total axles, total combined gross vehicle weight, what your planned route is and the dates of travel. Some states you can permit well ahead of time and some are only 2 to 3 days ahead with Wyoming you call them one hour before you enter the state for a reference number and when you then enter the state stop at the "Port Entry" to obtain your permit. I'm sure there are additional rules from other states then the 9 we traveled thru but this should get you started. We used Keller for Iowa and Illinois. They took the state permit fee and added another $45 for each state permit.

Jim F

 

[Bosn Mate]

Thanks for all the info. Can't wait to start the journey.

Mike

 

[Irish Mist]

Thanks Jim good info. Glad it went well. Our milage with the Dodge Ram Diesel was very similar at 10.4 MPG over 2,842 miles.

 

[baz]

Jim:

I'm pleased to read your R-29S trailering was successful and assume your current mule was adequate for towing the extra weight vs. your previous R-27.

BTW...
Do you move any of the gear onboard the R-29S to the truck for towing reasons ?
Do you employ Interstate highways as much as possible or do you at times resort to other roads ?
Are you allowed via permits to travel ONLY on certain roads ?

Now moving OT...

I'm curious to know your and Lisa's thoughts on now having the head enclosure forward and closer to the forward sleeping area vs. having it back in aft starboard corner of the cabin as it was in your R-27 ? Was this head enclosure location in any way a deciding factor in choosing the R-29S ? It now seems that all RT models have the head enclosure adjacent to the forward saloon aka sleeping area.

You had mentioned in an earlier post enquiring about what people have done to cover up the port holes for privacy reasons. My current solution for this was to retrieve translucent rigid foam from boxes that is used for packing products for shipping. I cut a rectangular piece and press it gentle onto the port hole to get an outline and then using a very sharp razor bladed cut out the imprinted shape. I find this works very well and cost $0. Also, given they are translucent they allow light through so the interior is not darkened as much compared to them being made of a light-blocking material.

I've been studying the planforms of the R-29S, R-27/OB and the R-27 (Classic) and have discovered that RT has moved to having the V-berth area expanded in length and width for the R-29S and R-27/OB vs. the R-27 (Classic). The difference is quite significant. The larger V-berth areas of the R-29S and R-27/OB means that their cabin lengths are shortened. For the R-27 (Classic) vs. the R-27/OB this is quite significant, with the R-27 (Classic) having a much smaller V-berth area and a larger cabin. At first I thought this smaller cabin length/area for the R-27/OB would be an issue but then I realized that with the new design of the V-berth area for the R-27/OB the smaller cabin isn't an issue as the R-27/OB's V-berth arrangement acts as another area for people and acts as a forward saloon; that is, grandkids can collect and mess around in the forward saloon and the adults can hang out in the cabin and cockpit areas.

For you R-29S your V-berth area is dedicated for sleeping and IMO cannot act as much as a forward saloon for the R-27/OB model.

So, my point really is that RT have now adopted to make the forward sleeping area a far more important design aspect for their new models --- R-23 and R-27/OB.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Barry:

One has to stay on the main state highways. All states are a little different but most limit you to a short distance off of the highways for fuel, hotels, etc. We moved as much gear as possible to the bed and back seat of the truck, has very little fuel, no water and the holding tank was empty and all systems were winterized.

The head being forward is fine for us and I'm sure this is a personal choice. The main reason we like it forward is that being so opens up the cabin for a 360* view. We're still working on port hole covers, thanks for your thoughts.

Jim F

 

[stwendl]

Jim,

How does the new boat with the limitation on which roads you can travel align with your boater homing spirit. I suppose you have done many of the locations already in the 27. But you would not have been able to do this with the 29, right?

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

You are correct. When we set out on this new adventure we came to the conclusion early on we would not be trailering the R29S as freely as we did the R27. We have not boater homed yet during the inaugural cross country tow for two reasons. I forgot our portable electric heater and it was to cold at night without it on the way east. Secondly I wanted to get comfortable trailering the 29 and did not want to venture off the highway very far. Next time I'll have the heater and we'll take a stab at it when the opportunity is convenient.

Jim

 

[Red Fury]

Jim, what are you using for a portable heater? We are just entering our first cold season with our R27 Classic and have been wondering what others are using for heat when towing.

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[CaspersCruiser]

We have not boater homed yet during the inaugural cross country tow for two reasons. I forgot our portable electric heater and it was to cold at night without it on the way east. Secondly I wanted to get comfortable trailering the 29 and did not want to venture off the highway very far.

One advantage I see to “boaterhoming” is that RV campgrounds are set up to maneuver a large rig. I’m going to assume you stayed in motels on your way east. At times towing a 21’ boat, I’ve struggled to find a motel with enough parking lot. How did you deal with that issue?

 

[Dale777]

We have not boater homed yet during the inaugural cross country tow for two reasons. I forgot our portable electric heater and it was to cold at night without it on the way east. Secondly I wanted to get comfortable trailering the 29 and did not want to venture off the highway very far.

One advantage I see to “boaterhoming” is that RV campgrounds are set up to maneuver a large rig. I’m going to assume you stayed in motels on your way east. At times towing a 21’ boat, I’ve struggled to find a motel with enough parking lot. How did you deal with that issue?

To answer your question about "...struggled to find a motel with enough parking lot.": When I was trailering my previous R27, I always looked at Google Earth to scout out possible roadside hotel parking lots to ensure adequate maneuvering room with a boat trailer. Then I called in advance to say I would be parking a boat trailer. Then I made sure I arrived early at the hotel before the parking lot filled up too much. I also looked at Google Earth to ensure I had a Plan B in case the hotel lot was full, such as a nearby Walmart or Home Depot parking lot or such.

 

[Larry H]

Jim, what are you using for a portable heater? We are just entering our first cold season with our R27 Classic and have been wondering what others are using for heat when towing.
Bryan

Is there any reason to not use the Webasto heater at an RV park?

 

[baz]

Jim, what are you using for a portable heater? We are just entering our first cold season with our R27 Classic and have been wondering what others are using for heat when towing.
Bryan

Is there any reason to not use the Webasto heater at an RV park?

One reason might be the noise that the heater's exhaust makes - it sounds like a hypersonic wind tunnel at WOT. 😉

 

[Irish Mist]

Jim, what are you using for a portable heater? We are just entering our first cold season with our R27 Classic and have been wondering what others are using for heat when towing.
Bryan

Is there any reason to not use the Webasto heater at an RV park?

One reason might be the noise that the heater's exhaust makes - it sounds like a hypersonic wind tunnel at WOT. 😉

We use our diesel heater all the time while towing. We do stop mostly in truck stops so the generator and/or diesel heater is a non issue with all the other noise. Campsites are spaced well and if it is cold enough that the heater is running loud a lot ( it gets quieter as it gets up to temp and runs slower) the parks are not very busy. Usually once the diesel gets up to temperature I do not find it that loud, more of a hum.
There is however the option of using an electric heater in a camp ground which works very well. We are able to connect two electric heaters using the 30 Amp power supplied. There is also a third 200 watt heater that runs all the time in the bathroom.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

A few unanswered questions from below. As Dale has described we also use Google Earth to view the area around hotels for proper parking, distance from highway, etc. When we call the hotel to make a reservation one of the first things Lisa asks is about big rig parking. Because our boat has a generator and air conditioning, it can not be built or ordered with the diesel heater. We have it equipped this way as we boat in hot and humid places where air conditioning is considered standard equipment. With that said we carry a portable ceramic electric heater with a safety turn off button on the bottom, to use when boaterhoming. If the heater would fall over for any reason the heater turns off. The brand is SoleUSair.

Jim F

 

[Red Fury]

Like Jim we also have the AC set up and not the Webasto Heater. We mostly boat in the hot humid east. I'll have to look for a portable heater with the safety shut off switch.

 

[stwendl]

Jim,

I just visited your blog and saw a picture of you prepping the trailer and truck for the trip home from Seattle. However, I was wondering if the attaching the oversized sign right over the lower vent openings on your truck caused any over heating. As far as I know, those lower opening under the bumper have the coolers for the tranny at least on my 2500 ram. I think they make signs that can be put on the cab roof.

Just curious

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

I wondered about that while installing the sign and tried to leave as much open in those spaces as possible. In the end I had no problems, no overheat issues and I watched the temps on a regular basis, this after 3,600 miles of trailering. With that said I'm thinking that the next time I slap the sign up I'll cut that space out and tape it into the bumper vent openings.

Jim F